Trazodone withdrawal symptoms

i think alot of it is pyscholigical - and it comes down to whether you're ready to be med-free or not. i've been on and off anti-depressants for 10 odd years, and honestly i haven't seen myself get better. i've decided meds are not the answer for me, and therapy and counselling are the way forward. i start therapy next week, and i'm nervous about it, but i had a good meeting yesterday with my psych team, and one thing struck me that my long term psych said to me, she said she believed that meds will not help me, but that working on the psychological side of things will, and do you know what, it makes perfect sense. i wouldn't have admitted it before, but for a long time i've been relying on meds as an 'answer' - and they're not. i'm on trazadone 250mg and to be honest i can't wait to be off them - for the next 2 days i'll take 150, then 100 for 2 days, then 50 for 2, and then i'm off them for good. it's a big step, for sure, but i'm tired of putting things on the back burner, and letting fear rule my life. no more. i start therapy next week, and like i said i'm nervous about it, but i'm looking forward to it. i want to be the master of my own destiny, and i realize while being on meds i can't do that, so no more. grabbing life by the scruff of the neck etc. etc. wish me luck. and the best of luck to all who find themself in a similar predicament. YOU can do it. and only you

Its the seroquel !!!!

In 2005 I was involved in a car accident that left me with Traumatic Brain Injury and at that time I was placed on Trazadone along with several other meds. Over the next year I was transitioned to 300-450mg of Trazadone a nights along with 10mg of Ambien. I broke 24 bones in this accident along with a severe skull fracture. During the next years I have been on and off of pain meds during surgeries but after the last 24 months of no surgeries I decided to pull myslelf off all my medicines. Little did I know that Trazadone would be my biggest nightmare. I quit cold turkey after taking at least 300mg of Trazadone for 8 years and it was a nightmare. I am still only on my third week but as you stated I refuse to ever get back on it again. I experienced severe insomnia for the first few nights along with almost psychiatric physical tics. Finally those have passed and I am sleeping more now that I was with the meds on certain nights. The final remaining symptom is that I feel like my brain is floating in my skull. I am not sure if this is from the TBI or the Trazadone but either way it is more liveable than a life full of drugs. I have more energy than I have in years and I am finally thinking clearly. I feel like myself after 8 years.

Hi all, I know this is a very old thread but in the interests of anyone, like me, searching for this info I feel I ought to add my tuppence worth!

I was diagnosed with Depression 4 years ago after my wonderful mum died. I was placed on Fluoxetine (Prozac) on 25mg per day which has crept up until the point where I am on 75mg per day. About a year ago, around the time of my mums birthday, I had something of a relapse and insomnia hit me (funnily enough, around the time my dosage of Prozac went from 50 to 75mg). I also suffered (and I do mean SUFFERED) from morning anxiety which lead me to wake up every morning (well...wake up as in decide to stop trying to sleep and get up instead) and the first thing I would do was vomit (dry retching) because I felt like (I guess) someone would if they were on death row! So, my Doctor prescribed Trazodone at 50mg per night. The results were truly amazing and I had my doctors assurance that trazodone was "well tolerated and showed no addiction or withdrawal problems".

Here we are on 1st Feb 2013 and my latest repeat prescription was not able to be filled because of a "manufacturers problem" with the capsules....... This is the reason I went looking for withdrawal symptoms and ended up here.

Interestingly, when I contacted my medical practice and told them about it, I had a call (around 3 hours ago now) asking me if I could get in to the surgery "ASAP, we are expecting you" (thank god for the NHS in the UK!!).....

I went in and the receptionist already had what looked like a pre-prepared "script" from which she asked me loads of questions. I then waited around an hour until the receptionist came to me and said that "thankfully we have found a supplier of trazodone in liquid form that can supply you so take this revised prescription to the pharmacy right now"... I quizzed her as to why the urgency (in the past, I have had various meds not available and the doctore simply recommended another product) and she told me that the doctor had told all the reception staff that "sudden withdrawal from Trazodone is a very bad idea and to be avoided"!!!!

I have two full doses left and can collect a couple of bottles of the liquid form tomorrow which will see me through the next month!

 

So, what is the point of my post?

Firstly, in my case the benefits of taking traz are far outweighing the alternatives at this time.....but I thank this thread for making me aware of this horrendous drug.

Secondly, for those struggling to cut up tablets etc. Why not request the liquid form, ask for a 10 ml syringe, and then you can go from 10ml (in my case which is 100mg) to 9.5ml....to 9ml etc. over as long a period as you want thus reducing your dosage accurately by a very small amount :-) I plan to start doing this ASAP and will be asking if my repeat prescription can be changed to the liquid form permanantly.

One has to wonder whether the "manufacturers problem" is perhaps linked to horror stories similar to those on this thread??? I trust that, if the drug was to be withdrawn in the UK, those of us that are "long time users" will be guaranteed enough to wean us off it gradually???

