Looking for Trazadone Withdrawal Success Stories

[[Be...]]

Good news. I eliminated the Kefir I was eating every day and my good sleep has returned. It was the only thing I recently added. I thought it was supposed to help with sleep. I did not realize it was high in histamine. Coming off Trazadone I'm very sensitive to high histamine, and high histamine foods cause insomnia. Be careful with any changes to your diet withdrawing from meds folks. Glad I figured that one out.

 

Becky

[[Sh...]]

Good news. I eliminated the Kefir I was eating every day and my good sleep has returned. It was the only thing I recently added. I thought it was supposed to help with sleep. I did not realize it was high in histamine. Coming off Trazadone I'm very sensitive to high histamine, and high histamine foods cause insomnia. Be careful with any changes to your diet withdrawing from meds folks. Glad I figured that one out.

 

Becky

 

Thank you for this information, Becky.  I have been researching this and it is good to know....

[[wa...]]

Hi, I'm tapering off a Z drug and am already dealing with insomnia as if I weren't taking anything.  Some BBrs have recommended Trazedone or Amitriptyline (sp).  I'm wondering if its worth avoiding only because I'd have to get off these ADs, too.  And I know I'm projecting, I know, about my future sleep.  OTCs aren't doing anything.  Tapering again off anything else, I can't imagine right now.  Wendy

[[Be...]]

Hi, I'm tapering off a Z drug and am already dealing with insomnia as if I weren't taking anything.  Some BBrs have recommended Trazedone or Amitriptyline (sp).  I'm wondering if its worth avoiding only because I'd have to get off these ADs, too.  And I know I'm projecting, I know, about my future sleep.  OTCs aren't doing anything.  Tapering again off anything else, I can't imagine right now.  Wendy

 

Yes, Trazadone is worth avoiding. It has a lot of side effects, I hated the way it made me feel. Did it help me sleep? Yes. It had to be tapered it slowly to avoid the more intense insomnia (at least for me).

 

I know how brutal insomnia can be. If I had to decide between Z drug or Trazadone, I would choose Trazadone. If there is any way you can taper off the Z drug without adding another med? If you can that is best, otherwise you'll need to taper another drug. If you are getting some sleep, maybe you can add Unisom.

 

GL,

Becky

[[Fr...]]

Hi, I'm tapering off a Z drug and am already dealing with insomnia as if I weren't taking anything.  Some BBrs have recommended Trazedone or Amitriptyline (sp).  I'm wondering if its worth avoiding only because I'd have to get off these ADs, too.  And I know I'm projecting, I know, about my future sleep.  OTCs aren't doing anything.  Tapering again off anything else, I can't imagine right now.  Wendy

 

Trazodone doesn't work as an antidepressant at the doses for insomnia. . . there's no real reason to believe that you'd have to taper off of trazodone. If you did I can 99.9% guarantee it'll be a joke compared to benzo withdrawal.

 

At the dose I take for sleep (25mg) I'd essentially be tapering off of benadryl or something. You DON'T need to fear every medication, very few outside of the obvious have withdrawal profiles that compare to benzodiazepines. . . the obvious being alcohol, barbiturates and other drugs people abuse. Do your own research, make your own decisions. . . It has to be said that despite benzos being extremely difficult to come off of, and having an insane withdrawal profile - those of us here are still the minority. . . Most people don't have such profound problems coming off of the drugs. It is the same with survivingantidepressants etc. If you gather a buncha people that have had bad experiences with X drug, they're gonna seem like the majority. . . It's akin to bad reviews on restaurants or something. . . Most people that have positive experiences or at least non negative ones are less likely to even bother leaving a review than those who were treated poorly.

 

In a sense it's a shame that everyone doesn't react the same way to benzodiazepine withdrawal, otherwise there'd be a lot more doctors that would know how to care for patients who truly have harrowing experiences. . . But you gotta keep these things in mind. Not every drug is a benzo. . . and while most drugs will have some sorta discontinuation symptoms. . . it's kinda like little league compared to benzos.

