Trazodone - Help please

[lowell Norby]

I was given a prescription for 50 mg but I can only take 1/8 to 1/4 tablet. I live in Massachusetts so that is where I filled my prescription (at a Walmart pharmacy). Given that I cannot take much, I have never refilled the original prescription.

After reading this thread, I did a little research and found there were shortages and some problem with the FDA where Apotex seemed to not be able to import in the US. Not sure why. I've had too much on my plate to be able to investigate fully. Things seem to be ok now. It seems there are several suppliers of generic trazadone... not all have been highly regarded. It seems many have reported problems when the manufacturer has been changed and IMHO, that is not surprising.

I also saw a post by someone (not on this forum) that stated the quality of generics is not what we would expect. The variance of active ingredients can vary up to %20. I'm not sure if that is true but that is what someone else posted in response to patients having adverse effects to generic meds from different vendors.

I have Fibro as well as ME/CFS. I have found trazadone is extremely beneficial for sustaining sleep but not for sleep initiatition.

Good luck! ~ JT

JT1024 Thank You, I picked up my apotex Trazodone At my locol Pharmacy Wallmart ,starting to get my brains back ,had such severe anxiety with the the other Pliva that should be outlawed.Also suicide rate was considerable higher with Pliva!!!.Now Trying to qwit smoking and hoping Its not to late ,,You no Apotex corp.Is suing the FDA for shutting down there Imports for two years becuse the US was 50% of Its buissiness ,,Politics that kill people ..thanks to you and this site ,I commend this Phenics thing for getting my med back So gratful to you.Lowell

 

[AFCFS]

I was prescribed Trazadone to help with sleep a while back. The pdoc explained to me that it has the side-effect of sleepiness, which is why it is prescribed as such. He also told me that the side effect was rather short lived and any resulting sleep would likely be of poor quality (but I guess poor quality sleep is better than none at all).

I have taken it on rare occasion, but it tends to make me feel groggy in the morning. In some ways it reminds me of my rather poor experience with Kava. I still keep the remaining Trazadone on the back shelf but have found that Melatonin, L-Tryptophan, and GABA work much better for me. As a side note, the GABA seems to work very well and to be very calming. I subscribe to the "GABA Supplements That Pass the Blood-Brain Barrier" idea as a method for its action.

 

[JonOK]

I just checked my bottle of Trazodone (filled @ Walgreen's) and it's brand is PLIVA.

Maybe that's why my sleep has been so messed up for the past 6 months. Wish I had kept my old bottles so I could verify.

Thanks for bring this issue to light, Iowell Norby. I never would have thought of the generic-brand as being a cause for my difficult sleeping that last 6 months. THANK YOU THANK YOU

 

[Lotus97]

I'm taking Elavil which is a tricylic antidepressant like Trazodone. I suppose that's an alternative if Apotex Trazodone is unavailable, but I should warn that weight gain is a possible side effect. I was able to lose some weight while on Elavil, but I thought I should warn about. I wouldn't say the generic brands of elavil are that great, but they work ok.

 

[cph13]

TUVM......weight..vs. sleep....I will call inthe morrow bout apotex.
Keep in mind that I switch things up and only do Traz. maybe 3 x's a week. than I do either benadryl or rozerem or 5htp. I don't want anything to have a grip on me like klonepin/clonazepam. That I take w/o fail .75mg but I will get the monkey off my back when I am able. Oh, thank you so much Ltus for caring......Your friend "justc"

 

[Beyond]

I have just taken my first dosage of 100 mgs of Trazodone, non-generic. I am desperate for something that makes me sleep before 6 AM. Earthing sheets are too expensive and the reports are mixed. My face its getting all haggard. This goes totally against my actual ideals of everything-natural and avoiding the poisonous pharma meds but if this hepatotoxic pill helps with sleep considerably I will consider staying on it for a while.

Update: Its 1:52 AM. It didnt work and im just feeling weird. Not less depressed or anything, just a different state of consciousness, and seems harder to speak,write and read. My mouth and traquea feel dry and a bit sore. So much for Trazadone, it has failed in more than one front.

 

[Beyond]

OK, so I got an odd sore throat two hours after taking Trazodone for sleep. Next day it was there as well. Of course, I decided not to take that sheet ever again. Today night, one day later, I have flu-like symptoms including sinus headache, runny nose, achy body and fever. Its crazy but I feel like Trazodone did this to me! I never get colds or flus, my body its too busy attacking himself.The sore throat its gone, strangely. I could just have coincidentally caught something but just in case... Psych-meds, never again, not even once.

 

[nandixon]

@Beyond
I initially tried trazodone for sleep at a 100mg dose more than 15 years ago near the beginning of my ME/CFS. It was horrible.

I then re-tried it a couple years ago at 1/4 of a 50mg tablet, i.e., ~12.5mg (1/8 of the original dose I'd tried), and it's worked very well for me ever since for sleep initiation. (No signs of tolerance even taking it every night.)

The two things I have to do for it to work are, make sure I take it at least 2 hours after eating anything, and I also have to use a white noise sound (an app on my phone that supposedly helps with slow-wave sleep; makes the sound of rain).

I would have avoided many years of trying all manner of things to sleep if I'd known how different the effect would be at the smaller dose, for me personally.

 

[Mij]

@nandixon my experience with trazodone is the same as yours. I"m glad my doctor convinced me to try a lower dose because it works great for sleep.

Can I ask why you make sure to take after 2 hours of eating? A pharmacist explained to me to eat a small carb (piece of bread) just before taking traz because it increases absorption. This is what I do and it works very quickly.

 

[nandixon]

@Mij
It has a much less noticeable sleepy effect for me if I take it too close to a meal. I consistently feel very sleepy after about 20 minutes with the empty stomach method, but other people might absorb it better with food.

I almost forgot - I always chew it first before swallowing with some water. (I don't do it sublingually.)