Loth: Hello - Trazodone Taper

[Loth]

Hi, 

Hopefully my history should be in my signature. I recently (night of Nov 30) went to 75mg from 125 mg trazodone. Mainly I’ve been feeling tired since I wake up 3 hours too early and can’t get back to sleep. But I’ve also been noticing some differences in how my heart/heartbeat feels, and also feeling somewhat mean/impersonable. And last night in the middle of the night (I’d waited a few hours longer than normal to take my dose) I felt like I craved trazodone and felt the thing with my heart. The problem is that I have health anxiety and I’m not sure whether I’m worrying too much- I’ve been worried about my heart in the past and got all kinds of tests and was ok. I seem to not be as affected by tapers as many on this site, so my last taper was a big one. I’m wondering if I should go back up to 100mg and then taper in smaller increments. Would that be a good plan, if I do take more? 
I had recently (Nov 21) gone from 142mg to 125, and then my fatigue and increased anger had basically gone away so I did this last taper. I hadn’t had other side effects really.
I am also really concerned about libido- mine seems lower I think since my last taper. 

[LotusRising]

Hi @Loth

 

Welcome to SA,

 

Yes, I can see your signature. Thank you!

 

13 hours ago, Loth said:

I recently (night of Nov 30) went to 75mg from 125 mg trazodone

As you may already be aware, this is a very large reduction - larger than what we recommend on this site. 

 

13 hours ago, Loth said:

I seem to not be as affected by tapers as many on this site, so my last taper was a big one.

This can be the case for many. Also, some can get away with larger reductions in the beginning, but find they need to slow down closer to the end. This has to do with receptor occupancy. You can read more about it here:

 

We generally recommend tapering by no more than 10% of current dose each month. See Why taper by 10%.

 

13 hours ago, Loth said:

I’m wondering if I should go back up to 100mg and then taper in smaller increments. Would that be a good plan, if I do take more? 

To me, this sounds reasonable, since it's only been a few days since your last reduction. 

 

13 hours ago, Loth said:

The problem is that I have health anxiety and I’m not sure whether I’m worrying too much

Health anxiety is very common. I experienced this myself. Have you ever tried CBT? It can help with health anxiety. You can read more about it below:

 

Here is some more information on tapering trazodone:

 

Again, welcome  

 

Reach out if you have more questions.

 

LotusRising

[Jt713]

@Loth Hey I just wanted to chime in here as it relates to your heart. I'm also tapering trazodone and have had very similar heart issues that were not present prior to starting this drug. When I began taking trazodone and subsequently tapering off of it, I've run into all kinds of weird heart related symptoms. Also, trazodone is know to do this in some people. It's not you. It's the drug. My heart will palpitate in all kinds of weird patterns, it will race at night when I either wake up or move side to side and it will feel like there is pressure building up in it during the day right before a palpitation (hard to explain). Hope that helps reassure you that it's the drug. Hang in there. 

[Jt713]

@LothAlso, I would sit tight where you are for a bit and start to make smaller cuts (10% of your last dose if you're able) when you're ready. I learned a harsh lesson going from 75mg to 50mg that landed me in the hospital for a week. I had to move back up to 75mg and gradually taper back down. I would also be VERY careful when you get to the smaller doses. That's when things can get a little more challenging. This started at 20mg for me. You may find that you need to hold longer. I've been at 3mg for 6 weeks and have more than enough symptoms to manage daily. I'm at a point where I'm about to start making half milligram drops and holding for several weeks. Every drop at these lower doses comes with some significant uptick in symptom intensity. Just be careful and take your time. There's a new book out now by Mark Horowitz called "The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines" that has information on tapering Trazodone and a ton of information on what you're going through. Worth checking out if you're trying to free yourself from psychotropics.