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Opioids Tramadol as an antidepressant and withdrawal vs SSRI's

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Oasis100

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Joined
Jan 19, 2020
Messages
12
I've been using Tramadol 50mg every other day as for it's antidepressant effects and am thinking of starting to use it every day at a low dose (50-100 mg) as it's quite effective for me.
I've been through Tramadol withdrawal before about 10 years ago but I withdrew from Xanax at the same time. From what I can remember (which is vague now) the restless legs stopped after a week or 10 days so I'm assuming this was when the Tramadol withdrawal ended and then I was just stuck with the hell that was Xanax withdrawal after that.
Has anyone here used or is using Tramadol as an antidepressant and does anyone know how withdrawal compares to SSRI's? I'd rather not use SSRI's because of the sexual side effects and I know that some of them have pretty bad withdrawals themselves that last a lot longer than Tramadol withdrawal.
I'd be keen to hear if anyone has had success at using Tram as an AD long term and any advice that you can think of on this subject.

Many Thanks.
 
Tramadol is simultaneously an opioid and an SNRI (serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor), structurally related to the SNRI venlafaxine ("effexor").

SNRI's have similar side-effects and discontinuation symptoms to SSRI's, although many people do find them more efficaceous and better-tolerated due to the additional noradrenergic action.

If you're getting an antidepressant benefit from the tramadol, it would be more reasonable to get a script for an actual SNRI-type antidepressant, rather than trying to self-medicate with an SNRI that also carries a risk of opioid addiction.
 
You're probably just gonna end up wanting to pushing the dose higher without really meaning to as you become tolerant to the opiod effects.

Or it could work great. I dunno. I have no medical training.
 
although venlafaxine is said to be the cousin of tramadol, in my opinion the effects are nothing alike, I was prescribed venlafaxine after rehab and I really hated it, I experienced more side effects than with tramadol. anyway I've used it(tramadol) for about 7 years, mainly as an AD without realising it and with other opioids on top, so its purpose was definetely for its ad properties rather than a simple opioid addiction. anyway it's not really ok for long-term use, in the end it's gonna make you depressed as any other opioid honestly and the energy from the beginning will turn into exhaustion, I'm sober for 1 month and 22 days and I've been contemplating on getting on a SNRI but something other than effexor, I thought of getting back on the trams too but considering that the pros are short-lived and the cons are just gonna outweigh the good part i'm not gonna do it.
 
Hodor said:
Tramadol is simultaneously an opioid and an SNRI (serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor), structurally related to the SNRI venlafaxine ("effexor").

SNRI's have similar side-effects and discontinuation symptoms to SSRI's, although many people do find them more efficaceous and better-tolerated due to the additional noradrenergic action.

If you're getting an antidepressant benefit from the tramadol, it would be more reasonable to get a script for an actual SNRI-type antidepressant, rather than trying to self-medicate with an SNRI that also carries a risk of opioid addiction.
Click to expand...

In the past I have taken Fluoxetine and Amitriptyline which both gave me sexual side effects which to me are not an acceptable side effect. I imagine SNRI's will be the same. At least with Tramadol I can take a dose earlier in the day and have a good 6-8 hours feeling ok that day before it wears off in the evening.
If it works then I'm not planning on ever stopping so I'm not too bothered about the opioid addiction. I was thinking I could be over Tramadol withdrawal in a week or two if I did have to come off whereas most antidepressants are longer than that with brain zaps and stuff.
 
you can try it for a short period of time, but you'll see that after a good amount of time it's gonna depress you. as for the sexual related side effects, with tramadol it's very hard to come, so you are gonna last long but it's gonna become frustrating until you get to learn the few positions that can get you to ejaculate, erections are maintainable but with huge doses you are gonna have just a semi-erection. maintain low doses, after some time taper down, than taper up, taper down, taper up, the moment you feel the depression, go intentionally into withdrawal, endure it for 2-3 weeks, get back on it and the AD effect will somehow return, but in my experience as many times you get off and back on it, the AD effect lasts less and less, but if you are really that set on it or desperate you can milk this cow for a while, just don't get into excessive doses, that was my big mistake honestly.
 
thefirm said:
although venlafaxine is said to be the cousin of tramadol, in my opinion the effects are nothing alike, I was prescribed venlafaxine after rehab and I really hated it, I experienced more side effects than with tramadol. anyway I've used it(tramadol) for about 7 years, mainly as an AD without realising it and with other opioids on top, so its purpose was definetely for its ad properties rather than a simple opioid addiction. anyway it's not really ok for long-term use, in the end it's gonna make you depressed as any other opioid honestly and the energy from the beginning will turn into exhaustion, I'm sober for 1 month and 22 days and I've been contemplating on getting on a SNRI but something other than effexor, I thought of getting back on the trams too but considering that the pros are short-lived and the cons are just gonna outweigh the good part i'm not gonna do it.
Click to expand...

Thanks. This is the answer I was looking for.

I suppose I will just continue to use it every other day or on an as needed basis when I'm feeling more depressed than usual. At least this way I don't seem to have any urge to use it more often so far.

