Prescription Drug Experience

[Zen]

If anyone here has ever taken Trazodone (/trazodone/article.htm) I'd like to know how your experience was, particularly regarding side effects.

This is a seratonin uptake inhibitor as opposed to a selective seratonin uptake inhibitor. I need to find out what that means-it's not picky? It will inhibit the uptake of other things as well? What other things?
It's prescribed for a number of things-depression and panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa, and cocaine dependency.

In my case it's to replace Ambien since Ambien is processed by the liver and this one isn't.

I'm concerned because at one time I was prescribed Paxil and absolutely hated it.

[salsabike]

I took a low dose of Trazodone for a while because of fibromyalgia-related sleep disruption. I don't remember any notable side effects.

PS Our responses to different drugs are all so idiosyncratic, though. They are now recommending Flexaril for fibromyalgia. I took that very early on in the fibromyalgia days and despised it--made me dizzy and blurred my vision. Blechh. So..try it, knowing if you don't like it, you just stop. For sleep, the dosage is so low that there's no tapering off required--at least, that's what I remember.

[elk]

My sister takes it...she has given it to me when I couldn't sleep ...and I got headaches from it. But that's me. I use Atavan for sleep when I need it.

Paxil can be a tough one...there are others. But Paxil and Ambien are 2 entirely different classes of drugs. Why would you use an SUI for insomnia?

IME, the people with the absolute BEST knowledge of psych drugs are the psychiatric nurse practitioners. If you need something for more than just insomnia..I'd seek one out. The subtle differences often go unacknowledged by GPs.

[Crankin]

SUIs are commonly given for sleep related disorders that are sometimes secondary to other conditions. They are given because they have less side effects than some of the other sleep meds that seem to be so trendy right now. I just stopped taking a 10 mg. dose of Elavil for sleep disturbance related to Fibromalgia. I didn't have to wean myself off of it because it was such a small dose. It also stopped all of the weird symptoms I had been having. As one of the doctors told me, "It tricks the nervous system into calming itself down."
I didn't have any issues and after 2 nights I am sleeping fine. The only side effect I noticed was a little weight gain, although this might just be my winter weight! That was my primary motivator for stopping.

[OakLeaf]

I haven't taken it myself, but I've represented a lot of clients who were on Trazodone, and they almost universally complained of somnolence. But a low dose as a sleep aid would be different from what my clients were on.

ETA - Robyn, years ago I was on Nortriptyline (another tricyclic related to Elavil). The side effects crept up on me so slowly I didn't attribute them to the drug. But when I stopped it I spontaneously lost 20 lbs (!) and my blood pressure dropped 10 mm on both ends.

[kmcmoobud]

I take it to help me sleep. It makes me thirsty and it takes a little longer than usual to get clear headed in the early morning.

[Crankin]

Thanks for the info, Oakleaf. I suspect the weight gain (only 5 lbs., so not critical) is from the Elavil. Problem is, I had lost some weight when I was sick and was told to gain. I got back to my regular weight right around the time I started taking the Elavil, and I really upped the intensity of my exercise then, too. I noticed the scale going up even more about 3 weeks ago and said that's it. I had a doctor appointment last Thursday and got the go ahead to stop the medication. My jeans were starting not to fit and that's when I get nervous. Plus, with the cycling season starting, I don't want to be lugging any extra fat up the hills!
I take a cautious approach to medication, but in this case, I really did need to take it. Thankfully, it was only for 2 months. And it got them off my back about taking Lyrica... too many side effects for me to even try that.

[Zen]

SUIs are commonly given for sleep related disorders that are sometimes secondary to other conditions.
As is the case here.

I take it to help me sleep. It makes me thirsty and it takes a little longer than usual to get clear headed in the early morning.
What is your dosage? She only gave me 50mg, maybe it won't be so bad.
I'm hesitant to take any more meds than I already have to.
I knew I wasn't the only one!

[kmcmoobud]

I take a 50mg pill when needed. The bottle says take one or two...but one always works for me.

[Possegal]

The label for Desyrel(R) - trazodone hydrochloride, does say that it selectively inhibits serotonin. I see it referred to as a selective inhibitor in a few places. A very quick search of some journal articles shows me that it acts differently than the average SSRI but I don't think this is a non-selective one. It is often referred to as an atypical antidepressant. The typical serontin inhibitor (like prozax or zoloft) act to block the uptake of serontonin back into the cell after it has been released. Trazodone appears to act by blocking a serotonin receptor rather than inhibition of its uptake. And yes, 'less picky' would be one way of putting it if one is called non-selective. Non-selective serontonin uptake inhibitors will also act to inhibit other neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and/or dopamine. Also keep in mind that all drugs have a myriad of actions. In my opinion, no drug is truly selective, but it is a matter of degrees. :)

Don't know if that helped any, but thought I would try and answer the 'selective' versus 'non-selective' issue.

And as others have said, everyone's reactions to drugs are very different and so it is worth trying a few different ones. If you aren't happy with one drug, another may work just fine for you. I know several people who swear by Paxil and also several who found it very difficult to take.