Today is my 3rd day of taking buspirone. I was originally supposed to take 5mg once a day “as needed” for anxiety. Took it 1st day after doc appointment (for severe anxiety) at 4pm fell asleep at5pm and stayed asleep until 730am the next morning. I felt so happy stress-free and amazing when I woke up (had to take my 1st dose of citalopram 20mg that morning) but felt amazing pretty much the whole day. That night didn’t get to sleep til 2am. But wasn’t anxious, so no buspirone. At 7.30am took my second dose of citalopram and started getting a bit anxious and chest pains. Til later in the day, I was full blown panic. I took another buspirone and fell asleep. I woke up early today and called my doc about the heightened anxiety and chest pain when I started citalopram. She told me to not take it. Took a 1/2 buspirone to see if that would relieve my anxiety/ chest pains and not sedate me (put me to sleep)... it did but only for a couple of hours. I Have been having mild anxiety all day today, not as bad as yesterday and took another 1/2 buspirone at about 4pm to keep anxiety low. Anyways, I tend to be paranoid about my heart rate and is a HR tracker on my phone to keep track of how my hearts beating and I notice some of my readings are super low (for me) I’m used to running anywhere between 75-90bpm and have had some readings between 55-70bpm. Is Buspar/buspirone known to do that? Also I get occasional spikes in body temperature, what feels like hot flashes. Is this normal? It might also be that I am combating my thyroid at the same time. So my body temperature is never really normal as it is anyways. Also, will the sedative effect eventually go away? Because I liked how 5mgs made me felt AFTER my 14hr nap. But I’d prefer not spending most of my days as sleeping beauty.
Buspirone side effects? Low(er) heart rate and hot flashes / quick spike in body temp, sedative?
Question posted by Randi_Nicole on 22 March 2019
Last updated on 22 March 2019
Answers
Hello! You have multiple situations going on which are all contributing to what you're experiencing. I have say that Penrod is correct in saying that buspirone is not a PRN medication:
"Usual Adult Dose for Anxiety
-Initial Dose: 7.5 mg orally 2 times a day
-Maintenance Dose: Dosage may be increased 5 mg per day at intervals of 2 to 3 days, as needed.
-Maximum Dose: 60 mg per day"
"Buspirone in general takes at least one to two weeks to have an initial effect and generally can take up to four to six weeks to actually have its full clinical effect. So it's not really the best medication to use if one is trying to manage anxiety symptoms rapidly or urgently."
"Side effects have been reported to be generally mild and transient. They are most common during the first 2 weeks of treatment and decrease in intensity and frequency with continued treatment. They generally do not lead to treatment cessation."
Also, the anxiety and other side effects you mention are more likely due to starting your citalopram:
"Common (1% to 10% of users): Anxiety, apathy, depression, impaired concentration, nervousness, sleep disorder:
"Common (1% to 10% of users): Chest pain, hypotension, hot flushes, hypertension, palpitations, postural hypotension, tachycardia"
These side effects also generally resolve rather quickly.
A question for you... are you seeing a General Practitioner or a Psychiatrist? I'd recommend a psychiatrist and also be sure that the prescribing doctor(s) are aware of your concurrent medical conditions.
Best regards and I hope you're feeling better soon.
PS, I've taken buspirone alone for my anxiety disorders for over four years with exellent control.
Yeah my FNP told me to stop the citalopram. So I did and today I don’t have chest pains. I just noticed however, after taking my 5mg Buspirone last night, I have a bit of tightness in my chest/ shoulders and a bit shortness of breath. I researched that shortness of breath can be a side-effect of Buspirone, should I be worried and will it go away?
"Respiratory
Uncommon (0.1% to 1%of users): Hyperventilation, shortness of breath, chest congestion"
Yes, these side effects will resolve given a bit of time.
It's complicated because these same symptoms are also symptoms you see in anxiety disorders. Could it also be that at least some of this could be caused by your anxiety over starting these medications?
Good answer, Wildcat.
Good Morning! I have been on Buspirone for about 7 weeks. It literally took this long to actually get the benefit of reducing anxiety. First day I took it, I slept as well. Please keep in mind that Buspirone is not a take it as you need it drug. It is designed to be taken consistently every day; as, it takes anywhere up to 8 weeks to have its full effect. I will say it was a srtruggle to get through the side effects at first. I was taking 7.5mg twice a day. Starting this week 10mg twice a day; and , this week I really feel like the anxiety is controlled. I am concerned ( a little bit, I am certainly not medically trained) if you were led to believe that Buspirone is a take it as needed med. Was that info from your Doctor, Pharmacist?
Thank you so much for your response! I have been doing research and have seen that it is meant to be taken daily. So I am going to start taking it whole (5mg) daily . Idk why my primary (who is a FNP) told me “as needed”. I called her office yesterday in regulars to the citalopram and she told me to stop taking it. Anyways, last night when I took my 5mg of Buspirone, I noticed a shortness of breath. Was worried and saw it is a side effect. Should I be worried? Will it go away?
Related topics
buspar, anxiety, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, hot flashes, buspirone, citalopram, side effect, heart, heart rate, sedative
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