Trazodone and Vivid Dreams: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Loo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 27, 2021

For Depression "I've tried so many medications for depression over the years, nothing worked. I had severe depression last winter. I was put on trazodone because I'm sure it worked before. It is the best antidepressant for me. The doctor just upped the dosage to give me full relief. The only side effect is weird dreams. Also, I was having trouble sleeping, and it fixed that without feeling groggy. Bonus: no sexual side effects."

• Goo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 19, 2016

For Insomnia "I am on 50 mg of trazodone. I take as needed for sleep. I have always been an anxious person, however, the past six months I have had a lot of life-changing events happen to me. I was put on 20 mg of Lexapro, that helped with the anxiety, however, I could not sleep. I was given trazodone, and it works great. I find when I am extremely anxious it is not as effective. The only side effect I have is that I have very vivid dreams. I have always been the type that would have vivid dreams, but the dreams I have when I am on trazodone are intense. When I wake up in the morning, I sometimes contact the person I was dreaming about to see if it was real or just a dream. Doesn't bother me, though."

• JAG...
• December 5, 2015

For Insomnia "Over the course of my regular meds, I found trazodone to be less effective. A 50 mg dose gave me strange and odd dreams. When my psychiatrist upped the dosage to 150 mg of trazodone, the dreams got even weirder and felt like my dream was more of a reality. Go figure."

• JAG...
• December 5, 2015

For Insomnia "Over the course of my regular meds, I found trazodone to be less effective. A 50 mg dose gave me strange and odd dreams. When my psychiatrist upped the dosage to 150 mg of trazodone, the dreams got even weirder and felt like my dream was more of a reality. Go figure."

• Mle...
• June 22, 2015

For Sedation "I started taking this medication due to an inability to go to sleep. For some reason, it knocks me out no matter what dosage I take. 8 mg is the same effect as 50 mg. I sleep at least 8-9 hours straight and feel hungover the next day. It definitely makes me sleep, but I have strange dreams and wake up feeling terrible the next day."

• Blo...
• October 16, 2016

For Insomnia "The secret to successful trazodone use is to take it at the same time every night. I do 8:30. Then you need to go to bed within an hour for me. If I don't go to bed relatively soon after taking it, the opposite effect sometimes happens. I get a solid sleep. No movement, vivid dreams, which I actually look forward to."

• for...
• November 10, 2015

For Anxiety "I was prescribed this for sleep and to help elevate my mood. My prescription was for 25-50 mg at bedtime, but I found it wasn't effective for sleep unless I took the entire 50. It worked well for sleep, but I experienced many side effects. Some harmless, like vivid dreaming, but mostly bad, like teeth clenching, nosebleeds, severe nasal dryness and stuffiness, as well as appetite suppression and increased mood swings (mostly anxiety). I ended up not wanting to tolerate these things and came off it after 3 weeks. It did not elevate my mood, however, I may not have been on it long enough."

• Sle...
• April 8, 2016

For Insomnia "I was on Ambien for the longest time, but it gave me wicked side effects with nighttime blackouts. I would fall asleep on my couch and would wind up texting people and surfing the internet, then would wake up the next morning in my bed with no clue how I got there. The doctor switched me to trazodone 50mg. At first, I felt like it didn't do much compared to Ambien, but after giving it a few months, it really helped keep me asleep. The doctor bumped my Rx up to 100mg, but now it gives me crazy dreams and I wake up 2-3 times a night. I might bump it down to 75mg and see if that helps out on the level of crazy dreams and nighttime waking. The nighttime waking might also be because my husband is a light sleeper and wakes up in the middle of the night to pee."

• AB9...
• August 13, 2017

For Insomnia "About an hour after taking it, I feel very drowsy and able to sleep for a couple of hours, maybe 3-4 hours, but it also made me have strange dreams, and I'd wake up extremely hungry, having to get up out of bed to eat in the middle of the night. Not worth it, in my opinion. Going back to taking melatonin."

• Dan...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 25, 2019

For Insomnia "I was on trazodone for many years. I finally got sleep and woke up ready. The dreams were very vivid and scary. Even though it was great for me for the first years, things started to change for me. The physiology of our bodies change, and last year, I had a TIA or seizure. They still don't know which. My symptoms before were mental confusion, dizziness, numbness in my hands. After my 'episode,' my symptoms continued, the worst being pain from my shoulder down to my hand. It would wake me. Even though people had told me previously that trazodone was an awful drug, I didn't care - I was just so grateful for sleep. I stopped the med on August 7th. OMG, the horrible pain in my arm stopped, along with all the other symptoms. Now, I feel great physically, but I can't sleep. I'm mad that my doctors, including a neurologist, couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. Yes, I miss the sleep I got on traz, but not enough for what happened to me."

• DXT...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 9, 2017

For Insomnia "I was prescribed 50 mg Trazodone for sleep issues and have found it actually preventing me from getting to sleep. I have a feeling of being 'wired', have weird dreams when I finally get to sleep (but not for long periods), and have a generally drugged feeling in the morning when getting up. I have discontinued using it and notified my doctor."

• Ano...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• May 17, 2025

For Depression "I have been taking 50 mg of trazodone nightly for two decades. It facilitates relatively quick sleep onset without daytime drowsiness. However, I experience frequent, vivid, and occasionally bizarre dreams, sometimes resulting in post-dream exhaustion. Despite this, I remain largely satisfied with the medication's efficacy."

• Ano...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• May 17, 2025

For Depression "I have been taking 50 mg of trazodone nightly for two decades. It facilitates relatively quick sleep onset without daytime drowsiness. However, I experience frequent, vivid, and occasionally bizarre dreams, sometimes resulting in post-dream exhaustion. Despite this, I remain largely satisfied with the medication's efficacy."

