Buspirone and Panic Attacks: What Users Say

• mis...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 13, 2023

For Anxiety "I was one of the ones where this one didn't work at all, and I am now working my way off slowly by 5 mg increments, and I am down to 5 mg three times a day. I have been removing drugs in an attempt to see which meds have been causing me to feel panicky and nervous. As I eliminated, I thought buspirone would be one of the easier ones to be rid of since it didn't work. Unfortunately, I removed an SSRI that hid the majority of issues with buspirone. I am now having panic attacks several times a day (each time I take them) and have entered mania several times, especially around my cycle. Going off them is supposed to be easy as they have a short half-life and should be out of your system in 2-3 days...but for me, I get really bad side effects even after weeks of dropping. I get brain zaps, dizziness, nausea, and depersonalization. I don't want to prevent someone from trying it as it does work for some, but just keep in mind what you may have to go through if you have to quit and taper."

• SFr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 16, 2023

For Borderline Personality Disorder "The first couple of weeks, I dealt with foggy-headedness and fatigue after taking it. After two weeks, I began feeling agitated. This only got worse as PMS started. I was filled with so much panic, and everything was irritating me. I also felt lethargic and empty inside. I discontinued and started feeling better."

• nat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 18, 2022

Buspirone for Anxiety "Second time trying BuSpar and it's still awful. My doctor is convinced I didn't give it a fair shot. This doctor didn't listen to what I said happened, only assumed. So here I am again, taking it 10 days straight and am having awful attacks. Taking one 15 mg tab every night before bed, still I couldn't fall asleep, it wired me. I am just stuck awake with worse anxiety than ever. I was told it 'would help with panic attacks, anxiety, and my sleep issues.' Instead, this makes my head feel like a balloon and makes my thoughts go into overload, resulting in more anxiety and panic attacks. I can't believe my doctor would make me try this crud again. I have called them explaining it's making me feel worse, and they say, 'got to give it time.' I just told them, look, I'm done. 10 days and previous trial. I don't want nasty side effects. You said call if I have issues, I did. I need a med that relieves panic attacks, not one increasing them!?' I'm going to find a real doctor or go to Mexico."

• BuS...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 26, 2022

For Anxiety "I started taking buspirone for anxiety, and within a few days, started experiencing worse anxiety attacks, dark existential thoughts, and feelings of impending doom. I genuinely felt that the world was ending, and intrusive thoughts about death took over my mind. I would cry for hours, have panic attacks, and would wake up multiple times a night in extreme panic and fear. I stopped taking buspirone after a week and started taking lamotrigine. These feelings went away about three weeks after discontinuing the medicine. It has been two years since, and I have continued to have less anxiety with lamotrigine. However, I still fear that I will have the same awful experience when I take any new medications. I know lots of people have positive experiences on the medicine, so this review is not meant to scare you, but rather to share my experience with those who felt similarly on this medicine."

• BuS...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 26, 2022

For Anxiety "I started taking buspirone for anxiety, and within a few days, started experiencing worse anxiety attacks, dark existential thoughts, and feelings of impending doom. I genuinely felt that the world was ending, and intrusive thoughts about death took over my mind. I would cry for hours, have panic attacks, and would wake up multiple times a night in extreme panic and fear. I stopped taking buspirone after a week and started taking lamotrigine. These feelings went away about three weeks after discontinuing the medicine. It has been two years since, and I have continued to have less anxiety with lamotrigine. However, I still fear that I will have the same awful experience when I take any new medications. I know lots of people have positive experiences on the medicine, so this review is not meant to scare you, but rather to share my experience with those who felt similarly on this medicine."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 15, 2022

Buspirone for Anxiety "I started this drug at 10 mg TID after being on Wellbutrin for 2 years for anxiety and losing effectiveness. I felt fine the first two days, but on day three, I felt very nauseous, dizzy, loss of appetite, and just overall 'off.' On the fourth day, I had the worst panic attack I've ever had, and I haven't had a panic attack in over 5 years. I had full body tremors, palpitations, confusion/difficulty concentrating, unable to focus, photophobia for over 3 hours following the attack, and it happened again the next morning after I hadn't taken the drug in over 12 hours. I will never take this again."

• cas...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 1, 2022

For Anxiety "Be careful before starting this medication. I have learned this the hard way by not doing my research before starting a new med. This medication is powerful and has terrible side effects that I am still dealing with while trying to wean off of it. Mood swings, severe panic, depression, intrusive thoughts, trouble sleeping, disassociation, and hopelessness. I was put on 60 mg when I started having severe panic that would not go away, and it lasted for weeks before I decided to start weaning myself off of it, and I am still working to get off. Do yourself a favor and do your research before starting with this drug, it's not as innocent as it may seem."

