buspirone

What is the most important information I should know about buspirone?

Do not this medication if you are allergic to buspirone, or if you have used an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), or tranylcypromine (Parnate) within the past 14 days. Serious, life-threatening side effects can occur if you take buspirone before the MAO inhibitor has cleared from your body.

Buspirone can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

Avoid drinking alcohol. It may increase some of the side effects caused by buspirone.

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with buspirone and lead to potentially dangerous effects. Discuss the use of grapefruit products with your doctor. Do not increase or decrease the amount of grapefruit products in your diet without first talking to your doctor.

Buspirone is usually taken for only a short time. Do not take this medication for longer than 4 weeks without your doctor's advice.

What is buspirone?

Buspirone is an anti-anxiety medicine that affects chemicals in your brain that may become unbalanced and cause anxiety.

Buspirone is used to treat symptoms of anxiety, such as fear, tension, irritability, dizziness, pounding heartbeat, and other physical symptoms.

Buspirone may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.

What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking buspirone?

Do not this medication if you are allergic to buspirone, or if you have used an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), or tranylcypromine (Parnate) within the past 14 days. Serious, life-threatening side effects can occur if you take buspirone before the MAO inhibitor has cleared from your body.

Before taking buspirone, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have:

• kidney disease; or
• liver disease.

If you have any of these conditions, you may not be able to use buspirone, or you may need a dosage adjustment or special tests during treatment.

FDA pregnancy category B. This medication is not expected to be harmful to an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment.

It is not known whether buspirone passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

Do not give this medication to a child younger than 18 years old.

How should I take buspirone?

Take this medication exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not take the medication in larger amounts, or take it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label.

Buspirone is usually taken for only a short time. Do not take this medication for longer than 4 weeks without your doctor's advice.

You may take buspirone with or without food but take it the same way each time.

Some tablet forms of buspirone (Buspar Dividose) may need to be broken before you take the medicine. These tablets have special scored marks on them to make breaking the tablet easy. Do not use the tablet if it has not broken correctly and the piece is too big or too small. Follow your doctor's instructions about how much of the tablet to take.

If you have been switched to buspirone from another anxiety medication, you may need to slowly decrease your dose of the other medication rather than stopping suddenly. Some anxiety medications can cause withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking them suddenly after long-term use.

Store buspirone at room temperature away from moisture and heat.

What happens if I miss a dose?

Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at your next regularly scheduled time. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

What happens if I overdose?

Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine.

Overdose symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness, blurred vision, and stomach pain.

What should I avoid while taking buspirone?

Buspirone can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

Avoid drinking alcohol. It may increase some of the side effects caused by buspirone.

Cold or allergy medicine, narcotic pain medicine, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, and medicine for seizures, or depression can add to sleepiness caused by buspirone. Tell your doctor if you regularly use any of these other medicines.

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with buspirone and lead to potentially dangerous effects. Discuss the use of grapefruit products with your doctor. Do not increase or decrease the amount of grapefruit products in your diet without first talking to your doctor.

What are the possible side effects of buspirone?

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• feeling light-headed, fainting;
• fast or uneven heart rate;
• depressed mood, unusual thoughts or behavior; or
• lack of balance or coordination.

Less serious side effects may be more likely to occur, such as:

• drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision;
• feeling restless;
• nausea, upset stomach;
• sleep problems (insomnia); or
• trouble concentrating.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What other drugs will affect buspirone?

The following drugs can interact with buspirone. Tell your doctor if you are using any of these:

• medicines to treat psychiatric disorders, such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine), haloperidol (Haldol), mesoridazine (Serentil), pimozide (Orap), or thioridazine (Mellaril);
• dexamethasone (Decadron, Hexadrol);
• erythromycin (E-Mycin, E.E.S., Ery-Tab, Erythrocin);
• itraconazole (Sporanox), ketoconazole (Nizoral);
• ritonavir (Norvir);
• rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane, Rifater);
• antibiotics such as capreomycin (Capastat), rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane, Rifater), vancomycin (Vancocin, Vancoled);
• a calcium channel blocker such as diltiazem (Tiazac, Cartia, Cardizem) or verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan); or
• seizure medication such as carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol), phenytoin (Dilantin), phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton).

This list is not complete and there may be other drugs that can interact with buspirone. Tell your doctor about all your prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start a new medication without telling your doctor.

Where can I get more information?

Your pharmacist can provide more information about buspirone.