Mental Health New here in need of advice (tramadol)

[sweetdevilmiku]

I am trying to find a psychiatrist or doctor to help me deal with a lot of trauma pertaining to my medical condition which causes me alot of depression, anxiety and trauma in general. The problem is I have been on a plethora of ssri medications such as Citalopram, lexapro, and snris such as cymbalta and none of them have ever worked. I think this is mainly due to the trauma of dealing with being born with another medical condition which is transsexualism. It is very difficult to deal with this as there are so many different individual views and experiences that other people have which do not tie in well with society but for me I just see it as a sex development disorder that is impossible to identify at birth and not something that controls my identity as a person like most others claim to say which is an extremely lonely opinion as I usually get hate and even shunned in trans groups just because I see it as a physical medical condition and nothing else. Also an even more serious issue I deal with which is even more difficult to mention is I was sexually assaulted a few years back.

So I believe because of these issues standard anxiety and depression medications have been ineffective on dealing with the trauma. I have been in therapy to talk about the issues, but psychotherapy does very little when I experience the physical hopelessness of my situation I just break down and don't want to do anything, which is a problem because I am going back to college soon and I do not want to drop out again this time. What I am trying to say is that I want to take medication that can help keep me from not breaking down and I have discovered when I had to get surgery that tramadol helped extraordinarily well. I had to take it for 2 months as it was a fairly severe and serious recovery period but anyways the point is my mood was uplifted and I felt like I could interact with people and do things. And my tolerance never went up and I never experienced any dependence after getting off it. Now almost 2 years later I have tried searching for a doctor that would listen but they are all highly against using it for anxiety and depression. I do not think they fully understand why I want to take this drug as I do not want to take it to treat anxiety and depression more like I want to take it when I experience my dysphoric episodes and trauma that I described which cause the anxiety and depression.

Most people do not understand what I experience which makes it very difficult to find someone that is willing to listen and understand. So I am posting here as I have basically given up and started crying when I read the latest response from a potential psychiatrist. Basically the same responses that they all say. He was also asking in quotes "I would be hesitant to expose you to the risks of a medication where there is really no published, peer-reviewed evidence of its effectiveness or safety for mental health issues. (If you know of any studies, and would like to forward those to me, I would be very glad to read more about it)."
So I guess this is why I am posting mainly because I need help finding some studies that I can show this psychiatrist on tramadol helping with anxiety and depression. But I feel it is pointless as they never listen... and I feel like so little people on here would even relate to my issues that would be willing to help. (This is kinda just my last ditched effort).

Anyways if tramadol isn't the right drug are there any other drugs that can potentially help? That are more likely to be prescribed for my situation? Idk but suggestions and help would be appreciated thanks for reading all this.

 

[kleinerkiffer]

I think this would be more suited for Mental Health or The Dark Side, so I'm going to move it to MH
Good luck!
OD->MH

@Mods,if you think this would be more suited for OD or another forum, feel free to move it and sorry for the inconvenience

 

[sweetdevilmiku]

bump...

 

[herbavore]

I can understand the desire to use tramadol to feel better but what made you feel better in the short term may not be the best thing for you long term. There are plenty of people here on BL trying desperately to get off Tramadol so it is not without dangers.

I think that no matter how a person interprets transexualism, it is a very real and misunderstood phenomenon that causes great fear in people--even if that fear is unconscious. Humans like to understand the world by categorizing and when someone comes along and defies the neat categories people have a hard time. Because of this trans people live with so much misunderstanding and marginalization that life can be very difficult. I myself believe that gender identity is not really understood and so any ideas about how, where and why we identify with our physical bodies, particularly our genitals, should not be taken for granted. I imagine that the blow-back you get from the trans community is that you see it as a disorder and there are many trans people fighting to say, "No, I am not sick. I am different. Being different does not equal sick." I guess from the outside I can encompass both those views. As with anything we are born with I guess I can see that as a medical condition (same as so many other aspects of self that get called disorders but are really brain variations that we do not as yet understand).

Being sexually assaulted is a trauma that is indeed hard to completely heal from. I was sexually assaulted as a teen and at 62 I still have little shreds of PTSD that pop up in me (panic attacks while hiking or even getting out of a car in a parking lot eg). Psychological trauma lives on in the body in very mysterious ways. I encourage you to continue to get whatever therapy you can for this trauma. One of the worst things you can do is to hold it unspoken inside.(())

As to the Tramadol question, I hope that you tread very carefully. Relief is important, yes, but healing is much more sustainable. Healing means something different for every person but there is one common thread: the relationship you have with yourself should be one of acceptance and compassion. It may take a whole lifetime to achieve that goal but it makes for an interesting life.

