Posted by Sophia B on July 24, 2001, at 10:52:46
In reply to Re: Buspar - is it really helpful for anxiety? » Lynnae, posted by Becca L. on June 29, 2001, at 8:28:04
My doctor prescribed BuSpar to help me get through the withdrawal side effects of Effexor. Does anyone have any thoughts on that? Also, he acted as if the withdrawal symptoms were "all in my head". I'm at a loss.....I desperately need to get the Effexor out of my system, but I don't want to end up worse off than I am already. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks!
lynnae,
> i'd have to agree with most of the other people who have commented on this--buspar is terrible. for me it wasn't so much a matter of unbearable side effects (though it did make me nauseated) as its utter lack of efficacy, even after several weeks; this was just so frustrating. my anxiety and fear of panic attacks felt crippling to me in my daily life, and i felt like they weren't being taken seriously at all by my doctor; he seemed to have put me on something that may as well have been a sugar pill because he didn't want to deal with the hassle of monitoring a patient on a "controlled substance" (i.e., a benzodiazepene tranqulizer).
>
> if ativan hasn't been especially helpful, there are many other drugs in the same family (benzodiazepenes) that you could try. i have been taking klonopin (the generic name is clonazepam) 3x daily for the past 2 years, and it has kept my panic attacks in check very well. just gives me the security to see my friends, go to work, talk to people, sleep, etc. i think in fact that klonopin is the most frequently prescribed medication for panic disorder. i think it makes a big difference, though, whether you take it on an 'as needed' basis or regularly. 'as needed' seems to work better for generalized anxiety, regular dosing better for panic disorder.
>
> anyway, from my own experience i'd have to say that buspar is one of the most bizarrely useless anti-anxiety drugs out there. i have no idea what it's still doing on the market. try another benzodiazepene instead. good luck!
poster:Sophia B
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010720/msgs/71618.html