Trazodone vs. Ativan for sleep
Question:
OK, so Trazodone isn’t for me. My doc said to use it instead of Ativan to help me sleep, so I tried it. I woke up a couple of hours later, itching all over, one of the listed allergic reactions. Now I’m back on Ativan (0.5mg at bedtime). Any idea how long I can take this stuff? I kind of like being able to sleep the night through. What else is good that isn’t too heavy or side-effect-laden?
I’d be careful about a lot of the "natural" stuff out there. It just hasn’t been given the scientific scrutiny that developed drugs have been given. It’s too bad the Trazodone didn’t work; it’s a first-line sleep drug these days. If you don’t want to go with benzos there are small doses of antidepressants like Remeron (mirtazapine) or Serozone (nefazodone) which are strongly sleep-inducing. Serzone chemically is pretty similar to Trazodone. Neither of these are habit-forming like benzos are, but you’ll probably get more side effects with them than with a small dose of a benzo. I’d do some reading on them (somewhere like mentalhealth.com) before trying them so you can get an idea of their side effects (e.g. weight gain with Remeron). Good luck. Matt
Response:
OK, so Trazodone isn’t for me. My doc said to use it instead of Ativan to help me sleep, so I tried it. I woke up a couple of hours later, itching all over, one of the listed allergic reactions. Now I’m back on Ativan (0.5mg at bedtime). Any idea how long I can take this stuff? I kind of like being able to sleep the night through. What else is good that isn’t too heavy or side-effect-laden?
Response:
KAVAlactones. Valerian, Melatonin in small doses. tryphtophan ( in milk and pepitas ) More than 6 weeks on benzos and you are addicted. try natural things first. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – OK, so Trazodone isn’t for me. My doc said to use it instead of Ativan to help me sleep, so I tried it. I woke up a couple of hours later, itching all over, one of the listed allergic reactions. Now I’m back on Ativan (0.5mg at bedtime). Any idea how long I can take this stuff? I kind of like being able to sleep the night through. What else is good that isn’t too heavy or side-effect-laden?
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – OK, so Trazodone isn’t for me. My doc said to use it instead of Ativan to help me sleep, so I tried it. I woke up a couple of hours later, itching all over, one of the listed allergic reactions. Now I’m back on Ativan (0.5mg at bedtime). Any idea how long I can take this stuff? I kind of like being able to sleep the night through. What else is good that isn’t too heavy or side-effect-laden?
the problem with using any benzo as a sleep aid is you build tolerance to it they change your sleep staging inappropriately and eventualy cause rebound insomnia-as for a temporary means ambien sonata dalmane are fine but for no longer then 5 days every few months-depending on your other meds a sedating tca at bed may be of benefit and has no tolerance issues helps the sleep archetecture to be more natural-ask your doc most insomnia these days is treated with behavioral techniques and good sleep hygeine LM
Response:
True, I had forgotten about sedating tricyclics for sleep; amitriptyline or clomipramine might be good choices. I’d be surprised, though, if tolerance to the hypnotic benzodizepines developed. Matt
Response:
I also should add that I’ve been on almost all of the drugs under discussion, including Trazodone, and the two that I found to be most helpful for sleep were Serzone and Remeron, even in smaller doses. Both completely knocked me out cold, whereas Trazodone, sedating TCAs, and benzos just relaxed me to make it easier to sleep. Matt
Response:
More than 6 weeks on benzos and you are addicted.
Wrong!!!!!!! You may become physically dependent on a benzo, but that does not mean addiction. You need to know the difference between addiction and dependency. Addiction is drug abuse, out of control drug use, increasing the dose regardless of the consequences, drug seeking behaviour, getting a high from the med. It is a known fact that the people who take benzo`s for their anxiety under the supervision of their doctor very **rarely** become addicted. Also, people who abuse benzos tend to be poly drug users with a history of addiction….fact!! Remember that dependency is not a dirty word, many meds including non-psychotropics cause dependency and withdrawal symptoms. A good example is Inderal, a med that you also labeled *addictive*….sigh. This website IMO, offers a very balanced view on addiction VS dependency. http://panicdisorder.about.com/health/panicdisorder/msubmeds02a.h tm Jackie Got questions? Get answers over the phone at Keen.com. Up to 100 minutes free! http://www.keen.com
