Looking for Trazadone Withdrawal Success Stories

[[Co...]]

I call BS on the kindling from Trazodone.  Just get on with the program.  You know, whatever, somehow I just think  some people have to be right.  Not a healthy attitude.  In the meantime, I have a cold and still tapering.  Off this evil Trazodone though.  BTW my chiropractor told me to get off it the first time.  I was ready to shoot him.  He was right!  It was doable.  Then the healing from Lyme set in.  Talk about rough.  No one has come close to these symptoms from what I have read.  I started the meds again because of the complications.  Should have just  ENDURED it.  But that is why we are here right, to help us endure....I didn't think it was for major medical advice from other sites on how to get off a drug with one has no experience.  Most of us  all have Google.

 

I still did not have a window since tapering trazodone! So you cannot say this is true for everyone. For me it was horrible. And yes it was a good idea to get off it because it was a terrible drug. But I did kindle. Not everyone is the same on here. You have people cold turkeying benzo's and be fine.

Corsair, God Bless your heart.  Hey, I was really just saying what I went through.  And I tried to make it clear that it is not for everyone.  Don't compare yourself to me.  I was trying to be encouraging and it really backfired.  I was just sharing what happened to ME.  Hang in Sweet one, everyone is different.

 

Thank you, I appreciate it!

I understand why you got off it quickly, those side effects are horrible.

[Guest [Mi...]]

OK, Mindseeker.  So everyone keep taking this crap as you TRY to taper.  Best to you.  All  I can say is what worked for me.  Have a field day with 30 years of hospitalization.  And the question was not answered as far as cutting Traz.  Good luck to all with this.  Freak out if that helps.  Sounds like that is what is being encouraged.

 

Shadow, what specific question to you have "as far as cutting Traz"? You said you're off of Traz yourself, so I don't understand what you're asking.

 

 

 

I'll be glad to answer if I can, but you need to cut out the sarcasm and snarky remarks. I've done nothing but provide information on this thread, both experiential as well as linking to scientific sources.

 

Mindseeker, first, I call a truce. 2nd.  I was only asking if YOU had quickly gotten off trazodone, like I did.

 

Yes, I did a rapid taper off of trazodone (Desyrel) in 1985 and I was placed on Pamelor. I was hospitalized during the transition due to increased suicidal thoughts and some mania.

 

  People here were asking for success stories. 

 

Yes, it started off that way and then diverged into people sharing tapering advice and asking for information.

 

I did a rapid taper in the middle of my Xanax taper, and was better off.  That is all I was trying to say.  Of course we shall see, but my taper is much easier now. 

 

That's good, Shadow, and I'm glad for you. The point of my initial post to you was to let you know about the possible adverse reaction between Traz and Xanax and to let you know about the delayed reaction for AD withdrawal so you can prepare.

 

This is NOT to scare you but to advise you that you may need to monitor your Xanax and alcohol tapers more carefully so your CNS doesn't get overwhelmed down the road. You may need longer holds and more self care.

 

The more you know the better. We're in this mess because of lack of knowledge.

 

 

BTW, Trazodone is more like a Tricyclic than an SSRI. 

 

Trazodone is neither a Tricyclic nor a SSRI - it's a tetracyclic antidepressant. However, I do understand what you're saying because many people report Traz to have many of the same side effects and withdrawal effects as the Tricyclics.

 

That's been my experience, as well.

 

And it was relatively easy for me to cut it out. I was on and off, but I know I was taking 100 plus, for at least a year, last I checked.  4 days, 25-50 mg cuts.  Boom over.  No more fast heart rates and better sleep.  I mean sleep still isn't good, but this was a big improvement.  I do not believe that it is the same as an SSRI or benzos as far as cuts.  BUT THAT IS JUST MY EXPERIENCE and that is all I am trying to convey.  I know it is not the "candy" drug that some docs say it is.  But it is not as evil to get off of as the fear is projecting.

 

I'm not projecting fear - I'm simply giving information. The origin of the "antidepressant withdrawal syndrome" goes back to 1959, a year after imipramine was patented. Imipramine was the first antidepressant and it's a tricyclic antidepressant. For more on this, please read Robert Whitaker or David Healy's books - they've both written extensively on this.

 

Fact is, ALL psychiatric drugs have a withdrawal syndrome attached to them. Some of us are affected more than others, but after someone comes off of benzos, they are more likely to experience problems with AD withdrawal due to a compromised CNS.

