buspirone vs mirtazapine
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Side-by-side comparison of buspirone and mirtazapine. Data from FDA drug databases (Orange Book, NDC Directory, recalls, shortages) covering 20,000+ approved drugs, plus CMS pricing; see our methodology.
minor Known Drug Interaction
John’s Wort, tramadol, tryptophan, buspirone Strong CYP3A Inducers Clinical Impact The concomitant use of strong CYP3A inducers with mirtazapine decreases the plasma concentration of mirtazapine [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ].
BuSpar
Remeron
Buspirone is a medicine that can help manage anxiety disorders. It can also provide short-term relief from anxiety symptoms.
Mirtazapine is a medicine used to treat depression in adults. It can help improve your mood and energy levels.
Buspirone is used to manage anxiety disorders. It can also help relieve anxiety symptoms for a short time. This medicine is often used for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), which involves constant worry and tension.
Mirtazapine is used to treat major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults. This condition can cause you to feel sad, lose interest in activities, and have trouble with sleeping or eating. Mirtazapine can help improve these symptoms.
Buspirone affects certain chemicals in your brain that may be unbalanced. This helps to reduce anxiety. It is different from other anxiety medicines like benzodiazepines.
Mirtazapine works by affecting certain chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. It helps to increase the levels of norepinephrine and serotonin. These chemicals can help improve mood and reduce symptoms of depression.
- • Dizziness
- • Nausea
- • Headache
- • Nervousness
- • Lightheadedness
- • Feeling sleepy
- • Increased appetite
- • Weight gain
- • Dizziness
- Fatigue 759
- Nausea 744
- Headache 675
- Anxiety 636
- Pain 541
- Nausea 4,838
- Fatigue 4,715
- Fall 4,027
- Diarrhoea 3,961
- Toxicity To Various Agents 3,703
You should not take buspirone if you are taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) antidepressant or have taken one in the past 14 days. Do not start buspirone if you are being treated with linezolid or intravenous methylene blue because of the risk of serotonin syndrome. Serotonin syndrome is a very serious condition.
Antidepressants may increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in young adults. Your doctor should closely watch you for worsening depression or suicidal thoughts. Mirtazapine is not approved for use in children.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. It is not known if buspirone will harm your unborn baby. Buspirone may pass into breast milk.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Mirtazapine should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed. Talk to your doctor if you are breastfeeding.
How to Read This buspirone vs mirtazapine Comparison
buspirone is classified in the Azapirone Anxiolytic drug class, while mirtazapine sits within the Noradrenergic and Specific Serotonergic Antidepressant (NaSSA) class. Drugs from different classes work through distinct mechanisms, so a head-to-head comparison illustrates trade-offs rather than equivalence. Both drugs are prescription-only, so a licensed provider must authorize use.
Adverse event totals above are pulled from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). For these top-ranked reactions alone, buspirone has 3,355 submissions while mirtazapine has 21,244. Those figures reflect cumulative reporting volume, not per-patient risk, so older, widely dispensed drugs typically look worse on count alone. These two drugs have a known minor interaction flagged in FDA labeling, attributed to using these drugs together can cause the body to clear mirtazapine faster, which lowers the amount of medicine in your blood.. Serious warnings, pregnancy guidance, and contraindications can differ even when indications overlap.
A table cannot represent individual circumstances. Data here is sourced from FDA Structured Product Labels (SPL) and FAERS, both of which update as manufacturers and clinicians submit new information. This registry does not provide medical, treatment, substitution, or medication-change directions for buspirone or mirtazapine.
Registry boundary: This comparison displays source-record fields and does not provide individualized medical direction.