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Buspar


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I actually did try to search Bupar - but unless I spelled it wrong - nothing came up. 

 

I need a replacement for anxiety - pill- sorry to disappoint.  Doc mentioned Buspar, maybe it is called Buspur? 

 

Anyway is it okay to take while tapering from K?

 

yes, I am trying other things such as yoga, positive affirmations , no , no not true I am just getting around (at least I am honest)

 

Buspar - any knowledge?

 

Mary :-[

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Hi Mary

 

Wikepedia "Buspirone must not be assumed to counteract the withdrawl effects of benzodiazepines. Buspirone which acts as a serotonin receptor agonist is uncorrelated, it is essential that buspirone is not considered an anxiolytic agent which may shorten the benxodiazepine withdrawl syndrome or help prevent or lessen the severity of benzodiazepine withdrawl symptoms."

 

" Frequent side effects include vertigo, headache, nervousess, agitation, light-headedness, nausea & vomiting."

 

Sounds like it helps with normal anxiety (takes a few weeks to kick in) but does not work with the symptoms we have during benzo withdrawl. Sorry for all of us that this does not seem to help

with our benzo symptoms!

 

P.S  I like the helmet and tank. Makes you look well prepared to do battle with the benzo beast!

 

Teakettle

 

 

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I am going to give Buspar a try if it doesn't work I will just quit! I need to try something! There are some people who it has helped and some it hasn't. I beleive I have some anxiety issues that are not related to benzo. So this medicine may help that but any anxiety from wd it won't help! We shall see!
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i tried buspar it made me very nervous and I could not urinate. Good luck > I would try it we all react different to meds. vicky
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Maybe you should read this before you try it.

 

like all minor tranquilizers, BUSPAR is habit forming, addictive and can cause life-threatening neurological reactions. The side effects are similar to benzodiazepines and abrupt withdrawal can cause the same rebound insomnia, depression, anxiety, headaches and nausea.

 

symptoms MAY include but not limited to:

 

BUSPAR Side Effects May Include:

dizziness, dry mouth, fatigue, headache, light-headedness, nausea, nervousness, unusual excitement, a anger/hostility, blurred vision, bone aches/pain, confusion, constipation, decreased concentration, depression, diarrhea, fast, fluttery heartbeat, incoordination, muscle pain/aches, numbness, pain or weakness in hands or feet, rapid heartbeat, rash, restlessness, stomach and abdominal upset, sweating/clamminess, tingling or pins and needles, tremor, urinary incontinence, vomiting, and weakness

 

BUSPAR Withdrawal Symptoms May Include:

abdominal pains, aching, agoraphobia, anxiety, blurred vision, body vibrations, changes in perception, diarrhea, distended abdomen, feeling of unreality, flu-like symptoms, flatulence, food cravings, hair loss, heart palpitations, heavy limbs, increased allergies, increased sense of smell, insomnia, lethargy, loss of balance, metallic taste, muscle spasms, nightmares, panic attacks, paranoia, persistent & unpleasant memories, severe headaches, shaking, short term memory loss, sore mouth and tongue, sound & light sensitivity, speech difficulties, sweating, suicidal thoughts, tinnitus, unusually sensitive, fear

 

All tranquilizers alter the sleep architecture in the same way that benzodiazepines do -  by reducing the amounts of restorative Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep and increasing the non-restorative sleep patterns. This can result in daytime drowsiness and poor cognitive function. Therefore only short-term use of BUSPAR is recommended and discontinuation should be with a gradual dose reduction.

 

 

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If you look at the clinical trials of BuSpar it was lower in efficacy than placebo - it was designed to increase serotonin and has never been an effective anxiety medication.

 

Sit

 

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I have been taking buspar for about a month, so just my two cents...

 

From my limited research, buspar is considered a parital agonist for a specific subtype of serotonin receptor, the serotonin 1A receptor. Unlike SSRI's, it does not increase the amount of serotonin available at a nerve junction (the synapse) by preventing the reuptake of serotonin, but mimicks the action of serotonin on this one receptor subtype.

 

And like it was mentioned before, it's mechanism is totally unrelated to the  mechanism of benzos, so it is not effective in combating withdrawal symptoms.

 

I was somewhat surprised that Buspar wasn't offered as more of a first-line option when I went to my doc with anxiety, considering it looks to have a more favorable side effect profile than the zolofts and levapros out there, and  it's more focused effects on a certain sub-population of serotonin receptors. Also, in many studies, withdrawal symptoms seem to be minimal when compared to SSRI's, and, obviously as we all know, benzos.

 

The  main drawbacks of buspar seem to be the following:

 

1) people accustomed to the "quick fix" of a benzo will be disappointed; it can take up to six weeks for improvement in anxiety symptoms to be seen.

 

2) the relatively short half-life requires morning and evening doses, sometimes people even split it up into 3 daily doses.