Take care all, from Rick

I was prescribed Trazadone approximately 15 years ago for Fibromyalgia and extreme fatigue. I went from weighing 115 lbs to 232lbs since that time. I had never had a weight problem until I started taking this drug. I was on 400mg daily. Because I was so upset over the weight gain, my doctor suggested I go of the Trazadone. She did not mention that I would go through withdrawls from decreasing the medication. I was extremely depressed, feeling of deep anger inside over little things, which was so unlike my personality, and cried uncontrollably over nothing in particular. I am down to 50mg, and still working to cease taking that amount. I will never ever do this to my body ever again. The worst thing is I don't think it really helped me to a great degree anyway. The only positive thing I can say about it is it helped me to go in the 3rd and 4th stages sleep. I am really tired when I wake up each day and exhausted through out the day, which is why I haven't dropped the 50mg. I am sensitive to most medication, so I'm really upset and fustrated as to where I go from here.

Thanks for the info!!

If anyone else in the UK is having trouble even getting the stuff, take care because I have been told that the liquid I am on is probably not going to be avaiable "for a while" either due to a manufacturers problem as well! I have around 200ml and am supposed to take 10ml (100mg) per night..... I am already down to 8.5 ml (85mg) with no symptoms so far..... as to what I am going to do in 2 weeks.....we will see!

 

Rick

Ive been on the 25mg trazadone for 3 months and began sleeping 10-11 hours per night without an alarm clock. Got angry because I was sleeping so much and had found it hard to get up to an alarm clock. So I talked to my doctor and they said I can take it as needed. Definetly wrong. I began to feel delousional when not taking the full dose. Although, doctor recommended cut down to half at night and still felt delusional. I find it very addicting I sleep great but after having the symptoms that I had I'm scared to death to ever get off this stuff. I sleep great just need an alarm clock to get up too everyday. If its broke don't fix it. I'm just staying on this stuff getting up to my alarm clock and slamming a bunch of coffee when I get up. I experienced some very weird delusional thoughts and has severe symptoms just cutting down half of this tablet. Too dangerous to cut down on. In my opinion at least. I'd have to agree with everyone else on this sight it is addictive.

I have been taking Trazadone over about 24 yrs.  

Are you a doctor or nurse. Or just someone who got lucky getting off this. My experience is this is the WORSE DRUG anyone can take. It should be banned. I changed doctors because he said, as you said, wouldn't get addicted at 100 mg. at night. THIS IS A LIE. It's an individual thing, subjective, based on your medical conditions, genes, lifestyle, other drugs you're taking. Do not believe people like this who speak in generalities. TRAZODONE effects all differently. Check out website: The Road Back. Hundreds of side effects on this damned drug which are also the withdrawal side effects. I will get off by God. I will.

I have been on Trazadone for 20 years due to fibromyalgia. Decided I wanted off a chemical and would deal with the pain. I tried twice three years ago and was hospitalized four times with arrythmia, insomnia, and horrific dreams which all caused disorientation. Two years ago, determined to get off the drug, I started, with a sharp knife, shaving small slivers of the 50 mg pill every 2 - 4 weeks to avoid these dramatic withdrawal symptoms. I consulted with two doctors prior to do it this way. Just over two years later, I am down to about 1/8 - 1/4 of the pill. Two months ago I started skipping my Thursday night bill. Yesterday, Sunday, I skipped a second night. I was awake most of the night, dreams, and night sweats. Tired but OK this morning and have given myself until June to get completely off this dreadful medication. When I agreed to go on, my doctors told me absolutely no withdrawal or side-effects when I decided to get off of it but my body did become dependent on it. Doctors said my experience is very unusual but when you are going through it, you don't care about the statistics of others, it has been hell. But with perserverance, I will be off of it by this summer. Good luck to all going through these symptoms. They are real...... and you will succeed.

My doctor recommend Magnesium nightly to help with sleep starting with 100 mg up to 400. I'm at 200 mg and seems to have improved my sleep cycle. I take it about one hour before bedtime. Good luck. I applaud your accomplishment of getting off this dreadful medication (at least for some of us!).

i've only been taking traz for like 5 months but in early february the pharmacy messed up on my prescription....anyway i take 300 to 400mg's a night for depression and insomnia so when they messed it up i went off of them cold turkey and the withdraw lasted the whole 3 weeks i was off of them......for some dumb reason my withdraw was HORRIBLE!!!!!!! i had excess saliva.....i got all the aches and pains back........my had this crazy headache that just wouldn't go away no matter what........i had horrible mood swings and was paranoid........i had muscle in my knees and thighs among other places that just kept jumping i had horrible insomnia.....i just didn't really get out of bed for anything other then using the bathroom......i lost my any urge to eat or drink anything i was nervous all the time about nothing....it was the most horrible 3 weeks ever and i never want to go back there....i'm sure there were  more withdraw symptoms but i can't think of anymore off hand

I have been on 50 mg Trazadone for nearly 20 years. When I consulted with my doctor abour going off, he said taper off slowly so I thought cutting in half for one month and then then take another month or so to go off the other half thinking that I was on the smallest dosage and this was going slow. Wrong. I ended up in the hospital after two days. I called my doctor and said one half was too much and I could have experienced a seizure. I went back on the 50 mg for another couple of months and then tappered off more slowly. Not yet completely off of it yet but close. Sleeping better and less nightmares.

I,m coming off trazadone (25) and I am experiencing insomnia, sweats (yes palms too), confusion, irritibility. All I know is the withdrawal will have to end eventually and I'm sure its not going to kill me,,,,

hi rik,
i've got a prolem too with being told trazadone 50mg is no longer available, have you heard anymore on this???
:)