Anxiety Meds - Buspar?

Updated on February 26, 2018
G.G. asks from Cliffside Park, NJ
3 answers

Hi all-
I’ve been dealing with anxiety for YEARS. I’ve never taken medication for it. However, the past few months have been very rough, and I’ve been having episodes of panic that are affecting my everyday life (work, ability to travel, etc). I talked to my doctor and asked her about Buspar (buspirone). It’s an older medication that does not produce dependence and is used to treat anxiety.

Do any of you have experience with this medication?

I’m also interested in learning other methods to cope with panic. I’ve done psychotherapy, and it worked well, but not to control the panic itself. I have a severe phobia of flying, for example, and haven’t been able to get on a plane for the past 4 years. Recently, my grandma passed away, and because of my crippling fear of flying, I wasn’t able to fly back home to be by my mother’s side to make the funeral arrangements. And the panic has just gotten worse... I just feel like my heart is going to explode ALL the time!

BTW, I’m not willing to take benzos (Xanax, Valium) or any other medications with risk of dependency.

Thanks in advance for your help :-)

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Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

N.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

If you have a dependent type of personality then you are probably picking the right med for yourself.

I don't have that sort of problem. I took several meds prn for anxiety/panic attacks. I ended up with Klonopin. My doc had no problems giving it to me because I'd hardly ever take one. She called the bottle of pills my lucky rabbit's foot. I had the bottle of pills in my purse so I had access, because I had them I could take them, this meant that I could allow myself to feel secure that I had an escape from a panic attack if I needed it. So I wouldn't take the pills and I'd work through the panic. I would go back month after month with the same amount of pills. Eventually I realized I wasn't having panic attacks anymore and I'd leave the bottle of pills at home, within minutes of my activity, to see if I could do that.

I was able to get rid of them within a year and I don't think I took more than a couple of the pills in that whole time and I stopped having panic attacks.

Medications are a wonderful thing to have to help us get through things like you're going through. I hope the Buspar works for you.

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.F.

answers from Las Vegas on

Look for a therapist who does evidence-based exposure therapy for anxiety. It is generally very effective. Getting to your final exposures may be a little difficult, because you can't sit on a plane unless you have a ticket (or you know someone with a plane!), but you can do a great deal of work up to that point, including being in an airport. There are many possible scenarios that could be used to facilitate the treatment for this. You just have to find someone who is experienced in this and be willing to commit to the therapy (and it sounds like you certainly have been in the past, so you'd be a good candidate for this).

Whether Buspar works for you really all depends on your response to it, and that will have to be monitored and evaluated in conjunction with the prescribing physician.

Anxiety and panic attacks can be so debilitating, but the great thing is that treatment does work, especially with highly motivated clients, so please seek out a therapist in your area who does this specialized kind of treatment.

2 moms found this helpful

E.A.

answers from Erie on

I don't have experience with that one but I've had good luck with Visteril. It's an antihistamine they found helps with anxiety and epilepsy. I can't take many of the others you listed because I develop a tolerance to them easily and then they don't work, it literally is because I have red hair, which affects how I react to both pain meds and those that treat depression and anxiety. There is genetic testing available that can help you choose the right meds for this, I suggest you ask your doctor about it. If your insurance doesn't cover it, it costs about $300.

1 mom found this helpful
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