 

[sweetdevilmiku]

Do you know of any medication that can help? That would be something a doctor would prescribe without issue? Or a legal drug that i can order online that actually works? At this point I feel exhausted and shitty everyday... I don't understand why a doctor can't help me with this.

 

[Raysu]

I think there is no getting around the tramadol for how it helps you now simply because for it would appear highly negligent to prescribe any medication for a condition other than the one(s) it is cited for from completed studies. There's not much consolation in that but it explains why doctors would refuse it with your diagnoses...especially as it is an opioid and there's a lot of crackdown on controlled drug prescriptions now. I too had a traumatic past and have anxiety, panic disorder, and PTSD as a result and was on benzos for years which helped immensely but now I do not get them because of my substance abuse history. I did try many SSRI and SNRI drugs and though personally had no success whatsoever with any, I know many people who were like that until they tried the right one and it drastically improved their lives. Keep trying and you may still have success too. As far as social groups go I'm sorry you're has not been understanding. Are there other groups who have more individuals that share your viewpoint and are close by or online? You can be you without judgement. This world is full of people and everyone is unique. Those who don't recognize and embrace it and accept others who are different, be it physically, mentally, spiritually, color, race, sex, etc are missing out. Diversity is beautiful.

 

[sweetdevilmiku]

I think there is no getting around the tramadol for how it helps you now simply because for it would appear highly negligent to prescribe any medication for a condition other than the one(s) it is cited for from completed studies. There's not much consolation in that but it explains why doctors would refuse it with your diagnoses...especially as it is an opioid and there's a lot of crackdown on controlled drug prescriptions now. I too had a traumatic past and have anxiety, panic disorder, and PTSD as a result and was on benzos for years which helped immensely but now I do not get them because of my substance abuse history. I did try many SSRI and SNRI drugs and though personally had no success whatsoever with any, I know many people who were like that until they tried the right one and it drastically improved their lives. Keep trying and you may still have success too. As far as social groups go I'm sorry you're has not been understanding. Are there other groups who have more individuals that share your viewpoint and are close by or online? You can be you without judgement. This world is full of people and everyone is unique. Those who don't recognize and embrace it and accept others who are different, be it physically, mentally, spiritually, color, race, sex, etc are missing out. Diversity is beautiful.

I have always been weary of taking benzos for that long as I thought they have alot of negative effects to your health. Could you tell me your experiences with taking benzos for that long? And Like I said finding a group of people that relate with my views is near impossible as society just doesn't understand what we go through and the people who have this condition that pass just want to assimilate and not deal with all the hate so they don't seek out anyone going through the same thing especially because of how vocal the queer community has gotten and all the misrepresentation and hijacking of what it actually means to have this medical condition. As for interacting with people in general it is difficult and scary because I am constantly worried about if people know or not along with my social anxiety. It would be nice to find someone like me but like I said we all just want to be left alone and to be seen and treated like any other person.

 

[Raysu]

Sure-about my use-I was in a bad wreck in 2005 when a fully loaded semi pushed me under a fifth wheel truck and nearly beheaded me so I got anxiety going anywhere which progressed to at home and then panic attacks. Two other head on collisions one at high speed. Obviously PTSD. Also history of separate rapes from two different universities one by two guys. I was put on clonazepam which was my miracle drug because 0.5mg twice a day worked for years. Eight and a half years later I was at that plus 1mg more per day. By that time I was through alcoholism and deep in addiction though I didn't abuse my benzos until the end when I was suicidal and needed/wanted to take more to manage worsening attacks. I was honest with my dr about my first suicide attempt and so that I didn't have "ammo" I was tapered off in less than a month. I scrambled to find other benzo sources but it was inconsistent and my other drug use of multiple substances got worse after being cut off. Failed a test and dr dropped me. So my benzo use didn't end well and what I did use I stopped when I made the decision to enter rehab. I never felt different on clonazepam (or others except Xanax really which messed me up a bit from intentional blackouts). Simply my nightmares stopped so I could sleep, my anxiety diminished until my addiction got bad, and I could stop a panic attack in minutes. No high. Not loopy. Even at massive doses I felt no different just more calm. Not everyone responds the same and most hate the detox but mine was easy aside from the panic or not having relief. But then I was using other stuff at the time too so yeah. Hope this answers your question right. I wasn't sure which way you meant it.