 

That's my experience at least, I've been taken off plenty of psych drugs and survived just fine other than a week or two of diarrhea and a headache. I apologize if it sounds like I'm pushing drugs here, definitely not my intent. I just don't want people to unnecessarily rule out relatively harmless medications that could potentially ease their suffering while battling the bigger beast of benzos.

 

Sometimes it's best to do your own research. 

[[Co...]]

It made me feel horrible and I was "addicted" after a month or so. (You can feel it when you're addicted because then when you make a small cut you get horrible withdrawal). For me it was almost equal to benzo withdrawal.

But on it, it gave me hormonal disturbances which made me really sick.

I did a fast taper of it, maybe I should not have, I have no idea, as I don't know what kind of withdrawal I am having now, it's different from benzo's in a way, it could be seroquel side effects but the last few days I'm thinking it could be the trazodone withdrawal. I'm 6 months out and that typically is a time withdrawal from AD's start.

 

If I would go back I would not have taken anything extra because I would have probably healed from my insomnia by now without the extra stuff.

I'm still having horrible insomnia at almost 11 months out because of polydrugging.

It's really up to you in the end. We can only share our stories.

 

[[Be...]]

I'd like to close this thread with a final update. I have successfully withdrawn from Trazadone. Any withdrawal I had is finished for the most part. I've concluded that Trazadone withdrawal is not that bad if you go slow. This is MY experience only. Good luck to all of the buddies tapering.

 

Becky 

[[Se...]]

Becky this is wonderful news.  I hope to be in this position myself later this year.

 

Go slowly is the message.  Thank you so much for sharing your story, it has helped me a lot.

 

Keeping my fingers crossed that nothing crops up down the road for you.  How great that you've managed this successfully and good for you!

 

 

Ali

[[Sh...]]

Yay, Becky!!!

 

Hang in there SS, you can do this, keep us posted!

[[Sh...]]

You too, Corsair...you are making progress...it's gonna be okay even when it feels like forever away...

[[Se...]]

Not sure how many of you are still following this thread but I'm as of this month (June) down to 3/4 of a 50 mg pill from 100 mg in January.  This is my 2nd attempt at a taper and it is going incredibly well so far.  I'm glad I waited to this point (almost 3 years off in January, now 37 months off) to tackle this although I wish I could have gotten off this drug earlier than this.

 

I am hopeful that this taper will help me to lose weight (I'm on WeightWatchers and working on the 15 lbs that I gained over these past 4 years, including 10 months tapering and 37 months off).  So far, I'm losing about 1 lb per week.

 

I have found that my sleep is still good - last night I slept for about 11 hours solid, I was really tired after a disturbed night's sleep the night before due to pain flare up.

 

I'm so hopeful that I'll be off by Christmas - best Christmas present ever!

 

Hope all of you are doing well.  I'm mostly posting on the z-drug support thread these days.  Still having residual withdrawal symptoms at 37 months off, muscle pain (the bain of my existence since month 18) mostly.  Sleep is just getting better and better, year over year, since I jumped except for pain days.

 

Sending hope and healing your way, will check back in periodically.  For those of you thinking you'd like to do this, I'm happy to help.

 

I'm glad I had Trazodone on board to help me in early tapering/withdrawal as I think, for me, it really helped.  Just as glad to finally be rid of the antidepressant though, I do not want to be on any psychoactive drugs long term.

 

 

Ali

[[Be...]]

Hi SS. I'm glad you are doing so well. Please slow down the taper at the end. I would say that the last 5 mg should be microtapered. I crashed and burned 1 1/2 months after jumping. At 3 months I reinstated and now I am stable at 2 mg. I will start a very slow liquid microtaper in a few months.

 

I found Trazodone fairly easy to taper but the withdrawal sneaks up on you at the end. Either way we will both be done with Trazodone sooner or later. Good luck.

 

Becky 

[[Se...]]

Hi SS. I'm glad you are doing so well. Please slow down the taper at the end. I would say that the last 5 mg should be microtapered. I crashed and burned 1 1/2 months after jumping. At 3 months I reinstated and now I am stable at 2 mg. I will start a very slow liquid microtaper in a few months.