 

 

I did 100 mg to zero in 4 days. And yes I was a mess, but it was  just like less than a week of PMS>  I am not saying that everyone else should do that.  I am just saying what worked for me.  A few,even 5 days of hell if you can deal is worth it.  And it is not a seizure causing thing.  Don't do that with benzos, Lexapro, topomax, etc. but there is some truth to how you won't have the same symptoms.  I don't buy that link that is posted about it, that you have to taper like an SSRI, or Benzo, but some have to taper everything slowly.  I am sensitive to EVERYTHING>  LYME wrecked my CNS.  But even I was able to do this. And I am sorry for the snarkiness, but I had assumed you had read this whole thread.  And maybe I was unclear.  I just disagree that it is something that will leave you with WD symptoms.  I don't know everyone's dose, but I feel SO much better after dumping the stuff.  My apologies.  I am just trying to help.  I really am.  Best to all. If we could talk in person, I am sure we would be able to convey the kindheartedness of all.  AGAIN, THIS IS JUST WHAT WORKED FOR ME, even in the midst of tapering Xanax.

 

Thank you, Shadow. And yes, I have read this entire thread. And it's morphed in several different directions at times.

 

You should feel free to post your experience as well as what you learned from your experience. But part of my role on this forum - and specific to this board - is to provide information about AD tapers, gives heads up if I catch an adverse effect, and to direct members to other key sources of research and AD web forums for the safest withdrawal information possible.

 

 

[[Sh...]]

But Traz is not the same as other ADs.  That is my point.  Hope this helps SOMEONE.  I'm off this place.  I still think you are adding fear, just regarding Trazodone.  I will not let this lie without saying that .  I don't think you know what you are talking about as far as Trazodone goes and people may be suffering because of that so called "expertise"  Whatever.

[[Be...]]

Hi all. I am doing well with my slow taper so I think I will stick with it for now. Any more traz withdrawal success stories out there?

 

Also, did anyone have any shoulder pain issues with Traz, like tendonitis or frozen shoulder?

 

Thanks guys and gals.

[Guest [Mi...]]

Hi all. I am doing well with my slow taper so I think I will stick with it for now. Any more traz withdrawal success stories out there?

 

Also, did anyone have any shoulder pain issues with Traz, like tendonitis or frozen shoulder?

 

Thanks guys and gals.

 

I didn't have it from Traz, but I did have severe tendonitis from after coming off of Nortriptyline, which is another older antidepressant.

 

It was like my muscles started freezing up all over and it affected my wrists, shoulders, and neck especially when I was working all day at the computer.

 

This was about 15 years ago and I ended up going through physical therapy for about 6 weeks.

 

A lot of the older antidepressants are prescribed in small doses as muscle relaxers, so having muscle problems, joint pain, tendonitis, etc. after coming off them is unfortunately common.

 

I learned a lot of stretching exercises in physical therapy and I'm using those same exercises to get through my final drug withdrawal.

 

If you can do very, very gentle stretching, this may help.

[Guest [Mi...]]

But Traz is not the same as other ADs.  That is my point.  Hope this helps SOMEONE.  I'm off this place.  I still think you are adding fear, just regarding Trazodone.  I will not let this lie without saying that .  I don't think you know what you are talking about as far as Trazodone goes and people may be suffering because of that so called "expertise"  Whatever.

 

Shadow, I politely asked you before to lose the sarcastic and snarky comments.

 

if you have a problem with me, you need to contact me via PM or contact the Help Desk.

 

Per forum guidelines:

 

• If you disagree with a moderation action please see our policy ''Disagreeing with a moderation decision" for further details on permitted methods of recourse.
   
   
  

 

~ MindSeeker

Senior Moderator

[[Sh...]]

You can remove my last post if you want.  I think I made my point, and shouldn't have made my last post.  A bad cold is clouding good judgment.  I apologize/.  Erase my last post if you want.

 

[Guest [Mi...]]

You can remove my last post if you want.  I think I made my point, and shouldn't have made my last post.  A bad cold is clouding good judgment.  I apologize/.  Erase my last post if you want.

 

We rarely remove posts - this is a very transparent forum.

 

But thank you for your apology.

[[Be...]]

MS--This is one of the reasons I want off of trazadone. I can't be sure but I suspect it is causing me tendonitis/frozen shoulder or at least contributing to it. I might have overdone it at the gym, but I've had it 4 months and it's not going away although somewhat improved. There is also a drug interaction with Remeron showing muscle pain. I've already done 2 months of pt. I've read other posts with complaints about shoulder pain and Traz.

 

I am very curious to see is the shoulder pain goes away after a few months off of Trazadone.

[Guest [Mi...]]

