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trazodone - Plivia

Seven7

Seven
Messages
3,444
Location
USA
Sooo I have been on trazodone for about 1 year, I have always use the PLIVIA generic and so far so good. But I realized that my burning and brain have gotten worse in the last months. I also Noticed burning is a side effect of trazodone, I am divided because not sleeping can crash me so bad, but I thought might be a good idea to stop them for a few days to see if the brain symptoms improve. If you use trazodone how many mg a day do you do???? Any other drug I can ask the Dr to try for stage 4 inducer?

Any suggestions???
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
I take 100mg of the APOTEX generic of trazodone. It has worked beautifully for me for years. Last fall I got Pliva brand instead and it SERIOUSLY disagreed with me -- I had all kinds of nasty side effects. Switched back to APOTEX brand and everything cleared up. Go figure. o_O So maybe, just maybe, changing brands might help.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
Insominia, extreme fatigue, muscle pain, severe depression and suicidal ideation (me!) I don't remember it all (I try not to, frankly), but it was really, really awful.
 

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
I was on Trazadone for a few years, went up to 150mg, I think? I tried Doxepin, did not work for me. So then tried Remeron (Mirtazapine) and have been on that for about 3 years, and am awaking with much less fatigue.

GG
 

xks201

Senior Member
Messages
740
It is a strong anti histamine so it would not surprise me if it gives you fatigue. I took half of the smallest dose and felt like a zombie for 2 days afterwards.
 

Seven7

Seven
Messages
3,444
Location
USA
So Dr up my dosis today to 300mg to 400mg. Try and see he said. Anybody on such a high dose?
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
So Dr up my dosis today to 300mg to 400mg. Try and see he said. Anybody on such a high dose?
inester i would look at trying something else altogether and take a total break from traz for awhile then after 12 months or so then try traz at the 100-150mg mark again. I think u have just built a tolerance to it and a break from it is the best way to reduce this tolerance??

cheers!!!
 

Hope123

Senior Member
Messages
1,266
Trazadone has less dependency potential than other sleep meds so people can stay on same dose and still be effective for years (6 in my case, no dose change, Pliva works for me); the mechanism is different from other sleep meds.

Most of the time, for insomnia, lower doses are used - like 25-50mg - but several hundred mg is within the range for trazadone's original use as an antidepressant. Not saying your doc is using it as one; might just want to see if it works better at higher dose.

What do you mean by burning? If you're talking about nerve pain, traz isn't for that -- you might have something else going on and need it addressed separately by the doc.
 

Seven7

Seven
Messages
3,444
Location
USA
I get burning (like acid reflex in the head/brain). The reason he is increasing is because I had a sleep study and I am not getting enough stage 4 sleep even with 100mg of trazadone, that is why he is increasing. when I don't sleep well I wake up with a weired buzz sensation on head Vs when I sleep well (feels normal)
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
I get burning (like acid reflex in the head/brain). The reason he is increasing is because I had a sleep study and I am not getting enough stage 4 sleep even with 100mg of trazadone, that is why he is increasing. when I don't sleep well I wake up with a weired buzz sensation on head Vs when I sleep well (feels normal)
Have u ever thought about using a low dose seroquel 25-50mg its great for sleep. At first it can knock u out for a long time, i had a few sleeps were it lasted 12 hours and felt groggy afterwards but now its a good 6-8 hours sleep when i use which is probably twice a week.
 

Seven7

Seven
Messages
3,444
Location
USA
I increased to 400mg of trazadone, I slept SO much better, I only woke up once.

Heaps, I will try that next if this doesn't work. I am trying to go w GP suggestion because he has been very cooperative and I need him on my side, So I give some so He gives some too.
 

xks201

Senior Member
Messages
740
Traz gave me huge hangovers half the next day. Not something I'd recommend to anyone. If you need sleep xanax does the trick and I did not find it addictive as long as if it isn't being taken all day.
 

JT1024

Senior Member
Messages
582
Location
Massachusetts
All I can say is WOW! I take 1/8 to 1/4 of a 50 mg tablet of Trazadone and I sleep very well with it. I can't even imagine the dosages some have described above!

Amazing how we all react so differently to various treatments.
 
Messages
445
Location
Georgia
Seroquel is a anti-psychotic that failed in its original purpose to relieve psychosis, bipolar, schizophrenia etc. So of course what do drug companies do when they have a failure on their hands? They look at the side effects, and if one happens to be sleepiness, fatigue, they market it as an sleep medication.