 

I found Trazodone fairly easy to taper but the withdrawal sneaks up on you at the end. Either way we will both be done with Trazodone sooner or later. Good luck.

 

Becky 

 

Thanks for the note of caution Becky.  I've read a lot about AD tapering, it is really common for symptoms to arise months after discontinuation, months!  Sometimes up to 6 months off then wham.  Oh boy, I'm not looking forward to this part, that is for sure.

 

I'll try to microtaper once down to the lower amounts.

 

I really appreciate the heads up and so sorry you got hit this way Becky.  I'm determined, as are you.  This is the very last bit.

 

I'm glad I waited until this point in my z-drug withdrawal though to distinguish between the two and to have healed to I'd estimate roughly 75%.  I don't think I could have done this earlier.

 

 

Ali

[[me...]]

I'm still tapering the amitryptiline--currently at .375 mg (which is a tiny dose). I'm not sure if it is doing anything at this point. But I've had a real problem with grinding/tapping my teeth and just to be on the safe side I updosed from .250 mg to .375 mg. and currently holding until the teeth issues are resolved.

 

Apparently one of the tooth under my crowns cracked and died, the endodontist went to do a root canal, but bailed and I had to have the tooth pulled. My other teeth are still very irritated and I have to wear a mouth guard all the time to protect them. Now I'm looking at a $7 k implant! Ugh...

 

Just don't know if the dying tooth caused the issue, or if it is withdrawal related. Otherwise I'm doing okay--sleep is up and down, but at least 4 hours a night and often 6 to 7. Hoping to be completely off this drug by the end of summer!

[[Se...]]

Meowie,

 

I grind my teeth too, although it had been getting a lot better since coming off the z-drug.

 

I cracked my tooth guard the other month, thought I might not replace it.  Think again!

 

I have one ready and waiting to be picked up today.  I use it at night.  I wonder if I'm clenching (I don't think I grind but I know I clench) due to the Trazodone taper.  Hadn't thought about that.

 

Sorry about your tooth issues.  I've been relatively issue free up to now but my dentist did say the other day that there were some small fractures in my xrays.  Hard to tell when that happened as I don't xray every year.  I don't have a dental plan so any work is out of pocket.  We are taking a watchful waiting approach for now, the fractures are very small but we'll have to see.

 

I was on a tricyclic years and years ago (age 20) for about a year - I gained a lot of weight on it.  I can't remember tapering back then, it was decades ago.  I think it was desipramine.  :smitten:ADs and I don't agree, they push me "manic" so I have avoided them like the plague mostly.  My husband was on amitryptiline, a small dose, after his shingles bout prior to his open heart surgery in 2012.  I know it is prescribed these days to help with sleep and pain but this class of drugs comes with a lot of side effects.  I remember such a dry mouth along with the weight gain.

 

Oh to be free of all of these drugs soon!  I cannot wait.  Ever since I got properly diagnosed and put on bioidentical hormones in 2010 and came off the ADs (celexa and wellbutrin after my husband's suicide) I've had rock solid moods and my sleep improved vastly once I got off the z-drugs.  Never going back!

 

 

Ali

[[me...]]

Seeking--I think my teeth issues must be a combination of a failing tooth and withdrawal. I just can't seem to keep my mouth still!, and it is especially bad when I get stressed or am thinking hard. My issue is weird in that I don't grind my teeth at night (as far as I can tell!) just during the day. So I wear a mouth guard all day long, really lovely as you can imagine. The dentist says that things should heal up from the extraction very soon, so at that point it should be obvious what the problem is.

 

All this dental work is also out of pocket, and a big hit for us, but fortunately it can be stretched out over a couple of years. Keep a close eye on your teeth--I never knew how quickly things could go south and costs add up!

 

I was really looking forward to not having to watch my weight when I got off amitryptiline--but it doesn't seem to make much difference so far. Dang! Oh well, if these are my only issues after 34 years on this drug, I feel pretty darn lucky.

 

 

[[Se...]]

July 1st went down to 25 mgs.  So far, so good!

