Sleeping Problems / Trazadone

[cao]

I'm almost through with my 6th week & have been having horrible problems sleeping.  It's not just getting to sleep, but staying that way as well...In any event, my doctor felt that the riba & the SSRI that I'm on could be contributing to the sleep issues.  So at my last visit, he prescribed Trazadone.  It's an old antidepressant that has sleepiness as a side.  It's worked like a charm & the three nights that I've taken it, I've slept beautifully.  It even stopped my legs from being restless!  However, I decided not to take it last night (to avoid feeling hooked, even though it's technically not addictive) and slept miserably.    So here's my concern -- has anyone been on a sleep aid through treatment and then had problems getting back to normal post TX?  I'm happy to finally sleep, but worried about creating a rash of other problems...

[Showboat]

While on tx, I did 1/2 ambien (5mg) and 1/2 Trazzadone....every night...I eventually cut that in half....then off the trazzadone.....and off ambien...took me about one month, and I sleep like a baby now without anything.....It was not difficult for me to stop....but then again, everyone is different.  Both ambien and trazzadone are not supposed to be addictive...so...

I was like you in the beginning, and did not want to take anything.  I changed my mind later as I knew that lack of sleep compounded with riba rage equals very bad moments...:>) good luck

[Sioux]

I took ambiem for a year, my pcp wanted to take me off of it because of the addiction. He put me on trazodone. It helps alot.
I have been on trazodone for about 6 months. I ususally take 1 each night, however there are times when I take 1 1/2. I have a restless night now and again.

[Sioux]

p.s. I am about 7 mo. post tx.

[ral]

I take Ambien every night 1/2 to 1 and don't feel guilty about it a bit. We need our sleep tx is tuff enough.

Bob L.

[Eyedeas]

My doc put me on trazadone during my first round with tx because several others didn't work and because of terrible sleep problems and the Restless Leg Syndrome.  I stopped for about 6 months and then depression came back and I've kept it up through the second round and have continued on since stopping.  i'm a little concerned abut stopping as depression is back big time after everything went south.

Kim

[Tony-z]

I too am starting the insomnia stage, week 14.
On prior TX's I have been prescribed up to 15Mg of Ambian it put me to sleep for about 5-6 hours then left me hungover most of the next day. <B>Ambian is addictive.</B>
During my first tx I tried everything to get a good nights sleep. I have tried Xanax, Valium, Halcion, and serveral other sleeping aids and they did't work.

This time we thought we could control it with an AD but it seems to becoming less effective. I was thinking of trying triazadone for my sleep issues.
I agree <B>ral</B> it is very important to get enough and/or a good nights sleep.


              Any sugestions would be welcome.

                        TonyZ

<B>cao
You don't need to worry, Trazadone is not addictive and you should have no problems stopping the med when the time is right.</B>

[cao]

Thanks:)  I do feel 100% better after a good night's sleep & the trazadone is amazing in that I wake up feeling pretty normal (well, normal for TX...certainly not normal...).  I'll take it now with a more relaxed conscience:)

[ral]

Hi Tony

I know you have to do what you feel and is right for your body. I take take the Ambien and AD's which I never wanted to start but it came down to beating and fighting the disease with all my or not. You need to get rest and be as strong as you can to do this. I will kick any and all drugs I am on after tx but we got to make it thru this rough physical and emotional discomfort. I believe the medication is here to help us and if not abused you will be o.k.

Ambien has never given me sides the next day. But keep trying to find something that will work.

GOD BLESS

B.L.

[Fubarcat]

I am at week 37 and just started with the insomnia.  Went to MD today for regular follow up and asked if I could take Tylenol PM.  He said that was fine, but that Sominex is the exact same thing as Tylenol PM but without the Tylenol.  He offered to give me sleeping pills, but I'm afraid I'll wake up groggy in the morning and I have to get my kid ready for school and get myself ready for work, so I can't afford to be groggy in the morning.  I'm going to try the Sominex and see if that works.

