Questions About Anti-Anxiety Drugs (How Long You Took Them, How Did You Wean Off, How Tough Was It?)

[Paromita]

Hello,

Quick question - How many days/months you took anti-anxiety drugs to take the edge off after coming down with tinnitus?
How did you wean off? How tough was it?

I am taking Buspirone 5mg twice a day for anxiety... took it for a week now.

Is there a herbal/supplement way to reduce anxiety? Supplements that can help instead of this tablet?

Also please let me know the dosage. And only if you take it or taken it.

Thanks for your help.

Best Regards, Mita

 

[Booger]

Kava can help with anxiety but I don't really recommend going off prescriptions without consulting a doctor.

 

[Zorro!]

Buspirone is non-habit forming. It is not a benzodiazapine. That said, it doesn't have the greatest track record for actually doing anything. I took the stuff for about a month and it did nothing for me despite my doctor upping my dosage. (From 5 to 30 mgs.) I experienced absolutely no problems with cessation. None. Again, it's not physically addictive so try not to worry too much about that. If you switch to a benzo then you have to worry.

For relaxation herbs you can try chamomile tea which is calming, especially before bed. It's fairly cheap and you should be able to find it at any grocery store in the tea section. Magnesium, while not an herb, is relaxing. Additionally I've found that drinking milk (1%) at night really helps me sleep deeply. Some people don't like milk and/or don't get the relaxing effect. It's personal preference in this regard.

I've tried relaxing herbs like Kava Kava and valarian root and threonine and thiamin and melatonin and glycine and GABA and blah blah blah. Bottom line is that none were effective on a regular basis and some of them made me feel downright lousy.

Do yourself a favor and learn some relaxation techniques. If you do them consistently you should see positive results shortly.

Hang in there!