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I am 81 years old and have been taking trazadone to help me sleep since 2010. So far I have no memory issues. Trazadone is a godsend. Without it I would be awake 24/7.
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Reply to Specpondmom2
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I take Trazadone every night for sleep and do just fine. If there is stress, I sometimes stay awake.
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Reply to Patathome01
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Daniellle Nov 25, 2025
Me too! No problems and fine the next day!
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Ask her doctor who prescribed it.

I looked it up here:

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-11188/trazodone-oral/details

Memory problems is not listed as a side effect, but again, I think you should ask her doctor.

My dad had really severe insomnia for decades and was diagnosed with bvFTD in his 70s. After trying a few different medication protocols, his neurologist settled on Seroquel for behavioral agitation and obsessions plus Trazodone at bedtime which helped him fall to sleep. His memory was good up until the last year or so. But memory is usually not affected until very late in the progression of FTD (unlike Alzheimer’s).

Maybe the dementia is making your mom’s memory worse, rather than the Trazodone?
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Reply to Suzy23
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My mom took it for sleep, and it never made her memory problems worse. I have not heard of that before. Myself, I also take it, and do not have that issue.
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Reply to blondinthesky
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In my experience sometimes there is an adjustment period before side effects subside so give the drug a fair chance, you also need to weigh the benefits against the harms when you reevaluate.
My mom was also prescribed a drug "off label" for sleep problems, in her case mirtazapine (remeron). For us it was nothing but positive, in fact her cognition seemed to improve.
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Reply to cwillie
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Trazodone as a sleep aid helped me sleep, it sure did.....but turned me into a total zombie the next day to the point I was unable to function. Meds affect people differently. I'd rather stay up all night than ever take Trazodone again, personally.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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Discuss this with your doctor. It may be worth stopping this medication. She may simply be more relaxed, and less anxious, and less determined to answer every little question. Or she may be too sleepy. Hopefully others here on Forum will have had an elder on this medication, and can let you know their own experience of it, but WHATEVER that experience is it is truly irrelevant to your own. What your experience is should be discussed with your doctor who knows your mom best, and who has the power to experiment with withdrawal of medications he has prescribed.

Let us know how otherwise you feel this medication is working?
Is mom more relaxed, less anxious, less depressed overall.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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Same with my DH. He was zombie like all day.
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Reply to Jayne44
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My MIL is also on Trazadone. Medications affect different people differently.

I would talk to her Dr. about your concerns.
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Reply to Louise4
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I started taking Trazadone many years ago for depression at first. My doctor actually had me taking 5 of them at bedtime-5!!! They did help me sleep but didn't really help me with my depression so my doctor prescribed celexa for my depression and ambien for my insomnia (as well as xanax for my anxiety). Years later, I asked my new doctor to discontinue the ambien and start prescribing me trazodone for my insomnia which did work (he didn't prescribe 5 of them though like the other doctor). I now have a new psychiatrist who started me on quietapine (Seroquel) for my mental health issues. It would knock me out so I took it right before bed. The trazodone did cause me to feel like I was in a fog the next day. Even now there are times when I have problems staying asleep due to my severe chronic pain so I'll end up taking a trazodone just to help me fall back asleep. I don't like doing that because of how I feel the next day. I also use to take clonazapam for my anxiety but had to discontinue it because my new pain management doctor refuses to prescribe me my pain meds while I'm taking the clonazapam. I still have a lot of it left over so sometimes I'll take one of those instead of the trazodone if I wake up during the night. Problem is that the clonazapam stays in your system much longer. Also, because of the death of Bob Saget, trazodone kind of freaks me out now. He fell twice and hit his head and the only thing in his system was trazodone and clonazapam. Even if I take just the trazodone only instead of along with the clonazapam, I do get dizzy, even when I'm laying down. You definitely need to address this issue with her doctor or get a new doctor. You and your mom will be in my prayers!
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Reply to MarlaLynnS
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