Buspar: What you really need
to know
When taking buspar or
similar anti anxiety drugs, the risk of taking the medicine must be weighed
against the good it may possibly do. This is a decision you and your physician
will need to make. Before starting buspar, the following factors should be
considered:
Allergies:
You should tell your
physician if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reactions to buspar.
Also, you should tell your healthcare professional if you have ever been
allergic to any other substances such as foods, preservatives or dyes.
Pregnancy:
Buspar has not been studied
for use with pregnant women. However, this anti anxiety drug has not been shown
to cause birth defects or other problems in animal studies.
Breast-feeding:
It has not been determined
whether Busbar passes into the breast milk of humans.
Children:
Studies of this anti anxiety
drug have been done only in adult patients, and it has not been determined
whether buspar should be used in children under the age of 18, and may be
compared to other age groups.
Older adults and Buspar:
This anti anxiety drug has
only been tested in a limited number of older adults and has not been shown to
cause different side effects than those experienced by younger adults.
Other medicines:
Although in some cases,
certain medications should not be used together at all, in other cases two
medications may be taken together even if an interaction might occur. In these
cases your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be taken
as necessary. If you are taking buspar, it is very important that your
healthcare professional know if you're taking any of the following medications:
-
Erythromycin
-
Itraconazole (e.g.
Sporanox) -higher blood levels of buspar may occur, increase the chance of
side effects. Your physician may want to change the dosage of this anti
anxiety medication.
-
Monoamine Oxidase
Inhibitors (MAOI’s) (Marplan, Nardil, Parnate) taking buspar when your taking
monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors may cause high blood pressure.
Other medical problems:
The presence of other
medical problems may affect the use of buspar. Make sure you tell your doctor
if you of any of the foloowing medical problems especially:
Some information from Consumer Reports
Consumer Drug Reference
Additional
Information and webpage by
Paul Susic
MA
Licensed Psychologist Ph.D. Candidate
( Health and Geriatric Psychologist )