• Mem...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 5, 2021

Buspirone for Anxiety "My doctor gave me this on top of my Zoloft to help with increased anxiety. Pros: I’ve never slept so well in my life. Cons: After two days of taking it, I had horrible mood swings and intrusive thoughts. I was lightheaded and dizzy and had multiple panic attacks with heart palpitations and shortness of breath. I’d gladly keep my insomnia if it meant I didn’t have these horrific side effects."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 20, 2021

Buspirone for Anxiety "This medication was a total nightmare for me. I went from having generalized anxiety to, after taking it for about a week, having MAJOR panic and anxiety 24/7, sleeplessness, moodiness - it was terrible. I had to stop taking it after 2 weeks. While I don’t doubt at all that it does work for some (I read these reviews and remained cautiously optimistic) - it DID NOT work for me. Just goes to show how unique and different brain chemistry is for people."

• Sca...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 30, 2021

For Panic Disorder "Was successfully taking Xanax for hypertension and panic for 10 years. New doctor said Xanax is no good for panic disorder and refused to refill my prescription. He put me on buspirone. After only a couple of days, I became manic. No sleep. Terror, intense fear, panic. Could not think or eat. Found a new doctor who told me to stop taking it immediately. He put me back on Xanax and my symptoms resolved within a few days. He told me never to take an SSRI or a medication like buspirone as it could cause uncontrolled hypertension and mania in me."

• Kel...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 30, 2021

Buspirone for Panic Disorder "Wouldn't recommend this to my worst enemy. Just wanted to share that I had the worst panic attacks of my life on this medicine. I would shake uncontrollably at random times, get extremely dizzy, and feel brain zaps throughout the day. I was on 5 mg, and this medicine had this much effect on me. Made me extremely depressed, and my doctor didn't even know it was the medicine that was causing these side effects. Please be careful when taking this medicine, it can be very dangerous."

• Cha...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 31, 2020

Buspirone for Anxiety "I took BuSpar for two days. On the first day, my sleep was not deep and I had weird dreams. On the second day, I had a massive panic attack after my third dose of 5mg and was unable to sleep at all that night. It was a horrendous experience. It is an awful drug for me."

• Ann...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 18, 2020

Buspirone for Anxiety "BuSpar should be classified as a hallucinogenic drug! I took it for one day (15 mg) with Zoloft to get off Ativan. It made me lightheaded, nauseous, nervous, speedy, and when I tried to sleep, I saw terrible images moving around in my head. I couldn't sleep at all! These awful hallucinations gave me panic attacks. I was so scared! I also had some uncontrolled jerky movements of my limbs when lying down. I called the nurse line for help because I could not reach my psychiatrist. This experience was a nightmare! I also read an FDA report that stated that BuSpar can cause Tardive Dyskinesia, uncontrolled involuntary jerking movements of the face and body. Who wants that? Do not take it!"

• Jon...
• February 7, 2020

For Anxiety "Buspar worked great for about two weeks. Now I feel very spaced out, irritable. I kept having muscle spasms and panic attacks from it. My anxiety got way worse, and mentally and physically I feel awful from this. I didn't take any today and felt 20 times better, although I still have a very weird body high from it. It is making me feel really nauseous, lightheaded, dizzy, made me paranoid, and made my PTSD way worse. I'll never take this stuff again. I just want to feel halfway normal again."

• Cal...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 5, 2020

For Anxiety "I was on this for half a year, and it did nothing for me. I have bipolar II, this medication made my depression worse and anxiety so high. Whenever I tried to nap during the day, my heart was racing, it felt like I was having a panic attack. The doctor put me at 15 mg 3x a day, I only took it once. I felt it wasn’t working. Then today, I just stopped, I can feel the difference-so much happier, less anxiety, not depressed as much, or hopeless. It works for some people, but to me, I felt this medication was a huge scam. I was so lightheaded I had to lay down and had a panic attack at the same time-never trying this again. Terrible medication trying to act like a benzo."

• Nat...
• January 22, 2020

Buspirone for Panic Disorder "Woke up having the worst panic attack of my life on day 2 of this medication. Not paired with anything else, this is the last day I’ll be taking it. It’s a horrible feeling to wake up feeling like you are having a heart attack and not being able to breathe."

