Trazodone long term effects? Does anyone have first hand experience with LO?

TJH

My dad is in Early stage of Alzheimer's. Mom is his main caregiver with my sister and I living close and helping when not working as much as possible. Dad recently started having nightmares which were keeping mom up all night too. He had been taking Meltonin to aid in sleep. So, took him to Dr. thinking he needed to go off of that for a while and try something new. My dad was a Pharmacist, though I am weary of perscription sleep aids. She gave him Belsomra 5mg at first. He took it one night and had a Massive nightmare that the angels came to take him to heaven, one that he seemed awake most of the night to mom talking to her while having it . Sleep talking , eyes open. Then in the morning, telling mom he was dead, and not hurting, he was waiting for the angels to come back and get him because heaven was full right now and he was to wait until they came and got him. 

Mom handled it like a pro. She had him go downstair and get a cup of coffee while he waited. When he finally fully woke up and was more clear. He said, "I do not want to take that pill ever again!" So She called the Doctor Again. 

Now he is trying the anti depressant Trazodone. I have read the side effects, it is helping him sleep as it does make you drowsy, He is not having nightmares, which to mom is good. But with the side effects of : confusion, light headedness, insomnia, blurred vision (he already has vision issues) and many more but these are my big concern for now. I was wondering if anyone here has first hand experience with this medicine. 

Thank you and so glad to find this blog for help. We have no kind of Sipport groups near me. 

M1

Welcome to the forum TJH, though sorry you have reason to be here.  My daughter is a pharmacist too.

My partner took trazodone for a very short time, limited by constipation and dry mouth.   Her sleep fragmentatin responded really well to Seroquel and she had no side effects from it, although it carries a black box warning about cardiovascular risks in the elderly.  Many here do use trazodone successfully.  In a male I would also worry about possible urinary retention if he has any prostate issues.  

Good luck, I'm sure others will chime in.

​fesk

TJH, I can't offer advice for Trazadone, but just in general. 

My mother's doctor tried several medications to try to find what would work best with the least side effects. For each one he tried, I read up on it first and then decided if we should proceed. If we did,  I was very nervous when she started taking it because they all carry similar side effects to what you mention and some worse. 

My advice would be to monitor closely, note any changes, speak with the doctor about any side effects you do see to find out if they may lessen after adjustment. If you are uncomfortable with anything you are seeing, speak with the doctor about a change.

Muncy

my DW has been on Trazodone for some time. She was sleeping much of the time and still does, so I can't easily attribute that to the medicine. She was initially given T. to help with Sundowning. When she started to have paranoia the medicine was increased to three times a day at higher dosage 50, 100, 100. That took care of the paranoia.

If constipation is a side effect, she had that too before going on T. We alleviate that with daily dose of Metamucil and teaspoon of Miralax,

I hope this helps.

BassetHoundAnn

My mom has been taking trazodone for about six months for sundowning and evening anxiety. It's been very effective and we haven't seen any side effects so far.

Gmggan

My dad has been taking trazedone for about seven months.  I have not noticed any significant side effects.  It's really helped keep him calm through the night and consistent hours of sleep.

Bob in LW

My SO has been taking two 50mg Trazodone tablets each evening for about three years, and we haven't seen any appreciable side effects which can be attributed to it.