• Yo ...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 22, 2015

For Sedation "I just started this medication a few months ago to get off Klonopin. It gives me insomnia as soon as I pop one. When I finally get sleep, it's bad dreams. I don't feel rested when I wake up. I've never felt shittier."

• Cla...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 14, 2025

For Insomnia "I started trazodone during a bipolar manic episode to help me sleep. At first, it was great, I started at 50 mg and I fell asleep within an hour and stayed asleep. After about a month, it stopped working and I went up to 100 mg, which worked perfectly again for about another month or two. Recently (around 3 months in) I had some trouble falling asleep but still slept through the night, until a couple of weeks ago when I started having extremely vivid nightmares every so often. This week I have had those extremely vivid nightmares every night and I am waking up in cold sweats."

• Wes...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 10, 2021

For Insomnia "I have trouble turning my mind off and falling asleep. I tried up to 75 mg of Trazodone for almost a week, only to be wide awake until the wee hours of the morning, 6 a.m. one morning. I have experienced scary heart palpitations, very vivid dreams, headache and grogginess upon waking, short-term memory issues, and joint and muscle pain."

• man...
• November 27, 2017

For Insomnia "I've gotten the best sleep of my life on trazodone. I've struggled with insomnia for as long as I can remember. I also take 100 mg of Zoloft for depression, general and social anxiety, and OCD. The only downsides for trazodone are the fact that it makes you a little drowsy for an hour or so after you wake up, and it also can give you really weird dreams. Not nightmares, just strange dreams. I feel very energized after the drowsiness wears off."

• Gin...
• August 10, 2016

For Insomnia "Do not recommend this medication. It works to put me to sleep, but the side effects for me are too much. I had awful vivid nightmares all night and woke up with tears streaming down my eyes from the dream. My nose was running the next day, and I felt like a cold was coming in. The most disturbing side effect was the extreme fatigue that lasted the entire next day, to the point that I had to call in from work. I was so tired and everything ached. Will be consulting with my doctors ASAP."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 7, 2018

For Insomnia "There is nothing worse than not sleeping. Trazodone helps me fall asleep quickly and stay asleep. Even if I have to get up to the bathroom, I fall right back asleep. I wake up easily without an alarm. It is inexpensive and covered by insurance. The only drawbacks are vivid dreams (mostly good ones) and sweating. The advantages far outweigh the drawbacks for me!!!!"

• 201...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 31, 2021

For Sedation "I have been on trazodone 50 mg for 2 weeks now for insomnia. With trazodone, I can fall asleep within 20-30 minutes, but I still wake up after only sleeping about 2 hours. I do fall back to sleep easier with this med, but I continue waking up several times during the night. The last couple of nights, I have had terrible night sweats and bad dreams that I jerk awake from. I get up in the morning feeling very tired and lightheaded, dizzy with heart palpitations. I took my blood pressure this morning just to check it out, and it was 98/63 with a pulse of 96. I will not continue with this med because, for one, it doesn't work for me, and another, it has too many side effects I can't handle."

• Jim...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 28, 2022

For Sedation "I took trazodone 150 mg for 8 years. My new PCP asked me if it helped me sleep. I told him it has become ineffective. He stopped it that day without tapering me. I didn't know it was also an SSRI. I can't take what I call regular SSRIs because I always had side effects. Two days after I stopped, I couldn't go to sleep until 3 a.m. I had vivid dreams and felt like I wasn't sleeping at all. By 6 a.m. I would wake up like clockwork with a mild headache and very nervous until I got out of bed and had a cup of coffee. The doctor told me this doesn't happen with trazodone. I moved two months later to Nevada. It's been 9 months since I was cut off from trazodone. I still can't go to sleep until 3 a.m. I still have the vivid dreams while I am sleeping and still wake up at 6 a.m. without seeing the time, with the same mild headache and nervousness. My new PCP told me I have discontinuation syndrome and it can last up to a year since I took it so long. It's been hard for me to do anything and wish this would go away."

• qui...
• February 10, 2012

For Insomnia "Too strong! I was prescribed 50 mg trazodone for insomnia and, at even half the prescribed dose (25 mg), found the medicine TOO sedating. Found myself unable to keep my eyes open after it kicks in, but not particularly sleepy--lying awake and wishing the heavy effects would quickly wear off. Side effects were bad, especially dry mouth, vivid dreams, and a pounding headache the next day."

• Sco...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 28, 2017

For Insomnia "After a couple of days, it helped me stay asleep (I used to wake up after a couple of hours of sleep and be up all night). I didn't have bad dreams, but I did have extremely vivid, kinda weird dreams, which took some getting used to. However, after a while (3 or 4 months), the effectiveness waned. I started with 50 mg and never went beyond 100 mg."

• Dog...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 22, 2022

For Insomnia "I was skeptical and not a big fan of taking any pharma drugs, but I took the leap. Could not go past 3 nights of insomnia, and WOW, this was amazing. Cut the 50 mg pill in half, and that was the right call. Lots of vivid dreams, and woke up a few times for no more than 5-10 mins, then back to sleep. I'm 5'10 and 245 lbs, so I skipped the food combo with the pill and no issues."

• gra...
• October 24, 2009

For Insomnia "I took Trazodone for a week for insomnia. I took 25 mg around 8 p.m. and was asleep by 10 p.m. Unfortunately, each night I had nightmares or vivid dreams (worse than with my PTSD, and those were pretty bad). The last night I stayed in a hotel room and had a dream that some frightening people came into my room and were saying that it was their room. When I went to call the front desk, they disappeared, then I was suddenly in a different room and could hear their laughter surrounding me, but no one was there."