• Nan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 14, 2019

Buspirone for Anxiety "Nope! I was prescribed BuSpar 15 mg at a dose of 1 tablet 3 times a day. A nightmare for sure. After the first few initial days and it getting in my system, that nightmare began! Side effects of not sleeping over 3-4 hours a night. Shaking inside and out, dizzy and faint, full-blown panic attacks, pacing the floor, and body having to keep moving to stop that feeling of jumping out of my skin (Akathisia)!! Tried BuSpar for 3 weeks and gained 9 lbs and more anxiety than before."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 6, 2019

Buspirone for Anxiety "Been on 10 mg BuSpar twice daily for 2 days. I have already experienced terrible insomnia on both nights. First night, I was able to get 4 hours of broken sleep. Second night, did not sleep one wink. Experienced a panic attack last night, along with an increased heart rate and racing thoughts. The thought of continuing on with this drug is unbearable."

• Sto...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 6, 2019

For Borderline Personality Disorder "I am currently on mirtazapine and trazodone, have been for a long time. GP placed me on buspirone, two 5 mg daily. This is a horrible drug to start, I experienced 2 weeks of really bad side effects: extreme agitation, low mood, dizziness. I had read similar reviews about this, so persevered for 2 weeks. After this, I felt a lot calmer and a lot less anxious, which was great. However, 3 months later, they reversed the effect, I started having panic attacks and my anxiety went through the roof. I came off them, with minimal discontinuation effects. I went to see my PSC today, and he told me he was glad I did. Apparently, they have been sold as a great alternative to diazepam without the addiction. However, he said medics are now becoming aware that these are actually habit forming. My advice: stay away."

• LUV...
• July 7, 2019

For Anxiety "I discussed this with my doctor (finally), and she suggested Buspar. Of course, I had a million questions because I don't like taking anything, even vitamins, and don't consume alcohol. I thought I would try it, and the first couple of weeks I thought this was going to be a winner. By the 3rd or 4th week, I had my first panic attack. Other symptoms were muscle cramps, tingling up the back of my neck and head, feeling like my skin was crawling. This was on 5 mg twice daily, and I can tell you it didn't make me sleepy. Just the opposite. I called my doctor, and she said to taper down since it was causing me more anxiety to 2.5 mg twice or three times a day. Then I went to 2.5 once daily, and finally, last Tuesday, I went off completely."

• Ala...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 28, 2019

Buspirone for Anxiety "If I could give this medication a rating of 0, I would. Took this for 8 months. 5 mg three times a day. It took my anxiety away at first, but then everything got much, much worse. The doctor told me to double my dose since panic was coming back into my life. This drug made me feel high and very uncomfortable. It made my panic attacks worse than they had ever been. I began getting very confused and unaware of places I was at. I began getting panic attacks every single day and started missing work. I decided to quit cold turkey. Couldn’t get out of bed for days. My brain had a constant fog over it. It took a solid week to where I felt normal again. I would never recommend this drug to anyone. Stopping this medication was the best thing I could have ever done."

• Dav...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 24, 2018

For Anxiety "This medicine may work well for some people, but I wanted to share my experience because it wasn’t pleasant. After 2 weeks of taking buspirone, I thought I was going to die. One morning at work, I noticed heart palpitations, then got extremely dizzy and almost passed out three times before a coworker brought me to urgent care. I stayed very dizzy with severe anxiety/panic attacks that lasted for a week. I had to miss several days of work. This was the first time I had experienced anything like this."

• Abi...
• March 26, 2018

For Anxiety "I am being weaned off of Clonazepam and onto Buspirone. I can't even describe how miserable I am. I'm a month in and suffering panic attacks, having terrible muscle pain and haven't been able to stop the Clonazepam totally. I hate it. I can't sleep at night. My arms and legs are so sore I am in constant pain. I want off of this drug!"

• Mel...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 15, 2017

Buspirone for Anxiety "I left a review a while back, but now I have to revise it. When I first started taking BuSpar, I was happy with it, but then it stopped working for me. I'm now on the max dosage of 60 mg. I take 30 mg in the morning and 30 mg in the evening, but it is not helping me at all. I still have very bad anxiety, panic attacks, and paranoia. Since it isn't doing anything for me, I will probably stop taking it."

• Bor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 12, 2017

For Anxiety "I began taking buspirone 10 mg 3 times per day and had it increased to 20 mg 3 times per day. Buspirone only made my anxiety worse and gave me panic attacks daily. I am also taking fluoxetine and ziprasidone. Once I stopped taking buspirone, the panic attacks stopped. This medicine didn't work for me."