Anyone have experience with Trazodone?

bioChE · May 23, 2017, 12:04 PM

Hi all, looking to the group to see if I can find people with experience in this area. I've been dealing with sleep issues for a while, and have been taking 25-50mg Seroquel to knock myself out at night. Unfortunately I've been dealing with some weight gain from this, and talked to my doctor about it today. He suggested trying 25-100mg Trazodone instead of the Seroquel.

Does anyone have experience using Trazodone for sleep? AFAIK, the dose isn't high enough to really have antidepressant properties, but it may help with falling asleep. If you'd care to share your personal experience it would be helpful. I'm planning to pick up the script and try 50mg this evening. Hopefully I won't experience some of the nastier side effects I've seen on the 'net. Thanks to anyone for sharing.

BeyondtheRainbow · May 23, 2017, 12:19 PM

I took it with zoloft back before I was diagnosed. We never could find a dose that didn't over-sedate me or not work. But I was in grad school then and kept strange hours with lots of coffee and those things couldn't have helped. (The worst of it was having to take a bus for an 8 AM class on the diagonally opposite side of campus that left at 7:15 and I was barely awake while getting ready or even when I was in class). I eventually went off and back on my first cocktail of zoloft and remeron.

benzenering · May 23, 2017, 12:26 PM

I hear it works for some people, but it didn't for me. I've tried a bunch of sleep meds, to no avail, so I'm just living with insomnia.

Ripose · May 23, 2017, 12:35 PM

I don't remember the dose I was on but Trazodone turned me to complete zombie.

snetterv · May 23, 2017, 12:43 PM

I've been on 150 mg Trazadone for 27 years now, and it works very well for me. If I don't take it I wake up around 2 to 3 and every hour on the hour until I get up. I'm pretty sure you have to take it at a regular time each night. I take mine anywhere between 10 to 12 at night, it just depends on how late I want to stay awake. If your groggy in the morning start at the lowest dose, and break it in half and start with that. You can inch up from their as your body is acclimated to it.

Cocosurviving · May 23, 2017, 12:48 PM

I also can not remember the dose I was on but it did not work for me. I would get to sleep then wake up a few hours later unable to sleep. My dosage was increased and still the same.

May 23, 2017, 12:49 PM

My wife swears by Trazedone. She only experiences ill effects if something or someone prevents her from having a full night's sleep. It's a drug that she says you need to sleep off or it will wreak some havoc on you.

May 23, 2017, 02:07 PM

I take it for sleep. Works really well for me. I'm on a high dose tho. I've been on it for about 2 yrs. I was able to get off a high dose of zyprexa and switch to it. Good luck!

Crook32 · May 23, 2017, 02:09 PM

I did the whole Seroquel rollercoaster it helped me sleep but I was gaining a ton of weight. So I was switched to Trazodone and I was violently ill from the first dose. So I was scared for a long time to try anything else. For the last few months I have been on Doxepin and it has worked well. I am in the process of reducing the dose to find the sweet spot. Good luck and I hope you find what you need.

hopeless2015 · May 23, 2017, 02:38 PM

I tried it for awhile and honestly just felt to drugged up the next day, just didn't work out for me

Bugtussel · May 23, 2017, 02:44 PM

It worked for me, but as others have said you need to find your lowest dose. For me 50 mg was enough to give me a good nights sleep without undue grogginess the next day.

wildflowerchild25 · May 23, 2017, 03:04 PM

I took 100mg and slept well and did not have a "hangover". Seroquel gave me severe next day grogginess, as most sedating meds do. Trazadone is the only one that doesn't.

~Christina · May 23, 2017, 03:10 PM

I didn't even have a extended blink from that stuff at 400mg !

Ask your Pdoc about Doxipin.. It works for me which I honestly was surprised that helped with my life long Chronic Insomnia.. Some nights I still dont get a wink. But it sure helps me from going 5-7 days at a time wide awake like in the past.

It will probably stop working at some point, but I try not to think of that. lol

bioChE · May 23, 2017, 03:32 PM

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. I guess I'll give 50mg a shot tonight. If I don't check in tomorrow, just assume I'm hung over from it.

Wonderfalls · May 23, 2017, 04:14 PM

Even at 200mg trazodone did nothing for me.

raspberrytorte · May 23, 2017, 04:47 PM

It didn't work for me. Never made me tired, but still gave me a med hangover the next day.

BipolaRNurse · May 23, 2017, 05:12 PM

I've been taking 100 mg at night for sleep and it works almost TOO well. I'm always groggy in the morning. I'm experimenting with it right now---I haven't taken it in several nights and voila, I'm less of a slug in the AM. I may go back to 50 mg if anything goes sideways and I start having issues with sleep again.

Moose72 · May 23, 2017, 05:18 PM

I've been taking it for years. (Dose in my sig.) The first time I took it, I walked from the bathroom to my bedroom and fell over onto the floor! Its a good thing I had some pillows on the floor! But now it just helps me sleep. I get up fresh and ready for the day, too.

Unrigged64072835 · May 23, 2017, 05:39 PM

I used 100mg and it didn't work for me.

May 23, 2017, 07:17 PM

I don't know if this is relevant to the OP, but trazadone can cause migraines. I took 50mg for sleep for 14 days and had 8 migraines! And it didn't make me sleep either! I heard afterwards that they used to use trazadone to induce migraines for drug studies into migraine treatments, but I haven't been able to verify if that was indeed the case. But if you have a history of migraines, be prepared that trazadone might make it worse.

All the best,

*Willow*

bioChE · May 23, 2017, 07:27 PM

Oh, that sucks. Sorry you went through that. And a bit dangerous for me, as I have a history of migraine. I haven't had one in about five years, and hopefully won't get one.

Moose72 · May 24, 2017, 08:07 AM

I take it every day and get migraines every so often.

bioChE · May 24, 2017, 10:07 AM

Well, night #1 on 50mg Trazodone went pretty well. My doc said to try 25mg first, but based on a lot of experiences I read online, I decided to give 50mg a shot. Had a few weird dreams and kinda woke up/dozed a few times, but slept enough to feel well rested in the morning. Waking up during the night felt really weird; I was conscious, but felt pleasantly drugged as well, kinda like I was floating on a cloud. Not at all like waking up the previous night on Seroquel, pissed that I hadn't slept straight through.

Anyway, I'll stick it in the "cautiously hopeful" category. If I can use this instead of Seroquel, I think it'll help me lose some weight. Looking forward to seeing what happens tonight.

May 24, 2017, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bioChE

Oh, that sucks. Sorry you went through that. And a bit dangerous for me, as I have a history of migraine. I haven't had one in about five years, and hopefully won't get one.

Well, my GP, who prescribed it, said it was an uncommon side effect and seemed surprised that I had that many, but then I heard about it being used to induce migraines, which if true doesn't make it sound like an unusual side effect, so idk?

As ever, YMMV and unfortunately the only way to know for sure is to give it a try.

All the best with it,

*Willow*

Pamster · May 24, 2017, 04:52 PM

Hi bioChE, I took trazodone for a few years, I was told by a primary care dr, that it can cause night time binge eating, and yep, that was happening. I weaned off of it recently, miss it in a way, I slept great on it, but I too get really intense migraines. I hope it works for you.

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