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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by jason on June 25, 1999, at 11:40:14
I'm 24 years old and have experienced excessive anxiety most of my teenage and adult life. I took Prozac for about a year during high school, then quit taking it. A couple of years ago, the anxiety became so bad that I had to take action again. My counselor prescribed 20 mg of Paxil and it worked quite well with the exception of sexual dysfunction (unfortunately the worst side effect I could imagine). I dropped down to 10 mg of Paxil after about a month and it worked wonderfully for about six months. At that point, I quit taking it and have been fine for the most part up until recently. My anxiety is compounded by a lot of factors in my life (a job I hate, a new relationship, etc), but I've got to find a way to get it under control before I ruin my life! I've been doing some research and it appears that BuSpar has the least likelihood of side effects and that it is the least sedating (a problem I had with Paxil). Would anyone like to share their experiences with BuSpar? BuSpar in conjunction with any other medications?
Posted by Elizabeth on June 25, 1999, at 23:18:27
In reply to Does BuSpar work for anxiety? HELP!, posted by jason on June 25, 1999, at 11:40:14
Hi there.
I'm afraid I don't have much experience, but I did write a paper on it (Buspar, that is) recently. :-}
I think Buspar is a good antianxiety drug and also a good antidepressant. I strongly suspect that the doses typically used (and recommended) for anxiety are not high enough. However, a number of anxious people get relief from doses that I think are pretty low. Basically, if you have depression too, you might have to go pretty high (average doses for depression are around 50-60mg, maximum that has been studied is 90mg). (To minimize side effects, start at a low dose and increase slowly.)
Sometimes Buspar can work synergistically with an SSRI like Paxil or Prozac and (get this) reduce or eliminate the sexual side effects from the SSRI! So perhaps for you, the low dose of Paxil plus Buspar would be the best thing. (Wellbutrin is another add-on that people have found works for SSRI sexual dysfunction, and Viagra has been used with success as well.)
Now, one thing about Buspar is that it doesn't work immediately; it might take up to 8 weeks for it to work. (My impression is that it tends to take a little longer than the average antidepressant to kick in.) So if you need something that will work immediately, the best idea I can think of is a benzodiazepine. They are sedating for many people, so use a low dose. (It's possible that you might find one that isn't sedating for you, but it would take some experimenting.)
Posted by Steve on June 27, 1999, at 13:31:26
In reply to Re: Does BuSpar work for anxiety? HELP!, posted by Elizabeth on June 25, 1999, at 23:18:27
What is the side-effect profile of Buspar?
> Hi there.
>
> I'm afraid I don't have much experience, but I did write a paper on it (Buspar, that is) recently. :-}
>
> I think Buspar is a good antianxiety drug and also a good antidepressant. I strongly suspect that the doses typically used (and recommended) for anxiety are not high enough. However, a number of anxious people get relief from doses that I think are pretty low. Basically, if you have depression too, you might have to go pretty high (average doses for depression are around 50-60mg, maximum that has been studied is 90mg). (To minimize side effects, start at a low dose and increase slowly.)
>
> Sometimes Buspar can work synergistically with an SSRI like Paxil or Prozac and (get this) reduce or eliminate the sexual side effects from the SSRI! So perhaps for you, the low dose of Paxil plus Buspar would be the best thing. (Wellbutrin is another add-on that people have found works for SSRI sexual dysfunction, and Viagra has been used with success as well.)
>
> Now, one thing about Buspar is that it doesn't work immediately; it might take up to 8 weeks for it to work. (My impression is that it tends to take a little longer than the average antidepressant to kick in.) So if you need something that will work immediately, the best idea I can think of is a benzodiazepine. They are sedating for many people, so use a low dose. (It's possible that you might find one that isn't sedating for you, but it would take some experimenting.)
This is the end of the thread.
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