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Opioids Need Tramadol replacement

clear_sky

clear_sky

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 19, 2012
Messages
97
Location
elsewhere
Dr recently prescribed me Tramadol for pain management (dodgy sciatic nerve).
I also take 5-htp and just found out that Tramadol and 5-htp have some major interactions that can potentially result in serotonin syndrome.
What can I ask my dr to replace Tramadol with? It has to be something he can prescribe on the spot, without me having to go to a pain management specialist, so that means oxy and stuff like that isn't an option.
 
I don't really understand why Dr.'s don't prescribe codeine more for this level of pain. It's generally more effective than Tramadol and comes without all the sketchy risks of seizures and SS. Also, Codeine WD is LOL compared to Tram WD, which can be like coming off an anti-depressant AND an opiate. Fuck that, honestly. Tramadol only has one use as far as I'm concerned (unless your body metabolizes O-Desmethyltramadol like a beast), and that's for easing WD from harder opiates.

If Tramadol is effective for your pain, ditch the other chem. If it isn't, explore other options with your doctor. You have every right to question the medication you're prescribed and discuss alternatives.
 
^Actually, for certain conditions tramadol is much more desirable than codeine for pain management. Of course this differs from population to populations. Just to note once again, tramadol seems like a love-hate thing. You either love it (me) or hate it.
 
^Yeah, I love tramadol, my liver pumps out O-Des like a mothafucka. 50mg tram is stronger than 10mg hydrocodone for me.

5-HT and NE related drugs are great for your purposes, neuropathic pain. I would ditch the 5-HTP, especially because Tramadol is an awesome 5-HT releaser, certainly the best that could be used on a daily basis (read: MDMA can't be used effectively every day).

Also try chelated Magnesium and Zinc, which are also great for neuropathy.
 
toothpastedog said:
Why not stop the HTP-5 as opposed to the Tramadol? Just curious.
Click to expand...

I'm liking 5-htp for the mood bettering effects it has :)

SaosinEngaged said:
I don't really understand why Dr.'s don't prescribe codeine more for this level of pain. It's generally more effective than Tramadol and comes without all the sketchy risks of seizures and SS.
Click to expand...

My dr's reasoning was that, in order for me to get anything like codeine, I would need to see some sort of pain management specialist, which will involve paperwork. In his words, "it will get messy." LOL. I don't know what he's on about, he's prescribed me straight codeine a few years ago, probably just doesn't remember it. Might have to remind him ;)

ErgicMergic said:
5-HT and NE related drugs are great for your purposes, neuropathic pain. I would ditch the 5-HTP, especially because Tramadol is an awesome 5-HT releaser, certainly the best that could be used on a daily basis (read: MDMA can't be used effectively every day).

Also try chelated Magnesium and Zinc, which are also great for neuropathy.
Click to expand...

I don't really want to use Tramadol every day, seeing as I need 2x100mg doses for it to have any effect... I think I'll go back and ask him to switch, maybe to the tinazidine mentioned by HDoubleODeezy. And I already take hardcore magnesium supplements, without them I used to get intense cramping and shooting pains. Now it's just a sciatic ache that won't go away.
 
I don't really understand why Dr.'s don't prescribe codeine more for this level of pain
Click to expand...
In the US Tramadol's not scheduled. Doc's can prescribe (almost) anything they want. But lately, the more scheduled RX's, the more likely they are to be investigated and/or lose their DEA #.
 
You're better off stopping the HTP-5 and sticking with Tramadol because more than likely, your Dr. is going to prescribe you baclofen or some crap like that, especially if his first choice was putting you on Tramadol. Just my 2 cents.
 
Well, let us know what happens. I frankly can't imagine it to be suuuuch a big deal to get you something like codeine, but obviously you're dealing with it and not me.

What do you get out of the 5-htp? I mean, I'd think tramadol would provide more of a mood boost with its snri action or whatnot, but certainly everyone will react to drugs in different ways.
 
^Yeah, I never understood why people took serotonin precursors on a daily basis, maybe to make up for poor diet lacking in L-Tryptophan (also a 5-HT precursor)?

People won't take SSRI's and think they're the devil reincarnated, but they'll take 5-HTP?

I mean, serotonin is great for treating neuropathic pain, but I'm somewhat skeptical of a 5-HT precursor that permeates the BBB more readily than L-Tryptophan...
 
