[Nessa213]

Before coming to these forums I knew just about NOTHING about any kind of psych meds. Lithium, Lamictal, Risperdal, Depakote, Seroquel... I've heard a lot of stories from everyone around here about their own experiences with a very wide variety of meds.

Today my pdoc wrote a script for Trazodone, which I don't know if I've ever heard anyone mention around here. He wrote it specifically for my sleeping issues and only on an "as needed" basis. He's pretty tight fisted with meds, which I've actually learned to really appreciate. (If it matters... the script is for 50mg. Is that a normal dose?)

So what say you? Anyone have any experiences with Trazodone? I wouldn't be taking it daily (or nightly I should say). My sleep issues only seem to bother me hard core every few weeks. Weight neutral? Nauseating? Work well?

[joe50000]

50mg is the standard dose if you're having difficulty with sleeping.

If it works for you, and hopefully it does, it's great. It's not habit forming, it's not euphoric, but it does help you get to sleep. When I started taking it, I was having racing thoughts at night and in the morning, and usually in the morning I would have minor auditory hallucinations that would make getting up a real pain.

Now I can sleep 5-6 hours a night and I get really good rest. I wake up and I feel energized and refreshed.

If you feel groggy, then try and see if he can cut your dose down to 25 mg, although i'm not sure if that dosage exists.

If you're taking it for depression, 150 mg is usually the standard dose, but I would be careful with that as that can completely knock you out. I once slept almost 24 hours when I took 150 mg.

[Otter63]

I've never taken it, but my husband has for years. He has insomnia and it has worked well for him. He has tried many different meds and Trazadone is the only one that has worked well.

I don't believe there are any weight issues with it. I might be wrong, but I think it is an anti-depressant. Although I think it works better for sleep than depression.

[thickntired]

It gave me horrible nightmares so now I take amitryptiline spell??
It's an old antidepressant anti anxiety med that also helps with pain and is cheap. I sleep great now.

[vjdragonfly]

I took trazadone for a while, I think it was 50mg. It didn't work for me, but I have noticed with bi-polar there is a great fluctuation on what works with each individual. Try it and if it doesn't work or have undesirable side effects then talk to your pdoc. Everything seems to be trial and error.

[hamster-bamster]

I took it. First it worked well. 50 mg. Then I needed to up the dose and then it just stopped working altogether. But no side effects.

I was on it for years, and it did help me sleep. They started me at 50 mg, and worked me up to 200 mg every night, as I just wasn't sleep. But that 200 mg put me down in about 30 minutes. My new pdoc pulled me off, b/c it is an anti-depressant, and could cause racing thoughts, and other manic symptoms.

So that being said, if you notice any manic symptoms, notify your pdoc soon.

Jeff

[comicgeek007]

It made me stoned, even small doses (12.5mg-25mg). It also made my blood pressure drop so that I couldn't even walk up a flight of stairs without nearly passing out, let alone run or do any exercise.

[ultramar]

I was prescribed trazadone many years ago for sleep (didn't help much). My understanding is that it is a very old antidepressant which is no longer used as such largely because the therapeutic dose (much higher than the dose used for sleep) caused way too much sedation. These days, it's a sleep aid. To my knowledge it's not prescribed for or as an adjunct for mood disorders, just sleep.

[Nessa213]

Originally Posted by comicgeek007

It made me stoned, even small doses (12.5mg-25mg). It also made my blood pressure drop so that I couldn't even walk up a flight of stairs without nearly passing out, let alone run or do any exercise.

I've heard that it (and a lot of other thing really) end up being more activating at lower doses.

Thanks everyone for your experiences. My doctor also said that in the morning I may feel "sick" like I have a hangover. Is this common or just the first few times you take it?

[bluemountains]

I tried it, but it worked strangely for me. I did go to sleep but I had terrible dreams and was restless during the night. Then during the day, I was so sleepy that I was afraid to drive at times.
Bluemountains

[ultramar]

Originally Posted by Nessa213

I've heard that it (and a lot of other thing really) end up being more activating at lower doses.

Thanks everyone for your experiences. My doctor also said that in the morning I may feel "sick" like I have a hangover. Is this common or just the first few times you take it?

Oh I got awful hangovers! Between that and it not helping much with sleep, I stopped it. Hope it works for you, though! I'd ask your pdoc if it can have any of the kind of activating properties of newer antidepressants. My pdoc at the time told me that the therapeutic dose for depression -back in the day- was just astronomical, and the sleep dose is by comparison very low, so by that logic I would think it wouldn't be activating bc you wouldn't be at a high enough dose. Good idea to ck it out with the pdoc though. Good luck.

[Nessa213]

So I took it on Friday night and then again on Saturday night. For two nights in a row I actually had 8 hours of sleep for the first time in forever. THAT part was amazing.

But yesterday I was literally more scatterbrained and... frantic... as I think I've been in a while. (And by a "while" I mean at least a few weeks. So yes... a "while" is kind of loosely defined.) Coincidence probably, but still.

(Not sure how many men with read this...)

But I was also having breast tenderness that was absolutely AWFUL. Like... for any ladies that have been pregnant... that's exactly what it felt like! I looked it up and only about 1% of people experience that. So I guess I'm just lucky I guess (Also, I'm on birth control, so the odds of it actually being from pregnancy is just about impossible.) I'm going to try it again tonight though to see if it was just a fluke.



And I hope it was a fluke actually. I really liked getting sleep. Last night I took tylonol PM and still couldn't fall asleep until 12:30 and then i woke up before 5 just like I usually do. So sad.