dosage of trazodone for insomnia in older adults

Other off-label uses cover an exceptionally wide range, none of which have been thoroughly placebo-tested for long-term safety. The extremely short half-life (3-6 hrs) is thought to explain the lack of hangover effects on waking. 6 Trazodone’s sedative characteristics are most commonly cited as effective for insomnia, and with fewer adverse effects when taken at low doses than other antidepressants.

Trazodone is more frequently prescribed for insomnia than for depression. NOTE OF CAUTION: Serotonin syndrome must be watched for especially if other serotonergic drugs are used concurrently. Trazodone (Oleptro© is the extended-release version) is FDA approved to treat depression.

What all of this theory actually has to do with improving mental health is under a great deal of debate as the great struggle for wellness continues. The analogy is not exact but describes what happens to serotonin molecules left suspended where enzymes like to move in and destroy them, resulting in unusable waste, and eventually, a likely deficiency of serotonin, a point reported by Moncrieff et al’s massive review, mentioned above. Eventually, the milk degrades and ends up down the drain. It’s something like leaving the milk out of the fridge for too long. 30 The “antagonist,” descriptor indicates how certain receptors are blocked from receiving serotonin molecules, leaving them active at the nerve synapse instead of being stored again and ready for re-use. Some research shows trazodone has antagonist effects on various other transmitters such as cortisol and can affect adjacent systems as well. SARI drugs are described as chemicals that act as serotonin antagonists, meaning they inhibit the recycling or reuptake of serotonin molecules by inhibiting the transport mechanism. Notwithstanding this lack of clarity, many antidepressants are grouped according to the neurochemicals that they are thought to alter. 28 It is no wonder consumers struggle to understand since even experts in the field acknowledge an imperfect understanding of such a complex subject. 27 A recent paper published in the Internationally peer-reviewed Journal of Molecular Psychiatry authored by Moncrieff et al boldly concluded that the use of serotonin-based antidepressants for depression is not supported by any evidence. 26 Conclusions are often ambiguous, subject to interpretation, and filtered by the particular field of expertise (and sometimes, sadly, the source of funding) of the scientist whose eyeballs are doing the looking. Other methods such as forced swimming tests are carried out for weeks at a time, to determine how well antidepressants are working on the lab rats. Testing the neurochemical effects of drugs commonly involves looking at slices of drugged and non-drugged rat or rabbit brains under various kinds of microscopes. In trying to understand the mechanics of various antidepressants, you may have had difficulty, and perhaps run into the very grey blur of opinions, conjectures, contradictions, theories, suppositions, and the like. About Trazodone (Oleptro© extended-release)

Dosage of trazodone for insomnia in older adults