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My Dad is in rehab for the second time in three months. The first was to recover from a partial hip replacement after an AL assisted fall. (Yes - I am being sarcastic.). The second is for a respiratory virus he picked up in the AL. The weekend rehab nurse’s solution to doing her job and monitoring patients is to sedate with trazodone. I put a stop to it. Made my Dad a zombie.

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"a prescription serotonin modulator predominantly used to treat major depressive disorder and, off-label, as a non-addictive sleep aid for insomnia"

The Rehab doctor must have prescribed this because a Nurse can't administer medication without a doctors order. Does Dad suffer from depression or insomnia? Really, if he is having problems sleeping, there has to be milder sleep aids. Me personally can't even take Tylenol PM because I wake up out of it.

I really wonder why he is in rehab for a respirtory virus that a nurse at the AL could probably take care of. Is he there to get his strength back from being in the hospital?
Has he been there the 20days because after that, unless he has good insurance, he will start paying for his care. I may see if the AL nurse can care for him at the AL if its just a matter of giving him meds. He can have in home PT at the AL. Rehabs can be turned down. There are options. In home care is one of them.
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I would make an appointment with the doctor that prescribed the trazodone. Give him your input and ask questions. Maybe the dosage can be reduced. Best of luck God bless.
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jemfleming Jul 11, 2026
The nurse simply communicates with the facility doctor to request the medication. When he arrived at the facility there were a lot of papers to sign. One was an overall permission to administer sedating drugs. Fortunately I saw it and specifically denied that permission without consent. If I had signed the nurse simply would have requested authorization from the facility provider which would likely have been given. Because I did not sign, she was supposed to ask me first. That did not happen but I intervened to stop additional dosing. It was easier to sedate him to get through her shift than deal with his needs. “Sed em and forget em.”
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The nurse is following doctor orders. No nurse can give medication or change a dosage without a written order from the doctor.
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JustAnon May 14, 2026
I'm wondering if it is a PA or NP that is doing this. If not, then you are right a doctor must have initiated the change.
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My mom's doctor seems to have reached a good balance between calming her and allowing her to still enjoy life and participate in activities.
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