Opioids Tramadol Bad Experience- Partial Seizure, Panic Attack, or Both?

[cortez99]

I recently had a bad experience with tramadol. I am 125 lbs. and started out by taking 150mg, followed by 50mg more about three hours later for a total of 200mg. Pretty experienced with tramadol, but this was the most I'd taken. This was at midnight and I was then up all night both from energy of tramadol and nervousness about falling asleep with depressed breathing. Having tried tramadol before, this had happened to me before and nothing seemed unusual. However, at some point in the early morning, I started having frightening side effects I'd never experienced before. I would try to nod off to sleep and suddenly be jolted awake by difficulty breathing and/or flashes/quick snippets of dreams. Brain zap feeling. When awake, suddenly out of the blue my muscles might tingle, tense, or be numb (only mildly for all of these symptoms.) I was sweating and warmer than usual and breath was tight; it felt at times like my heart was somersaulting. I still wasn't too nervous, though, and decided just to stay awake at let it all pass by morning. Around 6 or 7, however, symptoms had worsened. I began to become extremely anxious and nervous, at first for no reason, and then because I knew I shouldn't be feeling that. The first wave definitely felt like a pure panic attack. Also, I'd get a dreamy, hazy feeling for several minutes, had difficulty talking, be confused and unfocused, panic, and maybe a weird brain tingling in addition to the other symptoms, which alternated; e.g. sometimes I'd have all of them, sometimes, none. These kept reappearing maybe every 30 minutes for several hours. Eventually, I called up a friend and this seemed to get rid of the anxiety and bad feelings and I rapidly started feeling better/calming down (around 10-11am.) At no point did I lose consciousness and I felt lucid the whole time. Afterwards, I still felt shitty all day. I have had one panic attack before from fluoxetine withdrawal and this definitely felt in many ways like a panic attack. But I'd been reading about auras/seizures with tramadol during all this (and freaking myself out) and so I'm unsure what to think. My dose seems low and my understanding is that seizures are somewhat rare and usually occur at the peak of a trip, not towards the end. Perhaps a weird, rapid withdrawal? Also, I know that partial seizures and panic attacks can be confused or concurrent. Until I started talking to my friend, I was convinced I had a seizure, but then it did seem like a panic attack in retrospect. But it lasted a really long time. Also, what are the health repercussions of this experience and should I go see a doctor?

 

[Oxide]

I've had a couple tramadol seizures myself, but it sounds to me like you had a panic attack. I'm by no means an expert, or a doctor, and I don't think anyone here would be able to tell you for sure what happened.

I find a lot of the more unpleasant side effects of tramadol can be largely avoided if you simply ramp the dosage up in 50mg increments in intervals until you reach your desired dosage. That is, not take more than 50mg at one time and work your way up slowly. It's not a fix-all, but it does help a lot.

In any case, if you're worried you should go see a doctor. Plain and simple.

 

[i are spectre]

It would be nice to have a thread about frightening/dangerous side effects and at what dose it occurs, for a handful of tricky chemicals like these.

Tramadol (and many other compounds) have rather complex mechanisms of action compared to say heroin, alcohol, meth, etc that have some strange and potentially dangerous side effects at high doses.

Also those "methadone + xanax" threads freak me out when I come across them and the first several posts are encouraging the poster to do it.
Same with smoking/eating fentanyl patches.

But yes, I get some nasty side effects from high doses of tramadol. I'll tell you I go a bit far from the 400mg/day limit, but when I start having that weird trippy feeling in my head I call it quits for the night. Tramadol is nice for a day or two if you take a lot, but after that it seems to lose its magic. Although its addictive properties tend to linger on for myself.

 

[Ismene]

Something to consider before the inevitable claim that "tramadol lowers the seizure threshold" comes up, I actually read the research on tramadol to ascertain whether there was any truth to this claim. I found that the evidence is something like "In cases of enormous overdose 800mg or more, tramadol can lower the seizure threshold in about 1% of those who are already vulnerable to seizures, such as epileptics".

So...even if you take an enormous, mind-boggling overdose, it's still only going to affect 1% of the population. That's one helluva long away from "tramadol lowers the seizure threshold" so..do your own research before swallowing such claims at face value.

 

[whatsup73]

Sounds like you had a panic attack to me bro. Sounds like you kinda brought it on yourself. If you ever do it again try not to think about it and get yourself worked up. Hope you are ok.

 

[DexterMeth]

OP, you had a panic attack. Even a waking seizure on the lower end of the spectrum wouldn't have you lucid like that. Seizures make you space out.

Stick with real opiates and opiods and kratom imo.

 

[INDK]

I used to only take tramadol with diazepam or klonopin to help avoid the possibility of a seizure. I now realize how stupid I was, I found no recreational in Tramadol at all, just a slight nod like downer effect

 

[sweetc9909]

Stick with real opiates and opiods and kratom imo

I agree with this person! My ex had a seizure off tramadol, I have never liked that shit. i didn't think no matter how much you took it would ever even give you a buzz. it's non narcotic pretty much like taking a lot of advil. But yes too much tramadol can cause seizures, and no that's probably not what you had. Sometimes pills can shoot up your anxiety, but it also sounds like you physced yourself out.

 

[DexterMeth]

Even this can be found on Wikifreedia:
"While its action is not like that of other opioids, Tramadol is a synthetic analog of the phenanthrene alkaloid codeine"

 

[Material541]

As others have said, it looks like it was definitely a panic attack. Taking tramadol even a few hours before your bedtime is not really a good idea...for whatever reason, tramadol and sleeplessness react oddly, I have experienced some of the same symptoms you are describing when I've done so.

 

[Oxide]

Answered and closed.