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BuSpar (Generic Buspirone)

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Why is this medication prescribed?

Buspirone is used to treat anxiety disorders or to relieve the symptoms of anxiety temporarily. Anxiolytics are a group of drugs that includes buspirone. It functions by altering the concentrations of specific organic compounds in the brain.

How should this medicine be used?

Buspirone is available as an oral tablet. It must be taken continuously, either always with food or always without food, twice day as usual. Ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any instructions on your prescription label that you are unsure about following. Follow the buspirone directions exactly. Never take it in larger or less amounts or more frequently than directed by your doctor.

Buspirone may be prescribed to you at a modest starting dose by your doctor, who will then progressively raise it up to once every two to three days. Before you find a dose that works for you, it can take several weeks.

Other uses for this medicine

Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more details if you’re interested in using this drug for any other conditions.

What special precautions should I follow?

Before taking buspirone,

  • If you have an allergy to buspirone, any other drugs, or any of the ingredients in buspirone tablets, let your doctor and pharmacist know right away.
  • Inform your doctor if you are currently using an MAO inhibitor, such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), linezolid (Zyvox), methylene blue, phenelzine (Nardil), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam, Zelapar), or tranylcypromine (Parnate), or if you have just discontinued taking one. Most likely, your doctor will advise against taking buspirone. You should wait at least 14 days after stopping buspirone before starting an MAO inhibitor.
  • Inform your doctor and pharmacist about all prescription and over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, dietary supplements, and herbal products that you are now taking or intend to use. Incorporate any of the following: Dexamethasone, diazepam (Valium), phenytoin (Dilantin, Phenytek), and carbamazepine (Tegretol), as well as diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, and Tiazac); drugs for migraine headaches such as erythromycin (E.E.S., E-Mycin, Erythrocin, and others); haloperidol (Haldol); ketoconazole; itraconazole (Onmel, Sporanox); and frovatriptan (Axert), eletriptan (Relpax), and others (Frova), nefazodone (Serzone); painkillers or narcotics; rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane); rizatriptan (Maxalt); sumatriptan (Imitrex); and zolmitriptan (Zomig); muscle relaxants; ritonavir (Norvir); sedatives; fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, Selfemra), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Brisdelle, Paxil, Pexeva), and sertraline (Zoloft) are examples of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors, sleeping pills; tranquillizers; serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) as desvenlafaxine (Khedezla, Pristiq), duloxetine (Cymbalta), levomilnacipran (Fetzima), milnacipran (Savella), and venlafaxine (Effexor); verapamil with trazodone (Desyrel) (Calan, Covera, Verelan). Your doctor might need to adjust your medication doses or keep a close eye out for any negative side effects. Buspirone may interact with a wide variety of other drugs, so be sure to let your doctor know about everything you’re taking, even anything not on this list.
  • If you have or have previously had renal or liver problems, as well as a history of alcohol or drug addiction, let your doctor know.
  • Inform your doctor if you are expecting, intend to get pregnant, or are nursing a baby. Call your doctor if you get pregnant while taking buspirone.
  • Inform your doctor or dentist that you are taking buspirone if you are having surgery, including dental surgery.
    You should be aware that this medication might make you sleepy. Until you are certain of how this medication affects you, do not operate machinery or drive a car.
  • Keep in mind that drinking can exacerbate the effects of this drug’s sedation. When taking buspirone, avoid drinking alcohol.

What special dietary instructions should I follow?

Grapefruit juice should not be consumed in significant quantities when taking buspirone.

What should I do if I forget a dose?

If you miss a dosage, take it as soon as you recall. If the next dose is soon due, skip the missed one and carry on with your regular dosing plan. To make up for a missing dose, do not take a second one.

What side effects can this medication cause?

Side effects are possible with buspirone. If any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away, let your doctor know right once:

  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Diarrhea
  • Headache
  • Excitement
  • Confusion
  • Fatigue
  • Nervousness
  • Having trouble falling or staying asleep
  • Feelings of hate or rage
  • Lightheadedness
  • Headache
  • Weakness
  • Numbness
  • Increased perspiration

Some adverse effects can be very harmful. Call your doctor right away if any of these symptoms occur to you:

  • Rash
  • Hives
  • Itching
  • Swelling of the lips, mouth, throat, tongue, or any part of the face
  • Rapid or erratic heartbeat
  • Fuzzy vision
  • Body part shaking that is uncontrollable
  • Seizures, hallucinations, loss of coordination, agitation, fever, sweating, dizziness, flushing, disorientation, fast or irregular pulse, shivering, severe muscle stiffness or twitching, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhoea

You or your doctor can submit a report to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting programme online or by phone if you have a serious side event (1-800-332-1088).

What should I know about storage and disposal of this medication?

Keep this medication tightly closed in the original container and out of the reach of children. Keep it at room temperature and away from moisture, light, and excessive heat (not in the bathroom).

As many containers (such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers) are not child-resistant and are simple for young children to open, it is crucial to keep all medications out of sight and out of reach of children. Always lock safety caps and promptly stash medication up and away from young children where it is out of their sight and reach to prevent poisoning. http://www.upandaway.org

Unused prescriptions must be disposed of carefully to prevent pets, kids, and other people from ingesting them. You should not, however, dispose of this medication in the toilet. Instead, utilising a medicine take-back programme is the easiest approach to get rid of your medication. To find out about take-back programmes in your area, speak with your pharmacist or the garbage/recycling department in your city. If you do not have access to a take-back programme, see the FDA’s Safe Disposal of Medicines website at http://goo.gl/c4Rm4p for additional information.

In case of emergency/overdose

Call the poison control hotline at 1-800-222-1222 in the event of an overdose. Additionally, information can be found online at https://www.poisonhelp.org/help. Call 911 right once if the person has collapsed, experienced a seizure, is having difficulty breathing, or cannot be roused.

Overdose symptoms could include:

  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Dizziness
  • Drowsiness
  • Fuzzy vision
  • Uneasy stomach

What other information should I know?

Keep all of your appointments with your physician and the lab. To monitor how you are responding to buspirone, your doctor will request a few lab tests.

Inform the lab staff and your doctor that you are taking buspirone prior to any laboratory test.

No one else should take your medication. Any queries you may have regarding medication refills should be directed to your pharmacist.

You should keep a written record of every medication you take, including any over-the-counter (OTC) items, prescription drugs, and dietary supplements like vitamins and minerals. This list should be brought with you whenever you see a doctor or are admitted to the hospital. You should always have this information with you in case of emergencies.

Brand names

  • BuSpar®
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