Posted by Janelle on June 7, 2003, at 16:21:07
In reply to How do you know if you're taking too much Buspar?, posted by froggyanna on June 7, 2003, at 12:31:47
Hi,
I have LOTS of experience with BusPar, though different from yours because I do not have sleep apnea.
I had been ramped up to 60 mg, which I read somewhere is the MAXIMUM dose; that was too much for me; too sedating (I was taking it 3 times a day). So, my pdoc reduced it to 45 mg, then 30 mg (I take 15 mg twice a day)
I have BiPolar2 disorder (hyopmania) along with depression and anxiety but am on low doses of lots of meds, and my pdoc at the time wanted to start tapering me off some. He began with BusPar and after just a few days, I began to feel really irritable, angry, agitated, I went off at the slightest minor thing, over-reacted, etc.
Something told me that maybe I should cut back on my SSRI which is known to induce these symptoms, but something ALSO told me that I might NEED the BusPar after all, so I went back to the original 30 mg (15 mg twice a day). The next day, all the agitation related symptoms were gone BUT they returned a few days after that, leading me to conclude it had to be the SSRI (I was on a pretty decent dose of it).
When I saw my pdoc (luckily had an appointment last week) and told him all this stuff, he said first we have to lower the SSRI (so I'm taking just a smidge cuz I need something to ward off depression) and also raised my Depakote, which is the first line med in rapid mood swings such as the kind I've been having.
Unfortunately, I'm in the public health care system and my WONDERFUL pdoc is leaving in two weeks (I had a gut feeling this would happen; he's too *good* for the place) and I've been reassigned to another pdoc who knows me a little.
I'm going to ask her next month in the appointment to start tapering me off KLONOPIN very gradually because it does NOTHING for me - I've been on it for YEARS and have become habituated to it and even if she doesn't want to I'm doing it myself based on a taper schedule I printed out from someone here!
I think I'll stick with the BusPar, however, because I think it has very SUBTLE ways of keeping my anxiety in check.
However, I must admit that since I decreased the SSRI, my hypomanic/hyper behavior has STOPPED!
So, maybe that's what it was all along, just a need to reduce the SSRI and I could get along without BusPar. But I want off the more difficult/addictive Klonopin next, before I mess with BusPar (IF I even do that).
As for your question "Are there well-known signs of taking "too much" buspirone?" My sign was over sedation; feeling drowsy all the time (this was on 60 mg/day - going to 45, then 30 got rid of that).
I've rambled on and shared a lot here. Hope some of it helps. Good luck 2 U.
poster:Janelle
thread:232166
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030604/msgs/232214.html