OT - tramadol?
Yes, I read about that before I started taking it so I was paying more attention to how I felt when I first started taking it. I had not read anything about anxiety at the time, but have noticed any increase in that except in situations where there is a reason for the increased anxiety. One of the advantages of Tramadol is that some people get reasonable pain relief with just a 25mg dose a couple of times a day. You could start with that and gauge how your depression/anxiety is, and then increase as tolerated to get adequate pain relief (if it is enough). I was taking 100mg three times a day for my knees (plus Vicodin as needed), because the Tramadol alone just wasn't enough. (With the left knee replaced, I am now down to 100mg twice a day for just the right knee arthritis.)
Tolerance can eventually become a problem with Tramadol, although it (apparently) is not addictive.
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
I suffer from anxiety, but have come off medication for it ( my choice). I take tramadol after reading about it on OH and it helps immensely, I have not suffered from anxiety as a side effect of the tramadol. I hope you can take it, and that it helps you! I don't like starting my day without it- I am supposed to take 50 mg 4x a day- I only take it 1x sometimes 2x a day, just enough to get me through my workday. I am so glad that I learned about it here. It makes the difference between barely functioning and comfortable.
Tramadol. Wow....that is my first thought. My experience with Tramadol was good and bad AND a bit scary. I was already taking an SSRI for anxiety when I was prescribed Tramadol for a work related injury (translation....a workman's comp doc prescribed the Tramadol even though he was MADE AWARE OF MY CURRENT MEDS). The Tramadol worked great for the pain so I continued as prescribed. After about a week, I started experiencing heart palpitations and a general feeling of uneasiness.....I just didn't feel right. Something just wasn't quite right. As weird as it sounds, I felt that my days were numbered and that I was going to have a heart attack (was this a panic attack?) Being the critical care nurse that I am, I researched my drugs and discovered that SSRI's and Tramadol DO NOT MIX! My first thought was...what an idiot the workman's comp MD was......why didn't he see the danger of my taking the two drugs? My second thought was.....wow, I'm glad I have somewhat of a medical background that I was able to decipher what my problem was. The bottom line is this: SSRI's and Tramadol ARE NOT COMPATIBLE! Please do not take these drugs together. I am hoping that I have gotten my point across.
Lisa
"The bottom line is this: SSRI's and Tramadol ARE NOT COMPATIBLE! Please do not take these drugs together."
They were not compatible for YOU. Clearly, they work together just fine for many others.
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
Hi Kelly,
My daughter (age 27) takes Tramadol for back pain and she is also on Effexor (same doc prescribes both). I used to go to this doc and I trust him completely (I now live in another state). I expressed my worry to my daughter that she is taking both Tramadol and an SSRI and she talked to the Doc and he said that the chance of developing seratonin syndrome while taking both an SSRI and Tramadol are about one in a million and that the benefits (reduced pain with non-narcotic meds) far outweigh the risks. I have not looked at the research though.
Sonja
The very limited research I did when I started taking the Tramadol indicated it was a fairly rare occurrence. I looked to see if I saved any of the info on it, but I don't see any . It seems like it was under 10% of people (something in single digits, though). It was a small enough number that it didn't concern me enough to do more than just make it a point to notice how I felt the first couple of weeks and then promptly forget all about it.
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
They didn't. Neither did chiropractic treatments.
I've had some energy work, like Reiki, and that actually helped a lot. I would do that more often if I could.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
