Looking for Trazadone Withdrawal Success Stories

[[Se...]]

Thanks Shadow1.  I'm going to make my first decrease on October 1st.  I think I'll go down by a 1/4 of one pill, from 2 50 mg/night to 1-3/4 pills.  If all goes well, I'll aim to decrease by 1/4 pill every month until I come off in 8 month's time.

 

Really appreciate all of you sharing your stories.  This is the next bit in my journey, I had to wait until I was well enough to tackle it.  I'm really interested to see what effect it has on my healing.  I've been on this stuff for 7 years come December.

 

Thank God for BBs is all I can say.  Saved me.

 

 

Alison

[[Be...]]

I'm glad to hear you slept well Shadow. That's a good sign for your taper. I slept 8 hours last night--a very rare event. I was actually in awe for a couple minutes when I woke up, I just couldn't believe it.

 

I went to the gym this AM. Felt a little dizzy on the treadmill. It lifts for the most part in the afternoon. I noticed this symptom after my Traz cut. Anyone get that?

 

SS-- Sounds like you have a good plan for your taper. One fine day we will have no more meds to taper and will be healed.

[[Sh...]]

SS I agree with Becky, sounds like you have a good plan!  Becky, yesterday morning I got a little dizzy.  I let myself get pretty hungry, but that usually doesn't happen....I was running around a lot yesterday, but it may have been the Traz W/D.  It passed pretty quickly, but it surprised me.  Man a full 8 hours sleep!  What a gift!

[[Se...]]

I know, as time goes on, my sleep is getting better and better.  I do have stretches where it unravels again if I hit a wave but this year I've had some nights where I've slept 12 hours straight when I've been really tired.  Felt like heaven, considering that I was put on the z-drug and trazodone for insomnia and no other reason.

 

My adrenals are also finally starting to heal after years now of bio-identicals, since 2010.  The only signs of healing I've had (and I test roughly every 12 months) is now, after finally getting off the z-drug for a couple of years.  While on them, I never dropped into the deeper stages of sleep, the "restorative stages" where your hormones are synthesized.  Finally, my cortisol levels have started to climb a bit (think $ in your wallet to spend) but my cortisone (think $ in your savings account) are still very low.  A long road back and I'm firmly convinced that I would have made NO progress on this front if I hadn't figured this out and come off the z-drug/benzo.

 

Sometimes I feel so incredibly stupid to have gotten myself in this mess.

 

Alison

[[Sh...]]

Hey SS, Quit kicking yourself.  Oh wait, I need to tell myself that too!  I think we all feel that way.  I am amazed that I am in this situation.  But hey, we are moving forward, and that is all we can do right now.  So pats on the back for progress! 

[[Se...]]

Yes.  Sage advice.  I normally try to keep looking forward too.  Just occasionally find myself beating myself up for losing all these years.  But, on a positive note, I've gained a LOT of wisdom through the hard times.  A lot.  Should be good for something!

 

Helping others.  Helping myself.  Doing the best I can do with the knowledge I've got at any given time.  Getting better, one good decision at a time.

 

 

Ali

[[Sh...]]

Ooh, I like that attitude, gonna remember that.  I do that beat up thing as well.  Hey, at least we know we don't want to go through it again!

[[Sh...]]

I jumped from Trazodone last night.  I'll soon put a link to my progress log in my signature, a more appropriate place to track symptoms, but I just wanted to let you know I did it.  Jumped.  I was a little hypomanic after 25 mg the night before, but it was manageable, and I just attribute it to healing/change.  I did a small Xanax cut Wednesday, so it could be that.  I had a little cortisol rush this AM, but moving around has helped.  I am not yet a success story, but we shall see!  Best to all!

[[Be...]]

Good for you Shadow. It's interesting, you just jumped, I'm tapering slowly, and SS is about to begin her taper. We'll all get there sooner or later. Good Luck Shadow. 

[[Se...]]

Yes Shadow, this is such great news.  Keep us posted on how it goes.

