Trazodone: Common sleep drug is little-known antidepressant

[sammmy]

You take that much ibuprofen because you have inflammation like arthritis?

Very few people report that pure ibuprofen improves their sleep. I am one of those - in my case it may be brain inflammation that ibuprofen suppresses. I sometimes take it as an addon to my sleep med temazepam. Ibuprofen is not strong enough to induce sleep for me.

 

[Sly]

You take that much ibuprofen because you have inflammation like arthritis?

Very few people report that pure ibuprofen improves their sleep. I am one of those - in my case it may be brain inflammation that ibuprofen suppresses. I sometimes take it as an addon to my sleep med temazepam. Ibuprofen is not strong enough to induce sleep for me.

Yes, very severe arthritis.

 

[Sly]

I took Ambien once and had hallucinations. Never again

 

[TRT1986]

I've used Trazadone for sleep for years. My biggest issue with it is that it's really hard to get off. I tried to stop cold turkey once and felt horrendous. I didn't know about withdrawal until I experienced. I did some bro-science research and found lots of similar stories.

Another time, I tried to taper off, but that didn't work either, so I said, "F it - I'll just stay on it."

My two cents.

I thought Trazodone would not cause dependency. I use 25mg probably a couple of times per month, it works great. Have you tried perhaps tapering off along with something else like maybe pharma grade tryptophan since it promotes serotonin synthesis?

 

[Vtail]

You take that much ibuprofen because you have inflammation like arthritis?

Very few people report that pure ibuprofen improves their sleep. I am one of those - in my case it may be brain inflammation that ibuprofen suppresses. I sometimes take it as an addon to my sleep med temazepam. Ibuprofen is not strong enough to induce sleep for me.

Ibuprofen helps me sleep by slowing down urine production. Without it I have to pee at least once/night and often twice, and once I'm awake I always have trouble getting back to sleep. When I take Ibuprofen I can go 6-7 hours without having to pee. So its another tool I keep in my insomnia toolbox. I have a bunch of 'things' that I use in rotation so as not to become dependent on any one drug/supplement.

 

[bruin]

I was initially prescribed Trazadone 25mg for insomnia, I looked up the drug and was concerened that to find in some information that it was initially used or developed as a drug for bipolar symptoms. I asked my Dr is he was holding anything back about my dx.

The dosage increased over a period of time to 150mg, the only noticeable side affects were the periodic morning brain fog or slight hangover sensation. When I asked for an increase in my dosage because the 150mg was no longer working, the Dr was visibly alarmed and said he had nothing more to offer as I Was at the max dosage.

At that point I decided that I was quitting Traz, I quit cold turkey. Delved into sleep hygiene practices and mental exercises to learn how to get a full night's rest or fall back to sleep. 80%+ part of the time I am successful, and I have learned how to cope with the days where I do not get my full 8 hours of sleep.

 

[Keepfit1]

I recently stopped taking trazodone. I had been taking it for several years for insomnia. I originally started taking 50mg/night and eventually ended up taking 150mg/night to get a good complete night's sleep. It works well for insomnia. Take the pill and 20min later I was out.

My t was low when I started it. I had zero libido, Ed, etc. Trazodone was prescribed to me as possibly being helpful to my low t issues by improving my sleep. Simultaneously, I worked my way through all types of low t treatment until I switched to defy and they got all my labs in the right range. The problem was, I still had no libido. No sexual desire at all. My t was at 1200 and I had zero libido.

After too long, I finally put 2 and 2 together. Trazodone was basically numbing my penis. I stopped taking the trazodone and almost immediately my libido came back and Ed went away. I feel better than I have in years, except for not sleeping well. I'm not 100 pct perfect, but trazodone was definitely ****ing with my libido.

Trazodone seems like such a simple drug. You take it, and you sleep better. Easy peasy. What you don't realize is that it is messing with your brain. You feel like if you don't need it, you can just skip it. It seems like it is just like taking an aspirin. But the reality is that this stuff is addicting to the point where you have major withdrawal symptoms if you do stop taking it.


I went for nearly 2 weeks without being able to really sleep at all after stopping it. Even now, over a month after stopping, I don't feel fully over the withdrawal. Google trazodone withdrawal for more info.

Trazodone is a much more serious drug than I ever thought.

I'm sure it doesn't work the same for everybody, but be cautious on this one. It really messed with me. I will never start taking it again unless I expect to stay on it permanently.

thats unusual , if you read the leaflet one of the side effects is long lasting erections, ive been on it 15 years and no sides at all and no change to erections

 

[Keepfit1]

What are the top prescribed drugs for insomnia—Ambien?Lunesta? Yes, but there's another: a three-decade-old generic antidepressantcalled trazodone, which causes drowsiness as a potentially useful side effect. A recent U.S. study in the journal Sleep found it to be one of most commonly used medications to treat sleeplessness.




Should You Take Trazodone for Insomnia? - Consumer Reports

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Trazadone has been prescribed for sleep forever, its one of the more benign ones, I have been on it 50mg for sleep at night and no sides, however although they say its not addictive I cant sleep without it now, one of these days I am going to try ween off it, I started it because of long haul time difference flights weekly and just sort of stayed on it , maybe try Melatonin first ?

 

[Gianluca]

That’s interesting to see how many have reported building tolerance to it plus addiction. A doc in the HRT space a couple of years ago RX it to me and said there was no addiction to it, good thing I use it once in a while

 

[sammmy]

They simply confuse what "drug addiction" means, which is typical for anecdotal reviews of psychotropic drugs: if you can't sleep without trazodone, taking it to make you sleep does not mean you are "addicted to it for sleep" because your insomnia is not a problem created by the drug.

It's like claiming that someone that has low testosterone and does TRT is "addicted to testosterone" because once they stop TRT, their testosterone will be again low.

They simply confuse drug effectiveness as "addiction to it".

 

[Fortunate]

I thought Trazodone would not cause dependency. I use 25mg probably a couple of times per month, it works great. Have you tried perhaps tapering off along with something else like maybe pharma grade tryptophan since it promotes serotonin synthesis?

I’ve only made a few halfhearted attempts to get off of it. But, you make a good suggestion. At some point, I may try it again. However, I need something else to help me as a crutch during the transition. Appreciate the recommendation.

 

[Dr.V.P.C.]

Trazodone, unlike ambien, is NOT for ocasional use. If you use it ocasionally it will give you a hangover. It's for daily use and after some weird initial days, the body adjust to the drug, great sleep architechture and no sleepy mornings or hangovers.

 

[sammmy]

The problem with trazodone that nobody cares to mention here, is that it is an actual antidepressant acting on the serotonin system, with the corresponding risk of sexual side effects.

I've taken only 2 doses of 25mg in 2018 and instantly detected severe exacerbation of delayed ejaculation/orgasm that I have and I also had weak erection, a problem I don't have in general.