50mg 1 hour before bedtime . To know this medication can treat insomnia related to depression and has anti depressant qualities is a godsend. I noticed the first night very vivid dreams which isn't a bother to me . The day was dream like warm and fuzzy ,comfortable is the word. I naturally don't have an appetite for food aND this stuff just makes me want to eat. 6"5 166 lbs . The sedative qualities are very admirable . I was able to fall asleep to the shining last night . Hopefully this medication will continue what I hope it does. "I did wake up in the middle of the night but was still relaxed to fall asleep 30min later . Updates l8ter

RyanB17

prescott,az

I have had insomnia for several years. I took temazepam for a while, but it quit working so I took ambien for about 4 months until my doctor said I needed to stop taking it. About a month ago, I started taking trazodone. My prescription was for 150 mg but that was too much. I am now taking 100 mg and that seems to work better. When I first started taking trazodone, I continued to have problems falling asleep. I also had very vivid dreams which I found to be very troubling. I had never had such vivid dreams before, and they caused me to have very restless sleep. About 2 weeks ago, I started taking 6 mg of melatonin with the trazodone. The melatonin has really helped me to fall asleep faster, but I still have the vivid dreams. I am hoping that problem will get better with time, though. I may just need to adjust my dosage of trazodone to cause the dreams to decrease. I hope so.

virginial

USA

I was described this drug for insomnia. When I read the drug overview I was surprised that it was mainly used for depression connected with insomnia. I don't suffer from depression. After researching I found out that this drug should be prescribed ONLY if insomnia is connected to depression. I tried the medication for 1 week with no results for my insomnia whatsoever. Contacted my Dr., who insisted I should continue taking it, WHY?? I discontinued taking this drug and would not recommend it to anybody just suffering from insomnia.

jj1938

USA

Throughout my adult life I've always had problems sleeping. Either I had difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or both. Over the years I've tried all kinds of herbal, holistic, OTC and prescription medications to treat my sleep problems. Nothing worked either completely or long-term or were worth the side effects I experienced. During my early adulthood, while I still had sleep problems I found I didn't really miss sleeping very much if at all. In fact, this condition allowed me to spend outrageous amounts of time either studying or working without any obvious ill effect. I often joked that I thought sleep was a huge waste of time. I'd often show up in my Wall Street office before 7am and work late into the evening before heading north to Conn. But as I've gotten older -- especially these days-- lack of sleep has robbed me of a degree of quality of life. So, at the conclusion of an otherwise satisfactory physical exam several months ago, my doctor asked the usual "anything else you'd like to discuss" question. The subject of my sleeplessness came up. "I'd like you to try Trazodone", he said. He explained that Trazodone was an antidepressant developed about 50 years ago. A serotonin modulator, it works by increasing the amount of serotonin, a natural substance in the brain. One of its beneficial side-effects is that it reduces anxiety and induces sleep for many. Fortunately I appear to be one of the many. A 50mg. tablet taken 20 - 30 minutes before bedtime puts me to sleep and keeps me asleep for about 6 uninterrupted hours. Taken with 1mg of melatonin, I'll sleep for a full 8 hours and wake up feeling alert. It did take about a week before this medication worked predictably and reliably. A couple of times during the first week I experienced vivid, though not unpleasant dreams. Since then my ability to get a full night of restful sleep has been consistent. I haven't developed a tolerance for Trazodone nor do I experience any withdrawal symptoms if I miss a day or two of use. I like that. **Precautions**: As with all antidepressant medications results can be unpredictable from one patient to the next and any unusual self-destructive thoughts should be immediately reported to your doctor. One reported though uncommon side effect is similar to one reported for users of Viagra and Cialis; that of the 4 hour erection. An immediate trip to the emergency room is recommended. The super-sexy Mrs. Xeno and I are still not certain about just whom is to be treated at the ER but we've developed a contingency plan. We'll play like two hyper-hormonal college kids for a couple of hours before we both head over to the West Boca Community Hospital ER. **My Viewpoint**: I'm not a doctor, nor have I even played one on TV, so I'm not in a position to unconditionally recommend this medication to anyone. However, it works well for me and if you suffer from any form of insomnia it makes sense to discuss its possible use with your own physician. Rudi

