BuSpar and Insomnia: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 10, 2019

For Panic Disorder "I also experienced my first asthma attack ever on this medication. I don't see it listed as an official side effect, but I've never encountered anything like it before, and just putting my 2 cents in. I've tried just about every SSRI and SNRI under the sun as well, so while I'm not guaranteeing it's not a coincidence, I'm pretty well past the point of attributing everything that happens to me to my medications. Aside from that, it worked maybe... 10%? But I think the majority of that was the sedation, which wears off as the sedation does. Other side effects for me were worse sleep, anger, nightmares, weight gain, and tiredness."

• Cyn...
• July 22, 2017

For Anxiety "I started taking this medication last Monday and was only on it for 4 days before I had to quit. I had so many of the different side effects of this drug, like lack of appetite, stomach upset, extremely worse anxiety than I had before I started, and extreme drowsiness during the day, but insomnia at night. It was an absolute nightmare for me, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't work for someone else."

• Iro...
• June 29, 2017

For Anxiety "This medication did not work for my anxiety. BuSpar actually allowed my anxiety to increase with severe insomnia and vivid dreams. It also caused severe stomach and intestinal problems. I also experienced dizziness, irritability, and incoordination. There are other symptoms from BuSpar, these are the main ones that caused me to stop taking the drug."

• Chr...
• September 18, 2017

For Anxiety "Took buspirone for 2 days. It definitely helped me stay calm, but made me drowsy during the day and gave me the worst insomnia I've ever experienced at night. I know trialing it 2 days is nothing for a med, but I have a family and a demanding job where I cannot afford to not get at least a couple hours of sleep a day. The severe insomnia alone is enough for me to stop taking it. I also got insomnia from the two antidepressants I took (generic Paxil and Zoloft), so I am very sensitive to meds. I will say this though, it did seem to keep my calm and better able to focus. It works in those terms. I would recommend anyone who hasn't had success using antidepressants to try buspar/buspirone for anxiety. It just might be your golden ticket."

• Bre...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 18, 2015

For Anxiety "Have been on a few SSRIs (Paxil, Lexapro, and Zoloft). Zoloft pulled me out of a dark hole of severe anxiety and insomnia and kept my head above water for about a year, but I never felt great on it, just able to cope with life plus I still needed Ativan for sleep, which I didn't like, but it helped. Decided to try BuSpar. Was fairly easy to get on, minimal side effects, a lot of brain zaps, though. Mood improved after about 2 weeks for about a week, then it just stopped working and anxiety came back hard. Also, I had bad insomnia the whole time on it, even before, but this didn't help in any way. Had pretty disturbing nightmares when I did sleep. Insomnia and decline in mood forced me to get off. Took it for a month. Was at 30 mg 3 x day."

• PTS...
• March 27, 2018

For Anxiety "Makes my anxiety tremendously worse, even after months of use! Don't believe the fake big pharma comments. This is not a replacement for any benzo, in any way! It is only 'known' to be 'effective' in general anxiety disorder. After my switch, I couldn't sleep for a week, dehydrated, thought I was going to die, so then they gave me Zoloft in conjunction with the BuSpar that I was already on for 2 months! The Zoloft made it even worse, I am surprised to be alive and writing this today."

• Her...
• December 31, 2016

For Anxiety "I'm a 32-year-old male, and I've been taking BuSpar for about 10 months. At first, it did nothing but make my anxiety worse. I would wake up with full-blown panic attacks and have the worst nightmares ever. However, I'm now taking 40 mg of citalopram a day mixed with the BuSpar 15 mg and 1 mg of Xanax twice a day. And Xanax! I have insomnia mixed with deep anxiety issues. The problem that I have is the BuSpar makes me so fat! I'm literally considering stopping taking it and just see if the other meds can help. BuSpar alone is no substitution for an anxiety drug and wouldn't recommend it..."

• npb...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 30, 2023

For Anxiety "Started BuSpar at 5 mg a month ago for GAD and mood swings. I have been feeling much better since starting. For the first two weeks, I suffered from terrible insomnia and vivid dreams. I decided to add XR 3 mg of melatonin daily at night to combat this. By week 3, I was sleeping without difficulty. I do have occasional dizziness, but nothing too intense that would make me choose to stop it. I feel now that after 4 weeks, I can consider increasing the dose to 10 mg daily since lately my anxiety has been increasing again. I would recommend giving it a try for at least 4 weeks. It has a low-risk profile compared to other medications. Find what works best for you!"

• Suz...
• November 28, 2019

For Anxiety "Taking 15 mgs twice a day caused insomnia for 1 week, now I have broken sleep, only 2-3 hrs a night, with hypnic jerking that jars me out of even falling asleep. I cut down to 7.5 mg twice a day, so we will see how that works."

