Trazodone and Drowsiness: What Users Say (Page 4)

• Car...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 15, 2016

For Insomnia "Last night was the first night that I have had a full, restful sleep since I was eighteen, and I am 72 years old. I was not groggy and did not have a hangover. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1996, and I could not tell if the muscle aches were from the fibromyalgia or the medication, but the muscle aches disappeared after I got up and moved around. I am grateful that my doctor prescribed trazodone."

• rev...
• March 13, 2017

For Insomnia "I have Bipolar II. Have suffered from depression, hypomania, and anxiety. One thing constant was difficulty sleeping. Sometimes night after night. I would just lay there and my mind would race. I have been taking Trazodone for a little over a year. 50mg-100 if needed. I've taken as much as 100, but often 50, then another 25 if needed. It's the best sleep I have ever had. I sleep through the night. If I have to get up for the bathroom, I fall right back to sleep. If I take higher doses, I do get some grogginess, occasional blurry vision, and joint ache. But getting good sleep is worth it and helps with my other bipolar symptoms. These days I've only been taking 50, but it still works and side effects are fewer."

• I...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• November 6, 2016

For Insomnia "I have been taking 150 mg of trazodone to help me sleep for over five years now, and it is wonderful. My only complaint is that I am a little groggy when I wake up. A couple of years before I started the 150 mg dose, my doc gave me the standard 50 mg dose, and it did not help me at all. My main complaint was that once I fell asleep, I would wake and not be able to go back to sleep. Trazodone solves this problem - it doesn't knock me out, so I will wake to any noise or to use the bathroom, but I am able to fall back asleep with no problem."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 10, 2017

For Insomnia "I went a year with hardly any sleep, some nights I didn't sleep at all, and others I got maybe 3-4 hours. I have a sleeping disorder where I can't enter REM sleep. So, I was prescribed 150 mg of trazodone. It was a complete lifesaver! The first two weeks on it, I would feel groggy maybe 2-3 hours after I woke up, but that wore off, and now I just get great sleep! I had many sleep-related issues such as severe anxiety and agoraphobia, but this medicine, having me be able to sleep, cleared the majority of those problems away! This was such a life changer for me. I'm so grateful for it."

• has...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 20, 2017

For Insomnia "Trazodone really helps me out, and I get to sleep within a half hour. The only thing I dislike about it is I feel really groggy in the morning. Other than that, it's a really good drug for insomnia. Not addictive."

• LJa...
• August 25, 2020

For Insomnia "My doctor's been trying to get me off Ambien for chronic insomnia because of supposed side effects with long-term use and prescribed me trazodone. But trazodone either made me very drowsy the next day when I took the full dose or didn't get me to sleep for very long when I cut it in half. Since it takes longer to work, taking half a dose in the middle of the night was useless. I also had bad dreams many times, some nausea, my nasal passages seemed to get constricted, making breathing not so smooth, and gave me slight headaches. With all that, I became moody. I never had any of these issues with Ambien. I will say that when I did fall asleep with trazodone, I slept well and hard. But out of the week I tried trazodone, I had only one full night of good sleep. The other nights were pretty miserable, mainly because I couldn't get enough sleep."

• Mr ...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 29, 2019

For Insomnia "Have been taking 200 mg trazodone 5-6 days a week and sleep great. No morning grogginess. Certainly, this medicine is not for everyone. In my opinion, patients' doctors advise their patients poorly. I was allowed to adjust my dosage to find the right amount that worked for me. Some people only need 12.5 mg, and others up to 300 mg. Reading above comments, some patients were placed right away on, say, 100 mg, and this was either way too much or too little, in my opinion. People need to start low and slowly ramp up, in my opinion."

• Kat...
• August 2, 2013

For Insomnia "I've taken trazodone (150 mg) every night for 8 years for sleep apnea and severe insomnia. It makes me fall asleep and stay asleep, but it makes me tired and drowsy the next day. It also gives me nightmares, and I wake up in cold sweats, I've even woken up shouting before. I've tried over-the-counter meds and things like Lunesta, but they make me hallucinate, and they don't make me tired enough to fall asleep. Overall, trazodone was effective but with one bad side effect."

• Luc...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 15, 2012

For Insomnia "I've had chronic insomnia since I was a child. The trazodone both helps me fall asleep quickly and helps me stay asleep longer (usually 4 to 5 hours of straight sleep versus my usual waking every hour). As far as help with insomnia, I would give trazodone a 10. Unfortunately, though, it does stay in my system a full 12 to 13 hours, which means I am groggy and lethargic in the morning until it wears off, usually around 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. However, once it does wear off, I feel great, and for the rest of the day, I have much more energy than I do when I don't take trazodone and don't sleep well. I take between 15-75 mgs when I'm ready to go to bed. Aside from the morning grogginess, I think this has been a wonderful help."

