Buspar, side effects?

[SallyR]

Hi there!

I am new to this forum so a little background. My son is 18 and was started on Buspar for anxiety that is paralyzing socially. I am sad to say that he has no friends and is very depressed over this. He is on 30mg Buspar 2x per day. A couple of weeks ago he seemed to be doing pretty well but more recently is exhibiting insomnia, increased depression, increased hand tremors. He has hand tremors from high doses of steroids for a chronic GI condition. He just seems to lost his ambition. Do you think that it is the Buspar? Any of your kids have similar symptoms?

thanks for your input!
Sally

[DaisyFace]

Hi Sally--

Welcome to the forum!

Based on my own experience, Buspar, like many anti-depressants, can actually make depression much worse...

If this is not the right drug for your son, please let the doc know so they can try something different.

--DaisyFace

[smallworld]

Welcome!

Buspar is NOT an antidepressant. It is an anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) med used for the management of anxiety disorders, although it can be an augmenting agent for treatment-resistant depression.

Side effects include dizziness, headache, nervousness, sedation, excitement, nausea and restlessness. Sometimes lowering the dose can minimize the side effects.

Usual dose range is 20 to 30 mg a day (with a maximum of 60 mg a day) so I'm wondering if your son's pdoc gave him too high a dose and that is why the side effects are so severe.

Your son should check in with his pdoc since he's not doing well right now. Perhaps he needs a different med entirely.

[SallyR]

thank you for your replies. I will have him talk to his doc & see what he says. More does not always mean better........

~Sally