RudiXeno

Boca Raton, FL

I have always had trouble sleeping, and it had cost me my job. Nothing had ever worked. Finally, my doctor tried me on trazodone and I was like a different person. For once I knew that I was going to fall asleep that night. I take a very high dose, and some side effects are feeling hungry after taking, some vivid dreams, and feeling dizzy the morning after. However i'm a lot healthier emotionally. It has changed my life.

sammyjo112

Millstone Township, NJ

I try not to have to take tons of medications, so when my doctor wanted to prescribe Trazodone to me, I was hesitant.  He felt that myanxiety, mild depression and high stress levels were to blame for my inability to sleep through the night (an occassional full-blown insomnia), and after some disussion on the risks and benefits I agreed to give it a try. I'm amazed and grateful for what this medication has done; finally, I can get a good nights sleep!  I don't take it every day, just once or twice a week, but even that infrequent usage has greatly improved my rest.  When I take it I don't wake up throughout the night, letting the worries of my day destroy my rest; instead I sleep and wake up feeling like a new person.  I would recommend this medication to anyone who, like me, just has trouble staying asleep. So far, I have not noticed any adverse effects from taking Trazodone.  It has been nothing but a wonderful sleep aid for me.

cassiya2

Vinemont, AL

I have had problems with anxiety and insomnia for years. Have been perscribed Nortryptaline, Paroxitine, Ativan, Cipralex and Pritiq and had awful side effects from all of them. My doctor finally perscribed Trazodone because it works by a differernt mechanism from all of the other drugs I had taken. The Trazodone is the only medicine I have taken which seems to really work. It helps me to sleep and has brought the anxiety down to zero. My only complaint would be that it leaves some residual drowsiness in the morning, which wears off in 2-3 hours or faster with some coffee. Overall, I reccomned it as a good medication.

TimS

Lacona, IA

I suffer from chronic insomnia, took Trazodone and had the most vivid, horrid nightmares of my life. I only took 50 mgs and was so utterly distrubed by the nightmares that I threw the pills down the toilet the next morning. Additional horrid side effect... I am a very stable person, can honestly say that I have never considered suicide... but after this one dose of Trazodone, I literally considered this in the middle of the night. Buyer beware, for me this med was a disaster.

okays

San Diego, CA

I used Trazadone for several months with no visible improvement in my sleep patterns.  I did not notice any benefit to taking this medicine whatsoever, and my dose was increased all the way to the maximum safe dose for adults.  I still had problems falling asleep and staying asleep while taking this medication. It was prescribed to me because it is considered to be a helpful medication for those who suffer from depression.  I have both Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Depression, so this seemed like a good fit.  However, while on Trazadone I did not notice any improvement in my depressive symptoms either. Please be aware that my experience may not be the same as yours.  I also tried Restoril, Valerian Root, Melatonin, and generic "Sleep Aid" from the local grocery store before I found something that worked (Ambien).  I also now know that I have sleep apnea so that could be a reason why the medicine wasn't strong enough to keep me asleep.  (For those who don't know, sleep apnea causes a person to stop breathing during sleep and the body has to wake itself up to some degree to keep from dying.)  I may be the exception rather than the rule, but I'd be hesitant to tell anyone to hang their hopes for improved sleep on this medication.

ellaellacarmona

Raleigh, NC

I used to be on serequel, but there were several horrible side efects that came along with it.  Not only did it cause my cholesterol levels to increase, it also cause a lot of weight gain, and gave me issues with my skin. Now that I've switched to Trazadone, I've lost quite a bit of weight, and I still sleep great.  I take it for depression as well, but more importantly, I take it to help me sleep.  If I get a good nights sleep, obviously, I won't be so depressed.  I've been an insomniac since I was 12 (i'm 34 now).  I'm so glad to finally find something to help me sleep, without all the horrible side effects.

starflower32

Joplin, MO