 

3)effective daily doses can be up to 60mg/day, so you have to be patient and increase your dosage over time to evaluate it's effectiveness.

 

4) Like all these drugs, it is hard to find long-term, scientifically-reviewed studies on their effectiveness and safety. Most articles I found looked out not much past 6 to 8 weeks. I have seen that people have found it to be effective over the long term (years). Most complaints that I have seen regarding buspar have been that it is ineffective; not many horror stories regarding withdrawal.

 

I have not seen any peer-reviewed literature that documented any substantial withdrawal effect from buspar, but like any psychoactive medication, I would (will) probably taper off this one too. And just because a withdrawal effect hasn't been documented in the literature, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

 

So, as far as my personal experience goes, I have been taking 30mg buspar for about a month, have experienced no side effects. Tried to c/t the ativan, and it bit back hard.

 

So right now I am continuing the buspar regimen, will stay at 30mg/day and am proceeding with an ativan taper.

 

If no crazy side effects occur that I think may be buspar-related, I am going to continue taking it for at least a couple weeks after I have successfully tapered off ativan to evaluate it's effectiveness (two many cooks in the kitchen right now).

 

In a perfect world, I have seen it strongly suggested to taper completely off any benzo prior to initiation of buspar, just because you won't be able to rate it's effectiveness if you are having withdrawal symptoms.

 

If you want to check out some research on buspar, here you go. If you can't access the articles, through work I can get you a PDF version. Just send me a message with an email so I can  get it to you. (side note: is there way to attach documents to boad postings? Maybe I will set up some ftp links...)

 

# ^ Cohn, JB; Rickels K (1989). "A pooled, double-blind comparison of the effects of buspirone, diazepam and placebo in women with chronic anxiety". Curr Med Res Opin. 11  (5): 304–320.

 

# ^ Goldberg, HL; Finnerty RJ (September 1979). "The comparative efficacy of buspirone and diazepam in the treatment of anxiety". Am J Psychiatry 136 (9): 1184–1187.

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Here is some more articles with summaries included.

 

 

 

Efficacy of buspirone in generalized anxiety disorder with coexisting mild depressive symptoms.

 

Sramek JJ, Tansman M, Suri A, Hornig-Rohan M, Amsterdam JD, Stahl SM, Weisler RH, Cutler NR.

 

California Clinical Trials, Beverly Hills, Calif., USA.

 

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to evaluate the anxiolytic efficacy of buspirone in patients with a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) with coexisting mild depressive symptoms. METHOD: Patients who participated in this multicenter study scored >/= 18 on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A) and between 12 and 17 on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). Following a 7- to 10-day placebo lead-in phase, patients who continued to qualify were randomly assigned to receive either buspirone titrated from 15 to 45 mg/day (N = 80) or placebo (N = 82) for the next 6 weeks. 121 patients completed 6 weeks of treatment. The primary efficacy measure was the HAM-A, taken weekly during the study. RESULTS: Buspirone-treated patients averaged a 12.4-point reduction from their baseline total HAM-A score of 24.9, while their counterparts on placebo averaged a 9.5-point reduction from their mean baseline total HAM-A score of 25.6. This 2.9-point difference in HAM-A reductions between treatment groups was significantly different (p < .03). Buspirone patients decreased their HAM-D scores by an average 5.7 points from their mean baseline total HAM-D score of 15.8, while placebo patients decreased their HAM-D scores by an average 3.5 points from their mean baseline score of 16.3 (p < .05). Overall, the incidence of adverse events was similar for both treatment groups, but buspirone-treated patients reported significantly more nausea, dizziness, somnolence, and sweating than placebo patients. CONCLUSION: Buspirone is superior to placebo in improving anxiety and depressive symptoms in GAD patients who have coexisting depressive symptoms.

 

 

Efficacy, safety, and tolerability of venlafaxine extended release and buspirone in outpatients with generalized anxiety disorder.

 

Davidson JR, DuPont RL, Hedges D, Haskins JT.

 

Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.

 

Comment in:

 

    * J Clin Psychiatry. 2000 Jun;61(6):447.

 