 

I'm getting ready for Thursday night.  I did this once before, in 2010 before I hit menopause and then my adrenals completely tanked.  I was unknowingly in tolerance withdrawal and interdose withdrawal back then.  I didn't figure it out for 3 more years.  So stupid!  I don't think of myself as a stupid person but getting myself into this mess with the z-drugs has been an eye opener.  My psychiatrist was so ill informed.  Kept telling me that my "underlying sleep architecture" was "broken".  What does that even mean?  I'm ashamed that I didn't figure it out, find benzobuddies, do my due diligence.  I was always so freaked out about taking benzos, would never consider it under any circumstances and there I was, on what is considered for all intents and purposes to be on a benzo!

 

Well, that is water under the bridge as they say.  So glad to be 2+ years out.  Trazodone is the very last step.

 

Can't wait to be free!  I have learned SO much!

 

 

Alison

[[Sh...]]

Thanks for the good wishes you guys!  Keep posting.  I'd like to hear how you do.  I'll keep you in my prayers.

[[Go...]]

I came off 100mg of at trazadone CT without any issues.  I had been on it for 5 years.  I would never recommend a CT.

[[Sh...]]

I came off 100mg of at trazadone CT without any issues.  I had been on it for 5 years.  I would never recommend a CT.

 

Thanks, Godsgrace, I know it is not recommended but I think my quick taper on Traz is ok now.  We shall see.  I wouldn't recommend it either, but I think Traz is a little different somehow.  Definitely going slow on the Xanax taper.

[[si...]]

I'm on Traz.  I want off.  I was up to high dose. I tried cutting down to 250mg.  I dont think its working.

[[Be...]]

Sierra the highest I was on Traz was 100 mg. That was too much for me and caused greater symptoms. The only thing I found it good for was sleeping. Maybe on a lower dose would be better for you--if you need it for sleeping. It never eased any anxiety for me or had any anti-depressant effects. I suspected it caused some low level depression, because as I lower it, my moods seem elevated. I get some sleep disturbance for about a week when tapering, then it levels off.

 

I used Traz so I could stop Ambien, and it worked for that.

 

[[si...]]

I'm trying to go from 300 to 250.  Withdrawal is horrible.  Shortness of breath, anxiety, jittery.    It sucks.

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2883-tips-for-tapering-off-trazodone-desyrel/

 

I found this article.  My anxiety has gone up a lot.  I think it's possibly from the Traz.  How did we all get ourselves into these situations?  So frackin frustrating! !

[[Sh...]]

I'm sorry Sierra.  I read that article, good one, motivates you to get off!  I didn't follow their WD guidelines as I had had success before going CT.  It has been 5 days for me with no traz.  The first few were hard, Super witchy!  but I think it is a more short lived pain than benzo WD.  But we are all different.  I just pretended I had PMS, that is what it felt like, even though those days are long gone.... Hang in there.

[[Se...]]

Sierra,

 

I start my taper tomorrow but I'm only going to go down by 12.5 mg each month.  Super slow, at that rate it will take me 8 months to come off from 100 mg (2 - 50 mg tablets/night).  I'm going down by 1/4 of a 50 mg tablet.

 

I've been on this now for 7 years coming up in December.  I'm not looking to rock the boat as it has taken me so long to finally start pulling out of the z-drug protracted withdrawal.  I don't care if it is slow, I don't want to tank my fledgling recovery or my brain.

 

I'm going to keep posting as I do this and fire up my blog and start a log tomorrow.  This is the last bit of my journey along with healing completely from the z-drug.  I am starting to really see some light at the end of this tunnel.  I figure I'm about 70% from my z-drug withdrawal, that has been so very hard.

 

I don't underestimate this next journey to come off the Trazodone.  I know people see this as a failed antidepressant but that doesn't mean that it hasn't altered my brain neurotransmitter levels and my receptors.  Not looking forward to rocking my sleep, the days/weeks when my sleep is horrible are days/weeks when I cope very poorly.  At the moment, I'm sleeping reasonably well so I hope this very slow rate of tapering keeps this boat afloat!

