I know it has been mentioned, but there was no specific topic for Trazadone. Seroquel was not having the desired effect on my husband. It wasn't calming him down or stopping his pacing and anxiety and definitely wasn't helping him sleep later in the morning. He was insisting on getting up earlier and earlier and was becoming very depressed, anxious, etc. So we stopped the Seroquel and the primary care doctor suggested Trazadone. We started twice a day 50 mg to move up to 3 times a day. He's been on it for 3 days and is becoming very very sleepy, unbalanced (and was that already), and, I think, even more confused. I'm determined to give it a week to see if it starts to work. But I'm wondering if anyone else has had experience starting this. The trouble is that he already has a lot of physical issues...lack of balance, poor muscle tone, etc. If he stays this weak and hard to handle, I won't be able to keep him at home and I want to be able to do that at least for now.
I am new here, but wanted to relate my experience with Trazadone. I have no definite stage diagnosis for DH, but around two years ago he had an episode of total confusion, i.e. up in the middle of the night, thinking it was morning, making coffee and wanting to start his day. This continued for around 1 week when I took him to the Dr. who had him admitted to a hospital in a nearby town, whose main objective was to get the patient stabilized on their medications. Prior to entering the hospital, he was basically only on medications for his RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis), i.e. predisone, methatrexate and others.
At that point, they started him on Trazadone - 50 mg and Seroquel - 200 mg at bedtime. This has continued to this day with some additional meds for the AD .. Aricept 10 mg (1 x day) and Namenda 10 mg (2 x day). He does not improve as far as memory goes, but could be much worse without those last two meds. Who knows? He does sleep through the night, thankfully and from all info I guess him at stage 6 about now. He has undergone two surgeries recently (since July) for two total knee replacements and I definetly see a decline in his mental/memory/phsical capacity since that time.
Hope you can get things straightened out for your husband and well know what your are experiencing.
My DH was on Trazadone a year or so ago. I think he just took it at bedtime. He was also on klonapin, aricept and namenda and he was wanting to sleep all the time and I thought he was overmedicated. I took away the klonapin and couldn't see any difference so asked the Dr. about taking away the Trazadone and giving him Xanax instead. So, for several months he has had a .50 xanax at bedtime. He still dozes during the day but he also sleeps well night so the pcp told me as long as he was doing ok with it I could continue. I understand sometime Xanax causes confusion but it seems to not make my DH worse.
after a month of trying various drugs think maybe we have manageable again. AAHe is on haladol, trazadone (25 MG) DEPAkote (250 mg x 2( and ambien (10 mg) At least he is sleeping Just hope it lasts Hospice is giving me 5 days of respite starting Monday, I need it badly., I need some medical attention (I am cancer survivor; breast, and 4 months overdue on my mamo) good luck
Mine was moaning at every step - he has a bad leg (chronic phlebitis) and arthritis in the knee, so he was moaning, moaning at every step unless he forgot, when he wouldn't moan at all. He was on Namenda and neurontin. He was also on one seroquel at night, which was making him sleep (which has never been a serious problem). I called the neuro and asked if there were some kind of antidepressant which might make him less down and moany. He prescribed Trazadone about 2.5 months ago and said NOT to take Seroquel with it. Almost immediately there was improvement.
Not much moaning, and no sleep problems, but much more alert. Much more involved with watching movies which he'd never been interested in before, etc. Little agitation and sundowning. This change absolutely coincided with the starting of the trazadone, and it has continued.
At least until the last few days, when he's been fairly grumpy again. But part of the grumpiness has coincided with his getting VERY impatient with his walker, which he must use to get around but doesn't want to, so he bangs it around. I think he takes out his frustrations there, and I don't blame him. OTOH, I really don't want him pulling a bookcase or some such down on top of him!
So for us, trazadone's been great. For you, who knows!
What is it about that 4:30 hour. I'm West Coast, it's 5:30 here, and I too have been up for an hour because DH was trying to tell me we had to go. We didn't have "Permission to stay here." Sheesh! Been woke up during the night almost every day this week. I will give my DH an extra half Trazadone tonight. His initial order was one 50mg tab, with options to increase to one and a half if needed, and then to two full tabs. Fortunately, DH has been doing good on 50mg for nearly a year, and I am fairly conservative.....have given him and extra half a number of times though. I find that if he goes to many nights of interrupted sleep it has boomerang effects. He starts napping too much in the morning, early day-time when I need him awake, and waking too much at night. I will extra medicate starting about 30 min to 1 hour earlier in the pm's to get him tired earlier. He tends then to be more tired in the evenings then, and around two or three days later he straightens out his nights and days.
For most that I've heard from Trazadone works well, and I appreciate our Neuros directions to be flexible with the dosing for those times when we need to adjust.
I appreciate the input on the Trazadone. Unfortunately, after 3 days of giving him 50 mg morning and evening, he is just a zombie. I couldn't get him up from the couch, he slept all day, wasn't able to communicate at all...just pitiful to see him so drugged. I didn't give him any this AM and only a half tonight. I'll try the half dose just at night and see if it has a lingering affect during the day.
Hmm! Why did the doc order Trazadone for mornings too? It's intent, so far as I know, is to help someone sleep. Aside from my DH's recent problems with waking during the night, I am pretty sure my DH would do alot of napping right after his a.m. pills if Trazadone was among them-even AFTER a good nights sleep.
He thought the Trazadone might help relieve DH's anxiety, confusion, etc. I don't think it did anything but put him to sleep and make it more difficult to get him to do anything. I just gave him 1/2 pill last night and will try it again tonight. He is sleeping a little later in the morning. He does seem very confused and out of it, but I had noticed that before starting the Trazadone. I may take him off for a couple of days and see if he becomes any more alert. He is closing his eyes a lot lately...at the table while eating, in the chair, etc.
I am taking 100mg Trazadone for depression and sleeplessness. I cannot stay awake for more than a half hour at this dose. I would never recommend taking Trazadone during waking hours. Incidentally, I learned that taking 3 different anti-depressants focuses on different chemicals related to depression.So I also take Cymbalta and Lexapro (20 mg). In the case of my husband, we tried Depakote and Seroquil for his mood disorder and Ambien, Rozeram and Clonazepam for sleep disorders. His sleep medications were prescribed by a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders (he also has sleep apnea and Restless leg syndrome) and a psychiatrist who prescribed medicine for his moods. Even with the help of specialists, it took years of experimentation before he could fall asleep at night and stay away during the day. Lilly
the sleeping issues and up at 4am??? check out the moon!! we have talked about it having effects on AD and NH patients. its huge and closet to earth in 15yrs! so just maybe..xxx fingers its just during this phase that our spouses are at odds..Divvi
my dh take trazadone 100 mg at night along with .05 xanax,20 mg lezapro,100mg celebrex,prilosect,.5 abilify,. he started taking 50 mg of trazadone for months and did well[he has always had a sleeping problem,but this really did help]until recent months,he is now on 100mg and i fear this is going to have to be upped because he is no longer sleeping all night,he is pacing more than he has been during the day also, i am afraid the stage is changing,what am i saying? i know it is,it's just hard to face. he is in end stage 6,but sometimes he will still supprise me with what he can still show me that he has retained somewhere in his mind,he is still here and is still the man i love so. he has never had a problem from the trazadone and he only takes it at night. i have noticed the huge moon,maybe it is having an effect on his sleep . jav