sleepymom Help getting off Trazodone

[sleepymom]

Hello!

 

I am a "sleepymom" of a nursing 16 month old.  I started having insomnia issues about four months ago which was a huge shock because all of my life I've been an excellent sleeper.  At that time, though, we were in the middle of buying a house, and both myself and my son got terribly sick, and then came the big move to the new house, so it's no wonder I had a lot going through my head.  When I couldn't sleep for several days, I saw a new doctor who ordered a blood panel to see if anything was wrong.  The tests came back normal.  Apparently, there is no organic reason as to why I can't sleep.  At first he gave me Ambien which I only took for about four days before I realized it was highly addictive and didn't want to continue down that road.  Then he prescribed Trazodone, 25 mg at night.  I haven't been on it very long, less than a month (I've only taken it for 25 days).  At first it worked, but now it's a hit or miss thing, and I don't want to be on this anymore.  The only reason I am even on it is because I'm breastfeeding, and all the regular OTC sleep aids are a no-go while nursing.  Trazodone appears to be safe via LactMed.  Anyway, I don't want to be on this anymore.  It gives me awful diarrhea which throws off my body, and between not sleeping and nursing, I don't want to worry about a medicine messing me up long term.  So here's my question.  Do I really need to taper off this medicine since I've only been on it for such a short time?  I've asked a couple of pharmacists and they said it was okay to stop cold turkey.  Should I?  Anyone have advice for me?  Thanks! 

[sleepymom]

After doing the math, I only have 8.333333 mg of Trazodone left in my system when I go to take my 10 pm dose.  I would think I wouldn't have to really wean off of it, but I'm not sure.  I'd like to start taking OTC sleep aids instead of an antidepressant used for insomnia, but I don't want any interactions between the Trazodone and anything else.

[Petunia]

Hi sleepymom,

Welcome to the forum.  I'm sorry to hear that you have been having trouble sleeping, with a baby and everything you have been through lately, its not surprising, stress can often upset our sleep cycle.

 

Trazodone is an antidepressant and needs to be tapered in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

 

Reduce trazodone by 10% per month to start
The 10% rule holds for trazodone, just like other antidepressants: Reduce by 10% per month, calculated on the last dosage. (The amount of the reduction gets progressively smaller.)

See Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Here are our tips for how to taper off trazodone:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2883-tips-for-tapering-off-trazodone-desyrel/

 

Because you have been on it less than a month, you may be able to taper faster, I will try and get you some more help with this.

 

This link contains some tips which may help with sleep problems in a more natural way:

Important topics about symptoms, including sleep problems

scroll down to the sleep section.

 

I’m glad you found us, we’re here to support you.

 

Petu.

 

 

[sleepymom]

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and the info!  If I start tapering by 10% each month, it'll be over a year before I get off this stuff when I've only been on it for less than a month.  I guess that doesn't make sense to me.  Plus, how do you attain a 10% dosage of a 25 mg pill?  I'm thinking maybe I can just cut the 25 mg pill in half and start with that as I don't think doing a 10% reduction is feasible. 

[Rhiannon]

The 10% is our "usual wisdom" but I agree, in your case a faster taper might be appropriate. How about trying a 25% cut or 50% cut and seeing how that goes for you? I'm concerned 50% might be too much, but we mostly work with people who have a lot more past history on psych meds than you do (am I correct that this is your first experience with neurotransmitter-tweaking drugs?) The more med history and the more times coming off meds in the past, the harder it is with later attempts. We usually get the hard cases here. If you've never taken and quit an AD or benzo before, you may do just fine with a faster taper. 

 

You can expect to have some worsened insomnia after cutting. Just hang in there and see if you can ride it out. Sleep problems with a baby and a move are very, very normal. With both of my babies I was just a very light sleeper for the first couple of years, hormones I guess. It passes and you will definitely get through it and be fine. 

 

I guess my official advice would be, try a 25% cut for a few days and see how you feel, and if you feel just fine, go to half a pill for a week or so and see how that goes. Do double-check the Trazodone thread and make sure it's cut-able, I don't know all the different meds and I know some of them you can't cut, but I think Trazodone is okay.

[sleepymom]

Thank you, Rhi!  As I start to talk to more and more moms of toddlers, I am finding that bouts of insomnia are pretty common although the circumstances surrounding when mine started probably just amped up the issue.  Many years ago back in 2001, I was on Welbutrin for about a year, I believe.  I remember deciding I didn't need it anymore, and tapered it off by 50% for a week or so and then was done with it.  I had a few stomach issues, but other than that I was fine.  Of course now I'm a bit older and don't know how doing that much of a reduction will affect me.  The Trazodone is strange for me.  When it works and I get a stellar night of sleep, I end up with one of those annoying "ice pick" headaches throughout the day, but I'm rested.  When it doesn't work, and I'm a zombie, I don't have that headache, but I'm really off all day long and have minor dizziness that I attribute more to the lack of sleep than to the Trazodone.  Honestly, if I wasn't breastfeeding, I would have never started on the Trazodone.  I would have done OTC sleep aids because they've worked for me in the past and I have been able to easily stop them.  I do believe the Trazodone is a pill I can cut because I have 50 mg pills that are scored and I cut in half to 25 mg.  I can always cut the 25 mg in half and then those in half again???  I'll see what I can do.  Thanks again!!  Knowing that I'm "normal" in the sleep department and will get through it does my mind wonders

[Altostrata]

Welcome, sleepymom.

 

Please do read the trazodone tapering topic, it contains some information that might explain your adverse reaction to it the next day.

 

As I understand it, sleep deprivation is common among parents with small children. This used to be common wisdom. If I were you, I wouldn't use any kind of drug to sleep. Rather, try supplements like magnesium http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1300-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/ and others in our Symptoms and Self-Care forum http://tinyurl.com/3hq949z
 

[sleepymom]

LOL, Altostrata!  Yes, sleep dep is a common problem for new parents; however I was experiencing true insomnia for days on end.  I was so beyond desperate to sleep that I agreed to take a prescription med.  I needed to break the cycle of not sleeping because I wasn't able to care for my son the next day.  It was awful. 

 

You know, I just realized that I start to feel a little more "off" towards the evening time right before my next dose.  I guess my body is used to it :/  I can't take magnesium right now as that does have a moderate interaction with Trazodone, at least according to drugs.com/interactions.

[Altostrata]

Please read http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2883-tips-for-tapering-off-trazodone-desyrel/ (third request).

 

Trazodone has a metabolite that is activating. This could cause you problems during the day.

[Petunia]

How are you doing Sleepymom?  Please let us know what you decide to do about stopping the trazodone.  After some discussion, the consensus here is that a 25% cut would be a safe place to start and then if you felt ok after a week, then you could cut another 25%.  Please stay in touch and let us know how you are going.