 

Will keep you guys posted.

 

 

Ali

[[si...]]

I wish I was only on 100 mg.  I took 200 last night and slept about 4 hours.  Hopefully as my body heals from benzo, I'll sleep a little better. 

[[Se...]]

Sierra,

 

As the months have gone by since jumping off the z-drug, my sleep has just (for the most part!) gotten better and better.

 

I'm dreaming more.  I'm sleeping longer on average.  I've even had nights when I've been really tired that I've slept 12 hours straight - that was unheard of when I was on the benzo/z-drug.

 

The quality of sleep I'm getting is much better.  It has improved, month over month.  Sometimes, I go through a period where it is disrupted, mostly due to stress.  But on balance, I'm finally sleeping normally after all these years.

 

I remember, at the worst when I was in tolerance withdrawal, I was taking sometimes 3 sleeping pills over the course of a night and 200 mg trazodone.  And not sleeping really - I'd sleep a few hours, wake up and be awake for long stretches of the night.  I divided my zopiclone doses and sometimes the 2nd dose would enable me to get a couple of hours when 6 or 7 a.m. rolled around.  It was no existence and I despaired of ever returning to work.  I was so exhausted.  Deeply exhausted, beyond the pale.

 

These days, I really sleep.  I seldom wake up in the middle of the night anymore and when I do, it is usually for only a few minutes.

 

At 28 months out now, I still cannot drink any alcohol at all.  If I have even a small glass of wine, my sleep is really disrupted.  It is a small price to pay, I don't care if I can never have a glass of wine ever again, I'm so relieved to have my sleep architecture back.

 

It will get better.  I was pretty ill for a long time, most people recover by the end of 12 months.

 

Your body will heal from the benzos, I promise.

 

 

Ali

[[si...]]

I've been taking 200 mg of Trazodone at night to sleep.  I get about 4 hours of sleep.  I then wake up and take another 25 mg.  This puts me back to sleep for a little bit.  During the day when the trazodone wears off, my anxiety starts to go up.  I find then if I take a little more trazodone(like 12mg), I calm back down.  This is maddening.  I feel like it's another crutch.  I wonder then, is my anxiety from benzo withdrawal or is it from trazodone withdrawal.  I can't believe I'm stuck in this situation.  If anybody has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

[[Sh...]]

I've been taking 200 mg of Trazodone at night to sleep.  I get about 4 hours of sleep.  I then wake up and take another 25 mg.  This puts me back to sleep for a little bit.  During the day when the trazodone wears off, my anxiety starts to go up.  I find then if I take a little more trazodone(like 12mg), I calm back down.  This is maddening.  I feel like it's another crutch.  I wonder then, is my anxiety from benzo withdrawal or is it from trazodone withdrawal.  I can't believe I'm stuck in this situation.  If anybody has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

'

Sierra, I noticed I was going through the same thing! At one point I was taking 150 mg plus, but only sometimes.  When I got up that high, I noticed the anxiety increasing.  I don't think it is WD from Traz, I think it is the drug itself!  I thought it was doing me more harm than good, even though it helped me GET to sleep at night, I always had to wake up and take more after 4-6 hours.  If you read that post you made with  the link, it talks about the bi phasic half life.  I think the 2nd "stage" of the drug causes the anxiety.  That's why I dumped it as quick as I could.  I'm not saying go as quickly as I did, but I will say that my last dose was 6 days ago, and I am feeling much better than when I was taking it.  I tapered from 100 mg to 0 in 4 days, jumped the fifth day.  I am still cutting my Xanax, but my anxiety is WAY down.  My sleep is better.  I have a stupid cold, so that is helping me sleep, too though.  Just my opinion and experience.

[[Sh...]]

PS I did go through a couple days of PMS like symptoms, but those are gone.

[[si...]]

I spoke to my doc..  of course he said it's not the traz.

[[Sh...]]

Yeah, mine said that too.  Then how come the more I took, with his blessing, the worse my symptoms got....Frustrating.