It's disappointing because having trawled through lots of user reviews on drugs dot com there does seem to be some people who have had success using it on a daily basis without needing to increase dosage.

I suppose the only way to know for sure would be to try but I think I'm just going to use it 50mg every other day and look at other things on the days in between. I've been microdosing lsd and mushrooms with minor success so far but it's better than nothing.
 
don't use lsd with tramadol, even at low doses, better safe than sorry, you risk a serotonin syndrome
 
thefirm said:
you can try it for a short period of time, but you'll see that after a good amount of time it's gonna depress you. as for the sexual related side effects, with tramadol it's very hard to come, so you are gonna last long but it's gonna become frustrating until you get to learn the few positions that can get you to ejaculate, erections are maintainable but with huge doses you are gonna have just a semi-erection. maintain low doses, after some time taper down, than taper up, taper down, taper up, the moment you feel the depression, go intentionally into withdrawal, endure it for 2-3 weeks, get back on it and the AD effect will somehow return, but in my experience as many times you get off and back on it, the AD effect lasts less and less, but if you are really that set on it or desperate you can milk this cow for a while, just don't get into excessive doses, that was my big mistake honestly.
Click to expand...


Thanks. I think I'll stick to every other day. That way I'm getting a great deal of benefit on those days without diminishing effects or side effects. 3 days a week with some relief is much better than nothing at all.
 
thefirm said:
don't use lsd with tramadol, even at low doses, better safe than sorry, you risk a serotonin syndrome
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. I'm using it on the days that I don't take the Tram, but not on the same day although I may have tried it if you hadn't said
 
no problem! stay safe, if you want to microdose acid, wait about 72 hours to be without the tram in your system. it depends on the release mechanism, but sincw you dose 50mg pills, I suppose that it has instant release mechanism. as the others said, it has more downs than ups, but if you manage to stay in the 50-100mg range, you might minimise the side effects.

on higher doses you will have muscle spasms (jerks) , fucked up dreams, mood swings etc. plus don't think that thr withdrawal doesn't have brain zaps, it has and the zaps are fucked up
 
thefirm said:
no problem! stay safe, if you want to microdose acid, wait about 72 hours to be without the tram in your system. it depends on the release mechanism, but sincw you dose 50mg pills, I suppose that it has instant release mechanism. as the others said, it has more downs than ups, but if you manage to stay in the 50-100mg range, you might minimise the side effects.

on higher doses you will have muscle spasms (jerks) , fucked up dreams, mood swings etc. plus don't think that thr withdrawal doesn't have brain zaps, it has and the zaps are fucked up
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll remember this.

I'm also looking at Ketamine as another substance that shows some promise. I may try one of the protocols I've seen mentioned on here and other sites to see if I get any benefit. Hopefully it will become more widespread and available on the NHS in the next few years as it looks like it has good results for a lot of people.
 
I never tried ketamine for this purpose, I only did K in high doses for the k-hole experience, the afterglow of the K was tho pretty nice, but I couldn't figure out how to live a functional life on huge doses of K, on the other side the medicinal k nasal spray has a pretty low dose so who knows, I'm not from the US so I haven't tried it. there was a thread about k for depression on here a while ago, you could find it easily on google since the search function is pretty shitty since the forum is on xenforo.
 
Yeah I have seen a couple threads on this so I will probably give it a go to see if I can benefit from it at small dosages. If I can have a few things that I get some benefits from then rotate them so I don't get dependent on any of them then that would be good. I would prefer this than to be stuck on an antidepressant that makes me feel like a eunuch and on which the benefits will eventually poop out anyway, as seems to always be the case.
 
I've been using Tram for nearly ten years. It still gives me that extra bit of motivation but I would like to stop taking it as it's costing me a fortune. How long does withdrawal take. Appreciate any guidance.
 
I don’t know if this has been stated. But if you are not on any SSRI including tramdol you could try 5htp.
 
FuneralFather said:
I don’t know if this has been stated. But if you are not on any SSRI including tramdol you could try 5htp.
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Many thanks for your reply. Not on SSRIs so I hope to get round to giving 5htp a try. I did try tapering using capsules a while back without success. The tram I get now is always in tablet form of 50 mg. Thanks again FuneralFather.
 
I currently take 200 my of 5htp along with omega 3s. Triple calm magnesium and I have upped my magnesium intake to probably 5 times the daily dose. That being said I have a multivitamin I drink lots of water and I smoke weed at night along with oxycodone in the day. So I can’t say I’m not a doctor but what are you looking to gain? What does the tram do for you. Again I’m not a doctor so take my advice as just another person on the Internet with their own problems but willing to help you anyway I can
Googie Withers said:
Many thanks for your reply. Not on SSRIs so I hope to get round to giving 5htp a try. I did try tapering using capsules a while back without success. The tram I get now is always in tablet form of 50 mg. Thanks again FuneralFather.
Click to expand...
 
I'm nearly 60 and just want to get clean. I'm an alcoholic and the trams help me with the jitters. Opium and xanax are under control. I suppose my desire to get off my head has not been helped by this vile government we have here in the UK.
 
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