for those who use trazadone

[Aerose91]

How much do you take? My mother takes this so I have some accessible to me. I'm not one to take anything without a doctor's order but I know this is a relatively safe drug used for sleep with M.E. and I am in desperation mode for sleep

However, I'm very sensitive to med.s so I garner the start low-go slow method and I'm scared of taking too much. What is a normal starting dose?

 

[minkeygirl]

I have been taking it for years. At one point I was taking 400 mgs. Now I take 50 mgs around 10 pm and then usually another 50 mgs when I wake up in the middle of the night. It has a relatively short half life, about 6 hours. I never feel drugged from it.

But I have known people who were really sensitive and even 25 mgs was too much.

Another thing with Trazodone is the generic. I cannot take Teva or Pliva which is pretty much the one most pharmacies have. I have a problem with the inert stuff but I've also heard people say it's not as good as some others.

My preferred generic is Apotex or Mutual.

I would just say start with a low dose on a night when you don't have anything to do the next day.

 

[JT1024]

I have taken Trazadone for a while now but I can't touch 50 mg.

To start, I had to break up a 50 mg tablet into quarters and then try to take half of that. I can now take 1/4 of a tablet.

At this dosage I will sleep through the night. If I take it too late, I have great difficulty waking up and I'm very dizzy. I also take clonazepam (Klonopin) .75 mg to help me get to sleep.

Hope this helps!

 

[Aerose91]

Thank you for the help, I may try to start with As little as 15mg and see what that does considering how sensitive I am. Conveniently I have nothing to do every day!

 

[minkeygirl]

@Aerose91 I am also using 2 OTC antihistamines that you can get on Ebay or Amazon. One is Doxylmamine the other is chlorpheniramine maleate. I alternate nights and use them with my Trazodone. If you want some, PM me and I'll put some in an envelope and mail them to you to try.

 

[helen1]

I take 15 mg for sleep; my husband takes 25 and swears by it.
The half life is actually pretty long:
"The mean blood elimination half-life is biphasic: the first phase's half-life is 3–6 hr, and the following phase's half-life is 5–9 hr."
I translate this as meaning if the first half life is on average 4.5 hrs and the second is 7 hrs, that's close to 12 hours.

 

[minkeygirl]

When you compare this half life to say doxepin and others it's much shorter.

I take it and it only stays in me 4 hours max. I think it depends in how you metabolize things.

The I only way to know is try it. Like it said, start with a low dose on a night when you have nothing planned the next day in case it's too sedating.

 

[Soundthealarm21]

I take like 8 total things to get to sleep, but in terms of Trazodone I take 100mg

The usual starting dose is 50mg (which is what I started on), but just by reading the comments before me that might be too much for you. Everyone is different.

 

[Mij]

I take 25mg with a little piece of bread for better absorption. The pharmacist rec'd taking a little bit of carb with it. If you have OI it may or may not make you feel a little dizzy so get up slowly or lie in bed for at least 10 mins before getting up. It works very well for me. I'm reassured when I take it I will stay asleep for at least 5hrs straight and feel rested when I wake up.. I take Desyrl the brand name because I feel the generic doesn't work as well, my doctor told me that several of his pts told him the same thing.

 

[minkeygirl]

Apotex and Mutual are good generics. TEVA and
PLIVA suck.

It binds to protein however I don't take food with it. I feel too drugged.

It's all trial and error.

 

[Aerose91]

Is trazadone safe to take with LDN? I take that at night as well

 

[Soundthealarm21]

I'd ask your doctor about that. I'm not sure.

 

[*GG*]

Is trazadone safe to take with LDN? I take that at night as well

Check with your Dr, but pretty sure I was taking both at the same time. FYI

GG

 

[helen1]

Just found this study, yes using rats, but it's bad news for us using trazadone if there's any overlap with human livers.
They found that trazadone decreases reduced glutathione, the good kind, and increases oxidized glutathione, the bad kind. Trazadone also decreases the health of mitochondrial membranes, which is pretty serious too.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24023050

I think I might quit my trazadone and go back to herbals, tryptophan, niacinamide...
Does anyone know how human and rat livers are similar or different?