pain pills

[lueee]

i have been put on 50mg of ultram 2-3times a day is ultram addictive and how long does it take to work , stop the pain????

[pharma9]

YES,YES tramadol is very addicting and difficult to stop because of the antidepressant action similar to effexor.Even if most of the literature and medical people say it is a mild opiate....it still is very addictive and builds a tolerance quickly.Some people have withdrawals even at recommended doses in as little as a few weeks.

[TrayCee]

V E R Y addictive!!!!

pharma9-  not sure what the correlation is between Tramadol & Effexor, care to elaborate?

[madtram]

The antidepressant included in tramadol is close in chemical structure to the antidepressant effexor which is generally accepted as the hardest AD to withdraw from, hence the difficulties many have getting off tram.

The problem arises from the metabolites of both drugs which have long half lives making withdrawal a non-linear drawn out process.

[avisg]

traycee yes they are close in there make up .Its hard to wd because of both the opeate and anti depressent  not just the anti depressent quality

[Shanna707]

ultram is chemically related to opiates.  It is thought to bind to opiate receptor sites and inhibit reuptake of seratonin and norepinephrine similar to antidepressant drugs. This is why it not only works on pain, but also has an antidepressive effect.  Ultram usually does not work for severe pain;therefore, there is a tendency to self increase the dose which is not only dangerous because of the addictive qualities of the drug, but also it lowers the seizure threshold.


So, yes ultram is addictive and easily abused and at higher than recommended doses can cause unwanted seizures.

By the way, what kind of pain are you using ultram for?  I have found that it really only helps for mild to slightly moderate pain, and not severe pain.

[worried878]

Very true..Trams increase seratonin production..just like an SSRI..lexapro, zoloft etc...plus trams effect the same receptors that narcotics do///with enuf of a daily dose..this narcotic wd also becomes a factor..the AD quality of trams is often the resason peeps get addicted to it vs the narcotic effect of this drug..it can be a double whammy for some who r addicted to it in both ways...takes alot to have a true narcotic addiction to trams..tho i have a friend who does..she took///TOOK 600 mgs plus a day of trams..the seratonin product5ion related to this drug is what almost fried her..she does have permaent brain damage but can now carry on a conversation..she was also on prozac/and SSRI

My dad had a bowle obstruction and went to the ER Thursday..nuttin by mouth with a tube thru his nose to his tummy to keep it empty cos it could not pass thru the normal passage to the rectum for a bowle movement so he was distended and sick if the suction was turned off...he is off the suction to day and will be fine i think..feel it in my bones

Anyway they discontinued all of his oral medications including his SSRI/celexa that he has been on for ten yrs....2 days without it he went BONKERS!..they gave it to him last night and turned the suction off long enuf to absorb it cos his GP knew better than to just take this med away after 10- yrs...he was oriented today...dunno...i just know an AD addiction can be difficult for some of not weaned properly...i have tqaken ADs before and just started forgetting to take em and stopped..obviously not everyone does so well with abruptly stopping a drug affecting seratoin..i stopped wellbutrin no problem...and elqavil without a problem,,i have never really been on an SSRI long cos i noticed no difference with the scrips so i would stop them eventually..lexapro is the one ssri i tried and i could not sleep so wassnt on

If u take an AD that does not "hit the spot" in other words replace the NT that u need,,u will get side effects fromm it that r not helpful...I took wellbutrin yrs ago to stop smoking and had insomnia and nightmares from it...i was not depressed at the time//just wanted to sttop smoking..i later used wbutrin after detox cos tyrosine/a dopamine enhancer worked so well for me...hence i got on w-butrin with no side effects like before..I am no longer on an AD but have tried lexapro/an ssri and had insomnia...

ADs affect the chemicals/NTs in our brain//just as drugs do..and thru recent experience..too much seratonin is not a good thing for some peeps....my dad went nuts witout his SSRI...sh1t happens! best to be safe with any drug that affects ur sensorium

[TrayCee]

thanks for the explanation, I wasnt aware Tramadol was an anti depressent.

[lueee]

i am taking ultram for spurs on my disc and severe disc space loss and endplate sclerosis.i am in constant pain i have found ultram does help but i dis not know it was addictive. thanks for the info.l lueee

[Beccabeccalynn]

I am supposed to switch from celexa to effexor xr  I have no sex drive and have gained 65 very unwanted lbs this last year since quiting crystal meth and two major surgeries after four months smoke free I started again. I took effexor on the past and it worked for me I did have flu like symptoms when I ct from it. Did I read the tread wrong are ADs addictive?
Becca

[madtram]

This thread was mostly about Ultram, (tramadol), which is a combination of an AD similar to Effexor & an opiate agonist.

Effexor on its own is not addictive in the traditional sense & is one of the most effective ADs but can be very hard to get off.

If you have already ctd from Effexor with flu symptoms & no major rebound depression or other strange mental symptoms, you should be ok.  You could further minimise withdrawals by tapering off Effexor next time.

Best wishes.