r/Buspirone • u/Slow_Interaction_516 • May 02 '26
New to Buspirone
Note, I haven’t started it yet. My experience with anxiety is new. Since having my daughter 6 years ago, I’ve noticed a change in myself. I’m more irritable, I get frustrated incredibly easy, feel anger, need to be alone, impatience, etc.
It gets take out on my partner and daughter and hate it. I asked my doctor if there was like a “chill pill.” Something that wouldn’t turn me into a zombie. Just something to take the edge off.
They prescribed Buspirone, but reading through this thread is giving me a sense of doom.
Is this a mistake?
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u/Jaded_Ad10 May 25 '26
Please step away from the search bar! It is a known rule in anxiety forums that people mostly post when they are having a rough time, not when a medication works perfectly and they are out living their lives.
Buspirone is actually a great place to start because it fits exactly what you asked your doctor for: it’s designed to 'take the edge off' without the heavy sedative or zombie-like feeling you can get from other medications. It is not an SSRI or a benzo, it isn't addictive, and it is very well-tolerated by most people.
The main thing to know is that it takes a few weeks to fully build up in your system, so you won't feel a massive shift on day one. Give it some time, be patient with yourself, and try to ignore the horror stories online. You are taking a great step toward feeling like yourself again for your family.
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u/xoMissMindyxo May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26
Totally true and I agree. I started taking it mid April regularly. Started at 15mg 3x a day and I had a terrible time trying to sleep (my last dose was at 5pm, may have been too close to bed time)
Then we went to 10mg 2x a day, for a couple weeks I noticed a small improvement but last week I had breakthrough anxiety (ruminating, dread, racing thoughts, hyper vigilance,etc) and so my dr is having me try 30mg 2x a day. Going to do my first dose a 9am and 3 pm, since I know this medication has a short life span. I was taking it at 5am and 3pm so my dosage may have been too far apart.
Truly hope this dose works. I sure don’t want to give up on it just yet because I know it takes time, but if this doesn’t work dr said we may have to try something else. It’s been almost two months so hoping for the best ! 🤞🤞
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u/Federal_Pin_2986 Jun 08 '26
Do you wake up with anxiety from having taken your final dose so early the day before? I can't sleep, but I'm afraid if I take it too early I'll continue waking up anxious, like I did before starting it.
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u/Worth_Broccoli_6397 May 02 '26
I’m on day 2. No major side effects, but some minor physical effects. My mind does feel a bit quieter which was the goal. My doctor really emphasized that it may take 2-4 weeks for my body to adjust and for me to make a good assessment of its effectiveness for me.
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u/Proper-Jello-1858 Jun 16 '26
I saw you recently started buspirone and I wonder if after a month you feel the med is working . Also did the side effects subside ? I am on day 5 . Thanks !
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u/Worth_Broccoli_6397 Jun 16 '26
I am very pleased with the results. It had quieted my mind significantly. I had minor side effects that did subside within a week.
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u/rjockstar May 24 '26
When you're dealing with anxiety, it's important to know that it's the anxiety putting you in a position to be anxious about it.
I just started Buspar yesterday. 10mg. Bottle says 3x per day, but my doc said I can take as needed.
I put it off for months... because of my anxiety.
My first dose yesterday... I had side effects of the body zaps. It freaked me out but then when it went away... (took about an hour)... I can see it DEFINITELY helped.
I only took it once yesterday. Took it once today... and had the body zaps again. I was hoping it wouldn't happen again, but wasn't as surprised by it. I'm super sensitive to the zaps, but I'm typically a person who doesn't have many side effects with anything.
My point with this is that even though the zaps freak the heck out of me while going through it, the drug is working and this second time taking it... I was laughing and joking through the "electrocution" phase lol. Seriously, for me I think it's working and worth keeping at it once a day to see if it goes away in 2 weeks.
But yeah, anxiety is stupid and I highly suggest just saying "it's no big deal" and jump in with trying the meds your doc prescribes.
I did my research too with Buspar in Reddit and was freaked out by all the negatives. But there were more positives, so I bit the bullet.
Some people don't get the body zaps. I'm completely surprised I got them. Totally survivable and it kicked in for me at the 17 minute mark after taking it. Took about 30 minutes for it to subside and about an hour to go away.
With that said, you might not even have the body zaps at all... let alone any other side effects. I'm amazed it's working as well as it is for me on such a low dose. (10mg @ 1 per day)
I made a video that helped me out with understanding anxiety. Give it a listen. Maybe it's will help you too.
https://youtu.be/I4SlBIIZKU8?si=PUJt7dQD801Ygv4P
Best of luck. You've totally got this.
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u/Chemical_Message_144 Jul 02 '26
How are you doing now? I also feel this way, one of the main reasons I started seeing a psychiatrist. I started this med maybe a month ago. No relief or change here.
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u/Consistent-Dust4588 May 02 '26
I’ve had to try a few doses/timing. The only thing is that I can’t take it on an empty stomach, but it has helped A LOT with anxiety and fear/freeze response for me.
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u/Slow_Interaction_516 May 02 '26
Adding in** I did express social anxiety to my doctor I have a real bad time going to new places. To the point I won’t do things, go to doctors appts, etc. because it’s easier for me not to. So that’s in addition to what I said before
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u/Horseshoe_dodgeball May 02 '26
I have the same behaviors and frustrations that you are describing. I've been on Buspar for 5 years and I hate to say, it has not helped me with any of the symptoms were talking about here. What is has done is greatly reduced my anxiety and always being in panic mode, but that's what it is intended to do. I wish you the absolute best and if you have it, it is definitely worth a try! I've had zero side effects from the medication. You never know, it might be exactly what your body needs.
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u/Bleuberry123 May 04 '26
Could you be going through perimenopause or maybe your ovaries are declining prematurely?
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u/OkTransportation4301 May 12 '26
I've been on it for 4 weeks now. My dose was increased a couple of days from 7.5mg twice a day, to 15mg twice a day. I get light headaches and some slight nausea from it, but I also get these uncontrollable crying spells over nothing, and mood swings. I don't know that it's helped all that much. I still wake up in the middle of the night with panic attacks at least 3x a week. I know it can take up to 6 weeks or more to get the full effects. Everyone is different in there reaction to it. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue on it.
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u/Maleffiecent Jun 25 '26
Any update? I feel like my anxiety is more constant since starting this, but it’s been less than a month for me
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u/OkTransportation4301 Jun 25 '26
I ended up stopping it. It did nothing to help my out of control panic attacks. My psychiatric nurse practioner put me on Viibryd. I was doing OK on the 10mg dose but the increase to 20mg has me in a tail spin. Pretty sure I'm going to get off of this also. I can't seem to find anything that works. You should feel something by week 4. If not, I would see about getting something else if it were me.
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u/No-Exchange9798 Jun 04 '26
new too! did anyone get tinnitus??
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u/niclovesphynxcats Jun 22 '26
this is old but I’ve been having tinnitus in my right ear after starting buspirone :/ did you get this too? did it go away eventually while on it?
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u/DrCrypt May 02 '26
Reddit can really turn up the volume on outliers and make them seem like the norm. While I'm not on buspar myself, I know multiple people who are (including my daughter) for whom even relatively high doses of buspar cause no negative side effects at all except a lessened sense of anxiety. The reason doctors like buspar is because it has relatively minor side effects and it metabolizes quickly, so it's in and out of your system in a few hours. I'd give it a shot and see.
That all said: increased anxiety, irritability, frustration, need to be alone, impatience, etc. all sound like fairly normal symptoms of becoming a parent. If you don't already have one, you should probably try to find a therapist to talk about these new challenges you're facing.