Buspirone is an anti-anxiety medication that you may come across in clinical practice or on test day. In this video, we're going to give you an easy visual way to remember all the key information about buspirone. For today's mnemonic, we're heading to the bus stop. We're going to use the bus to symbolize the medication buspirone.
Bus for buspirone? Easy enough, right? Let's move on to talk about the clinical uses of buspirone.
This woman here at the bus stop looks super anxious. She must have just missed the last bus, which is definitely going to make her late for work. You can use this anxious woman to remember that buspirone treats anxiety.
Buspirone works by binding to and activating serotonin and dopamine receptors in our brain. This helps to relieve feelings of anxiety. Buspirone is actually one of the best treatments for anxiety because it doesn't have many of the side effects seen with benzodiazepines or SSRIs, nor does it have any risk for tolerance and abuse. All right, just one more thing you should know about buspirone. It's no wonder this woman is anxious.
Take a look at the sign on the bus stop. The next bus has been delayed, and not just by a little. It looks like a whole two weeks? Now I'm getting anxious for her. When you think about this delayed bus for two weeks, I want you to remember that buspirone has a delayed onset of action.
In fact, the drug can take two or more weeks for a patient to notice a difference in their overall anxiety levels. Therefore, buspirone is not appropriate to give for panic attacks or sporadic use for anxiety attacks, since the drug can't work fast enough to help in acute cases. Since the onset of action is so delayed, providers may prescribe another anti-anxiety medication to manage the patient's initial anxiety to take until the effects of buspirone eventually kick in after two weeks.
Just remember, if a patient feels like buspirone isn't working for them and it's been less than two weeks, you probably haven't waited long enough. All good things take time. Well, at this point, we'd better look for another bus to take to work.
Let's quickly review what we've learned before we go. Buspirone is a mental health drug that is primarily prescribed to treat anxiety. Importantly, buspirone has a delayed onset of about two weeks, so it is not effective for treating acute panic attacks. Buspirone is a great option for chronic treatment of anxiety because it has minimal side effects compared to other anti-anxiety medications.
And that's it! Short and sweet, just how I like it. I'll catch you in the next one!
For more resources on this topic, including fact lists and interactive review images, click the image next to the More Here arrow. I'll see you next time.