

Like all medications, trazodone can cause side effects in some people. Is it safe to take trazodone to treat depression?
#Wellbutrin insomnia help full
Patients who take the drug as an antidepressant may not notice symptom relief for one to two weeks, and it may take up to four weeks to experience the full benefits.

Patients who take the drug for a sleep disorder can experience the sedative effects within 30 minutes, depending on the type used. Many experts believe depression involves an imbalance among the brain’s neurotransmitters (acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin.) While the cause of depression is not fully understood, trazodone affects the brain's neurotransmitters by inhibiting the uptake of serotonin by nerves and stimulating other nerves. One of these important neurotransmitters-serotonin-regulates our internal clock for resting and being awake, as well as mood, appetite, digestion, memory, sexual function and desire. Trazodone increases natural neurotransmitters in the central nervous system, essentially restoring depleted chemicals in the brain. How does trazodone help to alleviate depression? Still, some people report lingering effects, including sluggishness and feeling zapped of energy, particularly upon waking. In prescribing the drug for sleep disorders, physicians typically recommend taking a low dose at bedtime in order to limit the effects of drowsiness. Does trazodone cause sleepiness?įor many patients, the drug has a sedative effect, inducing a relaxed, sleepy feeling.

Today, the medication is prescribed under the brand name Oleptro to treat sleep disorders such as insomnia as well as anxiety disorder and unipolar depression. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the brand name Desyrel for use in treating major depressive disorder. In 1981, trazodone (the generic name of the pharmaceutical) was approved by the U.S. Eventually, however, internists and clinicians recognized potential benefits of the drug, particularly when administered at low doses. Due to negative side effects associated with the drug early on-including dizziness, fainting, irregular heartbeat (and in rare cases, priapism in men)-the antidepressant wasn’t widely favored in the medical community. Trazodone was developed in Italy in the 1960s as an antidepressant medication.
