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Is Buspar An SSRI Medication?
Brief Answer:
it is not an SSRI
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for writing to us.
Buspirone (Buspar) is a serotonin receptor(5-HT1A) partial agonist. It is not an SSRI drug. It may cause excitation in few patients which can be felt as worsening of anxiety but it does not worsen anxiety like SSRI (Lexparo in your case).
In stead of xanax I prefer clonazepam for anxiety. It has low dependence potential and more sustainable improvement due to its long half life than xanax. You can ask your doctor for the same.
If you do not want to take benzodiazepine for long term, mirtazapine is another option (as you are not comfortable with buspar and SSRI). It is noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant and can help in anxiety well.
With SSRI you are getting side effects, that does not mean your SSRI level is high.
Other approach to deal with anxiety disorder is psychotherapy. In that I prefer cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). In mild cases only CBT is sufficient. In moderate to severe cases initially medicines and then CBT is added. And later on medicines stopped gradually.
For a while do deep breathing exercise. Whenever you feel anxious take deep slow breathing. Inhale for 3 seconds, keep breath in for 3 seconds and exhale for 3 seconds. Do it for 10 minutes. You will feel relax.
Hope I have answered your query, I will be happy to help further.
Regards,
Dr.Chintan Solanki.
it is not an SSRI
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for writing to us.
Buspirone (Buspar) is a serotonin receptor(5-HT1A) partial agonist. It is not an SSRI drug. It may cause excitation in few patients which can be felt as worsening of anxiety but it does not worsen anxiety like SSRI (Lexparo in your case).
In stead of xanax I prefer clonazepam for anxiety. It has low dependence potential and more sustainable improvement due to its long half life than xanax. You can ask your doctor for the same.
If you do not want to take benzodiazepine for long term, mirtazapine is another option (as you are not comfortable with buspar and SSRI). It is noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant and can help in anxiety well.
With SSRI you are getting side effects, that does not mean your SSRI level is high.
Other approach to deal with anxiety disorder is psychotherapy. In that I prefer cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). In mild cases only CBT is sufficient. In moderate to severe cases initially medicines and then CBT is added. And later on medicines stopped gradually.
For a while do deep breathing exercise. Whenever you feel anxious take deep slow breathing. Inhale for 3 seconds, keep breath in for 3 seconds and exhale for 3 seconds. Do it for 10 minutes. You will feel relax.
Hope I have answered your query, I will be happy to help further.
Regards,
Dr.Chintan Solanki.
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
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