Buspar

Hi, Im new here, also relativly new to this whole anxiety panic attack thing. I was on lexapro but it made me feel like I was on fire and very irritable after only a few days of taking it. Im now on Buspar and have been for about a month. I cant really tell that its doing anything. I was just wondering if anyone else has taken it and how it affected them??

Hi Stacies, I took Buspar for 3 months this summer. The first month I really liked it, although the first few days I was very jittery. I can't say it relieved my anxiety, but I liked the "up" feeling it gave me, the increased energy and sociability, and the enhanced sense of smell and taste (could be pretty wild sometimes!). I also found more pleasure in simple things, like driving fast, a beautiful sunset, the feel of the wind in my face, etc. With my anxiety, I had had trouble sleeping, but the Buspar acted like a stimulant so I was able to get by comfortably on less sleep. After a month, these effects decreased. After a total of 3 months I stopped taking it as it had no good effects anymore. I think my body just adapted to it.

I have heard that Buspar does nothing for about half the people. I also have read that Buspar is especially ineffective for people who have previously taken benzos. It is thought that those people have certain expectations for an anti-anxiety drug and Buspar does not feel at all like a benzo, so those former-benzo-taking people feel it doesn't work.

After Buspar, my doc prescribed Lexapro for anxiety. However, it was too expensive for my budget, so I never took it. But I have heard that you have to give Lexapro several weeks at least before giving up. The early days can be rough, but just push on through.

Good luck.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
sunrise said:

I have heard that Buspar does nothing for about half the people.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

I'm one of those people. Buspar (taken along w/ Zoloft) was my very first medication back when I initially began to experience mental health problems, particularly severe panic attacks at that time. Buspar did not cause any noticeable decrease in my anxiety and it was discontinued for me after awhile for that reason.

I wasn't sure what was wrong with me when I first started having problems....went to my medical Dr & she put me on the buspar. I realized now that my anxiety was so high that the bupar had absolutely no effect on the anxiety. When I ended up going to a pdoc, he went to using the valium. That did work at first, but toward the end, even it had no effect. The strange thing is that I have taken seroquel & that at a very small dose (25mg) works wonders to control an anxiety attack when it happens. If I take a higher dose, it completely knockes me out & sometimes that is what I need(seroquel is not an anti-anxiety drug).