 

[sweetdevilmiku]

Sure-about my use-I was in a bad wreck in 2005 when a fully loaded semi pushed me under a fifth wheel truck and nearly beheaded me so I got anxiety going anywhere which progressed to at home and then panic attacks. Two other head on collisions one at high speed. Obviously PTSD. Also history of separate rapes from two different universities one by two guys. I was put on clonazepam which was my miracle drug because 0.5mg twice a day worked for years. Eight and a half years later I was at that plus 1mg more per day. By that time I was through alcoholism and deep in addiction though I didn't abuse my benzos until the end when I was suicidal and needed/wanted to take more to manage worsening attacks. I was honest with my dr about my first suicide attempt and so that I didn't have "ammo" I was tapered off in less than a month. I scrambled to find other benzo sources but it was inconsistent and my other drug use of multiple substances got worse after being cut off. Failed a test and dr dropped me. So my benzo use didn't end well and what I did use I stopped when I made the decision to enter rehab. I never felt different on clonazepam (or others except Xanax really which messed me up a bit from intentional blackouts). Simply my nightmares stopped so I could sleep, my anxiety diminished until my addiction got bad, and I could stop a panic attack in minutes. No high. Not loopy. Even at massive doses I felt no different just more calm. Not everyone responds the same and most hate the detox but mine was easy aside from the panic or not having relief. But then I was using other stuff at the time too so yeah. Hope this answers your question right. I wasn't sure which way you meant it.

Did you get physical withdraws? Or dependence on them?

 

[Raysu]

I don't believe so but my daily clonazepam morphed into intermittent lorazepam, Xanax, and Valium at way random usually massive doses for days then none till I came across more. The only wds I'd feel were from opioids/opiates which was daily but some days were tough if I was out for several hours. Detox off coke/crack, meth, bath salt etc. was also easy for me and mostly involved catching up on sleep and nutrients. In rehab I had a week and a half or so rapid Suboxone taper which wasn't so bad aside from the anxiety/panic attacks and some nausea and insomnia. Now it's a bitch and I felt some symptoms after my new psych redused to keep me on the Xanax I was correctly placed on by the referring doctor, which was helping, simply because in his words the DEA would eat him alive. Worst medical professional I ever met with horrible attitude-cocky and insincere. In an appointment I waited months for I was prodded in all of ten minutes with overtly personal questions, repeated questions to test my responses (seriously dr I'm not dumb but that was a dumb thing to do to a new patient!), and pressed into agreeing to take meds that I've had bad reactions to. I refused and said I'd rather not take anything. So now my anxiety and panic attacks persist and I again have to find a doctor who at least cares enough to shake my hand and make eye contact and listen!

 

[sweetdevilmiku]

I don't believe so but my daily clonazepam morphed into intermittent lorazepam, Xanax, and Valium at way random usually massive doses for days then none till I came across more. The only wds I'd feel were from opioids/opiates which was daily but some days were tough if I was out for several hours. Detox off coke/crack, meth, bath salt etc. was also easy for me and mostly involved catching up on sleep and nutrients. In rehab I had a week and a half or so rapid Suboxone taper which wasn't so bad aside from the anxiety/panic attacks and some nausea and insomnia. Now it's a bitch and I felt some symptoms after my new psych redused to keep me on the Xanax I was correctly placed on by the referring doctor, which was helping, simply because in his words the DEA would eat him alive. Worst medical professional I ever met with horrible attitude-cocky and insincere. In an appointment I waited months for I was prodded in all of ten minutes with overtly personal questions, repeated questions to test my responses (seriously dr I'm not dumb but that was a dumb thing to do to a new patient!), and pressed into agreeing to take meds that I've had bad reactions to. I refused and said I'd rather not take anything. So now my anxiety and panic attacks persist and I again have to find a doctor who at least cares enough to shake my hand and make eye contact and listen!

Im pretty much in the same boat with regards to finding a doctor. It sucks...

 

[SillyManilly]

I've never posted on here but felt compelled to as a mental health professional and someone who has personal experience with tramadol. I've always suffered with depression and anxiety, ever since childhood and generally came to believe that's just who I was.

Anyways I developed a serious medical problem which resulted in a year of taking tramadol, my mood was so much brighter and I didn't take long for me to be taking up to the maximum dose purely to lift my mood every day. Following the surgery to correct this issue I attempted to stop so many times but I couldn't handle the severe rebound depression. I had tried many different anti-depressants to no effect.

I discussed this with my colleague (a psychiatrist) who suggested venlafaxine due to its' similar properties. My GP was more than willing to give it a go, lo & behold it has changed my life. Despite somehow carving out a decent career I've always had zero motivation to do anything, getting out of bed was so difficult and once I had finished work I would often get straight back into it. I struggled to maintain friendships because I could never be bothered to meet up with anyone. It would take me weeks to text people back.

Now I honestly jump out of bed in the mornings, have a great social life, go to the gym regularly, am married with children.

So anyways my point is, have you tried venlafaxine?

And sorry to resurrect a dead thread.