Tapering off Trazodone

[Crystalhiggs]

First night off traz. Haven't slept a wink!

Going on holiday tomorrow so I hope and pray tonight will be better!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Crystal,

You had a decent nights sleep before though even when you had gone down to just 5mg so see this as a temporary thing. The funny thing is, if you look at the elimination %'s that are a guide (since its an individual thing) the first half life sees a 50% drop. Trazodone is 10-12 hours so unless you take it close to bedtime, it's going to cause any side effects quite quickly. But if you take it at bedtime, the drop from 5-0mg & 100-50% won't happen until after you have probably slept but because you know you are doing it, you can end up not sleeping of your own making.

I reckon you need to take it as it comes. Try to busy yourself with other things. Don't try and push it out of your mind because thats just "thinking about not thinking about it" so its counterproductive. If you can keep yourself distracted from that, you may sleep. Even if you don't, your body will tire and you will catch up.

I remember coming off Zopiclone and it was unsettled for a while but it was something I could cope with as it was around 6 hours. You may adjust quickly or you may take longer but I doubt it will be completely sleepless nights for long, more that sleep may not be as deep or not as long as you want but it will still be something you can get by easier on.

[Crystalhiggs]

Thank you Terry, so physically the trazodone should be out of my system in a day? Is that right? I know psychologically it will take longer.
I will try to keep busy today as tired as I am. And hopefully on holiday I will be distracted a lot so that might help me too.
Trying to focus on all the positives that will come from me being off Traz, like putting weight on, weeing properly, feeling less foggy and spaced out. It may take a little time but I have to remember why I needed to come off it and hopefully that should spur me on!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Adding you this, Crystal.

Clear elimination looks like this per half life:

0 100%
1 50%
2 25%
3 12.50%
4 6.25%
5 3.13%

I have got it to 7 days somewhere but I can't find the right thread at the moment.

But if you consider that with your half life of 10-12 hours, you are going to be completely free of Traz very quickly. As Marie mentioned, this is a double edged sword really as the shorter the half life, the harder the side effects can be. So, people coming off short half life meds like Venlafaxine often get switched on things like Prozac which have a veyr long half life so the side effects don't hit you as hard.

So, maybe that is something to consider in that you are having more of it right now but the good news is, it will be out of your system very quickly and the side effects will be gone.

I remember when I came off Citalopram, I did feel the dide effects a bit longer than this elimination half life business but they reduced a lot too over the couple of weeks I had them so they weren't very noticeable in the second week and your med is a much shorter half life than that.

[Crystalhiggs]

Thank you Terry that's really helpful. I'm just going to have to go through it. I don't want to be on anything else. So hopefully in a week or two I'll feel a bit more back to my old self, albeit possibly still sleep deprived!

Will turn back to those natural remedies and try to find something that works!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Well, based on calculation alone you will be looking at 50-60 hours before it reaches what they class as clinically insignificant (under 5%). Its not long really when you think about it and you've already had some hours from last night out of it so its creeping closer.

I seem to recall you going to the theatre not long ago and how you managed to get through that and enjoy it. So, perhaps the holiday will be the same? Healthy distractions and genuine fun & positive thoughts fighting it off?

I know what you mean about sleep, it's so tricky. I'm having another good go at my sleep pattern at the moment and I'm going bed earlier but then sleeping even longer and finding that the last half of the time (my normal hours) I sleep much deeper. I'm giving it a few more tries and then its going to half to be alarm clock & boot up backside time to try and force it forward.

I was reading about the circadian rhythm and diurnal rhythms not long ago and I seem to recall it saying they reset themselves every day so changing them can be a matter of a fast shift to the new pattern. I know GP's advise this sometimes as well as moving in blocks.

[Crystalhiggs]

Oh good well that's not too long then, is that the length of time since the last dose I took or the dose I would've taken?

Yes I've been to the theatre a couple of times recently and a concert in Hyde park feeling very sleep deprived! So distraction definitely key and obv the more I do the better I sleep. Saying that I cycled 18km yesterday...

Great that you're sleeping longer and deeper, yes if you can work it towards a later time in the day you will feel better for sure!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yeah, its just with me I need to pull it forward to make it later, if that makes sense? I sleep in the afternoons so need to pull it back inline with being at night and I don;t want to try just staying up longer because I know that doesn;t work for me because sleep isn't the real issue, it's my OCD and it will make me stay up 24 hours & beyond. A bit like mania, but still knackered most of that time . In fact, I wake up the closer towards bedtime like I've gone through the fatigue pain barrier so then I start wanting to do a lot more and I'm trying to curb this at the moment (having a night off tonight though to catch up on some stuff).

Yes, the 50-60 hours to complete elimination (well, under 5% but its only 2 more half lives from there for the rest) from the time you last took it. The half life of the last dose you took is the point at which it will all start to eliminate unless you keep taking more doses so if you took your last dose at say 10pm last night, you would start the above 50-60 hours from then. Does that make sense?

Geeting moving helps with tiredness, it will wake your body up and as long as you are eating what it needs it will keep you going. Missing one night is fine, its more when it adds up that you start to lose the ability to keep yourself going or waking your body up.

I bet your muscles will need to do some repairing from that cycling so just don;'t overdo it as sleep in integral to muscle repair. I bet you have plenty to get ready anyway.

[Crystalhiggs]

Yes I totally understand! Hopefully in time you'll be able to creep forward bit by bit until you reach some kind of 'normal' rhythm! How many hours do you sleep in the day?

So I last took traz around 9pm on Friday - which means I'm already half way there with the elimination. Phew! I don't just expect the side effects to go though as ftom reading other people's experiences it can take a couple of weeks to adjust to life without it. But knowing its out of my system will definitely help psychologically.

Supposed to be going to a watford FC open day later (we're big fans and season ticket holders) if I can face it... Or yes I could just stay here and pack! Will play it by ear and decide at the last minute, feeling pretty ropey for now!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Usually about 5-6 but I've been trying to get it more to 7-8 max. Its a big pain because the timings mean I'm awake all night and it prohibits so many things. If I did more in the morning, I would be waking up more and be tempted to stay awake even longer so I try not to risk another potential bad behaviour there.

Yeah, see how it goes. You might feel like it. Being out might help you anyway, its a big distraction and you seem to be able to find a way to enjoy things despite the fatigue which is a big bonus as many people would just be negative & dragging themselves through it (been there!)

I think anything that plays around with your sleep is going to need some adjusting. I found that with Zopiclone but that doesn't mean it will be bad, it just might mean some interuption or lighter sleeping so stay positive about it all and see what happens.