Trazadone use for insomnia for seniors

@ericamonique the sleeep specialist that I saw as well as my PCP both recommend me melatonin along with trazodone. The sleep specialist recommended 5 mg, But I can usually get by with one and a half or 2 mg. Too much gives me nightmares

I started taking trazadone and at 150 mg it did help me fall back asleep after my usual waking multiple times. My problem was the side effects. I started having balance issues as well as blurred vision so stopped cold turkey. Unfortunately, many sleep medications do not mix well with old age. Now I just use melatonin and relaxation protocol to shut off my brain.

Trazadone has worked well for me as a sleep aid for many years (75 mg nightly).
Key benefits are falling asleep fairly quickly and able to go back to sleep if I need to get up in the night. It has not caused me any problems during the day. My understanding is that it clears out of the system quite quickly and does not build up to any significant extent.

77 year old male.

I've been taking 150mg. of Trazodone nightly for over 10 years with no side effects. I sleep about 7 hours and I'm 79 years old. Good luck.

@roxiesmom13 long term use of trazadone is not good for brain health. Getting off of it is very difficult. I have seen this in many of my friends. Best of luck. Try to stick to low dose plant based melatonin.

@denisejones00 Where did you hear that? My dr. never mentioned it and she's very tgorough.

@mmwagner46 I would suggest you begin doing research on any drug you decide to take. It has been my experience that doctors do not have the time to keep up with the latest research studies. I suggest you begin your research reading The National Institutes of Health, PubMed, JAMA, Science Direct etc etc. Doctors are very busy with patient loads and simply do not have time to learn about new studies. A simple Google AI search will tell you that trazodone can cause memory issues, particularly short term memory impairment and confusion in the elderly. I personally take a deep dive into researching every pill prescribed for me.

I am 75 and was given Trazadone while on Prozac. Kept me wide awake and speeding.

I’m 73 and I’ve used Trazodone 150 mg. for years. It works well most nights.
It does NOT cause dementia or any sort of brain damage. It can be overly sedating for some which is why it’s used as a sleep aid. It is an antidepressant but isn’t used anymore primarily for that because people couldn’t stay awake with daytime use.
For some people, the drowsiness lasts past 2 am cups of coffee!

@5148branelly thank you for posting, i am a coffee addict, also use trazadone 100 mg and another for night time meds. Prozac mix not good and sure you had a night, sorry you had to try the mix. Today has been odd for me , had you known me you would say i was taking something, all over the place and normal routine as usual except I've listened to music all day and the lord kept me company much of the day. just turned 69 last month and just enjoying the day today knowing that i have family to chat with should i need anything. Mostly they leave me alone and i want to chat and go for walks , too cold right now and have the house to myself right now. i hope you have a blessed day and a great day tomorrow and have a great Holiday Season