anyone taking trazodone for help with sleep?

I have been taking trazodone for about 10 months now and it's saved my life. I had been sleeping in patches of 15 minutes (total of 45 minutes a night) for the better half of my life. I just grew accustome to it and had no choice but to deal with the migrains, body aches and irritability that came with it. When I got married and finally got medical the first thing I went to the doctor for was my sleep situation. I honestly thought they would give me some ambien and send me on my way. All of a sudden I was balling my eyes out to the psychologist they sent me too because I felt like they didn't understand the fact that I couldn't fall asleep. NO I wasn't thinking about stuff at night, NO I wasn't worried about anything, NO im not anxious. I just wanted to sleep and it never seemed like my brain would allow me to do it. Im not lying when I say that I've stayed up for about fivbe days straight. I was diagnosed with chronic insomnia and perscribed trazodone and was told to start at 25mg and as each week passed, if it wasn't working, up the dosage. I'm now on 100mg a night and can't live with out it. I've tried and I get frustrated when Im up all night again and back to what it was like for years. It scares me to think that if I don't have it i'll go back to those days of just sitting up and watching my husband sleep wondering why it's so easy for him. I recently got assigned another doctor and the first thing she said to me on my first visit (to refill the rx) was "i think your addicted" I was flaborgasted at the fact that she was accusing me of being an addict. I stormed out of there and started my investigation. I have read that it is not a narcotic and not addictive but some patients develope a psychological and physical dependense on it. However, they bring this upon themselves, the drug doesn't create the want. I understand that because I do fear that if I don't have it than I wont sleep, in fact I know that. But, it's not like im gonna do whatever it takes to get it like a junkie or something. My doctor has refused to refill my rx and in about three weeks im going to run out. Im very nervous to see what life will be like......

Hi! I've had problems with insomnia since early this year.. my parents (one of whom is an ER doctor) didn't want me on sleep meds because they were afraid I'd become addicted. I finally went to my doctor in July and told her my problems (took forever to fall asleep, constantly woke up during the night [at least every 2 hours], and the fact it'd been constantly happening for about 5 months). I told her I wanted something non-addictive, if possible. She prescribed Trazodone, and I've got to tell you, it's been doing wonders for me. I take 50mg every night before bed and I'm sleeping WAY better than I was earlier in the year.
However, I did not know that Trazodone was used to treat depression (which I think I may have, but I've never sought treatment for it). So when my parents found out I was taking Trazodone, that caused alot of problem in my household.. my dad was worried I was depressed & not telling anyone, and my mom was convinced I was addicted. So they took my pills and had me take herbal supplements for two weeks. I got absolutely no sleep and dropped almost 6 pounds in that time period. I have my pills back now and I'm so grateful.

i took trazodone for help with sleeping. i like many had other issues as well such as depression and anxiety and post tramatic stress dissorder. everyone above mentions how it helped them sleep but, i also had major side effects from it such as a few times where i would sleep walk and end up on the frount porch. or when i stood up through out the day i would go light headed. or this one time my then boyfriend woke me up only a few hours falling asleep and i had a full blown conversation with him then got into a fist fight while still sleeping. i dont remember it happening but when i actually did "wake up" he said my eyes were so dialated the whole time he knew it wasnt me... don't know if this helps any but i strongly recomend not using it!

Yes, I've been taking Trazadone for around 8 years for my sleep issues and it has helped me immensely. The only problem that I've had with it is weight gain but it's worth it to me because I feel so much better being able to sleep every night.



Kim (bbygrl)

I am a medical doctor and you should never stop any medicine "cold turkey". It should first be discussed with your physician. Some medicine need to be tapered and can be EXTREMELY dangerous to stop abruptly.

Since chemo 3 1/2 years ago I have trouble sleeping. I have used several drugs (temazepam, clonazepaam, ambien...) and all stop working after a while. I have been on rozerem for 2 weeks and not sleeping at all so my doctor gave me trazodone. I have tried so many times to quit but I need to sleep. I will start trazodone but now nervous after reading it is addictive.

