the hits the pan

[hc45]

For a long time I suffered from depression and finally one day I overcome it, time passed, bad things happened, I had an operation and my hormone levels are messed up to say the least.

After being on a cocktail of drugs for so long, generally now I am low, depressed and my emotions are all over the place, to escape I would use over the counter codeine and that was doing me fine but when it wore off I was back to square one.

More recently I was prescribed Tramadol for pain in the site where I had an operation, I was on it for several weeks, withdrawal was nasty but lasted for several days.

Which brings me up to now. I have an unrelated pending court case against me for something unrelated, I am still recovering from surgery, which I was told could take a year or so and my mood hit rock bottom today, I felt angry, depressed and low.

Today I found the remaining Tramadol (got a good month or so worth) I started taking it, within a short time I laid back in the chair, placed head phones on and you know when it hits you, when the music you listen to, is enhanced and you start to feel ok again.

It maybe the biggest mistake ever but when you are desperate, like me it's easier to escape. I find Tramadol works as a good antidepressant for me.

A year ago I was happy, now all I can do is reflect on the events that lead me to my current life.

I love my partner, I find it hard to cope with my feelings and I am sure she struggles with how I am to. I can be ok one moment and cry or feel plenty next.

 

[Allein]

Hi hc45

You don't mention of you were on any medication for depression in the past, but clearly since this operation 6you've not been having any easy time.

I still recovering from a second operation on and existing leg/knee problem and have been struggling with pain killers since the original issue more than 2 years ago, I also have a history of depression.

I was on Venlafaxine for quite sometime, it shares similarities with Tramadol, one of them being they both have SNRI effects although Tramadol much less so, I believe it has been prescribed for depression but it does have some serious problems.

Don't take more than 300mgs in one day as it can cause seizures and seriously endanger your health.

Coming off of long term Venlafaxine was a very unpleasant experience and I know a couple of people who have been pretty dependent on Tramadol and they both reported that the habit was very difficult and unpleasant to get over.

Your post seems to be saying you want to just escape your emotional problems and drugs like codeine and tramadol have been your method up to this point. This method it very likely to cause you bigger problems over time, tolerance rises the good effects diminish leaving you with a drug problem and seeking the drugs just to relieve the craving.

I'm not anti or pro Antidepressants, I've tried at lest a dozen, they effect different people in highly diverse ways and there are many different types which work in different ways so when you say

find Tramadol works as a good antidepressant for me.

What you mean is they seem to work better than any treatment you received in the past, I doubt you came close to trying even all the groups of ADs let alone the individual medications available within the groups.

Self medicating with Tramadol isnt going to help you for very long, go see your doctor and discuss your depression and see what they can offer, if you dont want to take ADs then maybe talking therapies like CBT night help,

Keep in touch


best Wishes

 

[hc45]

I have only tried several AD including Zoloft which was pretty unpleasant.

The biggest issue is that I need relief and I need it in days, not weeks or months and the down side with most AD that they prescribe in the UK is that most of them take time to work, where as weed or codeine or Tramadol always worked very fast.

I have a busted knee which the specialist said it will require pain meds so I beeline I will end up on some type of pain killer, maybe Tramadol in the long run.

I have tried cbt but the therapist wasn't that great, spent most of the time doing breathing exercises and nothing else much.

I plan on seeing my dr soon, just not sure what I will end up on because AD and painkillers don't do well together from what I gather.

 

[edgewise1]

Tramadol does have SNRI effects as Allien said. I read something somewhere about drug trials in the UK testing tramadol as an antidepressant. The thing about tramadol is that it works almost immediately, within an hour or two for most, while AD's may take two or more weeks to start working. But the bad news is that tramadol is very addicting and very hard to get off of.

My ex wife had the operation where her ovaries were removed, can't spell the damn word for some reason but it starts with a h. Anyway her hormones got way out of whack, nothing she was taking was working. Finally she went to a doctor who implanted, just under the skin, two or three small pellets that were the hormones. They were to last for 3 months and usually did. It made all the difference in the world for her, and when they gave her testosterone it made all the difference for ME!!! Man she would get horny as hell, and randy as to boot. I loved it. But anyway, it might be something to look into.

I do hope you are feeling better, and it it is a good idea to continue posting here. Good or bad just continue as I am sure it will be to your advantage and you will get a lot of knowledgeable people to give you good information. You will also be able to get a lot off of your mind.

 

[hc45]

I saw my GP today and basically she seemed happy enough that I am on a low dose of Tramadol, however it has now been reclassified as a class C drug. She prescribed me some more for the pain I am from surgery and said that 50 - 100mg a day she seemed happy with, she said that the higher the dose the more likely you are of getting addiction.

This is probably the same story others say but, I was in it for months before and I was no addicted, I just felt withdrawal, although it was harsh I did not have any cravings to take more, I just sat out the WD and coped. I have not been addicted to a single thing in my life other than gambling which I rarely do.

I am on hormones, it takes time for things to settle down, they monitor it by blood tests for the first so many months, then its just a one off every now and then.

my biggest problem with Tramadol is that when I stop, I have a day or so of severe depression. I have wondered about Kratom as a way of easing withdrawal, In theory it should be easier to lower the dose of Kratom as you can take smaller and smaller doses as its in powder or leaf form, but I have little to none experience with Kratom.

 

[Allein]

Thanks for sharing that information hc45, sounds like you have a good doctor, or ta least one who listens to you.

I'm not belittling the issue but if the the depression issue is only for 24hrs, I'd be of the view that taking anything as active as Kratom seems somewhat excessive not to mention risky given it's possible habit forming profile, you may not think you are susceptible to that but why take the risk.

I've found Valerian root quite effective as a general calming natural sedative, maybe the depression is very severe, it's not easy to quantify these things, Whilst I've suffered from depression for many years now I've not suffered such a rapid change of mental state.

Have you tried tapering the Tramadol, you can split pills if required but you should discuss with your doctor first.

 

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