Posted by sl on July 18, 2001, at 23:52:54
In reply to Re: Tell me about Buspar? » sl, posted by Elizabeth on July 18, 2001, at 21:33:39
>said it might interact with the tricyclics and/or the Prozac to make me more sleepy, at least til I'm off those.
>
> I wouldn't listen to drugchecker, FWIW. < g > If it made you sleepy, my guess is that the mechanism would be decreasing the rate of metabolism of the tricyclic.Not necessarily...cuz the Prozac INCREASED the metabolism of the tricyclic. I could tell cuz I was dopey all the time and when I backed off the dosage I felt better. BUT you're right about BuSpar not making me sleepy, even with Prozac and Nortrip. I DO feel less nervous, but I had a really good day too. ;)
> > Well, I've only got 3 wks before the next dr's appt, and if it's not doing anything for me, we'll try something different.
> 3 weeks might not be long enough.Right. But a drug that takes 6 months or even 2 months wouldn't be right for me. Not if I have any choices left. I'm going back to college in 6wks and I need to get this ironed out if I want to be successful. So we need to find an anti-anxiety med that works for me, in the next 6-8 wks.
> > I DO know that last night my nervous headache went away, but I'm not sure which med to > Jeez. I had headaches as a teenager that were eliminated by Prozac, FWIW. I'd guess that the relief of your headaches is due either to the Buspar or to *reducing* the dose of one of the other ones.
I think I see what you mean..I was reducing, so I got headache, but when I put more in my system I felt better, right? I think it's the first idea, tho. But I really WANT Buspar to work, so I'm already biased. I'm _trying_ not to placebo. ;)
> > thing on her tag, I think it might have been RN.
>
> If you think to check next time, I'd like to know. (She might be a nurse practitioner, a "mid-level" clinician who can prescribe under some circumstances).I'm almost positive it was RN. And can't Registered Nurses prescribe? I had one before, but I don't know if she checked with the doctor behind the scenes or not.
> Sliding-scale clinics aren't a "special case" in the sense of not having to practise ethically! I don't fault you for taking medication from whomever will give it to you, but they shouldn't be operating like that.
They might be allowed because of the scarcity of doctors with volunteer tendencys. We [poor people] don't stop needing meds just cuz some doctor would rather play golf, and I'd hope the rule-makers would realize that and allow for it.
> > And _I_ REALLY don't care what it said on her tag, since she knew what was what.
>
> I dunno, if she thinks Klonopin is "too addictive" to be used for anxiety, I'm not convinced that she knows so much. (Don't tell her I said that. :-) )*laugh* I won't. And she didn't say that it was too addictive to be used, or too addictive to be used for anxiety, just that she would be uncomfortable prescribing it to someone she'd just met, in the absence of any history besides my intake paperwork. I suspect that once she's gotten to know me a little and perhaps called for my records, she'll be much more comfortable (since I don't have _any_ history of substance abuse).
> > I think we had this discussion before: Is it better to have a GP who knows you and checks their plan, or a psychiatrist or other professional who blows you off?
>
> A GP is different from a nurse or a psychologist. A GP is a doctor.I know. And I phrased that badly but I couldn't think of a better way to say it. I could have stuck with a MD who didn't know their stuff. But I'd rather have someone "lesser" who was more knowledgeable and open to trying different combos.
(we even discussed the use of Zyprexa for my ruminations...when I suggested that to the MD before she looked like I'd suggested beheading chickens by moonlight!!)> > Again, it might have a lot to do with the situation. A sliding-scale clinic would probably see a LOT of folks after addictive drugs.
> Maybe, but that sort of prejudice doesn't justify mistreating their patients (IMHO).Like I said, she didn't really mistreat me or dismiss the idea of Klonopin altogether, just used her judgement and knowledge to gently nudge me towards a less-addicting drug, at least until such time as she feels comfortable giving me something like that.
> > Which I'm glad of, I've seen the horror-stories of getting off Klonopin, have you???
> Withdrawal symptoms aren't the same as drug addiction.Funny you should say that. I'll have to do some research of my own, cuz you seem fairly knowledgeable and so does the lady I saw. But one of you thinks it's addictive (yes, REALLY, requiring more and more to get same effect!) and one thinks it's not.
