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  • AADD Moderators: swilow | Vagabond696

Has anyone been prescribed Tramadol for headaches/depression?

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Anon54

Ex-Bluelighter
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Jun 11, 2010
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a few years ago my dr prescribed me 100mg ER tramadol for depression & headaches. (yes it's true)
he actually gave me 180 tablets in one sitting after I told him it was helping my depression. Most of the were 100mg ER & there was also 50mg IR too
I took 100mg-150mg a day for over 4 months which i never grew a tolerance too.
I was also getting 5mg a day of valium there.

I fucked up & went to another 2 surgeries only a few times cuz i got greedy & wanted more benzos.
my dr found out & I got cut off the tramadol & the valium. (Even though I only went to him for the tramadol because he gave me a sufficient amount unlike the amount of valium that was given to me)

Tramadol has worked better than any AD Ive tried & im just wondering if anyone else has been prescribed it just for headaches & depression?
Ive been diagnosed with GAD & Depression & sometimes get mild headaches which I use cwe for these days.
I dont know how dangerous taking Tramadol for long-term is a 100mg ER or 150mg ER pill a day would give me alot more motivation.
It completely changed my mood I was more sociable & I used to exercise alot. I obviously enjoyed its SNRI properties as I found it didnt even work as well as panadeine forte for pain.

Id had to find a new dr though.
 
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I found opiates don't help with headaches, in fact if I have too much morphine that is the main cause of my headaches.

I haven't had much tramadol, only a few small doses but I did like the mood lift and ant-depressive properties. This was before my heroin habit though, not sure if they'd still work.
 
I get tramadol for pain, but sometimes i use it for depression too

Im not sure what the point of this thread is though?
 
^ I guess to discuss uses of tramadol for depression? Probably not many have been rx'd it off-label for this use, but there are probably some who have experienced it's anti-depressant effects whilst using it for other reasons.

OP was also interested in finding out about long-term side effects of using tramadol for this purpose. I'd be concerned about tolerance to the effects, and when that sets in if you increase the dose because eventually you will reach the maximum safe dose in terms of risk for seizures and going over that will be dangerous. It's potential addictive and dependence forming properties could be a problem as well; sudden discontinuation is very unpleasant.
 
I wanted to know how common it is for tramadol to be prescribed off-label for depression.
maybe my dr shouldnt have been giving it to me?

so yeah wanted to know if anyone else has been prescribed it primarily for depression. & maybe only mild pain issues like headaches.

I think u get a tolerance to the opioid effects but not the SNRI effects maybe because even after 4 months I still got the same effect from the same dose as i started with. unlike with benzos for instance
 
^ It's probably not that commonly prescribed for that use, in this country at least. It may be more commonly done for that purpose in the USA though from what I've heard.

Your doctor is allowed to prescribe a medication for off-label use, whether it is appropriate to do so is up to his judgement and is his responsibility to evaluate the situation.

That's good to hear your tolerance didn't rise to the anti-depressant effects. :)
 
Tramadol can have a lot of benefits unlike other opiates, helps your body heal. And it does have anti depressant properties as well. However, it has a long half life so it builds up in your system with daily use and that way can lead to dangerous levels in your system possibly causing seizures or worse. In europe it's is in the same class as other narcotics. So beware, it is addicting as well. But if you are careful and mind the half life while using it is a healthier choice then other opiates and or antidepressants. Good luck.
 
I've had tramadol prescribed for 5 months when I fractured my hip, during the time I was fairly depressed as I'm a huge fitness fanatic in general. Tram helped with depression, but was pretty mediocre in terms of pain relief. Out of all the opiates I've used as well, tramadol gave me the worst opiate rage by far. Had quite a bit of mood swings during the period heh.
 
Probably not that helpful but.. -

Got some tramadol while on buprenorphine, I was on a dose that was blocking all other opiates but with the tramadol I felt great. This was when 500mg of codeine would do literally nothing, so for tramadol to make me feel so good was a surprise. Was a fairly standard dose of tramadol also.

I wonder if it was just the SNRI effects I was noticing? Or if tramadol found its way to some kind of opiate receptor...

Never heard of it being prescribed for depression personally...have heard of it being used off-label for fibromyalgia with some success.

Sounds like you may have had a good Doctor...any chance of going back to him or is all trust broken? You could try writing a letter about how the tramadol was helping you, and explaining your situation at the time...I find letters are often better than trying to have a conversation (probably because I suck at real-time conversations when dealing with serious matters) maybe volunteer to some conditions like drug tests, maybe some counselling etc.
 
Christ! said:
I wonder if it was just the SNRI effects I was noticing? Or if tramadol found its way to some kind of opiate receptor...
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Opiate receptors are far from the only receptors involved in the pain/analgesia pathways. The reason why tricyclics (e.g. nortriptyline) are effective in many cases of neuropathic pain relates to the presence and role of monoamines in the pain pathway, particularly in the spinal cord. SNRIs act in many places in the body, not just the brain, and not every SNRI acts in the same places either. It's quite possible that it was the SNRI-like effect of the tramadol that was providing analgesia, though it could also be the opiate effect, placebo effect, etc.
 
I have been prescribed tramadol a few times- for headaches, knee pain, and other pain issues. Whenever I was needing/seeking help for depression in the past, I was strictly prescribed antidepressants- one after the other. In my experience trams haven't been offered or mentioned for depression, or anything other than pain management.
 
pretty sure my gf's doc prescribed it for anxiety, which she suffers from badly. used to work a treat, then she stopped prescribing it and put her on anti depressants, which imo are fucking not cutting it! im not sure wether its her thats depressed or me now that she has fucking bad mood swings sometimes
 
chicken Nipples said:
pretty sure my gf's doc prescribed it for anxiety, which she suffers from badly. used to work a treat, then she stopped prescribing it and put her on anti depressants, which imo are fucking not cutting it! im not sure wether its her thats depressed or me now that she has fucking bad mood swings sometimes
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Do you know if she was prescribed Tramadol for anxiety before other "traditional" SSRI's or other anti-anxiety medication? That sounds strange to me, for months I was thrown all kinds of different anti-depressants for GAD/SAD before diazepam, and from what I've read this sounds like the norm.
 
yeah, she has been trying a fair few, most with side effects that she cant handle. shes now been put on another anti depressant which works-ish [i forget the name, but i know its a well know name...], but she still has bad anxiety most days.
 
I get Tramadol 200 mg SR 20 tablets every 10 days from my doctor. 2 tablets a day. Last time I filled out the prescription though the fucking pharmacist took a blister pack out of it, and when I got home and noticed it, I had no evidence that the pharmacist (dodgy looking person behind the counter who serves you/you pay him/her, not the actual pharmacist) took it. Fuck, I was pissed off. I'm also on Sertraline 100 mg a day. No seizures/no serotonin syndrome.
 
^if your for real, report the cunt.... we at least need reliable legal drug dealers.
 
Azron said:
^if your for real, report the cunt.... we at least need reliable legal drug dealers.
Click to expand...

Most definitely make a report. I'd suggest a written one, or ask them how complaints are normally done through that particular chemist/chain.

There's no way in hell they're just going to take Charles Bronson's word on it :) especially if you're notorious for buying lots of codeine/ricodeine etc. If the guy already has a record of this happening you might get your blister pack, but mostly it'll just help people in the future if the dude keeps doing this kind of thing.

The number of times I've heard people say pharmacists have made mistakes, or that their bottle of vallium only had 40 tablets instead of 50, that sort of thing.... Sure it happens, but not at that kind of frequency.
 
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