Sydney,

I'm sorry to hear that you are having such a hard time sleeping.

From my own experience with Trazodone, I believe that it works right away as a sleep medication. The "4-6 weeks to start working" is for when Trazodone is used as an antidepressant. It takes 4-6 weeks for antidepressants to start working in the body.

But the reason Trazodone is used as a sleep aid is because one of the "side effects" of using it as an antidepressant is that it makes people sleepy right after they take it. That is why it is not used as an antidepressant anymore, but instead it is used as a sleep aid.

The thing that has me very concerned right now though is the fact that you have left-over trazodone from a year ago and are taking it again without the doctors knowledge. You should always call your doctor to discuss these things... it's dangerous from a medical standpoint to take old left-over medications without your doctors knowledge.


In regards to the Xanax - how long have you been taking Xanax?

I ask because I used Ativan for years as a sleep aid, and it eventually (after 6+ years) stopped being as effective as it had been. At that point I switched to Klonopin and the Klonopin has worked well ever since (about 2 years now).

Xanax, Ativan, and Klonopin are all in the same family of medications called benzo's. Usually, when one becomes ineffective (or less effective) the doctor is willing to switch the patient to a different one.

I know a few people who use Ativan for a few months as a sleep aid, then switch to Klonopin for a few months, then switch to Xanax for a few months.... and they keep switching every few months to ensure that the medication remains effective as a sleep aid.

Does your doctor know that the Xanax isn't working very well anymore? Can you ask your doctor to switch you to a different medication?

I hope that helps,
Take care,
liz