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Weaning off zolpidem (Ambien)

Sleep Health | Last Active: Oct 1 7:53am | Replies (460)
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@stout79

I just picked up a prescription for Trazodone for insomnia. How long does it take to work? Like, does it start to help the first night or did it take a few days to help? Any weird side effects I should be aware of? Thanks in advance.
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Replies to "I just picked up a prescription for Trazodone for insomnia. How long does it take to..."
Erika | @erikas | Dec 17, 2020

Members @hopeful33250 @128128terry11t @sandytoes14 @brucearoo @gloriajean @maryshipley @januaryjane @johnhans are active members in sleep health but do not necessarily have experience with Trazodone.

Below I have linked a few discussions related to insomnia, in hopes that you have find the information you seek through member support.
- Quality of sleep: Is it better without the aid of medication? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/quality-of-slee/
- Insomnia. Nothing seems to help. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/josephene-i-am-having-terrible-insomnia-as-well-nothing-seems-to-help/
- Can’t sleep or stay asleep https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cant-sleep-2/

May I ask what your provider and/or pharmacist said about the medication?

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sndishpr | @sndishpr | Dec 17, 2020

I think it took a few days to really start working. When I substituted the Trazodone for Ambien, I was still taking .25 Xanax. at bedtime. I gradually weaned off the ambien. No side effects from Trazodone. I still take the Trazodone nightly with no other sleep aids. Usually I sleep through the night.

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Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | Dec 17, 2020

Hello @stout79,

I see that Erika, @erikas, tagged me on this discussion about sleep and the use of Trazodone. I used Trazodone for a number of years to deal with sleeplessness as well as pain. It really did work quite well. It seemed to work quite quickly after I started taking it. It helped me with both the pain as well as sleep. I changed about 2 years ago to Cymbalta and that works well too. As I've never taken Ambien, Lunesta or other sleeping pills so I have no way to compare it to them.

The only problem with Trazodone was the foggy feeling in the morning. I only took 25 mg at night, but I found that the fogginess didn't lift until about noon. If I took it an hour earlier than when I actually went to bed, the fogginess in the morning lifted sooner. However, remember that each person's reaction to medication is different since our bodies metabolize meds in different ways.

Once you start taking the Trazodone, I'd like to hear how it works for you. Will you post again and share your response to it?

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