Trazodone is a medication I have been taking for several years. I have always had difficulty swallowing them and that difficulty has increased over the years. I currently cut these tablets in half but the difficulty in swallowing them continues.
I wonder: Could/should I dissolve the things in water? I have no difficulty swallowing water.
Do not crush, chew, or break an extended-release tablet. Swallow it whole. From:
I take a medicine cup full of pills every morning. I find the trick is, hold the pills under my tongue, fill my mouth with water, swallow the water (not thinking about the pills ) and they go with it.
Don’t you think it would be best to ask your druggist or your doctor?
If you get some bad advice and follow it … any problems will only be bad for you - no one else.
Trazodone comes in ER, yes, but also immediate release tablets. I have some 100 mg lying around. They are not ER I imagine because they are uncoated. While not exactly horse pills, I can see how the texture would make them hard to swallow, and even more so if 1.5x the size (presumably). The texture is just a little less rough than many multivitamins, which I find difficult sometimes.
Are you getting generics? The bottle should say the manufacturer, maybe you can request another?
As for as I know, trazodone is the generic. The ones I take are not extended release.
I had hoped someone here might have dissolved the tablets and could report on what happened. I will ask pharmacists, which I intended to do anyway.
It should say something like: “Trazodone 150mg tablet substitued for Desyrel* 150mg tablet” or similar on the bottle if generic. By brands, I mean: I took a patch-based drug once. The brand name was fine, about postage stamp sized. Went I went to the pharmacy, they also gave me generics, whatever they had in stock. The ones made by Mylan were similar to the brand name and worked fine. The other generic brand was about 2x as large and was utter crap. So you could look on the bottle who made it and see if they have another maker.
Pharmacists may recommend whether a suspension of the drug or other alternate means are possible. Depending on insurance, this may cost more.
*Or Oleptro, or Trialodine, or etc…
I’d be worried that they aren’t exactly water-soluble and you’d get stuck with lots of little white bits stuck to the inside of a glass after you’ve drunk the glass of water. Perhaps crushing it and mixing it with some peanut butter may do the trick? 
Trazodone is described as “sparingly” soluble in water, so trying to dissolve them will only leave a mess.
You might be better off asking your doc to prescribe it as 50 mg x 3, rather than 150mg x 1. Yes, you’ll be taking three pills, but they shoudl be considerably smaller and easier to swallow.
Yeah, was just going to suggest what gotpasswords said, as I take a 50mg every night. Have your doctor send it over in 50’s instead of the larger pills.
I had to do that with one of my pills. My doc wanted me on 100mg. Not having any idea how big the pill would be, I opted for 4x25mg. They were (are) very, very small. I’ve since dealt with my with underlying issues (pills/food getting stuck) and upped it to 2x50mg.
Also, if the pill is scored, you should be able to, at least, break it down the score lines without any issues.
Yeah, I tried to dissolve one; it wasn’t pretty at all.
My pills are scored; I cut them in half as I said up above: they are still hard for me to swallow.
If they’re small and you break them you could try putting them in applesauce or something like that. Sometimes having something to swallow with it makes it easier (other then a liquid).
If they’re legitimately getting stuck, that can be a medical issue. It took three endoscopes for me to get that straightened out.
Before I discovered the “gummi” versions, this is how I dealt with “horse pill” sized multi-vitamins/minerals:
Take surplus medicine cap (deep) and tack hammer
Place pill in cap/cup
Cover with heavy plastic (freezer bag)
Crush pill
I ended up with 4-5 chunks and a bit of powder easily swallowed.
I have a pill crusher that works well, but in a pinch you can break pills up between two spoons.
Indeed, get expert advice, there may be alternatives methods available.
I also have trouble swallowing pills. You might check with your doctor/pharmacist to see if there is a liquid form (I did this the last time I had to take Cipro).
For things that aren’t liquid I find that if I break it in half (or quarters depending on how big the original is) and use a carbonated beverage it’s easier. Something about the bubbles “hides” the pill and I can get it down.
Are these the trapezoidal Trazodone 150s that are scored in thirds on one side and halves on the other so they can be accuratishly cut into anything from three 50s to one 150 so you can gauge your dose to your needs at the moment? Those are awesome and on the $4 list at Target, same as the 50s, so I can take a 75 to cut the edge at bedtime or a 50 before going shopping to prevent minor panic attacks. A bit big and hard to swallow at full size.
When I saw this thread, I checked Walmart’s $4 list and saw that they didn’t do trazodone. But I had no idea Target did the same thing, thanks! Otherwise, they’re pretty similar.
This is only for the extended-release version of Trazodone. You can cut the regular pills in half.
I’m sorry to hear you are having trouble swallowing the pills. Even the thought of that freaks me out because the good night’s sleep that Trazodone provides is what keeps me able to function during the day. Your best bet may be to talk to a pharmacist about it. They know all the tricks of getting a pill down you.