Well, I am now on an increased dose of Buspar ( up from 10 to 15 mg twice a day)after the Dr. visit this month. I told him I do not want to continue to add more drugs and raise dosages. He asked how much of the prescribed dosage of Xanax I was taking ( I was allowed 1 Mg. twice daily) and said "Well, you're not abusing them"; so I am sure he doesn't feel concerned about that happening. I do know that I tried to skip one bedtime dose of the Xanax and had insomnia that night immediately; regardless of being on the buspar for 6 weeks at that point. I told him I took half of what he recommended in the a.m . And that I even try to skip a day in between if the day is not too stressful; then the full 1 Mg. for bedtime. In the event that I am having a bad day dealing with something that is confrontational; at home or otherwise; and I get the palpitations that start in ; I take it PRN. I also learned from the ARPN in his office that my Dr. is using the Buspar to keep my Xanax level under control; to level me off so as to not need more. Buspar does not deal with insomnia so most likely I will be on Xanax for the "duration", i.e. for life. I am not thrilled to hear it. In these critical times; those of us with anxiety issues that go way back; have to view it as an insulin diabetic needing insulin . I try to be balanced. My friends do see me feeling better from their perspective. sometimes it is hard to look at yourslef and be that way, so when i see the Dr. in November again will try to stop where i am at with everything and hope it remains stable and effective. Hope all of you are doing well with your efforts to live a happier life... I sure am trying...
Thanks so much for the feedback. I will research it more. I do believe the Xanax is too much of a "dependency affiliated" drug; although I do have several friends who have been on it nightly just for sleep. One for 15 years and she has never had a problem with needing a higher dose. I need to know if Buspar will take care of my insomnia problems, mainly as I can't ever go back to the lack of sleep I lived with. My Doctor of ten years tried many different meds ; but all were anti-depressant meds; even though my diagnosis was Anxiety and I continually was told I am not a depressive personality. They were useless. I never got any sleep and my anxiety level never improved. Finally the G.A.D. diagnosis was recognized when I brought up some things from my mid- teens which occurred. Let it suffice to say I lived with a former WWII P.O.W. father. I will see what my visit in mid October brings and keep it posted here. I appreciate the support and comments. :)
He may be getting ready to wean you off xanax or supplement it with buspar until it takes full effect. see:
"Unlike the benzodiazepines, buspirone shows no potential for addiction or dependence, and the development of tolerance has not been observed"
"Often patients have to be initially co-treated with a benzodiazepine for an immediate anxiolytic effect."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buspar#Comparison_to_benzodiazepines
I am not really sure what your doctor wants to do, but why don't you ask him? Xanax is usually prescribed short term and you can definitely build up a tolerance to it, in my opinion. It could be to wean you off, but he would probably advise you to taper slowly off of it first...keep us posted!