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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Tramadol for depression

A

alpha_76

Greenlighter
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
23
Hi Guys, I am looking for some advice.

I have been treated for depression and anxiety for many years and for the last year I had been on various ssri's. I am no longer taking them due to side affects. Citalopram was the worst fr me and fluoxetine was not so bad but I never felt 'normal' even after 6 months of taking it. Anyway to cut a long story short, I busted my back a while back and got put on Tramadol by the GP. Worked great! I also noticed the recreational value and anti-depressant affect.

Now my back healed I take 2-300mg every sunday in divided does throughout the day for leasure and take 1 x 50mg every morning for the antidepressant effect. I usually skip doses on Thursday and Friday so I have a couple of 'clean' days' and to slow down tolerance build up. I have been doing this now for the last 2 months. It has changed my life for the better. I enjoy life again, I am much more tolerant and cope so much better with daily stresses of life. I get on much better with my children (I have 3) and my job is much easier. All in all I would say I feel 'normal' again. All this without the sides I had from any of the sh**y ssri's.

Has any one had experience with using Tramadol as an antidepressant? Are they any tips on safety, keeping it working long term or other useful info?
I have read a great deal about tramadol and its metabolite, Its affects and great individual variation but there is not much out there in relation to depression that I have found.

Thanks in advance.
 
Tramadol works great for depression.......I know of a woman that has been on it for over 5 years for "pain" but has stopped her AD's like 4 years ago only to continue with Tramadol as she sees life like you do, manageable after getting off SSRIs & continuing with Tramadol.

I don't know why doctors continue to deal with SSRIs to their patients while there is a very small percentage of people thatit actually helps & many many more people that it destroys their lives.

The doctors know that SSRIs are bad for you yet continue to prescribe them.

Tramadol has SNRI properties which help you.
 
yeah tramadol has worked great for my depression, I wish I had a steady supply. When it's available to me I usually take 100-150 mg a day and not only does it last all day but it also helps me with sleep and low energy.

There is the small problem of possible seizures and tolerance. Tramadol doesn't seem to increase tolerance as much as other opiates and in low doses seizures aren't a common problem. I'd say if you are able to stick to low doses and don't intend on graduating to stronger opiates tramadol is a great drug for depression.

I share your strong contempt for antidepressants lostboys
 
I read where some testing had/is being done in the UK on Tramadol as an antidepressant. As you have found out, where it may take weeks before typical antidepressants to begin working, it only takes Tramadol an hour or two to begin working!

But where the typical AD's rarely cause tolerance, Tramadol does, and that is the major drawback, plus on the 18th of this month Tramadol becomes a scheduled drug, a CIV(4).

A one point, and only for 2-3 months, I was taking 40 of the 50mg pills a DAY. Once I came to my "senses" I dropped it down to ~30 a day. I did suffer 1 Grand Mal seizure and that made me drop down to 15-18 a day, but only for about a week. I was ordering 180 pilĺs from 5 different online pharmacies a month, that was 900 pills @ $650-$700 monthly, to support my habit. I'm actually happy to see the scheduling take place as it forces me to make do on the 180 I am prescribed monthly, and at $12 vs. $675, my billfold is MUCH happier!

Just be careful self medicating with Tramadol, and if you decide to continue please try to keep the dose as low as possible.
 
Tramadol is basically a synthetic opiod with SSRi/SNRI (antidepressant, the very same mechanism of action as Lexapro, Effexor, Paxil etc.), it only changes the way you feel pain, makes you happier about it and doesn't really "block" the pain.

Works awesome as an SSRI, but be wary when combining tramadol with other medications. You can risk seizures, serotonin syndrome, panic episodes etc. if you aren't too careful.

Personally I don't recommend messing around with tramdol or other synth opes , I have seem them be called "dirty drugs" by doctors because they touch so many different receptors in your brain, scientists don't even know the exact mechanism of action that tramadol has on the brain, yet doctors prescribe them like candy. You will definitely seize if you take too many recreationally. Tramadol is one of those drugs that really need to be taken literally only as prescribed, it has little to no recreational value compared to other pharmaceuticals.

Furthermore, be aware that tramadol withdrawals can exacerbate your symptoms you were having before taking it when stopping the drug. Be careful and be safe, I and a few people I know have had nothing but negative experiences with tramadol. It may work well for you, but please be cautious.
 
i take it for depression. it also resolves many of my attention deficit disorder symptoms. i find that i eat healthy, my life is in order, my relationships improve, and dealing with problems and people becomes easier.

the only problem is the withdrawal if and once you do stop taking it. for me, it's quite nasty and worst than most other opioids i've dealt with.

keep your dosage low, and use extended release tramadol for the best possible results. extended release tramadol works for ages so you won't need to consistently be looking to run after your next dose. once a day and your set. that's how i like my medications.
 
baooozs said:
i take it for depression. it also resolves many of my attention deficit disorder symptoms. i find that i eat healthy, my life is in order, my relationships improve, and dealing with problems and people becomes easier.

the only problem is the withdrawal if and once you do stop taking it. for me, it's quite nasty and worst than most other opioids i've dealt with.

keep your dosage low, and use extended release Tramadol for the best possible results. extended release tramadol works for ages so you won't need to consistently be looking to run after your next dose. once a day and your set. that's how i like my medications.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I don't have access to the extended release tablets. My main concern is tolerance. I guess the tolerance problem depends on which of the many mechanisms of action tramadol has is curing my depression. For example if its the opioid mechanism I would expect tolerance to develop but if is the nri/ssri mechanism I would expect tolerance to be less of a problem???

I have never done nor do I intend to ever do any other opiate/opioid drugs/medication etc so cannot compare Tramadol to those. However for me withdrawal lasts a couple of days and involves mainly a general 'yucky' feeling and hot flushes. I also get a return or depressive symptoms but as pointed out above maybe this is also part of the withdrawal.

And I also have add (non medicated though) and Tramadol also does wonders for my attention as well.
 
I'm sorry but I've had nothing but negative experiences with Tramadol, and would not recommend it to anyone.
 
simonlepret said:
I'm sorry but I've had nothing but negative experiences with Tramadol, and would not recommend it to anyone.
Click to expand...

But that happened because of the extreme doses you took over the space of 3 straight days, with NO tolerance. I believe had you taken a single 50mg pill, your experience would have been different, as in better. That is unless you do not possess the required enzyme to change Tramadol to the active metabolite.
 
baooozs said:
also might be worth checking this thread out. some decent perspectives.
Click to expand...

A good and interesting read on how tramadol can affect people differently with different mental health problems. Fortunately I find my mood to be much too stable to be even borderline bipolar. The mild manic affect tramadol gives them I feel as a calm but energised feeling.

People often talk about the 2 stage affect of tramadol. The first being the mainly snri affect and the later stage the opioid affect. I enjoy both effects which for me are often intertwined if I re-dose small amounts through the day. So later in the day when the opioid affect kicks in with the first pills I will also get the snri affect from the recent pills. Though I do find that even 6 hours after my last pill and feeling very relaxed I still have trouble sleeping (though it doesn't bother me cos I am soo chilled out).

But back to the depression question. I take 1 50mg standard (not slow release) tablet each day and it works. I am worried about mentioning to the GP in case she takes away my repeat script for (mis?)using it that way. Has anyone on the board taken tramadol LONG TERM for depression? If so at what dose and what was your experience? The ups and/or downs? The affect of tolerance (if any)?
 
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