Posted by zeugma on February 24, 2003, at 13:45:47
In reply to Re: a safer tricyclicQUESTION? » zeugma, posted by daizy on February 24, 2003, at 13:06:04
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> > TCA's by themselves help with anxiety but in a subtle, moderating way. I was recently asked by a psychiatrist whether my anxiety was worse than my depression and I said yes. I currently take 30 mg buspirone in addition to nortriptyline. The buspirone has worked very well for me and the buspirone/TCA combination is definitely safe; I can't say that it would help you, though, because I would just be generalizing from my own experience. It sounds like the TCA is helping you, so maybe you should augment it with an antianxiety med instead of dropping the TCA.
> >
> > I forgot to ask!, Is Buspirone an SSRI? what type of med is it? Is it specifically for anxiety? thanx!
>
> Yes, buspirone is specifically for anxiety. It's not an SSRI, but a serotonin and dopamine agonist. It actually has the opposite effect to an SSRI in that it decreases serotonin levels in the brain http://www.parkinsons-information-exchangenetwork-online.comdrugdb/022.html (this is a Parkinsons drug database but it has the clearest statement of buspirone's actions that I can find right now). I'm not sure if this means that if you don't like SSRI's, then buspirone might work, but I know I had a terrible reaction to SSRI's, and the decrease in serotonin levels that I've gotten from the buspirone has elevated my mood considerably.
poster:zeugma
thread:202869
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030224/msgs/203379.html