 

I think I forgot to take it one night this week, couldn't fall asleep at all.  Got up at 2 am and took my dose on the assumption that I missed it.  I never do this!

 

So, based on this recent experience, I'm going to go really slowly between now and getting off/jumping at the end of this year.  Really slowly.

 

But I'm elated that so far this taper has gone really well.  No uptick in pain like last time I tried a taper, last year and I'm sleeping really well.

 

Relieved to be very near getting off the very last of the psych drugs.  It will be a big celebration when it comes.  Cake!

 

 

Ali

[[...]]

SS I am definitely following your progress on your trazadone taper. Hope you are continuing to see positive results! Take care.

 

Tal

[[Se...]]

Me too!  As I said, so far, so good.  Will go very slowly from my current 25 mg down to zero over the next 5 months.  Fingers crossed.  Surprised me when I didn't sleep the night I forgot.  Reminder to go slowly from here on out.

 

I can't wait to be drug free. 8 long years since my husband's suicide.  I've learned a lot from this journey though.  Will never be in this position again.  Hope to help others avoid this suffering.

 

 

Ali

[[me...]]

Me too!  As I said, so far, so good.  Will go very slowly from my current 25 mg down to zero over the next 5 months.  Fingers crossed.  Surprised me when I didn't sleep the night I forgot.  Reminder to go slowly from here on out.

 

I can't wait to be drug free. 8 long years since my husband's suicide.  I've learned a lot from this journey though.  Will never be in this position again.  Hope to help others avoid this suffering.

 

 

Ali

Good luck on the taper--I know you'll do just fine!

I think the last little bit of these drugs is the most powerful, like from 10 mg. on down.

 

I may have finally figured out what is wrong with my teeth. I've had pretty much constant pain and extreme senitivity from the teeth in the upper left quadrant. The weird thing is the pain morphs quite a bit and moves around, and the dentist can't seem to find much wrong that would explain it. It's quite maddening.

 

I found a diagnosis of sorts called Atypical Odontalgia which sounds very much like what I am experiencing. The interesting thing is that this is a neurogenic pain (created in the nervous system rather than as a reaction to some bodily condition) that happens in response to some dental trauma (such as an abscess and extraction). People who have this can end up pulling several teeth with no relief at all. The first line of treatment is my old friend amitryptiline! So I am hypothesizing that withdrawal has set me up for this neurogenic reaction. I am hoping that things will settle down soon, though this condition can last quite a while unfortunately.

[[at...]]

SS, how much time elapsed between your first jump off Traz and reinstatement? And did you reinstate at your original dose?

 

I am currently reinstating after a rapid taper.  I had gone 6 weeks wo Traz and  the extreme wd caused me to reinstate.  I am simply looking to sleep better, as the other symptoms are manageable.  I am at 37.5mg, 75 being the original dose, and even though am sleepy, the body jerks (maybe PAWS from Klonopin wd? or simply wd from the rapid taper of T) keep me from sleeping, and I have to add 10 mg Seroquel - I hate to add another drug.

 

Maybe I should increase the dosage of T to original?

[[Se...]]

Athsey,

 

I was never off the first time, had too many withdrawal symptoms, mainly pain.

 

I got down to half my 100 mg dose then went back up to 100 mg after 2 months of tapering to 50 mg.  too fast!

 

If I were you, I'd go back up to the full dose of Trazodone, do a rapid taper of Seroquel (by far the worst drug in my opinion), then start a very slow taper of Trazodone.  I chose a 12 month taper off 100 mg, or about 5% per month.

 

I'm so sorry you are going through this.  I waited until I was through the worst of the withdrawal to start this taper, for me that was about 2.5 years off.

 

 

Ali

[[at...]]

SS, thanks for the input. I think I'll do as you suggest. I was just too impatient to get off all drugs.

[Guest [...]]

Pulling up this thread for when I want to taper off my Trazodone, which is terrible for my POTS!

 

 

[Guest [Li...]]

I'm starting my trazodone taper tonight... my current dose is 100 mg and my therapist suggested just cutting it in half.

 

I'll try to do 75 mg first and I will keep you updated