I have tried herbal supplements, melatonin....nothing works.

I would like to hear how do you go off and can you ever sleep without these drugs after using them???? Before chemo I could take a nap and still sleep at night...so this is so wierd for me.

Any suggestions as to trazodone, and its addictive qualities or other options of going off sleep meds---yet being able to sleep???

i do and it really works

I have been on trazodone for over a year, it was prescribed to me as a sleep aid, at first it was great I was sleeping all night then slowly over time it wasn't working so much for me, I am now taking 150mg at night and I am sleeping no more than 3 hours a night and I am not drowsy. I sometimes have to use an otc to help with the trazadone

I have been on trazodone for just over a month now specifically to treat insomnia. I have suffered with insomnia throughout my life, and recently went through a four month period where on average I would get two to four hours of sleep every other night.

I worked my way up from 12.5mg to 50mg, and this dose works wonders for me. I have never slept so well in my life. The dark circles under my eyes are gone, and I look five years younger. I have lost five pounds simply because I am sleeping, whereas before I couldn't lose weight though I eat very healthy and exercise five days per week.

The thing is, I had to do something. Not sleeping is terrible for your health, and I will take this perfectly safe pill as long as I have to. Sometimes our bodies don't work properly on their own, and we need such medications to help us function.

My doctor told me to be patient and allow 10-14 days for the trazodone to work. I don't know what happened but 2 weeks ago I was fine but then decided to stop smoking and cut out alcohol then I was diagnosed with h pylori and its been just about no sleep for about 2 weeks. I read that in the beginning it may increase ones anxiety does anybody have any info on this?

I've taken Trazadone for over eight years for sleep. It really helped with depression and I would wake up happy. It hasn't worked effectively for four years and really doesn't work at all anymore. When it worked it really worked! I will speak to my doctor today to ask him to prescribe something else that I can take along with this Anafranil, hopefully Serax which worked very well before I had to shift to the Trazadone, and, at that time, it was a blessing from God. Could you tell me what has been your most effective prescription insomnia medication? Your input would be great. The Anafranil increased my anxiety and seems to be acidic to me. I guess time will tell.

Ive been taking Trazadone for 3 days...the doctor told me to take a whole 150mg pill.They're like a big trapaziod pill that slits in three.I thought it was kinda alot....needless to say i slept till 3 the next day and dont take as much anymore...heh

I took Trazadone when my son was deployed to Iraq and had difficulty sleeping. It was a wonder drug! Slept like a baby and never had that "hungover" feeling. Not to mention it was only about $4 a month. I would highly recommend it to anyone that has difficulty sleeping. Never had any problem stopping. Just split the pill for about 2 weeks then quit altogether. I took 50mg so there was a lot of room to increase the dosage although I never had to. Goodluck!

I began trazodone 50 mg(I cut it in half) a week ago and then stopped it cuz I hated the next day hangover and though I initially got sleepy I woke up a lot but went back to sleep. My question is: Will the next day hangover go away after awhile? And will I gain weight--I am diabetic and fat enough. And, I was told it is safe and nothabit forming i s this right/ And, last, is 25 mg my trouble/ Do I need to take the whole 50mg. Plus, I take it now just as needed when my Dr said to take it everynite. I am 49 and menopausal and have panic disorder. I was on Tranxene for 5 yrs and quit in January cold turkey, what hell I had and I do not want any drug again that will be as dependent as that was. I was prescribed Trazodone for bad insomnia.

I have had sleep problems for years. I was on Clonazapam for 6 years. Then my Dr. put me on Ambien. I took it for a year. Just went through withdrawl of Ambien. Now I only sleep about 2 hours a night. Went to the Dr. yesterday and she prescribed Trazodone 50mg. After reading these posts I am a little worried. I don't want to take anything addictive, but I do want to sleep. I'm 68 years old and realize insominia is a problem for the elderly (I hate that word). I'm going to take it tonight and enjoy my sleep, but I am going to have to research it a little more before I start relying on it. So, I'll be reading these posts. I am encouraged by those of you that say trazodone is the best thing that has helped them sleep.