Why is the prescription drug Trazodone used for insomnia?

Despite the fact that quite a substantial number of natural ways and “cures” to insomnia are known to the general public, together with their most beneficial effects, many people still prefer some kind of a drug-treatment. The people in question tend to go for the pill bottle the moment their sleep becomes even slightly disrupted, even though they could solve the issue perhaps even faster and on a more permanent basis by turning to nature. Still, everybody has got his/her freedom of choice and knows what is best for them in every situation. In addition to this, persons who rely on effects of various drugs to solve their sleep problems are also prone to buying those over-the-counter medicines and drugs that are employed as sleep aids.

In this regard, arguably one of the most frequently prescribed drugs for the treatment of insomnia is Trazodone, i.e. Trazodone Hydrochloride or also familiar as Desyrel (which is a generic term used for it). Another function that the medication in question performs is also that of anti-depressant. Thus, the drug in question is quite often prescribed and given not only to those people suffering from insomnia, but also to those who suffer from depressive disorders. This means that it is predominantly prescribed to such people who suffer from depression, whose one of the side effects is also insomnia.

The drug in question is known for its potential to induce drowsiness, which makes it a rather perfect aid in the treatment of insomnia. Furthermore, it may be employed in combination with other particular anti-depressants, known to induce insomnia if taken as a part of depression treatment.

Implications and side effects

Certain side effects are not at all that uncommon in people taking the drug in question. Among the most prominent ones one can find such as drowsiness – actually quite desirable when it comes to treating insomnia, agitation, occurrence of congestion, stomach ache, nervousness, muscle pain and excessive sweating, to name but a few.

Besides the ones mentioned above, there exists yet another side effect known to posses the ability to induce quite a severe and long lasting damage to the person in question, and in certain cases, a surgical procedure might even be necessary. The problem referred to here is a long-lasting erection, which has the tendency of becoming quite painful. Therefore, it requires emergency care and the aforementioned surgical procedure in order to free the person in question from its ill effects. One study that looked into the effects of Trazodone in treating insomnia revealed that as much as 87% of people who were given the drug in question increased the time spent sleeping in just three nights, in comparison to the group who was given only placebo.