Trazadone and Xanax taper

Im not a doctor but take trazodone 100 mg nightly started out with 50 mg and later as I got use to it was bumped up. Coming back down I do .25 mg. If that makes sense. Hope this helps. Have a blessed evening. I am almost 70.

@randallshields56
Thanks. I'm nearing the end of tapering off Xanax and the Trazadone is intended to help with that, but I'm going to resist taking it and continue the taper without it. I think I'll be okay.

75 year old male here. Had trouble sleeping for years. I was prescribed hydroxyzine which enlarged my prostate making it difficult to pee getting up during the night 6 times. Took 2 years to get over that. I was prescribed 50 trazodone but I was still waking up at 3-4am. Told to double it to 100 but it made me very unsteady on my feet. A danger getting up during the night to pee.

I now take 4 grams of glycine, 25 mg trazodone, 50 mg of Apigenin. The glycine really helped with pee frequency as well as sleep. Bedroom temp lowered to 67 from 70.

Currently able to get 5 to 7 hours of sleep, still trying for at least 7.

Hope my experiences help others

@benedetti1 Why not continue with Trazodone? I take 150mg. a night and sleep through the night..about 7 hours

I too, was taking Xanax for decades, first .5mg, then 1mg, and for a brief period, and by accident, 2mg/night. I then added medical cannabis to help. I was advised for multiple years to get off Xanax, but I resisted, as I was not willing to use "sleeping pills". That said, this year (2026), I had no choice as I am awaiting a kidney transplant, and my hospital (Mayo Clinic) wanted me off both due to issues with post-transplant medications. So, first I gave in and tried Ambien, with no success. Next was Bellsomra, which was a little bit better, but I was still up walking laps in my house in the middle of the night. A newer medication with similar chemistry to Bellsomra was approved, 'Quviviq'. It's been about two weeks, and it is working so much better. One key difference is that it does not put you to sleep like Ambien, but, in essence, helps you stay asleep.
As an aside, I also tried Trazodone but did not like the side effects (weird thoughts going through my mind as I tried to fall asleep).

Thanks for this. I didn't try the Trazadone at all and am continuing to taper off the Xanax which can take a long time. I will ask my doctor about Quiviq. Years ago I was addicted to Ambien and it took many months and transitions to other meds to get off it. Since I am not due for surgery I have time to complete the Xanax taper. One worry is that I have a
bad tinnitus that Xanax helps, so that have to balance the reduction with white noise generators to deal with the tinnitus. Best wishes for your surgery.

Do you simultaneously take Xanax? I am tapering off Xanax and my doctor wants me to take the Trazadone at the same time. It is the combination that worries me. I also take Buspirone and there is
an interaction there as well.

@benedetti1, interesting, as I also have tinnitus and did not see any improvement with or without Xanax. I transitioned off Xanax more quickly than advised, but got lucky as any side-effects were minimal, only sleep-related (extra laps around the house during the sleepless hours).

Check out Jasterboff TRT, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy. It used white noise generators tuned to your tinnitus. It's been around for 40 years and works, though it takes a long time. Join the American Tinnitus Association, they have all the options.

My dear 85 year old wife suffers from insomnia a lot.... recently 17 nights without sleep.
Tried Lunesta....backfired...at 3 a m still after no sleep, developed great difficulty breathing.
Dr. now recommended Seroquel. Very risky according to many reviews. Anybody have success with this at 25.mg? Danger?