smop33: need trazadone help

[smop33]

Last February, I was getting close to tapering off of Paxil, when I got the flu, which made my body think that I had stopped Paxil cold turkey (at least, that's what it felt like).  I went to the hospital, and they bridged me over to 40 mg Prozac and added 2.5 mg Abilify and 100 mg Trazadone for sleep.  The Abilify actually calmed me down so I could think rationally.  I tapered off the Abilify after 2 months, no problem.  I had stabilized and was feeling great from late May to September.  In late Sept., I discussed with my doctor about tapering off Trazadone next.  I had been on it for 6 months.  She agreed.  I did a 5% taper per week (95 mg, 90 mg, 85 mg, etc).  At 85 mg, I started "jolting" and twitching in my sleep.  I jumped back up to 100 mg to stabilize.  I didn't realize Trazadone was going to do that to me.  Two weeks after that, nausea started appearing.  And then head pressure and some ringing in my ears.  It's now been 6 weeks and it hasn't let up.  I'm barely functioning at all.  What did I do wrong?  I was wondering if I still have some Paxil withdrawal in the system that the Prozac and Trazadone had been covering up for me.  Anyway, how slow should one come off of Trazadone?  My doctor has suggested that my body must still be sensitive from all the medicine changes in March.  She says that when I stabilize, we should wait a year before trying to come off of it again.  A part of me is thinking of going back on 2.5 mg Abilify for no more than 2 months (like the first time) so that I can actually function.  Help! 

[manymoretodays]

Hi smop33 and welcome aboard,

So you are still on the Prozac 40 mg?  And upped the Trazodone to 100 mg?

And yes, you may be experiencing some WD(withdrawal) from the Trazodone.

And those do sound like WD(withdrawal) symptoms that you are having now.

 

Dr. Joseph Glenmullen's withdrawal symptom checklist

What is withdrawal syndrome?

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

This ^ should be helpful in planning further tapers.  And then each taper reduction, is based on the previous dose, not the starting dose.

We usually recommend a HOLD, or hold period, of at least 4 weeks between tapers too.

 

With a starting dose of 100 mg Trazodone, you are now down 15%, in a months time.

 

Trazodone is a medication that has lot's of interactions with other medications as well.  So, that may be at play here too.

Tips for tapering off trazodone(Desyrel)

 

 

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This is your introduction/journal page where you have now introduced yourself to the community, you can ask questions here regarding your tapering, give updates, and just keep a record of your journey.

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Edited November 12, 2020 by manymoretodays
grammar

[Krisseyb]

@smop33 Welcome! I am about to start my taper too.

 

[smop33]

Thanks for the response!  Street 129 has been in contact with me, so I've been reading through her posts as well.

 

So yes, I'm still on 40 mg Prozac.  And I did reinstate 100 mg of Trazadone 3 weeks after my taper began.  I went down to 95% the first week, 90% the second, 85% the third before I went into withdrawal.  Having been on it for 7 months, I didn't think I would need 3 years to taper off of it.  I may have been wrong with that.  Anyway, I'm trying to figure out how to stabilize before I decide what to do next.  So that's what I need help with.

 

Also, wondering if I could still be experiencing Paxil effects.  The crash in Feb. and the bridge in March were brutal.  Wondering if my system is still too sensitive to try to taper off anything right now.  And then I'm scared that Trazadone is going to continue to hurt my hearing and yet be unable to come off Trazadone.  Please help!

[manymoretodays]

Hi smop33,

16 hours ago, smop33 said:

Thanks for the response!  Street 129 has been in contact with me, so I've been reading through her posts as well.

 

So yes, I'm still on 40 mg Prozac.  And I did reinstate 100 mg of Trazadone 3 weeks after my taper began.  I went down to 95% the first week, 90% the second, 85% the third before I went into withdrawal.  Having been on it for 7 months, I didn't think I would need 3 years to taper off of it.  I may have been wrong with that.  Anyway, I'm trying to figure out how to stabilize before I decide what to do next.  So that's what I need help with.

 

Also, wondering if I could still be experiencing Paxil effects.  The crash in Feb. and the bridge in March were brutal.  Wondering if my system is still too sensitive to try to taper off anything right now.  And then I'm scared that Trazadone is going to continue to hurt my hearing and yet be unable to come off Trazadone.  Please help!

 

Even though, you were on the Trazodone for just 7 months, we do go with a cautious, careful taper.  Usually it's only about a month for dependencies to develop on these types of drugs.  Each case can be a bit different and individual.  And so generally, it's best to stick with the 10% taper from each previous dose, until you know how you react to each change.

 

  You might show your doctor the interactions too, once you do them and copy them here.

On 11/12/2020 at 9:27 AM, manymoretodays said:

Get the signature done first and then go ahead and put your current medications in the interaction checker too:  Drug Interactions-Drugs.com

Copy and paste the results here, on your introduction page when done.

Thank you.

Yes, you are likely to be experiencing Paxil WD, as well as a general destabilization of your nervous system, right now.  Usually about a 6 month period of stability is great, before tapering again......or that's often the case.

 

Started Paxil 20 mg in 2012

Began two year taper Nov. 2018

In late Feb. 2020, contracted flu while at 8 mg.  My body acted as if I had stopped cold turkey.

Hospital early March 2020.  Doctor's did a 3 week bridge from Paxil to 40 mg Prozac.  Also, added 100 mg Trazadone and 2.5 mg Abilify.

Stabilized June 2020.  Tapered off Abilify in June.

Attempted Trazadone taper Sept. 2020. Tapered 5% linear a week.

Met resistance at week 3.

Currently in withdrawal since Sept. 2020

 

Tell us a bit more about the Bridge you did from 8 mg of Paxil to 40 mg of Prozac.

Were the additionals, the Trazodone and Abilify added after that?

 

And when do you take your medications now?  You might do well to : 

Keep daily notes of drug schedules and and symptoms to track patterns and progress

you'll see a sample note ^,  do it in a list format, with time(s) on the left and then drug(s) on the right, by name, with dosage.  Include any supplements.  Symptoms you are having now on the right as well.  Sleep patterns.   And then post here in 24 hour segments.

 

Thank you.  This will give us a bit more information to work with to help see how your current drugs are affecting you.  And then we can help answer questions better, and guide you with further tapering.

 

L, P, H, and G,

mmt

 

[smop33]

Ok, so my taper.  I should mention that I didn't have guidance when I took this medicine other than from my GP.  So when I started getting debilitating brain zaps at 8 mg, I panicked and went back to 20 mg for a week.  I was ok for about a week before the zaps came back, and then I went to the hospital.  So I explained this to the doc, and he used the 20 mg as the start line for the paxil.  And the taper was like 20 mg paxil/10 mg prozac for 1/2 week, 15 mg paxil/ 15 mg for 1/2 week, 10 mg paxil / 20 mg prozac for 1/2 week and so on, for 3 weeks.  They sent me home with this bridge schedule and set me up with a psych. doctor to prescribe my medicines.  I wasn't sleeping, so the psych. doctor prescribed me 50 mg, then 100 mg trazadone.  Meanwhile, the zaps came back and I went to a different hospital.  The docs there added the Abilify, which seemed to calm the zaps.

 

I take the prozac in the morning, with vitamin C, a probiotic, and my blood thinner.  I take the Trazadone right before I go to bed.  Over the course of the day, I take a good omega 3, B complex, L-theanine, D3, zinc, magnesium, turmeric, and collagen. 

 

I'll start to keep a schedule like you said.  Thank you so much