Yes, I also find that somewhat hypocritical, those who demonize SSRIs yet speak strongly of stuff like 5-HTP and Saint John's Wort (or however you spell it). (But only to a point of course.)
 
ErgicMergic said:
People won't take SSRI's and think they're the devil reincarnated, but they'll take 5-HTP?
Click to expand...

toothpastedog said:
Yes, I also find that somewhat hypocritical, those who demonize SSRIs yet speak strongly of stuff like 5-HTP and Saint John's Wort (or however you spell it). (But only to a point of course.)
Click to expand...

I think that's possibly due to the fact that 5-htp isn't meant to be addictive like SSRIs?
I find that 5-htp has the same effect on my mood as SSRIs, but without all the shit side-effects that come with anti-depressants. Not too fond of St John's Wort myself.

If serotonin is useful for treating neuropathic pain, can 5-htp treat it all by itself? Maybe with a higher dose (I currently take 100mg a day).

Tbh, I would like to continue taking 5-htp as I find it to be quite beneficial, also as a sleep aide.
I'll see what how my dr appt goes and will decide from there.
Even so, I've just discovered the CWE mega thread and FAQ so I'm wondering if it could be worth trying.
I have a heap of Panadeine Forte in the house, it was working for my sciatica but only in very high doses.
I didn't want to keep ingesting large amounts of paracetamol, which is how I ended up with Tramadol.
I've never done a CWE before, could be interesting.. Does anyone have any idea of the codeine dose I should aim for?
Something that equates the amount of codeine that works for me combined with paracetamol or a slightly higher dose to make up for the lack of paracetamol?
 
Shoot for starting out with trying something like 120mg of codeine, which might provide some help. However, if you suffer from neuropathic pain you're better off with other medicines than codeine (tramadol is particularly good with this kind of stuff, but there are others).

CWE isn't that hard, but it takes practice. Be careful with the APAP, as you are already wary (this is good). I think you've got a good plan here. Oh, and given your specifics it is possible 5-HTP could at the very least play a significant role in your treatment of neuropathic pain.

Regarding antidepressants, what were you on? I myself do not like them. For a time I found Lexapro very useful, but it ran it's course (and when on it I hated it side effect). Not all anti-d's have such bad w/d or side effect profiles though (some, in certain populations, certainly wouldn't have more than 5-htp, in other words very few).

I think your plan of talking it over with your doctor is ideal though. Have you ever tried taking Neurontin or Lyrica for neuropathic pain? If 5-htp is working so well for you I don't see any reason to stop taking it. It's a pretty safe and effective drug overall.
 
What anti-depressants WASN'T i on!
Over the course of 9 years, I tried:

mirtazepine (avanza) - gave me insane violent nightmares
venlafaxine (effexor) - made me feel sick and nervous
paroxetine (aropax) - major side effects in the form of agitation and sleep impairment
fluvoxatine (prozac) - knocked me around so much that i quit after 3 weeks, when the side effects were supposed to subside. If anything, they got worse.
sertraline (zoloft) - couldn't think or coordinate anything, really impaired my judgement
escitalopram (lexapro) - was ok for a while, but screwed with my libido and that didn't go down too well (never does) ;P

I gave them all a decent go, was using each for a number of months, but the side effects weren't worth it in the end.
Seems anti-depressants just don't work for me, while 5-htp so far has no side effects that I would classify as negative (appetite suppression and lucid dreaming are fine by me).

I'll suggest Neurontin and Lyrica to my doc. I read up on them and they're for treating seizures, which may be appropriate - like I said, I used to get muscle seizures and cramps before I started taking large doses of magnesium. So it's possible that they might work. Thanks for the tip :)
 
You're very welcome.

SHIT! Lol you certainly should stick with the f-htp. Yea, I used to take lyrica for nerve related pain, as it worked waaaay better for me than any opioid (well, given the whole heroin addiction thing :\). So it's worth a mention. Good luck! Let us know how it works out :)
 
^Yup, Lyrica owns opiates for neuropathy. I find it funny that some BL'ers are one ridiculously high dosages of opiates from nerve pain/fibromyalgia without first trying alternatives like Lyrica, Neurontin, Magnesium, Zinc, Tramadol, or 5-HT precursors.
 
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