Buspirone and Anxiety: What Users Say (Page 4)

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

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

• Anonymous
• July 16, 2009

Buspirone for Anxiety "I must be the only one on here that didn't benefit from this medication... just got a headache and didn't help my anxiety."

• Tom...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 25, 2022

Buspirone for Anxiety "Not working for me after 2 months. I get anxiety just sitting on the couch."

• Chr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 13, 2020

Buspirone for Anxiety "My 17-year-old daughter was put on this BuSpar a month ago. It heightened her anxiety, it made her have angry outbursts. Her entire demeanor has changed, she isn't my daughter on this med. Needless to say, the doctor disagreed with me, but I took her off it last night. This med is horrible!"

• Pat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 14, 2019

Buspirone for Anxiety "I took this med, BuSpar, for 2 weeks. My anxiety skyrocketed, could not sleep more than 3 hours. Felt zombie-like. Developed a fast heart rate and upset stomach. After about 7-9 days, did calm down a bit. I went off too many bad side effects for me. On my second day of withdrawal, body aches. My dose of BuSpar was 5 mg, 2x a day."

• Cat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 20, 2019

For Anxiety "I was put on 10 mg of Buspirone twice a day for breakthrough anxiety. I used it only as needed, but my doctor told me that in order for it to help, I had to take it as prescribed. I started taking it twice a day, and at some point thought that it was making me feel worse. About 10 days ago, after a couple of weeks on this dosage, I experienced crippling anxiety, stiff muscles, urinary problems, jerky movements in my arms and legs, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, and finally full-blown panic attacks, which I had never had before. From Wednesday to Saturday, I had 3 hours of sleep, no appetite, and my right knee became swollen, red, painful, and I couldn't bend it or my fingers. This was one of the worst experiences I've ever had and the worst reaction to medication: angry outbursts, nausea, and confusion. I think some people can safely take Buspar and others have side effects that are unbearable."

• LeA...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 6, 2019

For Anxiety "I wanted so badly for buspirone to work for my anxiety. I tried playing with the dosages. From 2.5 x 3, 5 x 3, 7.5 x 3. The first few weeks it seemed like it was going to work, and then after I increased it to 7.5, I took a turn for the worst, and it made my OCD ramp up! I am not saying it can't work for someone else, as for me, it gave me such heightened anxiety I almost couldn't function at work. Use with caution as it made me cry every day."

• Biz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 23, 2019

For Anxiety "I've been on buspirone for about 6 days now, never having been on any other anxiety medicine until now. My doctor recommended 15 mg tablets (half a pill, twice daily...so 7.5 mg each time). So far, I feel more agitated, haven't been sleeping at all, waking up almost every hour with severe muscle cramps in my legs and feet, sharp muscle pains in my side, and still have feelings of worry and stress and mild depression, shaky as if I drank about 5 energy drinks. I'm not sure if I should keep taking them, as my doctor said it could take about 3 weeks to get into my system fully, or if these side effects are enough to call my doctor and see if he should change my dose or medication altogether."

• Biz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 23, 2019

For Anxiety "I've been on buspirone for about 6 days now, never having been on any other anxiety medicine until now. My doctor recommended 15 mg tablets (half a pill, twice daily...so 7.5 mg each time). So far, I feel more agitated, haven't been sleeping at all, waking up almost every hour with severe muscle cramps in my legs and feet, sharp muscle pains in my side, and still have feelings of worry and stress and mild depression, shaky as if I drank about 5 energy drinks. I'm not sure if I should keep taking them, as my doctor said it could take about 3 weeks to get into my system fully, or if these side effects are enough to call my doctor and see if he should change my dose or medication altogether."

• Anonymous
• June 19, 2019

Buspirone 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."

• Jki...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 21, 2018

For Anxiety "So far, it hasn't done anything other than decrease my anxiety by about 10%. I'm still having almost constant anxiety mixed with common occurrences of panic attacks."

• Whe...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 27, 2018

Buspirone for Anxiety "They recently increased my dosage by only 5 mg. With disastrous results. Big increase in anxiety attacks. Bad drug. Caused me to experience 5 anxiety attacks in 24 hours! A new record for the number of anxiety attacks that I’ve ever had in 24 hours! And they want to slowly increase it to 60 mg a day. No way! Feel like rubbish! And that’s just with a small increase!"

• Ale...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 30, 2018

Buspirone for Anxiety "This was my first night of taking BuSpar for anxiety, 15 mg, and it made it worse. I am tense, I feel tingly, cold, and jumpy. And I can’t sleep at all. I do not like this feeling at all. Worst feeling ever."

• Mon...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 9, 2017

Buspirone for Anxiety "I had high hopes that this would help my anxiety, but it seems like it made my anxiety a lot worse. I now experience bad nausea and trembling, which didn't happen before. I also had low appetite and more severe anxiety attacks. I took 15 mg twice a day for six weeks. Thankfully, it doesn't have withdrawal effects, but unfortunately, it didn't work for me."

