Let’s talk about TRAZODONE.

Before I forget, since I am such a forgiving soul…

I want to put this out there, for those of you who have had the pleasure of being prescribed Trazodone as either a sleep aid or to treat other bipolar or depression related symptoms. It was a part of my daily diet for the past year. 15omg each evening before bed, to aid in my plight for just a little tiny bit of sleep. It never so much as made me drowsy but I took it religiously thinking certainly, if even for only five extra minutes of sleep, it had to be worth it. As the year passed and I went from Seroquel to Abilify to Lunesta to Ambien to Lithium to… well you get the picture, the constant through all of it was that I took my Trazodone without fail each and every night. I have, whilst on this journey, gained 40lbs and lost about 1/3 or more of my hair. I’ve become irritable and my sleeplessness has not been harnessed until very recently when my regimen did not, in fact, include Trazodone. There is little mention of the extreme weight gain, or the hair loss, or the just downright crappy feeling I have had all of this time when one investigates this particular medication. That being the case, I blamed everything else and I switched and switched over and over again every other med I have been on in search of the side-effect-less answer to my woes. It wasn’t until I was ONLY taking Trazodone that I realized it was the culprit. I am not saying everyone suffers the same extreme side effects to this medication. In fact I have a friend that swears by it and only takes it when she’s having trouble sleeping and has no complaints. Whenever I put 2 and 40 together I realized that this was my problem. So, like any normal person, I decided to stop taking it. Not all at once, I tapered off, and I thought I had it all figured out. WRONG. Lucky me. Anyone ever heard of Discontinuation Syndrome?

By all means, check it out.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/what-is-discontinuation-syndrome/

http://www.neurosoup.com/ssridiscontinuationsyndrome.htm

Discontinuation Syndrome, didn’t even see it coming. Mostly because I wasn’t entirely acknowledging this particular medication as being an antidepressant. I was told it was to aid in my insomnia, I just never looked it up. Please be educated about what you put into your body. Your psychiatrist will tell you time and time again that the decision must be yours as to whether you value the benefits of the medication over the side effects that it could cause. It is your call to make. Read up on consumer reviews. Don’t let them terrify you as they very easily can cause anxiety over the “what if’s” that we have to look forward to, but do not completely ignore what people have to say. They are telling their stories and you might be surprised to find yourself in one of their shoes. It was not until I read the reviews on WebMD of the med that I was able to put my finger on what was causing my misery. I have been off of it for a few months now and not been able to lose a pound of the weight. My hair is growing back and I feel a lot less irritable but stopping the med was pure unadulterated hell. I mean just hell. I tapered. It was still hell. I went through every withdrawal symptom known to freaking man. Like a junkie kicking. It was horrible.

Discontinuation Syndrome Symptoms include:

…. Guess who got EVERY FRIGGIN ONE of these symptoms. Like every one. (hint, she’s bitching about Trazodone right now)

I mean it was like nothing I can even describe. If I did not stay upright, I would start having a panic attack. Lay down on the couch? Panic attack. Lay in bed? Panic attack. If I were able to doze off at all, the second I did, I would wake up screaming and hyperventilating. I would sweat and be on fire, my RLS was happening in my entire body, I itched all over and felt like ants were biting me and all the while I was on fire, I had goosebumps and chattering teeth. I was awake for six days straight. I threw up every time I tried to take any other medication. I would walk and start leaning to one side with no control over my gate and eventually fall over, I had to use walls to support myself to get to a restroom. I would black out completely, pass out, in mid sentence. I could not drive. I could not work. I could not take care of my children. The first week was by far the worst but the brain zaps (yeah, lightening bolt through your freaking BRAIN) and jacked up thermostat went on for over a month. During this I made the call to go back on Seroquel so that I could fall asleep and rest. It was a good call. I have continued to take it and I have been sleeping like a baby and able to get up in the morning and care for the kids and get to work with no issues. However if I so much as take it an hour or so later than normal? The Discontinuation starts all over again.

Please know what you are deciding to do when you go off of any antidepressant, psychotropic medications. Speak with your doctor BEFORE you stop and have them give you a game plan as to how you will taper correctly from the med. It might be that you need to get onto another medication during the taper so that these symptoms do not become an issue. I thought I was tough and did it the hard way. It was pure hell. Trazodone may not be a bad drug for you as it was for me, but if you decide at any point that ANY of your meds are not your cup of tea, be responsible and take care of yourself and do not put yourself through what I just did. I am so pissed at myself for putting my body and mind through such hell when it didn’t have to be that way.

Ok enough seriousness. I’m off of it. I feel better. It’s over. Good luck to the rest of you.

April 28, 2011 | Categories: Abilify, Adderall, Ambien, Anxiety, Bipolar, brain, Depression, insanity, Insomnia, Lithium, mental illness, OCD, RLS, schizophrenia, Seroquel, sleep, Trazadone | Tags: Abilify, Adderall, Ambien, Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, Discontinuation Syndrome, Insanity, Insomnia, Lithium, Lunesta, mental illness, OCD, Seroquel, Shadow People, Sleep, Trazadone | 7 Comments