snooter76
10-23-2003, 07:36 PM
Is there anyone out there that sleeps 8 hours or less during the night and wakes up feeling like they haven't sleep at all. This is the way I have been feeling the last several weeks. I had a Dr. apt today (10-23-03)and I told her what had been going on. So she wrote me a prescribition for Trazodone 50mgs and told me to take it a half an hour before I go to bed. But when I got home and looked up the info all I could find was information telling me this medication was for depression, not for sleeplessness. And I am already on medication for depression. So what I want to know is, Is there anyone out there taking this medication for sleeplessness and does it work? Also am I going to have to take this medication every night in order to sleep or is my sleeping pattern going to go back to normal?
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danmc15
10-24-2003, 08:00 AM
I have been taking Trazadone for insomnia for about 6 months. (I also have the same symptoms as you, i.e. "sleeping" for 8 hours and waking up feeling terrible.)
Trazadone is one of the earliest anti-depressants, called tricyclics, and other drugs in this class include Elavil and Remeron, which are also prescribed for sleep. These drugs have largely been replaced by the SSRI's (Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, Zoloft, etc.) in treating depression, so they are usually only prescribed for depression as a last resort after the SSRIs have failed.
But, because these tricyclics have such strong sedating qualities, they are now used to treat insomnia. They are not addicting and have very low side-effect profiles, which could include dizziness or a hang-over effect the next morning.
My own experience is that I started taking 25mg about 1-2 hours before bedtime and, miracle of miracles, for the first time in my life (I'm 38) I fell asleep quickly and had a full night of restful sleep, waking up a full hour before my alarm and feeling great.
Now the bad news, in my case I found that after taking 25mg for a few weeks the effects started to wear off, so I'm still experimenting with dosages and may even try either Elavil or Remeron for comparison.
Keep in mind, with this post and others, these are only my experiences and you may have a completely different reaction, but in my research I have found that Trazadone seems to be one of the most effective long-term insomnia treatments.
Trazadone is one of the earliest anti-depressants, called tricyclics, and other drugs in this class include Elavil and Remeron, which are also prescribed for sleep. These drugs have largely been replaced by the SSRI's (Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, Zoloft, etc.) in treating depression, so they are usually only prescribed for depression as a last resort after the SSRIs have failed.
But, because these tricyclics have such strong sedating qualities, they are now used to treat insomnia. They are not addicting and have very low side-effect profiles, which could include dizziness or a hang-over effect the next morning.
My own experience is that I started taking 25mg about 1-2 hours before bedtime and, miracle of miracles, for the first time in my life (I'm 38) I fell asleep quickly and had a full night of restful sleep, waking up a full hour before my alarm and feeling great.
Now the bad news, in my case I found that after taking 25mg for a few weeks the effects started to wear off, so I'm still experimenting with dosages and may even try either Elavil or Remeron for comparison.
Keep in mind, with this post and others, these are only my experiences and you may have a completely different reaction, but in my research I have found that Trazadone seems to be one of the most effective long-term insomnia treatments.
danmc15
10-24-2003, 08:08 AM
Also, some other comments:
Did your doctor recommend a sleep study? The symptoms that you described could be caused by sleep apnea, which Trazadone will not alleviate. If you sleep is disturbed as bad as you describe, you should have a sleep study done to rule out apnea as the cause. Then the tricyclics may help.
As far as your normal sleep pattern re-emerging, that seems to be the big question...Do I have to take meds the rest of my life? I am not qualified to answer this, and only time will tell, but Trazadone is not something that you would generally have to worry about for long term physicial effects (as opposed to using drugs such as benzodiazapems or hypnotics as sleep aids.)
Did your doctor recommend a sleep study? The symptoms that you described could be caused by sleep apnea, which Trazadone will not alleviate. If you sleep is disturbed as bad as you describe, you should have a sleep study done to rule out apnea as the cause. Then the tricyclics may help.
As far as your normal sleep pattern re-emerging, that seems to be the big question...Do I have to take meds the rest of my life? I am not qualified to answer this, and only time will tell, but Trazadone is not something that you would generally have to worry about for long term physicial effects (as opposed to using drugs such as benzodiazapems or hypnotics as sleep aids.)
snooter76
10-24-2003, 05:54 PM
My dr told me to take the Trazodone a half hour before I go to bed. Well last night I took it and went right to bed, but I wasn't thinking. I woke up this morning just like I hadn't had 8 hours of sleep. I guess I should have taken it a half hour before I went to bed and maybe it would have worked. I am going to try taking it a half hour before bed tonight and see what happens. Does anyone know if Trazodone is addictive?
cloverberry
10-27-2003, 05:01 PM
I've been taking Trazodone for around 6 years now and I'm very happy with it.
danmc15
10-28-2003, 07:48 AM
A correction to my earlier post: Trazadone is not a tricyclic antidepressant; it is one of the earlier used antidepressants but it chemically different from the tricyclics.
zavey
10-29-2003, 02:35 AM
i take a crapload of drugs at night and can't sleep.
i used to take 300mg of trazadone to help me fall asleep. it made me extremely nauseous for the first half hour after i took it.
now i take 20mg ambien (10mg is the max. dose approved in the US), 1mg xanax, 100mg prozac, 300mg soma - all of which cause drowsiness, plus others and bed time and i still can't sleep at night. a 10mg dose of ambien itself should knock me out for hours. as it is, i take 20mg and several hours later i'm still wide awake. of course, i have chronic migraines, depression, anxiety - so i wake up a lot because of pain or anxiety.
i used to take 300mg of trazadone to help me fall asleep. it made me extremely nauseous for the first half hour after i took it.
now i take 20mg ambien (10mg is the max. dose approved in the US), 1mg xanax, 100mg prozac, 300mg soma - all of which cause drowsiness, plus others and bed time and i still can't sleep at night. a 10mg dose of ambien itself should knock me out for hours. as it is, i take 20mg and several hours later i'm still wide awake. of course, i have chronic migraines, depression, anxiety - so i wake up a lot because of pain or anxiety.
