Buspirone

Buspirone, sold under the brand name Buspar among others, is a medication primarily used to treat anxiety disorders, particularly generalized anxiety disorder. Benefits support its short term use. It is not useful for psychosis. It is taken by mouth, and it may take up to four weeks for an effect. Buspirone, sold under the brand name Buspar among others, is a medication primarily used to treat anxiety disorders, particularly generalized anxiety disorder. Benefits support its short term use. It is not useful for psychosis. It is taken by mouth, and it may take up to four weeks for an effect. Common side effects include nausea, headaches, dizziness, and trouble concentrating. Serious side effects may include hallucinations, serotonin syndrome, and seizures. Use in pregnancy appears to be safe but has not been well studied, while use during breastfeeding is not recommended. How it works is not clear but it is unrelated to benzodiazepines. Buspirone was first made in 1968 and approved for medical use in the United States in 1986. It is available as a generic medication. A month supply in the United Kingdom costs the NHS about 10 GBP as of 2019. In the United States the wholesale cost of this amount is about 2.65 USD. In 2016 it was the 90th most prescribed medication in the United States with more than 8 million prescriptions. Buspirone is used for the short-treatment of anxiety disorders or symptoms of anxiety. It is generally less preferred than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Buspirone has no immediate anxiolytic effects, and hence has a delayed onset of action; its full clinical effectiveness may require 2 to 4 weeks to manifest. The drug has been shown to be similarly effective in the treatment of GAD to benzodiazepines including diazepam, alprazolam, lorazepam, and clorazepate. Buspirone is not known to be effective in the treatment of other anxiety disorders besides GAD, although there is some limited evidence that it may be useful in the treatment of social phobia as an adjunct to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). There is some evidence that buspirone on its own may be useful in the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in women. Buspirone is not effective as a treatment for benzodiazepine withdrawal, barbiturate withdrawal, or alcohol withdrawal/delirium tremens. Buspirone has these contraindications: Known side effects associated with buspirone include dizziness, headaches, nausea, nervousness, and paresthesia. Buspirone is relatively well-tolerated, and is not associated with sedation, cognitive and psychomotor impairment, muscle relaxation, physical dependence, or anticonvulsant effects. In addition, buspirone does not produce euphoria, and is not a drug of abuse.