> > TELL you "this is what you're going to take!".
> That's why I try to talk to them on the phone before making an appointment: to get a feel for whether they're worth my time (and money).WOW, how do you get a doctor to speak personally on the phone?? Do you pretend to be their mother or something?? I've never spoken to my doctor directly on the phone, I always talked to her nurse. I honestly can't imagine talking to her on the phone, or her even having time for that.
>Anyway, I've met psychologists, social workers, and nurses who were just as arrogant and inconsiderate as any doctor! < g >
True, there's jerks in every profession.
> > Like my last one. I'm just glad this woman took my opinion into account and understood
> I understand. I just think you should be able to expect that from any competent clinician.*chuckle* If you take the point of view that attitude and consideration are as important to competence as knowledge, then there's a LOT of incompetent folks practicing!! Unfortunately, I don't think they test for people-skills in med-school. :P
> > Keep in mind, I'd never met this woman before, she didn't have my records, all she had was my word. Wouldn't you give her credit for caution??
>
> Actually, I didn't know she didn't have your records. Usually when I've moved and needed to find a new doctor, s/he's wanted me to release my medical records from previous doctors.Oh, I think (but don't remember) that form was in the intake paperwork somewhere, cuz I know they need a signature for that. So anyway, she WILL have my records I hope, but I didn't fill out intake papers til I got there, so she couldn't have it for first appt.
>I do think that caution is reasonable, but my impression from what you related was that she just dismissed the idea of benzos, rather than setting it aside as something to try if the Buspar doesn't work.
Of course I can't be in her head, but I think that if nothing else worked and I had no more options left, she wouldn't just say "deal with the anxiety and ruminations" and ditch me. :P
If I go to her and say I'm still having these horrible things stuck in my head for days on end, she'll do what it takes. That was the impression I got. And that's what I need.> > (re: dosages and researching them myself)
> That's cool. (I think you should read about the use of higher doses for depression and severe anxiety, of course. :-) )Yes. Will do some more research on that tomorrow. :) I've decided that I'll go up to 30mg/day eventually and see how I feel then. I think I know myself well enuf to tell if it's doing anything at all and plan accordingly.
> > She told me how the tabs look, and how to split them to get an even amount. :)
> They look like little white coffins, don't they?Umm...not to me. They're strips divided by 5mgs, scored into thirds, but then there's a side-score for breaking them in halves.
> > And of course, neither of us were sure how I'd respond til the other meds were out of my system. I'll probably stick with just 10mg/day until then (4 more days!).
> That's a sensible idea, assuming you can afford to take the time.Well, the other meds will be done then, and it's 3 wks til the next appointment. So I'll have two weeks to figure out about BuSpar and if it has _any_ effect then I can stay on it and up-dosage.
> > I think you're overly harsh on < snip >
> You're probably right; I've had problems in the past with doctors who didn't want to prescribe benzodiazepines on the grounds that they were "addictive." They didn't seem to understand that I don't get any kicks out of Xanax or Klonopin and that I've been taking them as needed for years without ever having problems. (Taking more Klonopin than is needed just makes me more likely to fall asleep).*laugh* that's what I wanted Klonopin for. But I do know that I can take herbal sleeping pills and sleep okay most of the time, too.
And if I was already on them and they worked for me, she might have been more apt to keep it going. I can't imagine a doctor refusing to refill a scrip for something you're already on...that's terrible. If there's anything I've learned in my time on this board and dealing with psychiatric meds, it's that if you've got a good thing, go with it!
> >a jar. A jar that would have cost me $100 or more, even just to try out for 3 weeks.
> Let's hear it for samples! (I got my month's worth of Remeron that way, too.)*grin* yeah, I was pretty happy. She could only give me 3 wks of Wellbutrin, cuz samples are smaller packages, but the jar of BuSpar is enough to take it at 30mg/day for a month. :) So I hope it works, it'd be such a waste to throw that out.
> Say, isn't there generic buspirone now?Yup. But the savings isn't extreme. It's $120 for brand-name and $96 for generic. (www.drugstore.com usually has pretty average prices, good for a general idea)
I'm tired out. G'night. :)
sl
poster:sl
thread:70523
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010714/msgs/70772.html