1. < Depression & Anxiety

Trazadone use for insomnia for seniors

Posted by briarrose @briarrose, Nov 22, 2023

I am 68 years young and suffering from insomnia since age 53. Multiple life stressors/changes kicked it off. I had hoped once I retired, remarried and relocated to a lovely home it would finally stop but it has not. I can fall asleep fairly quickly, my issue is staying asleep & once I wake up can take up to 3 hours to fall back to sleep. 3 AM I am always awake to about 530...but always after just 3 1/2 hours of sleep I start my awakenings. Tried sleeping aids, ambien the best but suffered from the amnesia side effects...& belsomra same. Now looking at trazadone. I am also on Zoloft for a severe panic d/o, some depression & PTSD. Multiple health issues. Any thoughts on trazadone for a 68 y.o. woman?

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mitfit | @mitfit | Feb 1 2:02pm
In reply to @con123 "I took clonazepam 1mg at bedtime for almost 20 years. As soon as I turned 65,..." + (show)
@con123

I took clonazepam 1mg at bedtime for almost 20 years. As soon as I turned 65, I had to taper off it. This despite a long history of same dose, never increasing and consistently helping me sleep through the night. It was one of the hardest thing I ever did, and although we did it very slowly over 9 months, everything the clonazepam treated came back in full force. Totally sleepless nights, anxiety, and my focal dystonia. Tried Remeron for 5 months and it did basically nothing for me. Eventually started using CBD/THC gummies and 5/7 nights are very good. For some reason, I have a lot of difficulty sleeping 2 nights a week even with the gummie. I hope to one day learn to sleep without any aid. Trazadone was prescribed many years ago for anxiety and it made me feel nauseous dizzy.

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My brother was on Clonazepam for 9 years and, like you, had a very difficult time weaning off of it. He is free now and takes Trazodone for sleep and is doing well.

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con123 | @con123 | Feb 1 6:24pm

That is great. We all look for what will help us sleep!

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denise | @trnrmom1 | Feb 2 6:01am
In reply to @briarrose "I also take clonazepam 1 mg. at night but not for insomnia. I have a severe..." + (show)
@briarrose

I also take clonazepam 1 mg. at night but not for insomnia. I have a severe panic disorder/PTSD and have been on it for years...I am over 65. I know the docs do not like prescribing the benzos for seniors but if you ever saw me in the middle of a panic attack you would understand why. I was on Remeron for almost 23 years...and it saved my life. Eventually its efficacy wore off. Now on Zoloft 37.5 mg. daily, thinking I might have to increase to 50 mg. My anxiety still not under good control.
I just started Trazodone 25 mg. for insomnia several weeks ago. Again, it's really not helping at that dose. I believe for sleep the dose is 50 mg. I can fall asleep quickly but my problem is frequent awakenings throughout the night and unable to fall back to sleep quickly, therefore, my sleep is a mess. This has been going on for 16 years.
I don't get dizzy or nausea from it. I want to try the CBD gummies but with so many on the market I have no idea which brand to buy. Continued good luck with the gummies & hope you can get that 7 nights of good sleep.
Insomnia is horrible!

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i'm 77 and have had anxiety almost all of my life being hypomanic on the bipolar spectrum and after having contracted the original covid and now have ongoing long haul symptoms, all emotions, esp. anxiety were elevated. have always needed some rx for sleep. marijuana is legal in az. and one person behind the m/j counter suggested the tri-blend of HEALING RESOURCES GUMMY CONTAINING CBD/CBG/CBN WITH NO THC. what a game changer and i'll take 1/2 gummy when i settle into bed, take my rx when ready to sleep and have a 1/2 gummy set out when i wake up middle of nite and now, finally, can get 8-9 hr. sleep. these gummies can be bought online and it seems the 3 ingredients help you to go to sleep and then keep you asleep. no hangover in am.

