Drugs

What Is Trazodone and How It’s Used

September 23, 2023

Trazodone: A Special Medicine: Trazodone is a special medicine that helps people who feel really sad. It’s called an antidepressant, which means it makes you feel better when you’re very down.

Different Names for Trazodone

Sometimes, people call it Desyrel or Oleptro, but it’s all the same thing.

What Trazodone Does

Trazodone does two things: it makes your brain calm down and also helps a special part in your brain. This part is like a traffic cop for feelings, and Trazodone helps it work better.

Who Can Use Trazodone

Trazodone is only for grown-ups who feel very sad. But sometimes, doctors give it to other people for things like being too worried or having trouble sleeping.

How Much Trazodone You Need

The amount of Trazodone you need depends on how big you are, how old you are, if you’re a boy or a girl, and why your doctor gave it to you. Your doctor will figure out the right amount to help you feel better.

When doctors give you Trazodone to help with your feelings, they decide how much you should take.

Starting with a Small Amount

Usually, they begin with a small amount, like 50-100 mg. That’s like taking tiny magic pills. If that doesn’t work, they might give you more.

A Special Pill Trick

Sometimes, they have a pill that’s 50 mg, but you can break it in half to make it 25 mg. It’s like breaking a cookie in half.

For Feeling Very Sad (Depression)

If you’re a grown-up feeling very, very sad, they might give you 150 mg. If that doesn’t help, they can add more, like 50-75 mg every 3-7 days until you feel better.

For Kids Feeling Sad

Kids can feel sad too, and for them, it depends on how old they are. If you’re 6-12 years old, they might give you 2 mg a day. If you’re older than 12, it could be 25-50 mg each day. That’s what doctors do to help you feel better.

Using Trazodone to Sleep Better

Sometimes, when people have trouble falling asleep, they use a medicine called trazodone. Even though the FDA didn’t say it’s okay for this, doctors still use it because it’s safer than some other sleep medicines.

How Much for Sleep

If your doctor gives you trazodone to sleep, you might start with 25-100 mg. If that doesn’t work, they might give you a bit more, up to 200 mg.

Trazodone for Feeling Worried

Feeling worried is something a lot of people go through, and trazodone can help with that too. It works on some special things in your brain that make you feel less worried.

How Much for Worry Feelings

For worry feelings, your doctor might tell you to take 50-150 mg of trazodone, maybe 2 or 3 times a day. If that’s not enough, they might give you a little more, like 50 mg every few days. It’s like when you need more blankets to feel warm.

The Most Trazodone You Can Have

The most trazodone you can take depends on how old you are and where you are when you take it.

For Grown-Ups

If you’re a grown-up and taking trazodone at home, you can take up to 400 mg each day. But if you’re in a hospital, it can be a bit more, up to 600 mg. If you have special slow-release pills, the most you can have is 375 mg each day.

For Teens and Young Grown-Ups

If you’re a teenager or a young grown-up, you usually don’t get more than 150 mg each day in medical tests.

For Kids

Kids who are 6-12 years old can only take up to 6 mg each day. It’s like following the rules for how many candies you can have.

What Can Happen When You Take Trazodone

When you take trazodone, it might sometimes make your body react in different ways. These reactions can be from a little bit strange to very serious.

Here are some things that can happen:

Your tummy might feel funny, and you might want to throw up (nausea).
You could actually throw up (vomiting).
Your belly might get hard and it might be hard to poop (constipation).
Your eyes might not see clearly (blurred vision).
You might feel like you’re spinning a little (lightheadedness).
Your mouth might feel all dry (dry mouth).
Some people, especially boys, might get a problem where their private part stays hard for too long (priapism/prolonged erection).
And sometimes, you might have thoughts that are really sad and not good (suicidal thoughts).

If any of these things happen, it’s important to tell a grown-up, like your mom, dad, or a doctor, so they can help you feel better.

Trazodone and Other Medicines

When you take trazodone, you have to be careful about mixing it with other medicines because it can cause problems.

Here are some medicines you shouldn’t take with trazodone:

Some special vitamins and supplements.
Medicines that fight against fungi (like itraconazole and ketoconazole).
Pain relievers like aspirin and ibuprofen.
Digoxin, which is for the heart.
A strong pain medicine called fentanyl.
Indinavir, a medicine for some special sicknesses.
Medicines like linezolid or methylene blue that are hard to say (monoamine oxidase inhibitors or MAOIs).
Phenytoin, which is for seizures.
Sleepy medicines.
Other medicines that help with sad feelings (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs).
Medicines for sad feelings and more (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors or SNRIs).
Special medicines called tricyclic antidepressants.

