MagickalKat777
Bluelight Crew
So let me start this off by saying that I am in no way recommending that everyone go out and get trazodone or that it works for everyone. As with any medication, there can be side effects and you should discuss any medications with a licensed doctor or psychiatrist.
I have had negative reactions to a host of medications (I've been on aripiprazole/Abilify, olanzapine/Zyprexa, ziprasidone/Geodon, risperidone/Risperdal, mirtazapine/Remeron, trazodone/Desyrel, citalopram/Celexa, escitalopram/Lexapro, paroxetine/Paxil, bupropion/Wellbutrin, pregabalin/Lyrica, gabapentin/Neurontin, methylphenidate/Ritalin, lithium carbonate/Eskalith, divalproex sodium/Depakote, oxcarbazepine/Trileptal, lamotrigine/Lamictal, alprazolam/Xanax, lorazepam/Ativan, clonazepam/Klonopin, and diazepam/Valium) with only the benzodiazepines actually being helpful for my anxiety (although I built a rapid tolerance to the sedative AND anxiolytic effects of all of them, regardless of what they say about long term tolerance to anxiolytics not occuring and benzodiazepines increased my rage issues with clonazepam being at the same time the most effective all around benzo and the worst for my rage) and mirtazapine was the only antidepressant that didn't cause a lot of issues. I had nothing but problems with the antipsychotics. Lamotrigine I wasn't on long enough to really make a determination... I think it was helping my mood but I'm a rapid cycler so it takes awhile to really tell.
Anyway, I'm currently on a Valium taper and its not fun. I'm down to 7.5mg right now and have been since December. I started my taper from 20mg on 9/17. Basically, I haven't been sleeping well and that's been making my taper even more unbearable. I have a hearing that I MUST go to (its for disability) on Thursday so I decided to give trazodone a try last night. To my surprise, it worked as well as ever. 50mg put me out to sleep within an hour, I slept all night, and I'm not dragging ass today and I honestly believe that my anxiety upon waking was non-existent as I always wake up anxious and I did not start getting anxious until around 30-45 minutes ago and I've been up for 4 hours.
The only side effect I ever notice with it is very vivid dreams if I take too much (100mg can do it - the first time they ever gave it to me was at 200mg and I woke up in a panic because I got stuck in a repeating dream cycle, freaked the hell out of me) but other than that, its always been positive. Unlike pretty much everything else, trazodone has never caused me to have a panic attack when taken at a reasonable dose between 50-100mg before bed. In fact, in combination with mirtazapine, trazodone stopped a panic attack that was happening before and put me to sleep while the mirtazapine failed on its own.
Anyone else have positive reactions to trazodone? I think one of the biggest problems with recovery is getting sleep. Trazodone, at least for me, is a great way for me to get sleep without worrying about gaining a steep tolerance, having a paradoxical reaction (which I'm extremely prone to), or getting addicted to or having withdrawals from it. It also doesn't mess with a bunch of receptors I don't want it messing with (its a 5-HT2A antagonist and a1 adrenergic antagonist if I remember correctly - it has other actions of course but those are the strongest ones).
I have had negative reactions to a host of medications (I've been on aripiprazole/Abilify, olanzapine/Zyprexa, ziprasidone/Geodon, risperidone/Risperdal, mirtazapine/Remeron, trazodone/Desyrel, citalopram/Celexa, escitalopram/Lexapro, paroxetine/Paxil, bupropion/Wellbutrin, pregabalin/Lyrica, gabapentin/Neurontin, methylphenidate/Ritalin, lithium carbonate/Eskalith, divalproex sodium/Depakote, oxcarbazepine/Trileptal, lamotrigine/Lamictal, alprazolam/Xanax, lorazepam/Ativan, clonazepam/Klonopin, and diazepam/Valium) with only the benzodiazepines actually being helpful for my anxiety (although I built a rapid tolerance to the sedative AND anxiolytic effects of all of them, regardless of what they say about long term tolerance to anxiolytics not occuring and benzodiazepines increased my rage issues with clonazepam being at the same time the most effective all around benzo and the worst for my rage) and mirtazapine was the only antidepressant that didn't cause a lot of issues. I had nothing but problems with the antipsychotics. Lamotrigine I wasn't on long enough to really make a determination... I think it was helping my mood but I'm a rapid cycler so it takes awhile to really tell.
Anyway, I'm currently on a Valium taper and its not fun. I'm down to 7.5mg right now and have been since December. I started my taper from 20mg on 9/17. Basically, I haven't been sleeping well and that's been making my taper even more unbearable. I have a hearing that I MUST go to (its for disability) on Thursday so I decided to give trazodone a try last night. To my surprise, it worked as well as ever. 50mg put me out to sleep within an hour, I slept all night, and I'm not dragging ass today and I honestly believe that my anxiety upon waking was non-existent as I always wake up anxious and I did not start getting anxious until around 30-45 minutes ago and I've been up for 4 hours.
The only side effect I ever notice with it is very vivid dreams if I take too much (100mg can do it - the first time they ever gave it to me was at 200mg and I woke up in a panic because I got stuck in a repeating dream cycle, freaked the hell out of me) but other than that, its always been positive. Unlike pretty much everything else, trazodone has never caused me to have a panic attack when taken at a reasonable dose between 50-100mg before bed. In fact, in combination with mirtazapine, trazodone stopped a panic attack that was happening before and put me to sleep while the mirtazapine failed on its own.
Anyone else have positive reactions to trazodone? I think one of the biggest problems with recovery is getting sleep. Trazodone, at least for me, is a great way for me to get sleep without worrying about gaining a steep tolerance, having a paradoxical reaction (which I'm extremely prone to), or getting addicted to or having withdrawals from it. It also doesn't mess with a bunch of receptors I don't want it messing with (its a 5-HT2A antagonist and a1 adrenergic antagonist if I remember correctly - it has other actions of course but those are the strongest ones).
clock every morning. Quitting cannabis now so I've started taking melatonin nightly .. helps me fall asleep, not stay asleep, but the dreamscapes are amazing. Makes me wish I could sleep twice as much.
