Buspirone and Anxiety: What Users Say (Page 5)

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

Buspirone 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."

• Sno...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 30, 2018

For Anxiety "I currently take 5 mg of buspirone before bedtime. I have taken this drug for about 4 months. After a couple of weeks, I felt it helped with my anxiety. I am now feeling very anxious on a daily basis. I feel unbalanced and unsteady. My blood pressure is good, and no signs of any other medical issues. I feel dizziness daily. I’m wondering if anyone else has had these experiences on buspirone? My doctor ordered a carotid ultrasound and CT scan. She never suggested that it could possibly be the buspirone. I called the pharmacist today, and they said buspirone can be stopped or tapered by taking my dose every other day. I’m sick of feeling anxious, dizzy, and unsteady. Again, has anyone experienced these side effects? Thanks."

• Liz...
• December 9, 2017

For Panic Disorder "Started working about 2 weeks after starting it, at which time I also experienced significant hair loss. The first two weeks of taking it, there was an increase in my anxiety. It worked great for about 2 months until my panic attacks came back. I have stayed on it for over 2 years now for fear of rebound/withdrawal effects, but I don't feel it helps anymore. I continue to experience periods of significant hair loss. 36-year-old female. Luckily, I have extremely thick hair."

• Her...
• December 31, 2016

Buspirone 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..."

• Tah...
• August 7, 2016

For Panic Disorder "It doesn't suit me. When I take it, I become angry, hyper, and I have loss of appetite and more fear. Also, my mouth opens very little while talking after taking Buspirone 5."

• Jam...
• March 7, 2015

Buspirone for Panic Disorder "I was on Buspirone with my Paxil. It worked well with the Paxil. However, it did not work at all by itself. I had to quit taking Paxil due to an interaction with my seizure medicine. The Buspirone made me have anxiety, and every time I took it, I felt like my brain was getting shocked with electricity."

• dan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 23, 2012

For Anxiety "Buspirone worked for me in the beginning by eliminating anxiety as well as nightmares. However, nightmares and anxiety returned, and in response, my doctor increased my dose. Now, I experience anxiety at night that has progressed to paranoia, as well as vivid nightmares. I cannot stay asleep when I can actually fall asleep. My mind goes a mile a minute, and I have tried meditation and exercise. On average, I get about 3 hours of sleep a night. I have even started drinking a glass of wine or two just to calm my nerves. I now avoid going to bed just so I don't have to deal with the anxiety."

• San...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 19, 2025

For Anxiety "I tried buspirone for about 5 weeks. Started with 5 mg twice a day. That dose increased my anxiety. Cut down to 5 mg once a day. Even with that dose, my anxiety did not improve, and it just made me feel weird. Perhaps your experience would be better, as everyone reacts differently to medication. I will warn you that the withdrawal symptoms are horrible if you decide to stop, even after a short amount of time. The drug did not work for me and made me feel horrible."

• Cox...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 18, 2021

For Anxiety "Does not work. I'm having anxiety attacks despite taking it like I'm supposed to. I was on the 5 mg tablets."

• Mad...
• February 19, 2020

For Anxiety "Not going to lie, I had this about a year, almost 2. I noticed when I am on this, I am more irritable, I have restless nights where I don't fall asleep or stay asleep. I noticed that my mindset has completely changed negatively, and it doesn't keep me calm or relaxed. I feel more nervous or anxious. I noticed if I am off of them, I get more emotional. I am telling you, this is not the medication for you, especially if you take half. I think it messes with my breathing too. I am more tired and low energy when I take this."

• Mad...
• February 19, 2020

For Anxiety "Not going to lie, I had this about a year, almost 2. I noticed when I am on this, I am more irritable, I have restless nights where I don't fall asleep or stay asleep. I noticed that my mindset has completely changed negatively, and it doesn't keep me calm or relaxed. I feel more nervous or anxious. I noticed if I am off of them, I get more emotional. I am telling you, this is not the medication for you, especially if you take half. I think it messes with my breathing too. I am more tired and low energy when I take this."

• Jes...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 15, 2018

Buspirone for Anxiety "I'm on 15 mg of BuSpar a day, it's been 2 months, and it's not working that well. It evens me out a little, but I still get anxiety attacks. I'm also gaining weight because of sugar cravings."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 12, 2017

For Anxiety "Pros: significant decrease in GAD and social anxiety, easier to reach orgasm, less paranoia, felt more 'normal.' Cons: no motivation to finish day-to-day activities, made me irritable, gave me anxiety when thinking about how to reach future goals because it prevented me from pushing myself to take the necessary steps to achieve the things I want. It was costly without insurance, and even though it relieved a lot of my social anxiety, I feel it's prevented me from being as social as I used to be, even with the anxiety."

• Kim...
• April 22, 2017

Buspirone for Anxiety "I am taking the BuSpar, but it makes me feel too relaxed and gives me worse anxiety. My whole body is tingly, and I have a huge headache. I don't have anything else to take, but I am so afraid to take it. It is Saturday, I can't get ahold of my doctor. I just don't know what to do anymore. Does anyone have any ideas?"

• Car...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 11, 2012

For Anxiety "I felt compelled to update my experience with Buspirone after first reviewing this medication over 4 weeks ago now. My initial review was a positive one, after only 3 days, the mental fog had disappeared, but the anxiety still remained. Unfortunately, this has remained the case up until now, therefore, I'm going to try some Prozac with this to help with the depression it causes."

