Trazodone and other sleep aid questions

[s2k1099]

I started a new sleeping pill after switching from Ambien because of sleepwalking and amnesia and I'm wondering about the new pill I'll be taking tonight. It's Trazodone and I'm prescribed to take 25 to 50mg as needed for sleep. The doctor was saying this is also an anti depressant? The current medicines I'm taking are:

Adderall IR 30mg twice a day plus extra PRN's to take as needed.
Zoloft 200mg once a day.
then of course the Trazodone.

The sleeping pills I've tried so far have been ALL of the z-drugs except for Zopiclone. Ambien was horrible, Sonata was too short acting, but Lunesta worked - I just can't afford it because it's still a new drug and not under my insurance plan.

I want to use a benzodiazpine like Clonazepam but my doctor wants me to try this other stuff first.


Any advice/experiences with Trazodone would be fantastic. Also any other sleep medications that I haven't mentioned would be helpful to know about. :D

Thanks

 

[ErgicMergic]

You are on 60mg of Adderall a day, and are allowed to take even more than that? Sweet Jesus, you are on way too high of a dosage; no matter how bad your ADD is, no one needs more than 30-40mg/day to get sufficient focus and alertness from their ADD meds. It's just that a lot of patients are scripted an abusive dosage since they are chasing the honeymoon effects of amps (forced motivaton, procrastination relief, euphoria, insomnia, sleeplessness, appetite suppression, etc.)

Try reducing your Adderall dosage, as that is definitely contributing to your insomnia. I would try Adderall 20mg IR twice a day, with no more prn's, and if that still doesn't work, try adding 0.5-1mg melatonin and 300-600mg Magnesium on an empty stomach before bed, both of which increase REM sleep and help you get to sleep. 100-200mg L-Theanine and 400mg Potassium are also beneficial in promoting proper sleep.

If that still doesn't work, switch to Remeron (Mirtazapine), which should put you down for the count at 15mg. It's the only AD I would ever consider taking, and it doesn't have that pesky mCPP metabolite that Trazadone happens to have. mCPPP is prevelant in the bloodstream the morning after, which contributes to trazadone-induced morning anxiety.

 

[BiggDirty01]

I take trazadone for sleep, albeit in much higher doses than you are currently prescribed. Anyway, it is a highly effective, highly efficient sleep aid with only 2 side effects in my opinion:

1) Hangover effect next day

2) Vivid dreaming.

Other than that, I would offer that Rozarem was an effective sleep aid for me as well. I've been scripted all the various benzos and while Restoril (temazepam) was amazingly efficient, it also produced the worst hangover and I'd often sleep 12-15 hours without so much as a rolling into another position. It knocks the FUCK out of you. Don't get into benzos for sleep, it will just make the issue worst as there are fewer options after high dose benzos.

 

[Alex000]

I happen to think melatonin should be tried before trying the trazadone, but I would suggest 3 mg. ErgicMergic also suggested magnesium, and I would not argue with that as a good option to test out. Also, look into sleep-hygiene, and practice good sleep-hygiene, or at least try, and it will likely render better results with sleep. The reason I would not go with trazadone is due to the fact that you are already on 200 mg Zoloft, and take 60 mg + Adderall. It would be adding another psych med to your regimen, and frankly it would work to change your neurochemistry even more than it is being changed and has been changed (with both the Zoloft and Adderall). I seriously suggest the melatonin and magnesium, as magnesium will help regulate amphetamine tolerance (to an extent) as well as work toward inducing a more calming effect leading to better sleep. I also personally believe melatonin is potentially neuroprotective, and I sure was surprised at how well it did add to the "good sleepy" feeling even though I am on a fairly high dose of clonazepam daily w/ alprazolam at bedtime already (I take tramadol and Adderall daily, too), and it DID allow for better and easier sleep. I was always skeptical of it, but once I tried it, I found out it was true - it really does help.

 

[s2k1099]

From the looks of things, I don't think I'd be interested in taking the trazodone at all. It seems like a lot of people are saying that the effects can be similar to a catatonia like drowsiness that anti psychotics like Seroquel and Risperdol do? As strange as it sounds when i take a sleeping pill i like to still be some-what in control of my sleep and not be shoved into a drowsy confusion.

This Melatonin seems like it'd be worth a shot though. I do take 500mg magnesium daily, so I'm good there.

In reply to the dosage comment: I used to be on Adderall IR 4 times a day. Tolerance is a mother fucker with amphetamines. The effects of adderall quickly diminish for me after about 2 hours, sometimes even less. I've been taking it for going on 3 years now. I don't think it has much to do with my sleep although I am no doctor. However, thank you for the tips on L-Theanine, I'll check that out.

 

[sekio]

Trazodone is a fairly strong broad-spectrum sleep aid, a few notches above things like diphenhydramine but still below Seroquel and Risperdal in terms of zombie power.
If you want something less "intense" go get some hydroxyzine, or doxylamine, they are the two gold standards for "mild" sedatives. One of 'em is more effective than barbiturates for inducing sleep!

Melatonin is not exacty a "sleep aid" per se but it does, er, aid sleep. It doesn't "knock you out" but it does make it easier to sleep if that makes sense. It won't cut through the amphetamine like traz will though.

 

[BiggDirty01]

^^^^^^^

That is why I mentioned rozerem, since it is basically a highly refined and amplified version of melatonin in terms of its mechanism of action. It is definitely something worth considering rather than just straight melatonin because the OP is already coming off of highly potent sleep aids.

 

[Toscacat]

I know that this is an old thread, but Rozerem "works" by binding to melatonin receptors 1 and 2 with greater affinity than melatonin alone; whether or not this results in greater clinical efficacy is anyone's guess. Has been associated with cancer in lab animals. For me, it is expensive and worthless. The drug only has ~2% of the hypnotic market and I doubt that Takeada and even recouped their launch costs. To the best of my knowledge, other companies like Mylan or Teva (they make generics) have not petitioned the FDA to market the drug as a generic which is unheard of for a legend product with ten years' of FDA approval, and I doubt it ever will be because it's not that effective and is not a money-maker.

 

[Memantine]

Guys what is the best sleep aid with the least side effects?:

- Hydroxyzine
- Mirtazapine
- Trazodone
- Clonidine

 

[Cotcha Yankinov]

Those are all good choices. Mirtazapine will stop working at higher doses. 5HT2A antagonists work well for some people it seems though. But Clonidine would be my choice, it's the purest in terms of sedation. Belsomra is another option if you have the money.

 

[Burnt Offerings]

Zolpidem works pretty well for me. I've also taken: (prescribed) trazodone, Xanax, hydroxyzine, and (not prescribed) temazepam, triazolam, a variety of OTC cough medicines and melatonin, and about 6 other benzodiazepine tranquilizers. I've found that zolpidem works the best for me...sleep medicine is highly individual dependent, though...I've read innumerable reports from people on here who can't stand zolpidem/Ambien. Personally trazodone didn't work that well for me, the only effect I got from it was crazy lucid dreams.

 

[pally pete]

Trazodone just gave me Priapism.