ToCutOrNotToCut?
10-31-2003, 02:29 PM
Dear Snooter,
The reason why people can take Trazadone and not feel like they have slept at all is b/c it is a sedating anti-depressant that does not have an indication for insomnia. MDs use it for it's side effect profile, which include sedation. However, being sedated is not the same as sleeping. The body goes through a normal pattern when you are sleeping, and there are different stages of sleep including stages 1 and 2, 3 and 4 (which is where physical restoration occurs) and REM (which is where cognitive restoration occurs). Unfortunately, Trazadone does not maintain your normal sleep architecture. This is why many people can wake up not feeling as if they have slept. I would consult with your MD and ask for a sleep aid that preserves your natural sleep architecture...there are only two out there: Sonata and Ambien. Sonata helps people get to sleep and is eliminated from the body in about 4 hours. Ambien helps people get to sleep, stay asleep and not wake too early. It is eliminated from the body after about 6 hours. You should not wake feeling groggy on either medication, and should also get good sleep. In addition, I would ask your physician to provide you with some information on sleep hygeine tips.
The reason why people can take Trazadone and not feel like they have slept at all is b/c it is a sedating anti-depressant that does not have an indication for insomnia. MDs use it for it's side effect profile, which include sedation. However, being sedated is not the same as sleeping. The body goes through a normal pattern when you are sleeping, and there are different stages of sleep including stages 1 and 2, 3 and 4 (which is where physical restoration occurs) and REM (which is where cognitive restoration occurs). Unfortunately, Trazadone does not maintain your normal sleep architecture. This is why many people can wake up not feeling as if they have slept. I would consult with your MD and ask for a sleep aid that preserves your natural sleep architecture...there are only two out there: Sonata and Ambien. Sonata helps people get to sleep and is eliminated from the body in about 4 hours. Ambien helps people get to sleep, stay asleep and not wake too early. It is eliminated from the body after about 6 hours. You should not wake feeling groggy on either medication, and should also get good sleep. In addition, I would ask your physician to provide you with some information on sleep hygeine tips.
snooter76
11-06-2003, 12:15 AM
I have read a lot on this board where people have become addicted to Ambien. Is this true? My dr. upped the Trazadone to 100mgs and that doesn't seem to be working either. But I don't take it everynight. Thanks for your information and I will talk to my dr about the 2 sleeping pills you told me about.
[/FONT]Dear Snooter,
The reason why people can take Trazadone and not feel like they have slept at all is b/c it is a sedating anti-depressant that does not have an indication for insomnia. MDs use it for it's side effect profile, which include sedation. However, being sedated is not the same as sleeping. The body goes through a normal pattern when you are sleeping, and there are different stages of sleep including stages 1 and 2, 3 and 4 (which is where physical restoration occurs) and REM (which is where cognitive restoration occurs). Unfortunately, Trazadone does not maintain your normal sleep architecture. This is why many people can wake up not feeling as if they have slept. I would consult with your MD and ask for a sleep aid that preserves your natural sleep architecture...there are only two out there: Sonata and Ambien. Sonata helps people get to sleep and is eliminated from the body in about 4 hours. Ambien helps people get to sleep, stay asleep and not wake too early. It is eliminated from the body after about 6 hours. You should not wake feeling groggy on either medication, and should also get good sleep. In addition, I would ask your physician to provide you with some information on sleep hygeine tips.
[FONT=Times New Roman]
[/FONT]Dear Snooter,
The reason why people can take Trazadone and not feel like they have slept at all is b/c it is a sedating anti-depressant that does not have an indication for insomnia. MDs use it for it's side effect profile, which include sedation. However, being sedated is not the same as sleeping. The body goes through a normal pattern when you are sleeping, and there are different stages of sleep including stages 1 and 2, 3 and 4 (which is where physical restoration occurs) and REM (which is where cognitive restoration occurs). Unfortunately, Trazadone does not maintain your normal sleep architecture. This is why many people can wake up not feeling as if they have slept. I would consult with your MD and ask for a sleep aid that preserves your natural sleep architecture...there are only two out there: Sonata and Ambien. Sonata helps people get to sleep and is eliminated from the body in about 4 hours. Ambien helps people get to sleep, stay asleep and not wake too early. It is eliminated from the body after about 6 hours. You should not wake feeling groggy on either medication, and should also get good sleep. In addition, I would ask your physician to provide you with some information on sleep hygeine tips.
[FONT=Times New Roman]
zavey
11-06-2003, 12:30 AM
snooter -
once you take ambien on a regular basis for a while, when you stop taking it, it's very hard to sleep for several weeks. your body becomes dependent on it for sleep. as for me, i'm now taking double the dose that's approved in the united states and it doesn't knock me out. my body seems to have become used to the medication. the one bad side effect is memory loss during the time the ambien is in your system.
once you take ambien on a regular basis for a while, when you stop taking it, it's very hard to sleep for several weeks. your body becomes dependent on it for sleep. as for me, i'm now taking double the dose that's approved in the united states and it doesn't knock me out. my body seems to have become used to the medication. the one bad side effect is memory loss during the time the ambien is in your system.