If you have to take any of these medicines, your doctor will make sure they’re safe for you to use with trazodone. Always ask a grown-up like your mom, dad, or doctor if it’s okay to take different medicines together.

When Trazodone Might Not Be Safe

Trazodone is a medicine that can help with sad feelings, but it’s not safe for everyone. If you have certain conditions, taking trazodone can make you feel even sicker.

Here are some conditions where trazodone might not be a good idea:

Something called “QT prolongation” (it’s about your heart).
If your heart had problems beating right before.
If you have something like feeling very happy and then very sad (bipolar disorder) or other brain problems.
When you don’t have enough salt in your body (hyponatremia).
If your eyes have a sickness called glaucoma.
When your blood pushes really hard against your body (high blood pressure).
Sicknesses like sickle cell anemia or leukemia.
Problems with your kidneys.

If you have a baby inside you or if you’re feeding a baby from your body, you should talk to the doctor before taking trazodone because it might not be good for the baby.
Always tell your doctor about these things so they can make sure you’re safe and feel better the right way.

Taking Too Much Trazodone Can Be Dangerous

If you take too much trazodone on purpose or by mistake, it can be really bad for you and even life-threatening.

What Happens if You Take Too Much

Here are some things that might happen if you take too much trazodone:

Feeling very, very sleepy (drowsiness).
Your body shakes a lot (seizures).
Your heart beats in a strange way (irregular heart rhythm).
You stop breathing (respiratory arrest).
Feeling dizzy when you stand up (orthostatic hypotension/low blood pressure).
Feeling like the world is spinning (dizziness).
Wanting to throw up (nausea) or actually throwing up.
Having trouble falling asleep (insomnia).
Being in a deep sleep that’s hard to wake up from (coma).

When You Try to Stop

If you take trazodone for a long time and then suddenly stop, your body might not like it. It can make you feel strange.

What Happens When You Stop

Here’s what can happen when you stop:

Feeling worried (anxiety).
Feeling mixed up (confusion).
Feeling dizzy.
Headaches that hurt.
Trouble sleeping.

It’s important to always take your medicine just the way the doctor says, and if anything feels wrong, tell a grown-up like your mom or dad, or your doctor, so they can help you stay safe and feel better.

Choosing Between Trazodone and Melatonin

Sometimes, when people have trouble sleeping, they use two different things to help them. One is called trazodone, and the other is melatonin. But they work in different ways.

Trazodone Is Like an Antidepressant

Trazodone is a medicine that helps with feeling sad, but it can also make you sleepy. It’s only given with a doctor’s note, and you have to eat it like candy.

Melatonin Is Like a Sleep Clock

Melatonin is like a special clock in your body that helps you know when to sleep and wake up. You don’t need a doctor to get it; you can just buy it like vitamins.

What Makes Them Different

A study found that both trazodone and melatonin work about the same for sleep and don’t make people feel bad. But trazodone can sometimes mix up with other medicines, so you have to be careful.

How You Get Them

To get trazodone, you need a note from a doctor, and it only comes as a pill. Melatonin is easier to find because you can get it without a note. You can eat it like candy or even use it like lotion or patches. It comes in many different ways to use.

So, if you have trouble sleeping, you can talk to your parents or a doctor to see which one might be best for you.

Using Trazodone for Sleep

Some people take trazodone every night to help them sleep better, but there are important things to know. It’s okay to take trazodone every night, but you should only do it if your doctor says so. They know what’s best for you. You should only use it for a short time, like less than one month.

Trazodone is better than some other sleeping medicines because it’s not likely to make you want it all the time. It’s not like candy that you can’t stop eating. If you’ve been taking trazodone for a long time and then stop suddenly, your body might feel a little weird. It’s like when you stop playing with your favorite toy. You might feel upset and have trouble sleeping.

Talk to Your Doctor

If you want to stop taking trazodone, talk to a grown-up like your mom or dad and your doctor. They can help you do it safely so you don’t feel bad. That way, you can sleep well and feel good.

Conclusion

Trazodone is a medicine that helps people feel better when they’re sad, but it can also make you sleepy, and some people use it to help them sleep. Usually, you take a little bit, like 25 mg to 100 mg, just before bedtime. It’s usually okay to use it for a little while if you can’t sleep, but if it doesn’t work or makes you feel funny, you should tell a grown-up or your doctor. They can help you decide what’s best for you.

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