[newb]

Trazadone is metabolized through the liver. My pharmacist recommended that it might not be good for someone with chronic liver disease to take.  I'm really surprised that you're all taking it- I'm going to call my GI doc and get the final word from him.

My sleeplessness isn't caused from tx anymore, but from menopause. If you think Peg and Riba is bad, just try going through "the change".  From the frying pan into the fire!

Do you all take the trazadone before bed? Does it make you drowsy in the morning?

best to you all.

[petespin]

I remember being robbed of sleep at about that same time.  I was on ambien for most of treatment and worried about being permanently sleep imapired.  However, I went off of ambien about 2 weeks post tx and after about 2 weeks of rebound insomnia, I regained normal sleep, and now I sleep fine (7months post tx).

[cao]

I'd be interested in knowing what your GI thinks of trazadone.  My office apparently proscribes it regularly, but I'd love to hear other feedback.  My liver enzymes have always been normal and my BX prior to treatment was 0/0, so that might have played some part in the prescription as well, not sure.

[Sioux]

I don't think that trazodone would be any different on the liver than many other sleep aids, as everything we swallow etc. is processed thru thr liver.
I have not had any groggy mornings from trazodone.

[Sioux]

It's normal for me to miss type, It's not the meds <smile>
It's just my old fingers...

[Tony-z]

I totaly agree with you, if the ambian works then use it.
But as I explained, it didn't work well for me. The dose I was put on should have knocked out an elephent, it would put me to sleep, but only for around 5 hours, then I would be completly drugged feeling most of the next day.
I just what to get a half way decent night sleep, and will take what meds that will give me that.
I am happy that the Ambian works so well for you.

                God Bless,


                      TonyZ

[newb]

Well, I called the nurse at my GI/hep doc's office today to ask about about whether the trazadone prescribed by my ob/gyn would be OK on the liver. The hep doc's word was that it was fine and that lots of folks on tx take it.

When I talked to the pharmacist last week and heard his concern, I had decided not to fill the prescription, but was reassured by all you and the doc. Would be nice to get a decent night's sleep for once. And, talk about cheap! 30 pills= $9.09 at Costco.

Happy days and restfull nights to y'all.

[cuteus]

newb's post got me thinking about my sister's stories about doc's prescriptions. She is a pharmacist, and they have trained specifically in toxicology and interactions in addition to all the other pre med stuff; she commented on doctor's ignorance of medications and how many times she had to call them to alert them of mistakes or dangerous interactions...so I guess I would believe a pharmacist over an MD, when it comes to meds. Most docs only know what the rep tells them.

[DonL]

I fought all ADs and sleeping pills. I used Benedryl and Chlortrimeton, two anti-histamines, for sleep until the restless leg and sleeplessness became too much. For the last 2 months of tx, I took one Trazodone almost every night. I am two weeks off tx and am cutting it down to 1/2 pill. 7 days ago, I tried to not do anything and woke at 3 AM, restless and sleepless. I am planning to take half pills for another week and then try a weekend night without anything.

[ral]

I'll be praying something works Tony. Keep trying

God Bless

BobL.

[louisep]

I started taking Zopiclone sleeping aid a few weeks before starting tx & right through the 24 weeks.  I really don't think I could have got through tx without it.  It was hard to come off them as I'd become so reliant, but I was determined to be completely drug free after 24 weeks of tx.
I would say it took around 2 weeks to get my sleeping pattern back to normal.
Best wishes
Louise

[britgirl]

I am surprised so many of you take sleeping pills. Surely it is bad for our liver to have to process this stuff. Some people even take sleeping aids AND anti-depressants. I did 24 weeks of tx  and was lucky to have few side effects, but i often wonder if that was partly due to the fact my body did not have to deal with all these other medications too. I'm being serious now (don't all shoot me down); whatever happened to a hot bath and a mug of hot milk at bedtime? Does/did wonders for me.

[DonL]

I tried, I really did. The anti-histamines were pretty mild, but no matter how fast I fell asleep, I was always up at 3, tossing and turning. After I got the trazodone script, I waited another week to start it. I have to say, without it, I would not have slept for the last 2 months.

