Trazodone use for Insomnia

A 68 year old female was having difficulty with some anxiety throughout the day but more problematic to the patient was that she could not sleep at night. Multiple different non-drug interventions were tried, but none seemed to make any difference. Trazodone was finally prescribed and insomnia did improve, but only minimally. This particular patient was also on Synthroid (levothyroxine) 75 mcg daily for treatment of hypothyroidism. Due to the anxiety and insomnia continuing even following the trazodone order, a TSH was finally ordered. The TSH was significantly suppressed at 0.05 indicating an over supplementation of Synthroid. The dosing was subsequently reduced. When the patient’s TSH was finally within the normal range, symptoms of anxiety and insomnia had greatly improved and the trazodone was eventually discontinued.

2 Comments

  1. Jan Horner

    What is TSH?
    I’m a patient just starting on Levothyroxine.
    I’m hoping my sleep issues will go away. I’ve had insomnia for years. I do not like taking sleep aids.

    Reply
  2. Jan

    I would like some advice on taking Levothyroxine. I’m hoping to feel better soon and have it improve my sleep.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Written By Eric Christianson

February 19, 2014

Study Materials For Pharmacists

Categories

Explore Categories