Posted by zeugma on February 2, 2003, at 22:22:03
In reply to Re: Taking the plunge---Buspar tomorrow » zeugma, posted by disney4 on February 2, 2003, at 20:19:57
> I am someone who could not tolerate Zoloft; exactly why, I can't remember, this was a period when I was going through the 'standard' meds for ADD and depression, and there were severe probs attendant on each. My starter pack of Zoloft was barely touched, so it must have been something dramatic (and fast). Anyway I have read here that Buspar decreases serotonin levels; is this true? Could that be why some people who can't tolerate SSRI's like Buspar, and vice versa? After more than a month on Buspar, I feel the closest to 'well' that I have ever felt in my life (I'm 35).
> *******
> Posts like yours are really giving me hope! My understanding of Buspar is that it starts out by decreasing Serotonin levels, but actually ends up making the serotonin neurotransmitters work more effectively, by having a normalizing effect. I probably don't sound very scientific, but that is my laymens understanding of what it does to Serotonin, as far as NE, I have heard the same as the other posts have stated, and that could be where the mild AD effect comes in, the Dopamine activity is reportedly so minimal, I doubt it does too much, but with my reactions to meds, a little goes a long way!!!!!! Today is day 3 on the Buspar for me, and so far so good, other than some nausea, dizziness, and at times a mild headache, which may be unrelated, as I am headache prone. The positive effect is more motivation, which is much needed right now. I really think this could be my answer, but time will tell. My pdoc mentioned trying Straterra next, and I would be willing to give it a go based on the posts I've been reading. I had an extreme agitation like reaction to Wellbutrin in the past, which is why I chose to try Buspar first. The other option could be adding a little Straterra to the Buspar, but that would be in 4 weeks.
> Thanks,
> Elsie
hi Elsie,The main s/e I've felt from over a month of Buspar have been the headache and dizziness, mostly when I started and when I increased the dose. I'm now at 30 mg/ day, divided 10/10/10. It seems to have a calming influence in general on me. I definitely obsess less over the way someone might look at me or something stupid I might say in a social situation. Also at work I feel a little more 'normal' so I'm able to relax a little, even joke around with some of my coworkers every now and then. Basically, relieve a lot of the self-consciousness I feel.
Also, I'm much less irritable when I'm alone- yes, I mean that! It's always been hard for me to get myself to do things- a deficit in executive functioning as they say in ADD circles. When I was just on the nortriptyline, I became aware of what I had to do, but I could only get it done by yelling, practically pulling my own hair to keep myself on task. Really unpleasant! Also I've got a lot of akasithia (sp.? -it's not in my dictionary!) I'm always pacing, and I move around in my sleep a lot- I always feel like I've been clobbered when I wake up, the worse the longer I sleep. The Buspar seems to be helping with that too, I actually look forward to waking up in the morning now.
My pdoc had mentioned Strattera a while ago as an ADD med. From what I've read though, it encourages appetite loss- last thing I need although many others might love that. So I'll stick with the nortriptyline for now (which seems like it does the same thing, NE reuptake inhibition).
Thanks for reading,
z
poster:zeugma
thread:138455
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030130/msgs/139030.html