[Eyedeas]

Hi there, I tried everything to sleep and went to the trazadone when switching AD's that were not working.  Now the trazadone does both.  I was a wreck from lack of sleep, getting maybe 2 hours a night.

Kim

[FreedomSoon]

The thing is that.Like a lot of you I have had insomnia for years due to HCV, and found some little releif with meds during treatment, but never fixed the problem in your body. I used the Benzo’s  xanax, restoril, valium, and ambien throughout treatment and tapered off slowly for two months post treatment. I believe that this withdrawal was the worst time of my life! I was literally awake for 6 weeks solid. I am finally getting some sleep after 5 months post treatment and haven’t felt this good in many years! Those benzo’s helped out but not without a price. see ~~ Please avoid at all costs!

http://www.benzodiazepine.org/InsomniaFatigue.html  



Your body's message that it sends the brain is "no sleep". To change this, I read up and found these simple tips, that seem to help at times, now, more often than not, I am getting sleep au natural/



1.      Do not use your bedroom for anything but sleeping. Train your brain that when you are in there, it is to sleep.
2. Do not recline to read or watch t.v. save that position for sleep. Again, train your brain to know that this laying down position means sleep.
3. Get a pre bed time routine going. Something you do for 15 or 20 minutes before bed. I usually read, wash my face, turn down my bed, open the bedroom window. This tells my brain that we are now getting ready to sleep. It sounds too simple to be true, but I do these same things in that same order, every night.
4. Get a sound machine. I set mine on ocean waves, but you can have a spring evening or a babbling brook. If I am not asleep with in 30 minutes I get up and read, sitting up in a chair, for 30 minutes and start again.



You will find your own technique that works for you.

Never give up!

Tony

[secondtime]

I too take trazadone, only med that lets me sleep all night - BUT, my dreams are unbelievable..I have gotten used to them but at first cdnt get the dreams out of my head. Has anyone else had the same or similar experience with Trazadone...Must be O.K because I am still taking it because it does let me sleep...

[Showboat]

Yes...the dreams I had were wild.....my PA told me that dreams would more than likely be very strange, and he was right.

[Nann]

I use a prescription sleep aid called Sonata--5mg.  I have been told that it is effective for when you wake up in the middle of the night and can't sleep.  It will give me usually 4 hours--sometimes 6. I can be a little groggy in the morning but it wears off pretty fast.

[LVLADY]

I'm with you.  If anyone thinks not sleeping with tx (which i'm going through also) is bad try going throught menapause and waking up through out the night soaked with sweat.  I've tried ambien, tylenol pm, nothing works.  I always wake up after a couple of hours.  Sometimes I can go back to sleep other times I can't and just get up.  Most the nights it just restless not a deep sleep.Take care everyone and rest when you can
Linda

[newb]

Yep - menopause isn' t for weenies. The worse part was when I went for my annual exam, the gynocologist wouldn't prescribe any hormones! (I begged). She said they were all hard on the liver, even the herbal ones. I guess black cohosh has had some liver toxicity problems.....

This summer was brutal. Now that it's cooling off, the hot flashes have eased up a bit. I'm sure they'll be all gone by the middle of winter, when I'm wishing for some warmth.

If you've figured out how to keep car windows from fogging up during these "power surges" I'd appreciate hearing about it...

Best to you.

[LVLADY]

I just went to see a OBGYN yesterday to get started on the bio-identical hormones.  This is what Suzanne Summers talks about in her book THe  Sexy Yrs.  My GI said it was okay to take them.  Infact the first time I was on tx I was taking estratest and my GI said I could continue.  This past Jan I decided to stop taking them on my own because of all the stuff about cancer etc.  Anyway bio-identical are all natural and they do a blood test to see where your hormone levels are and then they do a compound for you.  I go back in 2 weeks after they get the blood results back.  I will let you know.
Other wise I'm with you.  I few hot flashes in the winter to keep warm would be okay but somehow it doesn't work like that.
Take care
Linda