My Dr. wants me to take some Busparone with the Prozac I am on 5 weeks now, and I wonder if it is to give it a boost??
Does Buspar give Prozac a boost for depression? or is it just for anxiety?
Question posted by choirdogsplace on 14 July 2010
Last updated on 15 July 2010
Answers
dmfdjttor57
15 July 2010
I am not a Dr. either, as Bucky said re himself, but I am going to go out on that limb and tell you that Buspar is fairly useless to anyone that has real anxiety, am surprised when i see it still being prescribed to people. I do not want to say that it cannot and has never worked for anyone, that limb would be too long, but, in my opinion, it is what Dr.'s who do not believe in prescribing benzodiazapams, (as of course they can be addicting) give to people in an attemp to rx something that might help with their anxiety.
I'm sure there are some Dr.'s our there that still believe Buspar DOES help anxiety, but I have yet to run into anyone that Buspar did much (if any) good for in alleviating anxiety, especially if it is debilitating in any way. I have gotten info on Buspar directly from a Dr. so am not just giving my own opinion, it has been told to me by a physician that Buspar does nothing for true anxiey, but took it myself year ago also. Do you HAVE anxiety, and if so, is it something that has begun since you started taking Prozac? Some people find they cannot take Prozac due to increased anxiety with that drug, which often goes away after a period of time. IF you went into the Dr. w/depression and anxiety as symptoms, and have never tried Paxil (antidepressant) that helps with both of those symptoms, that would have been the drug to prescribe, but maybe you have taken it before or it does not help you? As with most, it takes awhile to work. IF the Prozac is working for your depression and the anxiety is not too bad, go ahead and take the buspar if your Dr. feels you should try it prior to prescribing anything else for you. If you have really bad anxiety and if it does not help you, ask for a low dose of something like Lorazapam 05.mg to take either prn or twice a day to ward it off. As long as you do not abuse it, i don't know why a dr. would have a problem with that unless you have had some sort of drug problem in the past with benzos. It's hard to answer these questions sometimes without more info, but NO, BUSPAR DOES NOT GIVE A BOOST TO YOUR PROZAC, it's for anxiety and it's efficacy for that is very questionable. Hope that helps some and in answering questions about certain drugs, I do have a couple of years of pharmacology, so am not just winging it and going by my own experiences, as everyone is different, as we know. Most of my answers, however, come from having used a drug and i try never to go by what a book has said, as everyone has a different chemistry, but I just wanted everyone to know I am not answering questions w/out having some knowledge of what certain drugs do. Good luck and if you want to give more info, you may get a clearer answer, but i did try to cover what scenarios i thought could be possible. Take care and good luck w/the Prozac, it should be working for you by now, so hopefully your depression has subsided somewhat. Dede
choirdogsplace
15 July 2010
Thanks to both of you for your answers--I have been on 40 mg of prozac now for 2 weeks, Dr. said it could take 3 weeks to help and told me i could go up to 60 mg until it kicked in, I am not sure about it though, I have felt down for the past 3 days, I had anxiety when starting but it is ok now--I have heard about Paxil--sounds like it might help me more-but heard problems when getting off it too--- would you mind telling me more about it please?? Thank you so much-Sandy
dmfdjttor57
15 July 2010
Hi Sandy: I am surprised, that if you mentioned anxiety he didn't rx Paxil. It is no different than getting off of any of the other anti depressants, we should always wean down, but so many people just quit taking them, which is not the way to go, but have never heard of anyone dying from it. At least not the Paxil or Prozac. As with the Prozac, (they are in the same family of drugs, BTW) you would start at 20mg. probably for a week, move to 40 and that may be all you need, you'ld have to see how you feel. If and when you are ready to get off, you just go down the same way you went up and you don't have anything like withdrawls from opiates or discomfort of any kind. With most all antidepressants, they work well for approximately 2 yrs. and then sometimes you need to change to something else, if still depressed.
I personally believe that Paxil is one of the best out there w/least side effects, although you CAN gain a little bit of weight, so it's important to watch your diet and exercise, which is important for depression and anxiety anyway! If you read all the "possible" side effects of any of these drugs it would scare you from ever taking anything, but the pharmeceutical companies must list them for legal reasons and if people actually experiened the things they say you "could" they wouldn't be in use. So, if you feel that the Prozac is not doing it's job and want to switch, now would be the best time to do so and I don't think you would have to do anything other than trade one for the other, as I said, they are in the same family of drugs. I struggled w/taking an anti-depressant for a long time during a period in my life when I was really down and finally looked at my little sample case of Paxil and took one. I stayed on them for 2 yrs., didn't have a problem w/weight gain, although i was exercising at the time, and the difference it made in my life during that tough period was amazing. I was just on Prozac recently and discontinued it, as I did not feel it was helping me too much, but that was just me. Talk w/your Dr. at your next visit, or if it's going to be awhile, make an appt. and ask about changing. I would give your Prozac a few more days, but if nothing feels better, I personally would make the switch. Hope that helps you Sandy, and as I said, everyone is different, so i cannot use my experience to tell you what you may experience, but I do recommend the Paxil and know it does help w/anxiety also if you are occasionally experiencing that. Let me know how you do if you have a chance. Dede
choirdogsplace
15 July 2010
Thank you so much, that really does help alot, I was told to stop Cymbalta cold turkey and I went through withdrawal hell-for 5 weeks-Dr. (a Psychiatrist) told me I was sensitive and I dropped him, now back with my gp-she did good for some time and I think I have hard to treat depression, for many years now, I may go to someone else, or try the paxil in a week or so if this does not help-been on Wellbutrin, Pristiq (bad stomach pain) Effexor and prozac again-first one I was on, and it worked for 14 years, now I am not so sure but she wants me at 60 mg for awhile-cannot take generic either so it is expensive--anything I can do for you let me know! Thank You-Sandy
dmfdjttor57
15 July 2010
If you are paying for the Prozac and can't afford it, ask her to give you some samples. Dr.'s usually always have a ton of samples, and if she has only 20mg samples, take 2-3, whatever. You shouldn't have to pay for something if there is another way to get it and pharm reps are always happy to supply Dr.'s w/samples of their meds. Maybe ask her? Even if not forever, it would save you money for the months you don't have to buy it.
Inactive
15 July 2010
Buspirone
is used to treat anxiety disorders or in the short-term treatment of symptoms of anxiety.
Fluoxetine (Prozac)
is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (bothersome thoughts that won't go away and the need to perform certain actions over and over), some eating disorders, and panic attacks (sudden, unexpected attacks of extreme fear and worry about these attacks).
I am not a Dr. or Medicaly trained
so I can't tell you. I am only telling you what the Meds. are for.
You need to make your own judgement.
Related topics
buspar, prozac, depression, anxiety
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