Posted by Steve on May 31, 1999, at 23:12:57
In reply to Re: Buspar, posted by Elizabeth on May 31, 1999, at 18:20:22
Elizabeth,
Do you think that someone who is having anxiety (but not panic) might benifit from startng Bupar or just increasing their SSRI? I find it curious that on the one hand, seritonin (depletion) is implicated in anxiety and panic (and thus the subsequent treament with SSRI's) and on the other, benzo's are used for anxiety as well which work mostly on chloride channels. So where do we stand as far as a hypothesis for anxiety? I know that the hippocampus has been implicated (and hence the calming effects of benzos), but as far as treatment goes, how does one decide?
> > Indeed, Buspar is in a different ballpark than the benzo's. It has been said that once someone takes benzo's then will usually never benifit from Buspar. I'm not sure of this is exactly true. Porbably for panic it is (although it is interesting that the SSRI's work well for panic via sertonin, whereas the benzo's do via the chloride channles... a mystery I suppose!)
>
> BuSpar doesn't work for panic in general, regardless of whether the person is a "benzo virgin."
>
> It is true that people who've used benzos seem to be less likely to benefit from BuSpar. It's not clear why this is.
>
> I think BuSpar is a better antidepressant than anxiolytic and should have been marketed as an antidepressant in the first place. Takes high doses, but it still ends up having few if any side effects. (I also think the doses used for anxiety probably aren't high enough, but that's just speculation.)
poster:Steve
thread:6491
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990501/msgs/6891.html