Is Buspirone the Right Medication For You?
Does anxiety cause you to feel restless, nervous, or unable to relax? Do you have trouble concentrating that affects your work, school, or home life? Living with anxiety can make completing tasks or developing healthy relationships difficult. You wake up exhausted from a troubled sleep and wander through your day, trying to avoid a panic attack. You want help, and you want to feel better, but you don’t know where to start. Information about treatment options can help you feel empowered to take the next step toward managing your mental health.
Patient education is the cornerstone of our mental health care practice. At Levelheaded Mind, we provide holistic mental health care treatment so you learn how to manage your mental health proactively. In this blog, we’re discussing the medication buspirone. We’ll let you know how it works and what it’s used to treat. We also give you details about possible side effects and drug interactions. This information can help you determine if buspirone is the right choice for managing your anxiety or treatment-resistant depression.
What is buspirone?
Buspirone was originally sold under the brand name Buspar, but that brand was discontinued. Buspirone is an anxiolytic medication used to treat anxiety. It was created in 1968 and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for medical use in the United States in 1986. Originally developed as an antipsychotic, researchers learned that it actually treats generalized anxiety disorder.
Buspirone works as a serotonin partial agonist that helps regulate neurotransmitters in the brain. It can increase serotonin levels in areas where it’s too low and lower the neurotransmitter in areas where it’s too high. It can also affect dopamine levels.
What is buspirone used for?
Like many medications for mental health, buspirone has both FDA-approved and off-label uses.
The FDA-approved use of buspirone is a second-line treatment for generalized anxiety disorder. A second-line treatment means health care providers prescribe buspirone when patients cannot tolerate SSRIs like fluoxetine (Prozac), SNRIs like duloxetine (Cymbalta), or benzodiazepines like alprazolam (Xanax).
Though not FDA-approved for them, Buspirone is also used to treat the following conditions.
Other anxiety disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorders.
Mixed anxiety-depression disorder (MADD)
Treatment-resistant depression when used in conjunction with antidepressants.
Sexual dysfunction that is caused by SSRI/SNRI medications that affect serotonin and dopamine levels.
How long does buspirone take to work?
Medical providers typically prescribe buspirone in 2-3 doses of 20-30 mg/day. It doesn’t have immediate action on the body, so it will take some time for you to feel relief from your symptoms. Once buspirone accumulates in the body, typically after 2-4 weeks at a therapeutic dose, you’ll find relief from your symptoms of anxiety. If you don’t notice an effect after 6-8 weeks, talk with your doctor about changing the dose or switching medications.
Is buspirone addicting?
Buspirone is preferred over other medications by many healthcare providers because it treats generalized anxiety disorders as well as benzodiazepines but without the risk of dependency or ill effects. Another great thing about buspirone is that it doesn’t cause withdrawal symptoms, so unlike most medications for mental health, there is no need to taper off. Still, if you want to stop the medication, you should talk with your doctor so they can help you do so safely.
Side effects and drug interactions:
All medications have side effects, even Tylenol, so if you’re considering buspirone to treat anxiety, you probably have questions about side effects and drug interactions. Buspirone is generally better tolerated than SSRI or SNRI medications, and any side effects you experience are likely to be short-term and resolve within a week. For ease of reference, we’ll break this section into common side effects, rare but serious side effects, and drug interactions.
Common side effects of buspirone
dizziness or lightheadedness
sedation
nausea
headaches
nervousness,
excitement or restlessness
Rare but serious side effects
To avoid adverse effects on your health, contact your doctor immediately if you experience any of these rare side effects.
Chest pain
confusion
fast or pounding heartbeat
Lack of coordination
mental depression
muscle weakness
numbness, tingling, pain, or weakness in the hands or feet
skin rash or hives
sore throat
uncontrolled movements of the body-called akathisia
Drug interactions
This non-exhaustive list contains the drug interactions we often encounter with buspirone, but there are others. Tell your medical provider about any medications (including over-the-counter ones) or supplements you take–even ones not on this list–so they can check for interactions. Some of these medications, called inhibitors, can raise the concentration of buspirone in your system, which may increase the risk of side effects. Inducers cause buspirone to metabolize faster, so you may need higher doses.
grapefruit juice
fluoxetine
fluvoxamine
haloperidol
carbamazepine
itraconazole
rifampin
certain anticonvulsants, including phenytoin and phenobarbital
products that cause drowsiness, such as opioid pain or cough relievers
alcohol and marijuana (cannabis)
muscle relaxants
antihistamines
To avoid serotonin syndrome, avoid the use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI) such as phenelzine (Nardil), selegiline (Emsam), or tranylcypromine (Parnate) within 14 days before or after buspirone therapy. Serotonin syndrome symptoms include shivering, diarrhea, muscle rigidity, fever, and seizures. Serotonin syndrome can cause death if not treated.
Combined treatment is the best option for anxiety
When you’re struggling with mental health issues like generalized anxiety disorder, or treatment-resistant depression, you may wish for a magical solution that can solve your mental health worries. Medications like buspirone are important for proper mental health treatment, but they won’t solve the underlying issues causing your anxiety or depression.
While there’s nothing wrong with taking medication for mental health, there’s a path to optimal wellness that may help alleviate your symptoms and help you create the life you want. A holistic approach to mental wellness can help you manage your medications while helping you develop the skills you need to improve your well-being to eventually stop medications and avoid those side effects and drug interactions.
At Levelheaded Mind, patient education is the best route to optimal wellness. Jezel Rosa, PMHNP-BC, provides a holistic, integrative approach that puts you in the driver’s seat of your mental health care journey. She advocates for growth and healing through education about proper diet, exercise, and mindfulness practices. If you are interested in moving forward in your mental health care journey, consider scheduling an initial mental health coaching session.
“Disclaimer: All the information on this channel is for educational purposes and not intended to be specific/personal medical advice or substitute for diagnosis and treatment of any conditions discussed herein. Furthermore, watching these videos or getting answers to comments/questions does not establish a provider-patient relationship. Please consult with your own healthcare provider for proper diagnosis and treatment.”
References
Croft H. A. (2017). Understanding the Role of Serotonin in Female Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder and Treatment Options. The journal of sexual medicine, 14(12), 1575–1584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2017.10.068
FDA Label Buspirone (2010). Retrieved from https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2010/018731s051lbl.pdf
Stahl, S. M., Grady, M. M., & Muntner, N. (2021). Stahl's essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and practical applications. Cambridge University Press.
Stahl, S. (2017). Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology: Prescriber’s Guide, 6th Ed. Cambridge University Press.
Wilson TK, Tripp J. Buspirone. [Updated 2022 Mar 16]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531477/
