BuSpar and Insomnia: What Users Say

• Bub...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 3, 2020

For Anxiety "So far I've been on BuSpar 10mg twice a day for a week. My anxiety is much better than it was. I talked to my psychiatrist about taking the evening dose early afternoon and she said it was ok. As long as I stick to the same times every day, it will be ok. So I take my 1st dose at 6:30 am and my 2nd dose around 1:30 pm. Side effects are very mild. I take my 2nd dose early because if I take it later in the evening, I have a hard time sleeping. I'm still getting used to the medicine. I take Vistaril 25mg if I get anxious still, but overall my anxiety is much better than it was."

• Cha...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 31, 2020

For Anxiety "I took BuSpar for two days. On the first day, my sleep was not deep and I had weird dreams. On the second day, I had a massive panic attack after my third dose of 5mg and was unable to sleep at all that night. It was a horrendous experience. It is an awful drug for me."

• Cha...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 31, 2020

For Anxiety "I took BuSpar for two days. On the first day, my sleep was not deep and I had weird dreams. On the second day, I had a massive panic attack after my third dose of 5mg and was unable to sleep at all that night. It was a horrendous experience. It is an awful drug for me."

• boo...
• December 13, 2013

For Anxiety "I have generalized anxiety and panic disorder. I have had it since I was a teenager. In the past, I took Xanax as needed, but it sometimes made me depressed, and I worried about developing a tolerance or addiction. After less than a month on BuSpar, I have already seen a major improvement. I ruminate less, my body is less tense, I am considerably less fearful (which is saying a lot because I was becoming fearful of leaving the house), I am able to tolerate stressors in a rational way, and I am no longer depressed. What remains of my anxiety is manageable, and it no longer interferes with my life. I started on 10mg, and after a couple of weeks, I increased to 15mg. I experienced insomnia the first couple of days, but that went away. Take with food for nausea."

• you...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 8, 2019

For Anxiety "I've been on it for two weeks now. I felt benefits on day two. I started with 5 mg twice a day. At first, my insomnia got much worse, but I stuck with BuSpar with the occasional assistance of Ambien and melatonin (not on the same night, of course). Now, I am sleeping through most of the night without sleep aids or waking up with that nervous feeling in my stomach. I am now motivated to do things again, too. I'm really sensitive to drugs, but I did increase my intake to 7.5 mg twice a day. My history of taking drugs with serotonin has been so-so, so I'm not over the top excited about this drug, but I am definitely able to function, and my relationships are way better!"

• nee...
• November 7, 2009

For Anxiety "I had taken BuSpar many years ago until one day I decided I just didn't need it anymore and stopped taking it, no weaning, no withdrawal. Now I'm back on it again and will stay on it until I feel that way again. It took a couple of weeks, and a few days of depression, before it took hold but I have never experienced any side effects. In fact, the only thing I feel is that I am thinking positively, rather than looking for a boogeyman in everything. Just a natural feeling of health. Recently the doctor tried something else because of poor sleep and gave me lorazepam, which made my arms and legs feel heavy and I slept for 12 hours, and then diazepam which did nothing much but dampened my feelings and sleep was worse. I'll stay with BuSpar."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 21, 2019

For Anxiety "The side effects of BuSpar for me were worse sleep, anger, weight gain, and tiredness. My anxiety got worse, I had an erratic heartbeat, and it made my eyes feel really weird. This drug made me completely dysfunctional, exhausted, nauseous, and also out of it. So distracted, and it made my ADD worse."

• jlj...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 3, 2019

For Anxiety "BuSpar was an absolute Godsend! The only side effect I noticed right away was insomnia, but then I just combined my dose and took it all in the morning as soon as waking up. ZERO side effects after that, and anxiety immediately went away - from the first day on! Only problem - as the weeks and months went on, I began to notice something ... my appetite was out of control. I was CONSTANTLY hungry! This was not ok with me! I knew it had to be the BuSpar, as I had changed nothing else in my life. So, after 3.5 months on, I had to make a decision - do I stay constantly hungry and have little to no anxiety, along with weight gain, or do I go off and deal with anxiety again?? I decided to go off. I quit cold turkey. ZERO withdrawal symptoms!! Has my anxiety returned? Maybe ever so slightly... Increased appetite and weight gain are not listed as possible side effects, but I’m noticing with a lot of people it seems to be very common!"