MS--This is one of the reasons I want off of trazadone. I can't be sure but I suspect it is causing me tendonitis/frozen shoulder or at least contributing to it. I might have overdone it at the gym, but I've had it 4 months and it's not going away although somewhat improved. There is also a drug interaction with Remeron showing muscle pain. I've already done 2 months of pt. I've read other posts with complaints about shoulder pain and Traz.

 

I am very curious to see is the shoulder pain goes away after a few months off of Trazadone.

 

The fact that it's improved is a great sign! Sadly, even with PT, it can take a long time to heal the muscles and tendons after the long term muscle relaxing effect of these older AD's.

 

My physical therapist sent me to a yoga class after the 6 weeks of PT and it was the best thing that could happen to me. This was about 15 years ago when I was 32 and even at that young of an age, all of my muscles were so incredibly tight.

 

But the PT said to keep doing yoga and I've been doing it ever since. But it did take awhile to loosen up the muscles so that my joints and tendons would stop aching. But after a few months, ALL of the pain went away.

 

I've had some minor muscle aches and burning during my most recent AD, Z-drug, benzo, and antispychotic tapers over the past few years, but nothing like I had 15 years ago. I really think that incorporating yoga as a life style is what really helped.

 

And that's good news because it's one less thing to need a medication for.

 

Keep posting and letting us know how you're doing.

 

 

[[Co...]]

I hate the muscle problems I have a double problem.

Because I'm also hypermobile and so I'm not stiff in the right sense of the word. Stretching can be dangerous, but I also get the muscle knots because of the pills

Do you think it will go away mindseeker?

[Guest [Mi...]]

I hate the muscle problems I have a double problem.

Because I'm also hypermobile and so I'm not stiff in the right sense of the word. Stretching can be dangerous, but I also get the muscle knots because of the pills

Do you think it will go away mindseeker?

 

I'm sorry you're dealing with hypermobility. Yes, you're right - stretching can be dangerous for you.

 

But I really believe in the powers of the mind and body to heal and go back to baseline in time. And many times, once you've experienced the worst due to withdrawal, when baseline returns, you may feel even better.

 

Can you do acupuncture or massage therapy for your muscles?

 

You're down to just 20 mg of Seroquel and considering all of the meds you've been on over the years, this is really great progress. 

[[si...]]

I am taking around 175mg of trazodone at night.  I was off klonopin for 3 weeks.  Looking back i was making progress.  I decided not to take traz last Friday.  Needless to say all hell broke loose.  I had to reinstate klonopi .25.  Has anyone done a slow traz taper while tapering benzo?

[[ar...]]

I took trazadone on these dates:

 

12/8/2014      12mg

12/9/2014      12mg

12/19/2014    12mg

12/20/2014    12mg

12/21/2014    12mg

12/22/2014    12mg

12/29/2014    12mg

12/30/2014    12mg

12/31/2014    12mg

1/1/2015      12mg

2/4/2015      12mg

2/10/2015      12mg

2/11/2015      36mg

2/14/2015      25mg

2/15/2015      25mg

2/16/2015      25mg

2/20/2015      25mg

2/21/2015      25mg

 

Surviving antidepressants said I didn't need to taper because I wan't using it that long and the doses were low. 

 

I came off just fine unless my benzo w/d symptoms from the Valium taper were masking it.  I am glad I got off that stuff because it gave me bad headaches in the morning and I did not want to throw another psych med into the mix.  It did help with sleep but it wasn't worth it to me.

 

 

 

 

[Guest [Mi...]]

I am taking around 175mg of trazodone at night.  I was off klonopin for 3 weeks.  Looking back i was making progress.  I decided not to take traz last Friday.  Needless to say all hell broke loose.  I had to reinstate klonopi .25.  Has anyone done a slow traz taper while tapering benzo?

 

Hi, sierra.

 

It's best to taper one medication at a time and wait in between tapers until your CNS has time to stabilize.

 

Are you back on the Trazodone now?

[[Se...]]

Hey everyone, I'm nearing the end of my first week on 1-3/4 pills (down from 2 50 mg pills) of Trazodone and so far it is going really well.

 

After everything Mind said upthread, I'm going to stick with my slow and steady plan of 1/4 pill every month.  It may take me until spring to get off this last poison but I am determined and so far, so good!

 

Interestingly, this past week I've somehow regained the ability (after 7 years) to get back to sleep if I've been awakened and am up for hours.  I'm still having body pain that wakes me in the early hours (3 a.m.) and sometimes I cannot get back to sleep because of the pain but this past week I've been able to crawl back into bed around 6 a.m. and I've slept in two different days (once until 10:30 a.m. and once to 11:30 a.m.).  So strange, I've never been able to do this before.