• Jos...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 24, 2017

For Anxiety "I was prescribed this drug for anxiety. I took it home and managed to take it for 2 days but immediately noticed severe insomnia that after two days made me stop taking it. On top of the inability to sleep despite feeling tired, I had absolutely zero appetite. In the little over 48 hours, I had only managed to eat a handful of cherries. However, when I was on the drug, I did notice less irritability and increased fatigue, which I attributed to not sleeping or eating."

• Why...
• January 16, 2017

For Anxiety "I started BuSpar because I was having anxiety with the horrendous pain from gallbladder attacks. I started out at 7.5 for three days and then was supposed to advance to 15 mg. During the week of starting this, I had to have an emergency surgery for my gallbladder. When I was finally able to take this consistently, I found that I suffered from insomnia, felt restless and nervous, dizzy, and downright horrible. I have taken it less than a week, and I have an appointment to see the doctor tomorrow. If I stop taking this, will I have withdrawal symptoms? Or should I do this gradually? My gallbladder symptoms are gone, and my body feels great after the surgery. Any suggestions?"

• pra...
• April 13, 2011

For Anxiety "Take 30 mg/day, helped mildly with my GAD. Did nothing for my social anxiety. I continue to take it because it has no side effects and am told it will help with anxiety I may get from taking Wellbutrin. I have to take Xanax or Clonazepam regularly when having moderate/severe anxiety. Only side effects experienced in the first few days were dizziness and insomnia. I was able to increase my dose within 2 weeks. I am considering increasing my dose of BuSpar to see if I just need a higher dose to feel a stronger effect."

• Wil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 25, 2019

For Anxiety "I always have a lot of anxiety, and was optimistic about BuSpar. Lately, I've been taking 10 mg 4 times a day (as well as Ativan and Seroquel to help the insomnia), and I feel depressed and no less anxious. Last night, I dreamt that one of my cats fainted. I'll be talking with my doctor about getting me off this. I feel no benefit whatsoever."

• Car...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 22, 2021

For Anxiety "I get things done on this med and don’t need Ritalin. It’s amazing how many “side projects” were getting completed! I also was more social. I stopped BuSpar due to it making my sleep problems even worse, and I could not afford that. I picked it up 1 1/2 years later, and it made me really angry and down, and sleep problems picked up again. I’m going through menopause, so I suspect that has something to do with the negative moods, so I’ve decided to set it aside again and hope I can find something else to get me through. I did like my productivity on this med though!"

• Ele...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 27, 2021

For Anxiety "If you are a low metabolizer like me, this may not be the medication for you. Many people don't feel any side effects on BuSpar, but my days were filled with exacerbated stress, and nights were filled with insomnia. I went two weeks, maybe I should have waited longer, but I just couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to try 6, but the thought of another 4 weeks of this nightmare was making me feel so hopeless."

• Nad...
• September 2, 2016

For Anxiety "I was prescribed BuSpar for anxiety. If I knew that BuSpar had the side effects that I got, I would never drink it. I drank it for 4 days only, and it almost got me killed. I started having panic attacks, I could hardly breathe, I had electric shocks, brain zaps, horrible medicine. I quit right away. Little did I know that quitting even after 4 days would cause side effects. I could not sleep for 2 weeks afterwards, I thought I was dying. Horrible medicine. I will never drink any antidepressants or anti-anxiety medicine that is not natural!!!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 15, 2023

For Anxiety "BuSpar is causing me to experience insomnia and nightmares. I have noticed no reduction in panic attacks."

• Mic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 31, 2020

For Anxiety "I took 10 mg of BuSpar in the morning, then in the evening. My anxiety was worse, and my sleep was terrible. I only got 4 hrs of sleep and will not ever take it again."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 16, 2012

For Anxiety "BuSpar seemed to increase my anxiety and caused sleep disturbance. I woke up several times during the night feeling anxious."

• Anonymous
• June 19, 2019

For Anxiety "BuSpar helped with bipolar anxiety only slightly, but it gave me awful insomnia, with angry outbursts and the worse agoraphobia. This med did more harm than good."

• Cau...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 10, 2022

For Anxiety "Took one med and couldn't sleep at all! Do not take this medicine. I'd rather have my anxiety than no sleep."

• Tri...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 2, 2018

For Anxiety "It took away my ability to sleep. I didn’t notice anything more."

• Pet...
• July 4, 2016

For Anxiety "Was on 20 mg Cipralex, then doctor added 150 mg Buspar. Within 2 weeks, my anxiety and depression got a lot worse, trouble sleeping, and uncontrolled shaking. Not for me."