• Pat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 14, 2019

For Anxiety "I took this med, BuSpar, for 2 weeks. My anxiety skyrocketed, could not sleep more than 3 hours. Felt zombie-like. Developed a fast heart rate and upset stomach. After about 7-9 days, did calm down a bit. I went off too many bad side effects for me. On my second day of withdrawal, body aches. My dose of BuSpar was 5 mg, 2x a day."

• Sha...
• September 21, 2017

For Anxiety "My doctor prescribed BuSpar 5 mg 3x daily as I eased off Effexor. The Effexor worked great, except for the sexual side effects and the hardcore addiction. I have nothing good to say about BuSpar. I thought I was losing my mind. Felt severely unbalanced. Nauseated. Confused. Thirsty. Insomnia. You name it! My endocrinologist thought I might be diabetic because of family history. No, it was all the BuSpar. Why should something that is supposed to help generalized anxiety make you feel like you are losing it? I ended up slowly getting off of Effexor and pitching the BuSpar. I need something for generalized anxiety, but I am scared of another bad trip."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 6, 2019

For Anxiety "Been on 10 mg BuSpar twice daily for 2 days. I have already experienced terrible insomnia on both nights. First night, I was able to get 4 hours of broken sleep. Second night, did not sleep one wink. Experienced a panic attack last night, along with an increased heart rate and racing thoughts. The thought of continuing on with this drug is unbearable."

• Nan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 14, 2019

For Anxiety "Nope! I was prescribed BuSpar 15 mg at a dose of 1 tablet 3 times a day. A nightmare for sure. After the first few initial days and it getting in my system, that nightmare began! Side effects of not sleeping over 3-4 hours a night. Shaking inside and out, dizzy and faint, full-blown panic attacks, pacing the floor, and body having to keep moving to stop that feeling of jumping out of my skin (Akathisia)!! Tried BuSpar for 3 weeks and gained 9 lbs and more anxiety than before."

• Dsm...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 19, 2021

For Anxiety "This was a mistake. Was prescribed this for mild anxiety. Took 10 mg a day for 17 days. The side effects were terrible! Dizziness, nausea, chest pain, increased heart rate, insomnia, fatigue, and more. Have been off 3 weeks and still struggling with withdrawal effects."

• Sti...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 8, 2016

For Anxiety "It didn't help at all with the panic attacks and actually made my anxiety worse. The first few weeks, it would just put me to sleep. After four weeks, I became very depressed and had suicidal thoughts constantly throughout the day. It gave me horrible headaches, it made me really dizzy all the time, and I felt lightheaded and nauseous often. After four weeks, I could not sleep at all, and my anxiety increased along with the panic attacks. I don't recommend this medicine for anyone who has suffered PTSD or who has had high anxiety levels for a long time. It just makes things worse. After five weeks, I stopped taking this medication, I could no longer handle the side effects."

• MrK...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 3, 2019

For Anxiety "I took BuSpar for anxiety, and it made me feel as though I was high or drunk. I was up and down all night sweating, it made my eyes feel really weird and my head, when I laid down, almost like I was still moving when I wasn't. The worst was the insomnia and the terrible nightmares it gave me. I only took 5 mg twice a day, and I could not function on it. There were other minor side effects, but I cannot remember the exact details."

• Anonymous
• July 23, 2011

For Anxiety "I tried a lot of the SSRIs and SNRIs medications: Lexapro, Effexor, Celexa, Wellbutrin, Pristiq, and Paxil. Lexapro and Effexor gave me monster insomnia, I could not sleep at all. Wellbutrin made me pass out, and the other two did nothing for me. Finally, my doctor put me on BuSpar 7.5 two times a day. It did make me nauseated, but it says to take it on a full stomach, which I took on an empty stomach. After I followed the directions, I didn't have any more issues. No side effects, and my libido has increased (my wife is happy). I really have no more issues with anxiety anymore, I can now go to dinner and the grocery store without any problems."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 4, 2025

For Anxiety "I don’t like medication but reached a point where I had to be honest with myself and try something new—I’m so glad I did. The first week was rough with nausea, anxiety, dizziness, insomnia, and wild dreams, but I pushed through, and it was worth it. Now, a month in, I feel so much less anxious, happier, and more confident. I do get excitable with scattered thoughts, but once I focus, I get locked in. That scattered feeling is improving as I adjust. Mild shortness of breath and insomnia (if taken late) are the only side effects. Therapy and exercise enhance the benefits. BuSpar doesn’t feel overwhelming or drugged—it’s subtle, and I just feel great and more in control. I’m sticking with it—totally worth trying!"

