Trazodone

Trazodone is used to treat depression. Trazodone is in a class of medications called serotonin modulators. It works by increasing the amount of serotonin, a natural substance in the brain that helps maintain mental balance.

Trazodone comes as a tablet to take by mouth. It is usually taken with a meal or light snack two or more times a day. To help you remember to take trazodone, take it around the same times every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take trazodone exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it, take it more often, or take it for a longer time than prescribed by your doctor. Your doctor may start you on a low dose of trazodone and gradually increase your dose, not more than once every 3 to 4 days. Your doctor may decrease your dose once your condition is controlled. Trazodone controls depression, but does not cure it. It may take 2 weeks or longer before you feel the full benefit of trazodone. Continue to take trazodone even if you feel well. Do not stop taking trazodone without talking to your doctor. Your doctor will probably decrease your dose gradually.

<p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Trazodone may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

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headache or heaviness in head</li>
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nausea</li>
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vomiting</li>
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bad taste in mouth</li>
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stomach pain</li>
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diarrhea</li>
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constipation</li>
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changes in appetite or weight</li>
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weakness or tiredness</li>
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nervousness</li>
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decreased ability to concentrate or remember things</li>
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confusion</li>
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nightmares</li>
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muscle pain</li>
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dry mouth</li>
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sweating</li>
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blurred vision</li>
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tired, red, or itchy eyes</li>
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ringing in ears</li></ul></p> <p></p> <p>Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of the following symptoms or those listed in the IMPORTANT WARNING section, call your doctor immediately:

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chest pain</li>
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fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat</li>
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shortness of breath</li>
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fever, sore throat, chills, or other signs of infection</li>
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hives</li>
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skin rash</li>
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itching</li>
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difficulty breathing or swallowing</li>
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swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, eyes, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs</li>
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hoarseness</li>
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decreased coordination</li>
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uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body</li>
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numbness, burning, or tingling in the arms, legs, hands, or feet</li>
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dizziness or lightheadedness</li>
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fainting</li>
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painful erection that lasts longer than normal</li></ul>Trazodone may cause painful, long lasting erections in males. In some cases emergency and/or surgical treatment has been required and, in some of these cases, permanent damage has occurred. Talk to your doctor about the risk of taking trazodone.Trazodone may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication.If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online [at <a href='http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch'>http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch</a>] or by phone [1-800-332-1088].</p>

Before taking trazodone, tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to trazodone or any other medications. tell your doctor and pharmacist what other prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, and nutritional supplements you are taking or plan to take. Be sure to mention any of the following: anticoagulants ('blood thinners') such as warfarin (Coumadin); antidepressants, antifungal medications such as fluconazole (Diflucan), itraconazole (Sporanox), and ketoconazole (Nizoral); cimetidine (Tagamet); clarithromycin (Biaxin, Prevpac); cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune); danazol (Danocrine); delaviridine (Rescriptor); dexamethasone (Decadron); digoxin (Digitek, Lanoxin, Lanoxicaps); diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac); erythromycin (E.E.S., E-Mycin, Erythrocin); HIV protease inhibitors such as indinavir (Crixivan), nelfinavir (Viracept), ritonavir (Norvir), and saquinavir (Fortovase, Invirase); isoniazid (INH, Nydrazid); medications for allergies, cough or colds; medications for anxiety, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, mental illness or pain; medication for seizures such as carbamazepine (Tegretol), ethosuximide (Zarontin), phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton), and phenytoin (Dilantin); metronidazole (Flagyl); muscle relaxants; nefazodone; oral contraceptives (birth control pills); rifabutin (Mycobutin); rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane); sedatives; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem) and fluvoxamine (Luvox); sleeping pills; tranquilizers; troleandomycin (TAO); verapamil (Calan, Isoptin, Verelan); or zafirlukast (Accolate). Also, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking the following medications, called MAO inhibitors, or if you have stopped taking them within the past 2 weeks: isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam, Zelapar), or tranylcypromine (Parnate). Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects. tell your doctor what herbal products you are taking, especially St. John's wort. tell your doctor if you are being treated with electroshock therapy (procedure in which small electric shocks are administered to the brain to treat certain mental illnesses) and if you have or have ever had cancer; a heart attack, irregular heart beat; high blood pressure; human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); low white blood cell count; or heart disease. if you are having surgery, including dental surgery, tell the doctor or dentist that you are taking trazodone. you should know that trazodone may make you drowsy and affect your judgment. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this medication affects you. If drowsiness is a problem, ask your doctor about taking part of your dose at bedtime. ask your doctor about the safe use of alcoholic beverages while you are taking trazodone. Alcohol can make the side effects from trazodone worse. you should know that trazodone may cause dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting when you get up too quickly from a lying position. To avoid this problem, get out of bed slowly, resting your feet on the floor for a few minutes before standing up.

In case of overdose, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call local emergency services at 911. Symptoms of overdose may include:

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vomiting</li>
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drowsiness</li>
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changes in heartbeat</li>
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seizures</li>
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difficulty breathing</li>
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painful erection that does not go away</li></ul>