Buspirone Capsule: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects, Precautions and Alternates

Quick overview

Buspirone Capsule (generic name buspirone) is an anxiolytic medicine used to treat anxiety disorders in adults, including generalized anxiety disorder. It works on brain chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine and is taken as directed, with or without food. It does not appear to cause dependence like some other anxiety medicines and can be used long term.

What is Buspirone Capsule

Buspirone is an anti-anxiety medicine that affects chemicals in the brain that may be unbalanced in people with anxiety. It is used to treat anxiety disorders in adults.

Buspirone Capsule uses

• Treating symptoms of anxiety, such as fear, tension, irritability, dizziness, and pounding heartbeat
• Short-term treatment of anxiety symptoms
• Treating generalized anxiety disorder

Benefits of Buspirone Capsule

• May help improve attention, visual learning and memory, and logical reasoning in some studies
• Does not appear to cause dependence or withdrawal symptoms like some other anxiety medicines
• Can be used as a long-term treatment for anxiety

How Buspirone Capsule works

Buspirone is thought to work by affecting levels of serotonin and dopamine, brain chemicals that may help reduce anxiety symptoms. It acts differently from benzodiazepine anxiety medicines.

Buspirone Capsule dosage

Take buspirone exactly as prescribed and follow all directions on your prescription label. It may be taken with or without food, but take it the same way every time. If you have trouble swallowing capsules, you may open the capsule and mix the contents with a small amount of applesauce, then swallow the mixture right away without chewing; do not save the mixture for later. Some tablets are scored so a smaller piece can be taken if instructed by your doctor; do not use a piece that was not broken correctly. Try to take doses at the same times each day to keep a steady amount of medicine in your body. If switching from another anxiety medication, your doctor may have you slowly reduce the other medicine rather than stopping it suddenly. Buspirone is not approved for use in children, but it has been used in children and teens under close medical supervision.

Available forms and strengths

• Tablet
• Capsule

Side effects of Buspirone Capsule

Common

• Headache
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Drowsiness or sleepiness
• Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
• Nausea, upset stomach
• Feeling nervous, excited, or restless
• Constipation
• Gastric distress

Serious

• Signs of an allergic reaction such as hives, rash, itching, swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat, or trouble breathing
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling light-headed like you might pass out
• Signs of serotonin syndrome such as agitation, hallucinations, fever, sweating, shivering, fast heart rate, muscle stiffness, twitching, loss of coordination, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
• Trouble controlling body movements, twitching, change in balance, trouble swallowing or speaking
• Anger or hostility (uncommon)

Warnings and precautions

• It is not known whether buspirone is safe during pregnancy. It should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed, and your doctor should discuss the benefits and risks with you.
• It is not known if buspirone passes into breast milk in humans, so breastfeeding should be avoided while using this medicine unless your doctor advises otherwise.
• People with kidney disease should tell their doctor, since the body may not clear buspirone as well, which can cause the drug to build up.
• People with liver disease should tell their doctor, since the liver breaks down buspirone and impaired liver function may cause the drug to build up in the body.
• Avoid drinking alcohol while taking buspirone, as it can increase side effects like headache, dizziness, and more serious effects such as trouble breathing or trouble concentrating.
• This medicine may impair your thinking or reactions, so be careful driving or doing tasks that require alertness until you know how it affects you.
• Do not take buspirone if you have used a MAO inhibitor medicine in the past 14 days, as this can cause a dangerous drug interaction.
• Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with buspirone and increase the risk of side effects, so discuss their use with your doctor.
• This medicine can cause false results on certain medical tests, so tell any doctor treating you that you are using buspirone; you may need to stop the medicine before some tests.
• Taking buspirone with other medicines that cause sleepiness or slow breathing, such as sleeping pills, narcotic pain medicine, or muscle relaxers, can worsen these effects.

Storage

• Store at room temperature away from moisture, heat, and light
• Store in a dry place; do not store in a bathroom
• Keep out of the reach of children and pets
• Throw away unused or expired medicine; do not flush it down a toilet or pour it down a drain unless told to do so; ask your pharmacist about drug take-back programs

When to see a doctor

• Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction such as hives, difficulty breathing, or swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
• Call your doctor right away if you have chest pain, shortness of breath, or feel like you might pass out.
• Call your doctor right away if you notice signs of serotonin syndrome, such as agitation, hallucinations, fever, sweating, shivering, fast heart rate, muscle stiffness, twitching, loss of coordination, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
• If you think you have taken too much of this medicine, seek emergency medical attention or contact your local poison control center right away.

Alternatives

• Lexapro (escitalopram)
• Xanax (alprazolam)
• Diazepam (Valium)
• Lorazepam (Ativan)
• Fluoxetine (Prozac)
• Clonazepam (Klonopin)
• Propranolol (Inderal LA)
• Sertraline (Zoloft)
• Tranylcypromine (Parnate)