Posted by froggyanna on May 26, 2003, at 13:59:00
In reply to Buspar? what kind of drug is this?any good experie, posted by Tepiaca on May 25, 2003, at 23:46:53
Hi Tep,
My psychiatrist has prescribed Buspar for me for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea! He gave me a paper that he wrote, in which he says, "I wish to report that I have had excellent results (in about 120 out of 200 cases) using Buspar (buspirone) for the treatment of snoring, obstructive sleep apnea, and/or nocturnal bruxism (grinding of teeth) in children, adolescents, and adults, with resulting improved ability for my patients to awaken refreshed, clear-headed, with better concentration, and--in many cases--improved impulse control. In a general psychiatry outpatient practice, I suspect that many cases of depression are in fact the manifestation of a primary sleep disorder." -- Dale B. Mortimer, M.D., P.C.
He also writes: "Buspirone is a novel, nonaddictive, psychotropic medication first approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in 1986 for the indications of anxiety and anxious depression. Case reports suggest that buspirone is occasionally effective (frequently in combination with other psychoactive medications) in the treatment of such conditions as: generalized anxiety disorder, refractory depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, social phobia, tobacco craving, alcohol craving, aggressive behavior in those with organic brain disorders, symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, migraine headaches, transvestic fetishism, and autism. Buspirone is a partial agonist of serotonin 5-HT1A central nervous system receptors. In addition to its effects on serotonin receptors, its major metabolite stimulates noradrenergic receptors and blocks presynaptic dopamine receptors. Buspirone's mode of action in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, obstructive sleep apnea, and bruxism is unknown."
My own experience is that buspirone is not doing much, if anything, for my sleep apnea. I was told by a surgeon, who was evaluating me for possible surgery for the apnea, that I have an unusually narrow air passage, so that might be the reason. I am already at a higher dose than my psychiatrist normally decides is the point to conclude that it is not working. I see him next Thursday, so we'll talk about it then. I am also participating in a sleep study tonight (Monday), which should make it clear just how changed my results are (I've been using a CPAP machine to sleep at night for years). As for any other reasons for taking that drug, one of the first questions he asked me was if I grind my teeth at night. I don't think that I do. I don't wake up with pain in my jaw, for instance, and my husband has never mentioned that he's heard me do that. I've never been diagnosed with any kind of anxiety disorder. However, I almost certainly would have been diagnosed as a teenager with social phobia if they knew about it then (I'm 51). I don't believe that I have social phobia now, but I overcame it through years of hard, deep psychological work, and meditation. But I was certainly a classic case -- the pathological shyness and blushing, etc., and the tendency for it to reduce and hamper my opportunities in life. I accomplished a LOT without drugs!
So it's hard for me to tell at this point if the buspirone is doing anything else for me, since I was not cognizant of anxiety symtoms when I started taking it (April 29). Maybe like Janelle, I won't notice if it's doing anything for me until I STOP!
I hope this information has been useful to you. Not only do people respond differently to different drugs, but the REASONS for taking a drug in the first place have a lot to do with results. Has Buspar been prescribed for you, and if so, for what diagnosis?
(Oh, by the way, I have ADD, and the psychiatrist said that I should try buspirone first to see if an improvement in my sleep would create an improvement in the ADD symptoms. At this point, I don't think that will happen.)
froggyanna
poster:froggyanna
thread:229146
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030525/msgs/229240.html