• Lil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 8, 2021

For Anxiety "I was prescribed this drug to help my anxiety through a job change. DO NOT take this drug! It doubled my anxiety, insomnia to the point that I hadn't slept in 3 nights, caused jerking motions that would wake me up when I did actually fall asleep, nauseous, absolutely no appetite, feelings of complete depression and hopelessness."

• oe_...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 15, 2018

For Anxiety "Definitely curbs my generalized anxiety and helps with my social anxiety, it’s not a cure-all, as I still have insomnia, but it has definitely improved my quality of life. SSRIs never worked for me because I felt like my depression was rooted in anxiety and not the other way around. Plus, SSRIs gave me panic attacks, and so did trazodone after two weeks. I take 1/2 of a 7.5 as soon as I wake up, and then I take another half again a couple of hours later, then a whole one a couple of hours before bed. The first two or three days, it made me feel slightly funny, but it’s definitely beginning to level off, and I’m definitely much more content, less rumination, and a general feeling of well-being this far..."

• Snh...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 3, 2016

For Anxiety "I've been on Buspirone (10 mg twice a day) for about 2 weeks now, and I have seen no improvement. My sleep is jacked up from it, from either interrupted sleep or vivid dreams. I don't think I'm going to continue to use it. Xanax seemed to be the only thing that has helped me so far."

• Try...
• January 2, 2021

For Anxiety "I started buspirone 1.5 years ago for GAD. I took myself off of buspirone. My attacks started again 3 months ago. My doctor put me back on buspirone. It started with not sleeping through the night and then heart rates of 111-148 beats per minute. My anxiety and attacks are worse than ever now. I stopped taking buspirone this time for good. I experienced bad dreams almost every night or weird vivid dreams. I thought it was the Ambien, but I haven’t taken Ambien in 2 weeks because I was trying to see which medicine was affecting me the most. When I took Ambien, it was PRN 2-3 times per week on nights that I knew would be difficult. I’ve researched buspirone, and surprisingly, there is nothing out there that talks about why the brand name BuSpar was discontinued, and there is little info about buspirone. Nonetheless, the side effects reported are sleep latency, sleep disturbances, heart palpitations, confusion, etc."

• Anonymous
• July 30, 2010

For Anxiety "I take this medicine, 20 mg in the morning and 20 mg at night. When I first started it, I had trouble sleeping. I felt like my legs couldn't sit still, and I had tingly fingers, and I would get dizzy. I've been on it for about 5 months, and I still get dizzy after each dose, sometimes I need to lay down. But it has helped tremendously with my anxiety, I can go out and have fun without having the constant worry in my head. Before being on any kind of medicine, I used to throw up and shake a lot from my anxiety attacks. Now it's all gone, and I can live a normal life. I am also on 100 mg of Pristiq and 0.25 mg of Xanax (as needed). I recommend this medicine for anyone who has an anxiety disorder, but just be aware of the dizziness."

• Mea...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 14, 2019

For Anxiety "Side effects were insomnia, not hungry, lightheaded, and vivid, horrible dreams. Took 5 mg BuSpar in the morning and at night. Never take this med. I was on for 3 weeks and now off for 2 weeks, and I am still feeling the side effects. Still uneasy about leaving my home because of side effects."

• Gra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 24, 2021

For Anxiety "For a few weeks, I’ve been dealing with really bothersome anxiety attacks that happen in all sorts of situations. Everything in my life sort of just stacked up and overwhelmed me. I have all sorts of tools I’ve learned from psychotherapy, but I was still getting overwhelmed. This is topped off with sleep problems and related worrying. After a single pill, the difference is significant. It feels like someone turned the volume down on my physical symptoms. The racing, unhelpful thoughts are still there, but I’m much more easily able to redirect them or use meditation to pull myself back to the present moment. Hopefully, this anxiety subsides once I sort things out and I can eventually wean off. For now, BuSpar seems like it’s going to be really helpful."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 10, 2019

For Panic Disorder "I also experienced my first asthma attack ever on this medication. I don't see it listed as an official side effect, but I've never encountered anything like it before, and just putting my 2 cents in. I've tried just about every SSRI and SNRI under the sun as well, so while I'm not guaranteeing it's not a coincidence, I'm pretty well past the point of attributing everything that happens to me to my medications. Aside from that, it worked maybe... 10%? But I think the majority of that was the sedation, which wears off as the sedation does. Other side effects for me were worse sleep, anger, nightmares, weight gain, and tiredness."