• Hon...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 25, 2017

For Anxiety "Started 3 weeks ago, have stayed on it but awful side effects, can't get through to my doctor without having an even greater anxiety attack than I'm already having. This medication goes right up on the top worst shelf for bad medications I have been on. Shaking inside, dry chalky mouth and throat, upset stomach, vomiting, nervousness, and even more emotional than normal (if that's possible). It feels like everything that's wrong with me has been intensified!"

• Roc...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 28, 2017

Buspirone for Anxiety "I was on 15 mg of buspirone for many months. I recently lost my job and have a lot of anxiety and depression. I am seeing a psychiatrist who said my dose was too low and upped it to 60 mg a day. I still don't feel like it is working. I am also on Zoloft. I still am having a lot of anxiety. Years ago, I was on Ativan, and it was a miracle drug for me. I would like to stop the buspirone and just take the Ativan as needed. I see my psychiatrist in a couple of weeks and am going to suggest that. I also have the feeling of a huge lump in my throat that I know is stress-related."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 21, 2016

For Anxiety "This medication did nothing... absolutely NOTHING for me. In fact, there were days when I actually felt like the world was crashing down on me for absolutely no reason, so I have a suspicion that it made my anxiety actually worse. I had pretty damn severe anxiety to start with, but like I said, there were days when I was crying and hyperventilating when there wasn't even anything going on. The only good news is it didn't give me any other side effects... besides the increased anxiety. I didn't get the dizziness or fatigue that I was warned about. I'm so happy it didn't make me nauseous at all, which I was really worried about (one of my phobias is vomiting, so... yea). Make sure you take this med at the same times each day, I made that mistake."

• Kco...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 29, 2016

For Anxiety "I started 10 mg today, and I feel so loopy. My mouth is very dry, and I'm kind of anxious, and my head is hurting after 1 dose. I don't know if I will take a 2nd dose. I was prescribed 10 mg 2x a day."

• Jad...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 22, 2016

For Anxiety "I have only been taking these since yesterday, 5 mg three times a day. I have taken fluoxetine as well for 10 days. Can't say I feel any different. Still feeling ill with anxiety."

• Cru...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 19, 2022

Buspirone for Anxiety "I was on this medication for 4 weeks. I took 7.5 mg x2 daily the first 2 weeks, then 7.5 mg x 3 daily for the last 2 weeks. The first week on this was BRUTAL. Highly increased anxiety, headaches, lightheadedness, and a general feeling of being 'off.' The side effects did get better, but the medicine just never took hold and worked at all for me. Didn’t put a dent in my anxiety. Doctor prescribed me an actual SSRI."

• wee...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 18, 2022

For Borderline Personality Disorder "I have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and I'm taking 20 mg buspirone daily for months now. Still anxious, still angry, still impulsive with insane mood swings. I tried to leave it, but without buspirone, I became suicidal. Now I'm trying to replace it with lamotrigine."

• Joe...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 11, 2021

For Anxiety "I started taking 5 mg daily about a month ago. I had an increase in my anxiety and had heart palpitations. Since this happened, I took 5 mg twice a day. I only took it twice a day for two days because I could not handle the anxiety it gave me. I tried to go to work after taking my daily dose, and I could not function. I had an overwhelming rush of anxiety and had to leave shortly after. Since then, I have contacted my doctor and stopped taking my medication. The first couple of days without it, I felt much better. I know this medication works for a lot of people, and I assume my reaction to it is a rare one. If you are taking this medication to treat anxiety and have a similar reaction, I recommend calling your doctor and asking to stop taking it."

• Bop...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 25, 2021

For Anxiety "I started buspirone at 7.5 mg for a week, then 15 mg. At first, I liked it because it did a good job of dissolving that ever-present knot in my stomach. I started taking it before bed because I didn't like that dizzy/drunk feeling it causes (taking it with food helps). However, I struggle a lot with feeling numb, and I suspect that this medication made that worse over time. We increased to two 15 mg tablets a day, but I started waking up with horrible anxiety again, so I just quit after 3 months. No withdrawals except for feeling slightly 'off' for a day or two."

• Cic...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 4, 2020

For Anxiety "About 2-3 years into taking buspirone, I started to experience weird side effects. My judgment was clouded. Very impulsive. My sex drive exploded and wanted to be naked all the time. Anxiety was horrible, I was experiencing panic attacks regularly. It all culminated in me losing 25 lbs and taking a trip to the ER because I simply couldn't eat. I kept getting nauseated all the time! I was also in a mild depression. This lasted until I finally withdrew from it. (Spent 12 days in a behavioral health unit) from trying to manage the withdrawal. It even prompted my septum to deviate, which I'm dealing with now. (Extremely frustrating.) I'm off all psychiatric medication now. I'm the happiest I've ever been, my appetite is the best it's ever been, and my weight is normalizing. My anxiety is normal. I've learned to manage my feelings through sleeping, eating well, and being sociable. This stuff is highly dangerous, it's at the point now where I'm considering a lawsuit over emotional pain and suffering."

• Goo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 30, 2019

Buspirone for Anxiety "BuSpar is supposed to take a month to work, give or take. I've been on a 10 mg dose 2 times a day for 7 weeks, and I'm more anxious now. Ugh."