• Kan...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 24, 2015

For Sedation "I've been taking trazodone for almost three years at different doses. I started out at 50 mg, then 100, and now take 150 mg. I've taken some kind of sleeping pill on and off for 18 years but recently became dependent on them because of family deaths, relationship issues, and postpartum depression. Trazodone works for me, but it gives me horrible nightmares, so I have to wake up two to three times a night. I feel groggy the next day, and my memory has declined. I also experience extreme anxiety. I don’t know if trazodone is the cause. All in all, I would rather deal with the side effects than live with insomnia."

• ken...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 11, 2019

For Insomnia "My doctor explained it to me as the drug is primarily meant to treat anxiety, not insomnia, and sleepiness is just a side effect, and it shows - my consistency of sleep is quite low. I've been using the pill for 6 nights now, and the hours of sleep each so far have been approximately 9, 3, 5, 7, 9, 6, so all across the board. Other downsides are dry mouth, grogginess, and a slight headache in the morning. However, I am still overall satisfied with the drug because I am collectively still getting way more sleep than when I wasn't on it (about 2-3 hours of sleep each night). If you're like me and your problem is a high-wired, overthinking, won't turn off brain at night, results are best when you leave a buffer time of about 2 hours to do nothing but just relax and wind down."

• Mr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 5, 2022

For Anxiety "Where do I start? So, I am a male, 42, survivor of pretty horrendous childhood SA. Suffered undiagnosed PTSD for around 25 years. I found it impossible to sleep, which is not conducive to a nursing career. I have tried mostly all of the SSRIs and lots of alternative therapies, psychotherapy, and so on. Nothing really worked. I have been taking 150mg of Trazodone for the last 2 weeks. I have never slept as well as I do now. Vivid dreams, which I can remember in graphic detail, but not troubling like before trying this med. I was a little groggy the following day (I dose at night), but this cleared up for me after about a week. Just take it earlier in the night and go to bed! Depression is now consistently zero along with the anxiety. I feel energized and motivated. Reconnecting with all of my family and friends and loving every moment. If you are struggling, maybe consider trying it. Lots of negative comments on here, but everyone is different."

• Lon...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 21, 2019

For Anxiety "This trazodone gave me severe anxiety over time, where I’d feel incredibly and intensely socially anxious when this wasn’t a true issue, it was general anxiety. It also had the issue of making me feel sleepy, but I could only sleep an hour, then I couldn’t go back to sleep. The next day I would feel completely zombified and struggle to even move or do anything. It increases my heart rate a lot and doesn’t mix well with my ADHD medication."

• the...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 16, 2015

For Sedation "Got prescribed this while in the hospital for mental health and substance abuse issues. Non-habit forming, which is great, but I feel wicked groggy and out of it in the morning. I break the pill in half so I'm not as out of it when I wake up. The doctors advised me of prolonged erections in the morning. They were right."

• Isl...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 18, 2019

For Insomnia "For folks that start taking trazodone and feel like they have a big, fat hangover the next day (headache, groggy, lethargic, dizziness, nausea, etc.), most of it passes when your body gets used to it. It certainly gets a whole lot better. I hated it at first. For the sinus issues, I told my doctor I felt I was going to drown while I was sleeping, and she put me on nasal fluticasone, which helped immensely with that and allergies. I've been on it for years now, and I sleep all night with very few exceptions (really severe fibro pain). Since I weigh 110 lbs and take 150 mg/night, I'm wondering if some of the not working issues is the dosage people are currently on."

• Res...
• March 31, 2019

For Insomnia "I just recently had an onset of insomnia after a traumatic event. I went two weeks, sleeping anywhere from 2-4 hours. My diet is spot on, I exercised daily and meditated. Nothing was helping. My doctor said, “Let's try a low dose of trazodone to get you back on your feet.” I took a 25mg dose and found that I doze off to sleep quite easily. For the other worriers out there, it didn't make me drowsy, loopy, or anything. I woke up at about 3 am and took another 25mg. I quickly went back to sleep and got a full 7-8 hours. I was so refreshed. The next day, I upped it to 50mg and I slept like a baby! The next day had me just a little fuzzy up until noon. After that, I was really clear and rested. I've been taking the 50mg for a few days now and it's been working great. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!"

