Posted by mattdds on September 24, 2003, at 13:01:25
In reply to Need a sleep med!, posted by Budgie on September 24, 2003, at 1:29:44
Hey Chris,
How's school?
Relative benefits of Ambien vs. Trazodone?
I could try. A small disclaimer. I'm very biased toward Ambien. I feel it's a terrific drug. OTOH, I was very disillusioned with trazodone.
Ambien (benefits)
1. Very rapidly acting (10-15 mins)
2. Very effective
3. Relaxing
4. Absolutely no hangover (for me)
5. Studies have shown no evidence of tolerance or dependence
6. Short acting (so, again, no hangover)
7. No risk of priapism, as in trazodone
8. Hey, I really enjoy the weird hallucinations, they are mild and very pleasant (you feel very relaxed), but they go away after a couple days use, anyway. This is nothing to worry about. I hated pot and LSD. These "hallucinations" are really mild and pleasant. I remember being so scared about this, but they are so mild it's ridiculous how hyped they are.
9. Studies show that it actually does normalize sleep patternsAmbien (drawbacks)
1. High cost (if it's not covered on your plan)
2. More difficult to get a doctor to prescribe (some misinformed doctors associate them with benzos)
3. Better for problems with sleep initiation, but less effective for maintaining sleep (short acting). The major indication for Ambien is if you have trouble initiating sleep, but sleep fine once you get there.Trazodone (benefits)
1. Effective for some, perhaps many
2. Cheap
3. No dependence issues
4. Doctors prescribe as if they were candy
5. Longer acting (too long for me!)Trazodone (drawbacks)
1. Risk of priapism, although this is rare. Still it's scary to risk permanent damage to that organ. Priapism is an intense penile erection that does not go away for many hours, and can rupture the corpus cavernosum of the penis! Scary, but again, rare and treatable (if you get your butt to an ER, FAST!).
2. More associated with a hangover.
3. More side effects (dry mouth, speeded heart - anticholinergic stuff)
4. Many people rapidly become accustomed to the sedative effect and it stops working.That's about all I can think of. You can see my bias is pretty apparent, but I did my best to be fair. Trazodone is really good for many people. My mom loves it!
Best,
Matt
P.s. My doctor denied my request for Nardil. Bummer. Oh well, I'm feeling great anyway these days, and he gives me lots of Klonopin and Ambien!
poster:mattdds
thread:262858
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030923/msgs/262961.html