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lizziel1 | @lizziel1 | Feb 2 3:02pm

My doctor prescribed Trazodone for my insomnia. I took it once. It would be fine if I wanted to be a zombie…I don’t know how people can function on it.
I now take a high quality CBD gummy that has ashwagandha in it along with melatonin. Seems to work.

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1 reply
charlie11 | @charlie11 | Feb 3 9:48am

I am 71 and for years have had the same sleep issues you describe. My doc put me on a trial of Trazodone, but I developed a lot of high abdominal pain. Tests ruled out other causes, so I stopped the Traz and the pain stopped. Now I take 15 mg Mirtazipine and 1 mg clonazepam at bedtime and sleep through the night. Even if I’m awakened I fall back asleep quickly. Good luck.

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1 reply
westcom | @westcom | Feb 4 6:58am

I have a rare cyst on my sacrum that causes pain 24/7. I take Trazadone at night for pain relief and sleep aid. I usually awake after 4 hours of sleep but usually go right back to sleep. I don’t have any dude effects during the day after. It seems to help me sleep through the pain.

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briarrose | @briarrose | Feb 4 7:53am

Your story is familiar is that I can fall asleep quickly but wake up every single night after 3 1/2-4 hours of sleep.
But I am then awake for hours and can not fall back asleep; I start to ruminate about problems, etc.
Finally around 5 AM or so I will fall asleep for about an hour or so, getting out of bed around 6 AM every day.
I do not take the Trazodone for pain relief, unfortunately you do, but only as a sleep aid.
My dose is 25 mg. and thinking I should go higher...can you tell me what dose you are on?
This will be an issue on my next visit with my psychiatric provider to discuss.
Glad to hear it's helping you to sleep through the pain, no side effects (I don't have s/e either) and you can usually fall right back to sleep. Sorry to hear about your rare cyst that causes so much pain. Hoping it will improve!

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pworley1955 | @pworley1955 | Feb 4 2:58pm
In reply to @charlie11 "I am 71 and for years have had the same sleep issues you describe. My doc..." + (show)
@charlie11

I am 71 and for years have had the same sleep issues you describe. My doc put me on a trial of Trazodone, but I developed a lot of high abdominal pain. Tests ruled out other causes, so I stopped the Traz and the pain stopped. Now I take 15 mg Mirtazipine and 1 mg clonazepam at bedtime and sleep through the night. Even if I’m awakened I fall back asleep quickly. Good luck.

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I have been taking Trazodone for years and I have a shopping problem. My sister and one of her friends have started on Trazodone in November. My sister and her friend have also started shopping extensively. Her doctor said it’s the Trazodone. He took her off it and gave her Doxipin. And life is much better. My doctor said the same for me and is taking me off and now I know why I was shopping so much it was the Trazodone.

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1 reply
adohracapella | @adohracapella | Feb 5 1:56pm
In reply to @pworley1955 "I have been taking Trazodone for years and I have a shopping problem. My sister and..." + (show)
@pworley1955

I have been taking Trazodone for years and I have a shopping problem. My sister and one of her friends have started on Trazodone in November. My sister and her friend have also started shopping extensively. Her doctor said it’s the Trazodone. He took her off it and gave her Doxipin. And life is much better. My doctor said the same for me and is taking me off and now I know why I was shopping so much it was the Trazodone.

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Hi
Is it Shopping or sleeping ?
Am confused re side effect

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raebaby | @raebaby | Feb 6 5:20pm
In reply to @lizziel1 "My doctor prescribed Trazodone for my insomnia. I took it once. It would be fine if..." + (show)
@lizziel1

My doctor prescribed Trazodone for my insomnia. I took it once. It would be fine if I wanted to be a zombie…I don’t know how people can function on it.
I now take a high quality CBD gummy that has ashwagandha in it along with melatonin. Seems to work.

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I take Trazadone (no shopping problems or weight gain) and recently added some CBD with a little of THC.

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