 

Now, I'd rather sleep soundly through the night but honestly most nights I AM sleeping through, often 9 or 10 hours at a stretch.  I even managed to nap for 5 minutes in the afternoon the other day and I haven't been able to nap at all for 7 years now so something is changing.

 

I'm really looking forward to seeing what other changes decreasing Trazodone might bring.  Bring on the healing!

 

 

SS

[[si...]]

Hi, sierra.

 

It's best to taper one medication at a time and wait in between tapers until your CNS has time to stabilize.

 

Are you back on the Trazodone now?

 

Hi Mindseeker-  Yes I'm back on the traz.  I would like to get the levels down somewhat.  I'm at about 165mg.  I feel like this is really high.  It so frustrating being on all the meds.  How did this all happen???  I can't imagine doing a 10% a month taper off this stuff once I'm done with klonopin and lexapro.  It makes me an inoperable zombie.  I've only been on it a short time.

[[Be...]]

Good going SS. Glad your taper is going well. I cut a bit of the trazadone last night. I'm down to about 32/33 mg. You mentioned that you still wake up in pain. I do also, from pain in my shoulder. I've been thinking it is the traz, but then again it could be leftover Ambien stuff. It started 6 months after I jumped from Ambien though.

[[Be...]]

 

Just a quick update I'm dry cutting the trazodone to 30 mg down from 33. It is only 2 weeks since my last cut, but I feel okay so why not. BTW it's my one year anniversary from my Ambien jump. I've come a long way and it gives me hope to complete my med free journey. Good luck to all of us.

[[Sh...]]

 

Just a quick update I'm dry cutting the trazodone to 30 mg down from 33. It is only 2 weeks since my last cut, but I feel okay so why not. BTW it's my one year anniversary from my Ambien jump. I've come a long way and it gives me hope to complete my med free journey. Good luck to all of us.

 

Go Becky!

[[Be...]]

Thanks Shadow. Hope you are doing well. I'm down to 25 Trazadone and still sleeping well. What's interesting is that once I dropped to 25 the mood swings disappeared. I was having them in the AM from the dose 50 to 25. I suspected Trazadone was causing this mild depression. Was right, cause it's gone now. My shoulder pain is decreasing also. My taper has sped up to about every 2 weeks instead of monthly since I don't feel much s/e's.

 

Any more  successful Trazadone tapers out there? How did you feel at the end of the taper and when you jumped?

 

Becky

[[Sh...]]

Yay, Becky!  Yeah As I said before, a lot of anxiety went away when I quit that.  The only way I pinpointed it to Trazodone was because I upped my dose and then got more anxious.  Hey wait a second!  (I thought).  The less I took, the better I got.  A few days of angst, but worth it.  Done with Traz.  benzos are not so easy....

[Guest [Mi...]]

Thanks Shadow. Hope you are doing well. I'm down to 25 Trazadone and still sleeping well. What's interesting is that once I dropped to 25 the mood swings disappeared. I was having them in the AM from the dose 50 to 25. I suspected Trazadone was causing this mild depression. Was right, cause it's gone now. My shoulder pain is decreasing also. My taper has sped up to about every 2 weeks instead of monthly since I don't feel much s/e's.

 

Any more  successful Trazadone tapers out there? How did you feel at the end of the taper and when you jumped?

 

Becky

 

This is really good news, Becky! Hopefully the Remeron will give you enough sleep every night so you'll be able to taper off the Trazodone without the insomnia coming back. 

 

And that will be one more drug gone. 

[[Be...]]

Just a quick update I'm down to 12.5 mg Traz and doing pretty well. Rough sleep (waking up a lot) kicked in about 4 days after this cut. Day after that waking up only a few times. It gets less and less the longer I hold the cut. Shoulder aches from withdrawal, but nothing I can't handle. Maybe this can help someone who is tapering.

 

I'm wondering when I should jump. I think I can cut the small piece into thirds. I guess I'll jump at 4mg Traz. Any experiences with jumping from Traz? Any success stories out there?

[[Sh...]]

I was on 200 mg for years.  I took them for middle of night awakening when the benzo's effectiveness started wearing off.  For me, Trazadone withdrawal was three weeks of hell. I couldn't sleep and felt like I was on speed 24/7. Then one evening my body felt like it was slowing down just a bit, but it was still bad. .  I called my psychiatrist and he told me to reinstate.  However, I decided to just reinstate at 50mg and slept great. I titrated off the 50mg within a month.  You can do it.