BACKGROUND: The objective of this randomized, double-blind study was to compare the efficacy and safety of venlafaxine extended release (XR) and buspirone in outpatients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) but without concomitant major depressive disorder. METHOD: Male and female outpatients at least 18 years old who met the DSM-IV criteria for GAD and had scores of 18 or higher on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A) were randomly assigned to treatment with either venlafaxine XR (75 or 150 mg/day), buspirone (30 mg/day in 3 divided doses), or placebo for 8 weeks. The primary efficacy variables were changes in anxiety as determined by final on-therapy HAM-A total and psychic anxiety scores and Clinical Global Impressions scale (CGI) scores. Other key efficacy variables were HAM-A anxious mood and tension scores and the anxiety subscale scores of the patient-rated Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD). RESULTS: The efficacy analysis included 365 patients and the safety analysis, 405. At week 8, adjusted mean HAM-A psychic anxiety, anxious mood, and tension scores were significantly lower for venlafaxine XR-treated patients than for placebo-treated patients. On the HAD anxiety subscale, venlafaxine XR, 75 or 150 mg/day, was significantly more efficacious than placebo at all time points except weeks 1 (both dosages) and 2 (150-mg/day dosage only) and significantly more efficacious than buspirone at all time points except week 1. On the CGI-Improvement scale, scores for venlafaxine XR (both dosages) and buspirone were numerically superior to those for placebo at all time points, and statistical significance was observed at weeks 3, 4, 6, and 8 for venlafaxine XR and at weeks 6 and 8 for buspirone. The adverse events were not essentially different between treatment groups. CONCLUSION: Venlafaxine XR is an effective, safe, and well-tolerated once-daily anxiolytic agent in patients with GAD without comorbid major depressive disorder. This agent was significantly superior to buspirone on the HAD anxiety subscale. Buspirone demonstrated statistical significance versus placebo on a measure of anxiolytic response.

 

 

 

Azapirones (buspar) for generalized anxiety disorder.

 

Chessick CA, Allen MH, Thase M, Batista Miralha da Cunha AB, Kapczinski FF, de Lima MS, dos Santos Souza JJ.

 

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Psychiatry, 4455 E. 12th Avenue, A011-21, Devner, Colorado 80220, USA. cheryl.chessick@uchsc.edu

 

BACKGROUND: Azapirones are a group of drugs that work at the 5-HT1A receptor and are used to treat patients suffering from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). However, several studies have shown conflicting results. Whether azapirones are useful as first line treatment in general anxiety disorders still needs to be answered. OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy and the acceptability of azapirones for the treatment of GAD. SEARCH STRATEGY: Initially the Cochrane Collaboration Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Controlled Trials Register (CCDANCTR) and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were searched, incorporating results of group searches of MEDLINE (1966 to June 2005), EMBASE (1980 to June 2005), CINAHL (1982 to June 2005), PsycLIT (1974 to June 2005), PSYNDEX (1977 to June 2005), and LILACS (1982 to June 2005). Subsequently the revised Cochrane Collaboration Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Controlled Trials Registers (CCDANCTR-Studies and CCDANCTR-References) were searched on 21-10-2005. Reference lists of relevant papers and major text books of anxiety disorder were examined. Authors, other experts in the field and pharmaceutical companies were contacted for knowledge of suitable trials, published or unpublished. Specialist journals concerning azapirones were handsearched. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials of azapirones, including buspirone versus placebo and/or other medication and/or psychological treatment, were included. Participants were males and females of all ages with a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data were extracted from the original reports independently by CC, MA and MT. The main outcomes studied were related to the objectives stated above. Data were analysed for generalized anxiety disorder versus placebo, versus other medication and versus psychological treatment separately. Data were analysed using Review Manager Version 4.2.7. MAIN RESULTS: Thirty six trials were included in the review, reporting on 5908 participants randomly allocated to azapirones and/or placebo, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, psychotherapy or kava kava. Azapirones, including buspirone, were superior to placebo in treating GAD. The calculated number needed to treat for azapirones using the Clinical Global Impression scale was 4.4 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.16 to 15.4). Azapirones may be less effective than benzodiazepines and we were unable to conclude if azapirones were superior to antidepressants, kava kava or psychotherapy. Azapirones appeared to be well tolerated. Fewer participants stopped taking benzodiazepines compared to azapirones. The length of studies ranged from four to nine weeks, with one study lasting 14 weeks. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Azapirones appeared to be useful in the treatment of GAD, particularly for those participants who had not been on a benzodiazepine. Azapirones may not be superior to benzodiazepines and do not appear as acceptable as benzodiazepines. Side effects appeared mild and non serious in the azapirone treated group. Longer term studies are needed to show that azapirones are effective in treating GAD, which is a chronic long-term illness.

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  • 1 month later...

Mary,

I know this is an old post but thought I would put my 2 cents in.  I don't think Buspar gets prescribed very much anymore b/c it's an "old" drug and not popular.  I am taking a mood stabilizer that seems to be helping with the anxiety. My pdoc thought that an ssri would stimulate me too much.  But everyone is different.  Believe me I'm not happy to be on it and plan to wean when I am off of this benzo crap.  Did you ever decide whether or not to take it?

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A friend of mine laughed when a doc mentioned buspar for her anxiety since it gets no respect.. Guess what? it knocked out her anxiety after taking it for a couple of weeks. A benzo does it quick but you let the devil in the door.. Bob
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  • 2 weeks later...
I took it and after a while it knocked me out so bad I had to get off of it to even get out of bed and then tons of energy came back to me.
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