Trazodone and Dementia

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I've heard some rumbling about the use of the drug Trazodone causing Dementia or even Alzheimer's disease and am exploring that issue now. I've tried to get off the drug and have only managed a reduced dosage. I do not wish to spend my last days in a stupor. So, if you take that sleep aid, perhaps you'd wish to speak to your GP?

Someone mentioned to me that I used to write prolifically. I've not written large stories since around 2011 and despite starting several, have not managed to finish any, except for short stories that were written in a day or two.

Another possibility is that I have recently been so Obsessive Compulsive about religious issues that I've been too busy to write? Today I am thinking that all this devout hand wringing is not worth it.

Comments

I don't know about Trazodone

or its possible side affects. I do know that anti-depressants seem to do a number on my creativity. I was able to reduce my dosage so that I don't feel like I'm looking at the world through gauze. I've been able to go back to writing now, at least to a certain extent.

Been 3 years

Been taking that stuff for 3 years. Dosage has crept up to the max allowed. I think my doctor is getting ready to switch me to something else. As for the mental problems, maybe. Not that I haven't noticed some problems, but we've been blaming it on a stroke I had about 6 months (8? I dunno.) ago. Going to see what the doc says. And I know my anti-depressent meds are not getting the job done either. At just over $600 per month I expect noticible results. As things are I could start taking M&Ms and get the same results while spending a lot less money!


I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.

Trazadone.

I have been on it for 9+ years. I started on it because it is non-habit forming.

I take 100-200 mg per night. I usually take 100 but when I'm having anxiety I take 200. I haven't noticed any increase in forgetfulness not that I'd notice if I were...

I have quit cold turkey a few times... no side effects other than a restless night or two...but that went away after 2 nights.

Dayna.

Trazodone

I take 50 mg, and sometimes 25.

OMG!

I'm taking 300mg every night, have been for two years, which I understand is the maximum permitted dosage. And a couple of times when I'd wake in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep I'd break a tablet in half and take another 150mg.


I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.

Trazadone is....

Andrea Lena's picture

and other anti-depressants are used to TREAT some symptoms of Alzheimers:

http://www.alz.org/professionals_and_researchers_behavioral_...

Antidepressant medications for low mood and irritability

citalopram (Celexa®)
fluoxetine (Prozac®)
paroxetine (Paxil®)
sertraline (Zoloft®)
trazodone (Desyrel®)

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

All of the drugs classified

All of the drugs classified as anti-depressants and anti-anxiety have the same effect. They put a distance between you and strong emotions - ALL of them. For me, personally, I feel that if you have to be on them for more than two years, you don't have someone properly helping you with the cause.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

OTOH

There may be no help, or no available or affordable proper help. Sometimes, no matter how crappy they are, you are stuck playing the cards you were dealt. You can't win, you can't break even, and they won't let you out of the game.


I went outside once. The graphics weren' that great.

Paxil

I am presently taking Paxil for depression and PTSD. My Therapist has already told me that he is thinking of weaning me off of the Paxil because for the most part, a lot of the reason I was depressed was because I was hiding that I was Transgender from the World. He does not want to wean me off for a bit though because the Paxil DOES counter-act some of the emotional problems of my HRT so he wants to monitor me for a bit before weaning me off of it. His decision was a good one because there are still times when I do still have anxiety attacks due to my PTSD. And If I am still having them on an anti-anxiety drug then it would be considerable worse if I was not taking it.

I didn't say they weren't

I didn't say they weren't worthwhile drugs. Just that finding out what caused the initial problem is as important, if not more so, than treating the symptoms. Any sort of strong emotions can leave grooves in the mind, and it takes work to smooth those out. That's what the drugs give you - a distance to let the grooves smooth out. If you can find and deal with what caused the grooves in the first place, you can back off of the drugs without risking re-cutting those grooves.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.