• sle...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 3, 2019

For Insomnia "I've had chronic insomnia for about 10 years; typically, I'd sleep for an hour, wake for an hour, and so on. Every 2-3 weeks, I'd have a stretch of sleepless nights for a couple of days. Melatonin, OTC sleeping pills, Seroquel, and Ambien did not work; the only things that have been able to get me to sleep were alcohol and drugs combined with overuse of herbal remedies. In residential treatment, I was put on a low starting dose of Trazodone and immediately noticed a difference; I slept for 3 hours that first night, which for me was a miracle. On my current dose, I'm sleeping around 9 hours per night. Side effects: during the first few days, I was very drowsy during the daytime and felt like napping. I also had a lot of dreams the first couple nights and when the doses were changed. No appetite changes, other than the fact that I no longer snack at night. My libido is back up to a normal level, and my mood is higher."

• VOR...
• January 29, 2016

For Depression "My PCM prescribed it for hot flashes because I can't take anything with estrogen, so no HRT for me. I was having 10-12 hot flashes in a 24-hour period. Now I only have 2-3. I must take it at night because it definitely helps with sleep. I still wake up slightly groggy. And if I have a hot flash, it does wake me, but I'm able to go back to sleep. I started with 50 mg, but now I take 25. I may try to take it every other night because I don't like being on medication. But I am pleased with it. It is also an older drug, so any bad side effects should've been discovered by now."

• Anonymous
• April 5, 2016

For Sedation "I have taken 100 mg for at least 10 years for sleep. It works great for me, a slight groggy feeling in the morning, but well worth it to have a full night’s sleep. I fall asleep soon after taking it. I have at times sleepwalked. I will find out in the morning when I find stuff moved around, dusting supplies in the washing machine, and tools from the garage in the kitchen. But I have sleepwalked since I was a little girl. And it seems to only happen when I am worried about something. This drug has been around for a long time and the benefit outweighs side effects for me."

• BBP...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 16, 2017

For Insomnia "I was on 150 mg of Trazodone for about a year and a half. My sleep was awesome. A little groggy in the morning, but I got used to that. Unfortunately, after a few months of starting the med, I began having all-day severe dizziness. Didn't think that it could be from the Trazodone and ended up seeing two neurologists trying to figure out what was happening. They couldn't find a cause. Out of frustration, I quit the Trazodone cold turkey to see if it could be the cause. Sure enough."

• the...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 4, 2017

For Insomnia "I have not slept more than an hour or two for literal years without pain waking me due to my chronic nerve pain. I now take the 50 mg dose, and wow, I sleep almost immediately and do not wake drowsy or dizzy. I also notice a pain relief benefit, I do not wake in raging pain wondering how I am going to walk! I am also on Effexor for anxiety and medical marijuana for pain, all seem like a well-oiled machine weeks in."

• use...
• October 29, 2010

Trazodone for Depression "I took 1/2 of 150 mg Oleptro for 4 days and had the worst experience of my life. After the first dose, I slept for 19 hours and still woke feeling heavily medicated. After two cups of coffee and a meal, I was able to stay awake for five hours but was not totally coherent. I took another 1/2 pill at bedtime and slept without waking until 10:00 the next morning. During all of this 'rest,' I had the strangest dreams. Not nightmares, but they left me feeling bad and confused. I was able to stay awake and plant flowers, but still felt drugged. I also had an overwhelming feeling of sadness that brought me to tears. Monday morning, I woke up vomiting with severe stomach pains. My vision became more blurred with each day. I have been out of work for a week."

• Mis...
• June 5, 2016

For Insomnia "I started taking 100 mg each night a couple of months ago. It works beautifully to help me fall asleep-usually in about 15-20 minutes. Sure, I'm a little groggy when I get up. But a trip to the bathroom, feed the cat, and pour myself a cup of coffee, and I'm good as new."

• Fre...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 14, 2018

For Insomnia "Have had years of poor sleep. Can fall asleep easily but was wide awake a couple of hours later. Started on trazodone 50 mg, and it worked great. Sleep a solid 7 to 8 hrs a night. The only side effect has been lots of dreams... pleasant ones, but I wonder if dream state is the best kind of sleep. I increase my dosage to 100 mg during stressful times to keep me sleeping. At that dose, I'm a little drowsy during breakfast, but that disappears quickly. I would recommend this treatment for help with sleeping."

• MsJ...
• March 12, 2016

For Insomnia "I started 3-10-16, had insomnia bad, went to sleep at 9 pm, woke up at 5 am. Felt a bit groggy, but by 7 am I was feeling good. This drug works for me, I was told to take half of the 50 mg at bedtime. Good luck to you."