Tapering Trazodone (150mg) - Advice?

[Bagseed]

Hello,

I've been on Trazodone 150mg retard for about 2 years now, and I finally feel ready to kick the stuff. I don't want to be dependant on that chemical anymore, and I am not so sure if this helps (or maybe ever really helped).

I am actually in the best mental condition I've been in a long time, I can deal much better with depression and panic attacks (which I kept getting, despite medication).

My doctors tell me, I should just take 100mg a night first, but I kind of feel that this might be to quick. Actually I did that yesterday, and now i feel kind of anxious, nothing too bad. I was thinking about taking 25mg more in the early evening, if needed, but I will see about that.

Does anybody have advice about tapering Trazodone? When i forget a pill, I am in hell at about 6pm the next evening, so I really want this to be as smooth as possible...

mods: I wasn't sure if it's best suited for BDD, OD or Mental health...

 

[PimPSmacK]

Do whatever is best for you and will help you taper. Everyone is different. If going down 50mg was too much try 25. Then try a week later to go down another 25. You'll have to work the kinks out yourself.

 

[Bagseed]

yeah I guess so. well I've been sticking with the 100mg for now, I definately feel the difference, especially in the evening (funny feeling and slight anxiety), but it's doable

 

[3dmusic]

I'm also tapering of traz too 150mgs.
I just came down from 300-150 using cuts of a quarter of a 150mg pill
It went well but I want to make smaller cuts in the next 150mg taper, so I will just shave off, as best #i can, an 8th, which will be my new lower cut amount.
Good luck with yours, and maybe we can share our taper experiences tips etc and compare

 

[Bagseed]

hey there

when I adjusted to the 100mg, I will probably go down to 75mg. I will report how it is going. How long have you been taking the stuff? 300mg seems like a hefty dose...

good luck to you as well!

 

[3dmusic]

hey there

when I adjusted to the 100mg, I will probably go down to 75mg. I will report how it is going. How long have you been taking the stuff? 300mg seems like a hefty dose...

good luck to you as well!

Yeah 300mg was a hefty dose.
I'm going to try with the cutting of the pills to see how that goes.

 

[aq.]

homeless > bdd

 

[Bagseed]

little update here!

well, yesterday was my 7th day on 100mg and all is going well. i think, in about 5 days, I'll switch to 75mg. I also smoke lots of weed at the moment, so maybe this helps? (which might be funny though, because not even one year ago, weed gave me strong anxiety,so i don't know...)

I'm very motivated and I also feel that my sleep quality actually improved. I get out of bed easier than before.

I will report after the next tapering step.

greets

 

[Bagseed]

well little update here...

the switch to 75mg was very easy, then I stayed on that dose for the rest of the semester because I had a lot to do for university. couple of days ago I went down to 50mg. the first few days after lowering the dose always feel funny, but managable. I hope that I will be at zero in summer

 

[3dmusic]

well little update here...

the switch to 75mg was very easy, then I stayed on that dose for the rest of the semester because I had a lot to do for university. couple of days ago I went down to 50mg. the first few days after lowering the dose always feel funny, but managable. I hope that I will be at zero in summer

Congratulations for getting down to 50mg, good luck with it.


I've been on it since 2009. It's a great sleeper but I've got phenergan now which ensures a good long sleep.

I'm still shaving off bits of my pill with a razor. It's awkward but it's going ok so far. I'm down to about 100mgs now.
Can't wait to get off it, i will cut smaller bits of the pill if I have to, so in the end I will be taking a crumb of the pill, then off it totally, wahaaay!

 

[Bagseed]

thanks man. I am really happy that my taper is going well so far. I tried to taper once before, in early 2014 and then it wasn't manageable at all...

right now I'm getting 75mg pills and they can be divided into 3 parts, 25mg each. I don't know if going from 25 to zero will be easy, but I will see. but for the time being, I'll be on 50mg for at least the next 2 months.

how do you feel after lowering the dose? I am always a little agitated, increased anxiety, egdy over all, for at least 10 days afterwards. then it kind of gets normal again.

 

[3dmusic]

thanks man. I am really happy that my taper is going well so far. I tried to taper once before, in early 2014 and then it wasn't manageable at all...

right now I'm getting 75mg pills and they can be divided into 3 parts, 25mg each. I don't know if going from 25 to zero will be easy, but I will see. but for the time being, I'll be on 50mg for at least the next 2 months.

how do you feel after lowering the dose? I am always a little agitated, increased anxiety, egdy over all, for at least 10 days afterwards. then it kind of gets normal again.

I feel ok after cutting because I am only shaving little bits off the pill. I also take it twice a day, so I halve a 150mg pill and shave a bit of each.
I stay on that dose for about two weeks and then I shave another bit off.

Sorry to hear you felt anxious and agitated after your cuts, maybe use smaller cuts and divide your dose to take more than once.
You could also put your pill in water and take out a little bit with a syringe, that's what I will do also if I come across difficulties.
Trazodone is not soluble though, so, if you do this, shake the container with the trazodone-water in and plunge your syringe in as soon as possible. It's not accurate, but over on survivingantidepressants.com, I have known people to taper this way without too many problems.

It's nice to have someone online to join me in my trazodone taper as we can swap tips etc.

 

[Bagseed]

yeah it's unpleasant, but I have anxiety anyways, just a little stronger while cutting. so it's really manageable, not even close to when I forgot to take my dose alltogether.

 

[3dmusic]

that's ok, how long does it take before withdrawals kick in

 

[Bagseed]

well, when I don't take my dose at all, I'll be in awful condition in the early evening next day. while tapering, I kind of notice a difference immediately, but this might as well be placebo... but after 3-4 days, it's definately there. I went to 50mg just over a week ago, and I think, the "worst" should be over already.

nothing much really, just a bit more tense and sleep doesn't come as easy.

 

[3dmusic]

Thanks for letting me know what happens when you don't take your trazodone.
Sorry you had withdrawals but glad you have settled down now, best of luck with your next cut.
Maybe cut down to 37.5mg instead of 25mg, I find the smaller cuts mean I dont get withdrawals.

 

[Bagseed]

well, I'm still at 50mg as anticipated... actually I have been a little bit unstable the past couple of weeks, but no major problems or incidences, slightly increased anxiety, but I probably smoked a bit too much weed lately

and you are right, I really don't want to go from 50 to 25mg all at once. I guess I have to figure out how to split pills precisely. ain't there such a thing as a "pill-cutter"?

 

[T. Calderone]

You can buy a pill cutter at a pharmacy or drug store. Or you could ask your doctor to prescribe the 50 mg tablets, that's easier.

 

[Bagseed]

as far as I know, there are only 150mg and 75mg pills available here, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[3dmusic]

I've got 50mg pills which are a bit easier to divide.
My pill cutter doesn't cut them equally.
I've got a blade to cut them, but the pills are quite crumbly, so I might have to end up putting them in water and drawing them off with a syringe.