How Buspar (Buspirone) Works for Anxiety Disorders
Buspirone was first approved in 1986, and what it's primarily used for is generalized anxiety disorder. In 2019, it was the 76 most prescribed medication in the United States with more than 9 million prescriptions. It's used a lot. What Buspirone does to create this effect that helps with anxiety is it actually activates serotonin receptors. It binds to the presynaptic serotonin receptor. So you have your two neurons, you have your presynaptic, and you have your postsynaptic.
Buspirone binds to the presynaptic serotonin receptor, and it also binds to a separate postsynaptic receptor. What happens is this allows there to be more free-floating serotonin. So basically, it activates the serotonin receptors for the serotonin. In a sense, it acts as serotonin, and this is what helps create this feeling of relief, of higher mood, and especially helps with anxiety. Now, I don't know the research behind whether this works or not for depression.
I know it's not used for depression, so there must be evidence out there that it doesn't particularly work for that. But it does help increase serotonin levels by taking its place, so to speak. In a sense, you would think that it would help with depression. What's special about buspirone, or Buspar, is that it's unique. The way that it acts on these serotonin receptors is different from antidepressants, and it's different from other anxiolytic medications like benzodiazepines, gabapentin and beta blockers.
Buspirone may really work great for some people. I took Buspar for a short amount of time. My doctor and I were trying to find a medication that would help me with some anxiety, but what ended up happening is nothing. Nothing happened to me with buspirone. I took it for a while, and I never felt any side effects. I never felt any benefits. Buspirone does have a very narrow dosage range, so there's not a lot of playroom with it.
Buspar is a very unique and interesting medication. They've tried to develop ones like it before in the past but haven't been able to find something that is efficacious. If you think this is right for you, if you're somebody who has generalized anxiety disorder or other anxiety disorders, this might be a great medication for you. If you're already on a medication like an SSRI and you're not quite getting enough relief from your anxiety, then buspirone is a great way to go. You can add that on to medications like SSRIs and your SNRIs and other antidepressants.
