Yikes, ran out of my trazdone. Any idea how much amitryptiline to substitute?

[November Girl]

My usual dose of trazadone is 200mg nightly. I didn't realize I was out until just now. I do have 30mg tablets of amitryptiline that I planned to trial again next month when life calms down a bit. Any idea how the doses compare?

 

[Little Bluestem]

When I lived in a larger city, one of the hospitals has a 24-hour "Ask a Nurse" line. Is anything like that available to you.

 

[Lotus97]

There's no way of knowing how much you'll need of each medication. Even if you were switching from one SSRI to a different SSRI you still wouldn't know how much you'd need. 30 mg of amityptiline/Elazvil is a moderate dose. I'm taking 75 mg now. I'd recommend starting out at the lowest dose possible because you'll experience more side effects (and more work for your liver) at the higher dose.

 

[November Girl]

Well, I couldn't find the amitryptiline last night, but did find the Lunesta I'd taken for awhile 2 years ago. I slept well. I'm groggy this morning, but then I've had pretty of brain fog and mental exhaustion for the past two days. I don't intend to stay on the Lunesta, but am glad to have it around in case I ever run out of trazadone again. My new trazadone prescription gets picked up today.

Btw, trazadone and amitryptiline are not SSRIs. They are from a far older family of anti-depressants. The doses for depression were a lot higher than what we take for sleep.

 

[LaurelW]

From what I've heard, the doses don't translate straight across, and Lotus is right that it takes experimentation to find the right dose.

 

[Lotus97]

Btw, trazadone and amitryptiline are not SSRIs. They are from a far older family of anti-depressants. The doses for depression were a lot higher than what we take for sleep.

LaurelW pretty much said what I was going to say. Trazodone is a tetracyclic antidepressant while amitryptiline/Elavil is a tricyclic antidepressant so they're not in the same class, but even if you were switching between something of the same class such as Prozac to Zoloft (two SSRIs) it would be impossible to know what dosage you would need. I've tried several different SSRIs. I respond well to SSRIs compared to other types of antidepressants, but they all have different effects (and side effects) despite being in the same class.

 

[November Girl]

Thanks, all.

Lotus97, what is the source of that beautiful quote at the bottom of your page. I like it a lot.