• Ann...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 1, 2018

Buspirone for Panic Disorder "Doc gave me this in addition to Ativan for panic attacks. Did NOTHING for my panic attacks! Still felt tense in class and wanted to run out of the classroom on a daily basis. When told to increase my dose, the drug increased my anxiety. Although it didn't do anything for my panic attacks, it sure lifted my depression."

• Con...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 31, 2018

For Anxiety "Feeling angry and still have lots of anxiety. Trouble sleeping taking 10 mg in the morning and late afternoon. It's been almost 4 months and still anxious. Started Lamictal 3 weeks ago. Not sure if there is an interaction."

• Kan...
• October 14, 2017

For Anxiety "This is my second day on Buspar 5 mg once a day. My provider's (psych) instructions were 5 mg 3x a day, but she went out of town, so I called the pharmacy asking other questions, and I was told to start with 1 a day, then after 5 days to move to twice a day, then a few days later go to full dose of 3x a day. I have anxiety and panic disorder. I’m also currently on 15 mg of mirtazapine, and I’m slowly weaning off it (1/10th the dose every 45 days). Mirtazapine never helped me but made me feel much, much worse. Evil POS drug. What I found interesting is an hour after the first dose of Buspar yesterday, I felt the fear and anxiety go away, nearly completely. It was amazing. But today after taking it, I feel the same as I did before ever taking it."

• Kan...
• October 14, 2017

For Anxiety "This is my second day on Buspar 5 mg once a day. My provider's (psych) instructions were 5 mg 3x a day, but she went out of town, so I called the pharmacy asking other questions, and I was told to start with 1 a day, then after 5 days to move to twice a day, then a few days later go to full dose of 3x a day. I have anxiety and panic disorder. I’m also currently on 15 mg of mirtazapine, and I’m slowly weaning off it (1/10th the dose every 45 days). Mirtazapine never helped me but made me feel much, much worse. Evil POS drug. What I found interesting is an hour after the first dose of Buspar yesterday, I felt the fear and anxiety go away, nearly completely. It was amazing. But today after taking it, I feel the same as I did before ever taking it."

• anx...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 3, 2022

For Anxiety "Can buspirone cause increased anxiety in the first 3 weeks? How will I know if it is working?"

• Kan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 24, 2017

Buspirone for Anxiety "Been on BuSpar 6 weeks and 1 day today. Trying to stay the course and not give up till 8 weeks. On 15 mg (3x/day) and titrated my way up over the last 6 weeks. Tried 20 mg but felt like I took speed and my extremities had very uncomfortable tingling. Even at 6 weeks when I take my 5 mg dose, my heart still races and I get dizzy and feel some heightened anxiety about an hour after taking it. Lasts about an hour. I also have some left leg thigh pain now. I’ve read so much on this drug and it’s hard to know if you should go up or down in dose to get the right level for your body. My pDoc doesn’t seem to know much more than I do. In those 6 weeks, I’ve only had a few hours out of 2 non-consecutive days of anxiety/fear relief. I’ll write another review at 8 weeks."

• Soc...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 19, 2019

For Anxiety "I’ve been taking Buspar for anxiety for almost a year, with an increased dosage from 5 mg to 10 mg twice a day. I’ve tried many medications in the past, including Wellbutrin, Lexapro, Prozac, and Celexa. This medication has helped the most. I still get a little anxious, but not to the point where I’m having chest pains. I’ve also taken Xanax in the past for several years. In the beginning, it worked well, but with continued use, it gradually stopped working for me."

• NIf...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 7, 2018

For Anxiety "I started with 10 mg 3 times a day for anxiety and panic disorder. Related to Asperger's syndrome. It didn't help fully, and I was still way out of control, so they added Xanax to take with it. For the first few months, not much help, still having high tension and anxiety. At this point in time, I'm taking 30 mg 3 times a day of Buspar with about 0.50 mg of Xanax 4 times a day. It is a bit more stable, but my tics are coming back and so are my triggers for Asperger's. It's like riding a bull and weighing my options."

• Dan...
• April 14, 2017

Buspirone for Anxiety "So, I give this 7 out of 10. I'd give it 10 out of 10, but the first week on this was really uncomfortable. I almost stopped using it. I started out at 10 mg Buspar once a day and then after a week increased to 10 twice a day. The first week, I won't lie, was a doozy. My psych said that her patients either love it or hate it and it's pretty much 50/50 with little gray area. But since it's inexpensive, been around for a while, and is pretty safe, she likes that to be the first option when dealing with GAD. Fair. The first week, I was really, really dizzy. Felt a bit fuzzy in the head, kind of jumpy. I had to pull over while driving and sit down for a bit. BUT after about two weeks. Whoa. My life is changed. I'm no longer so anxious!"

• Let...
• May 7, 2016

For Anxiety "Just started 5 mg Buspar (3x a day or prn) tonight after being pulled from Wellbutrin. I took Citalopram for 7 years prior to trying the Wellbutrin and had to stop because that obliterated my sex drive. I am prescribed 0.25 mg Xanax prn. I feel tired now. Calm. I feel a little jumpy, but not like I usually do. I suppose we'll see!"