Nobody knows what the long-term effects of this drug class are. It has some effect on the brain that's for sure; trouble is nobody knows quite what. The sister drug Abilify, also a anti-psychotic, is marketed as an "anti-depressant" and sleep med. You may have seen the huge marketing ads on TV. Of course, these supposedly don't cause dependency. Nancy Regean evidently got to some people, so Seroquel/Abilify are now "better" and "safe" and very heavily prescribed.

You might be better off with something in the benzodiazopine family. Because burning, buzzing in the brain doesn't sound like it should be taken too lightly. It wouldn't surprise me if it did have something do with the Seroquel. There has been a lot of overhype, I'm afraid, about benzos causing addiction, dependency, etc. Be assured, they are not the same as pain killers that respect. There's the occasional horror story, about a patient seeing purple unicorns for several days, but that is also the case with the "safe" ant-psychotics" and "ant-convulsants" which also have been repurposed.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
Seroquel is a anti-psychotic that failed in its original purpose to relieve psychosis, bipolar, schizophrenia etc. So of course what do drug companies do when they have a failure on their hands? They look at the side effects, and if one happens to be sleepiness, fatigue, they market it as an sleep medication.

Nobody knows what the long-term effects of this drug class are. It has some effect on the brain that's for sure; trouble is nobody knows quite what. The sister drug Abilify, also a anti-psychotic, is marketed as an "anti-depressant" and sleep med. You may have seen the huge marketing ads on TV. Of course, these supposedly don't cause dependency. Nancy Regean evidently got to some people, so Seroquel/Abilify are now "better" and "safe" and very heavily prescribed.

You might be better off with something in the benzodiazopine family. Because burning, buzzing in the brain doesn't sound like it should be taken too lightly. It wouldn't surprise me if it did have something do with the Seroquel. There has been a lot of overhype, I'm afraid, about benzos causing addiction, dependency, etc. Be assured, they are not the same as pain killers that respect. There's the occasional horror story, about a patient seeing purple unicorns for several days, but that is also the case with the "safe" ant-psychotics" and "ant-convulsants" which also have been repurposed.

Its a tough and personal decision to treat sleep dysfunction especially in cfs/me as its not likely to improve permanently. I think alot of people get scared off because its labelled an antipsychotic, we have to look at how they work, that is they work on histamine receptors, dopamine and serotonin receptors. Also the doses used for insomnia are much lower then used for bipolar etc It would be interesting to see a study on side effects of low dose seroquel ie 25-100mg. doses used for psychotic people are in the area of 500mg plus, generally. Many people get by on 25-50mg for sleep. Its the same thing when people get scared to use an antidepressant because they think it will make them psychotic but then will use 5htp etc to raise serotonin anyway. I will say that i do get annoyed at docs prescribing ad's for cfs claiming it as a treatment and also have no idea on correct dosages for cfs but prescribed for certain symptoms and not claimed by a doc as a cure for cfs, they can be handy for some patients who are struggling with mood.

At the end of the day i think one has to do alot of their own research and not be scared of the first negative thing written about it but look closer at it and see if they can tell why the issue occurred, mostly with seroqul its because very high doses are used continuiosly, where for insomnia one could use 25-50mg a couple of times a week in a rotation with other things for sleep and avoid any side effects.

cheers!!!
 

PhoenixDown

Senior Member
Messages
456
Location
UK
Had some real nasty side effects from Trazadone, there are far safer bets when it comes to sleep medication. Only try it as a last resort.
 
Messages
445
Location
Georgia
The sleep I got on Trazadone was not real, and it had bad side effects for me too. I know plenty of people who take it religiously, and I fear they are doing themselves real harm in the long run. Doctors like to give it out because it is "non-habit forming" and, of course, it is still under patent ($$$$). It is noxious stuff IMO.
 

Lotus97

Senior Member
Messages
2,041
Location
United States
Quality varies A LOT among different generic brands. I cannot overstate that enough. As far as quality of sleep goes, that depends on the individual. I attribute a huge part of my partial recovery to getting enough sleep by using prescription sleep medications. Also, Trazodone's patent expired a lot time ago. Apotex sounds like the best generic brand for Trazodone. Pliva made by Teva USA is by far the worst. I'm not sure about Qualitest's Trazodone. Their Ambien is very weak and their Elavil is mediocre. Another option to keep the dose of Seroquel or another atypical antipsychotic low is to take it with a Tricylic antidepressant such as Trazodone or Elavil.