Tramadol long term effects

[satori]

Does anybody know if doses of 200mg of tramadol a day has long term permanent affects on the brain? I know its one of the only opiates to mess with... im not sure if it was seratonin or melatonin or what it was but it has me freaked out. I have 600 in a year period. Before people bash me for being paranoid you should know that i am TRUELY PARANOID i wont go into detail about it in here but u can check the genral forum if you want. BUT.... 200mg of tramadol a day.... sometimes 2 weeks at a time..... anybody?

[slugbone]

what's up satori. i have been taking trams for over two years now daily, and always between 250 - 350 mg per day. i have not missed a day in that period. there are no studies that i am aware of in my reserach on the net that have said that trams cause any type of brain damage.

now i have not read everything obviously but the most i have heard about (i aint no doctor of course & maybe candy knows more) but that it acts on the brain's ability to produce dopamine just like a regular opiate.

i have noticed no i'll effects from the trams mentally. hell alcohol & valiums have had a much worse effect in my opinion.

as far as the seratonin levels, it may be a mood enhancer kinda like trazodone or one of those seratonin uptake inhibitor blah blah drugs but not sure what other if any effects on seratonin it has.

[satori]

I was just freaked out because i started to think about how MDMA affects receptor cells and wondering if Tramadol HCI can do the same thing to wahtever it affects. I know im stupid / paranoid.

[Powdered Love]

Not trying to be an asshole here, just trying to help... That being said:

1. opiates do not effect dopamine levels, they trick your brain into thinking they're endorphins.

2. Tramadol hasn't been around long enough to tell if it has any long term effects so take it at your own risk.

3. Tramadol also effects seratonin levels in your brain with can be VERY DANGEROUS when combining this effect with other drugs (prescribed and non-prescribed). So, if you are going on any new medications it's best to let your doctor know you're also taking tramadol.

4. Screech from saved by the bell is coming out with a sex tape. WTF. :speechles

[vaxn8]

Satori-

Tramadol has been around for quite awhile. Although not used in the US, it has been in use in Europe since the early 70's. 200 mg/day is within the recommeded dose and should be perfectly safe. The seizures are what usually scares people about tramadol, but that comes with using above the recommended dose. There have been countless posts lately talking about taking higher amounts. I think it's not a great idea, but you can't tell people what to do.

Also, tramadol is an atypical opiate because it not only has the opiate (mu) agonist activity but its (-) isomer is able to block reuptake of serotonin and blocks at the NMDA rc's. I would have no problems taking tramadol for any reason. It's really not a drug I would be reckless with though.

[Sitar]

Tramadol isn't going to cause any long-term problems beyond what any other opioid and SSRI would do, so I wouldn't worry.

Now, coming off of it after all that time, that's a different story. You will have a withdrawal syndrome comparable to that of other opioids, so you will need to carefully and very slowly taper your dose down and wean off of it gently to avoid most of the problems.

[superman]

i am not certain, but it might cause withdrawal symptoms typical of prozak or the other SSRI' as well, just a guess though.

[GoddessofRATs]

Tramadol isn't going to cause any long-term problems beyond what any other opioid and SSRI would do, so I wouldn't worry.

Now, coming off of it after all that time, that's a different story. You will have a withdrawal syndrome comparable to that of other opioids, so you will need to carefully and very slowly taper your dose down and wean off of it gently to avoid most of the problems.


Yup. Speaking from experience here... Tramadol, if taken on a regular basis and use is ubruptly stopped will cause withdrawal. I've been threw it a few times myself and it ain't fun. For me, it was worse than Vicodin Withdrawal.

For me, Tramadol withdrawal is: Horrible body pain, RLS, Tacicardia (sp?) (rappid heartbeat), sweating, chills, anxiety, depression, constant sneezing and yawning, itchy skin, insomnia. For me it feels like the flu X's 10. But, i take high doses, withdrawal for someone on lower does probably wouldn't be as bad, maybe a few days of feeling not yourself, tired etc...

Thankfully with my recent discovery of Poppy Seed Tea, i don't have to experience withdrawal anymore, at least not from Tramadol. I don't plan on drinking the tea when i have Tramadol. I like Tramadol much more than PST.

Tramadoi withdrawal is just awful. there are a few places (i forget where, maybe some opie groups) that have horror stories of people going threw horrible Tram withdrawal. Some people have even experienced seizures when going threw it.

My withdrawal was so bad one time i had to go to the ER, but i didn't tell them the visit was from withdrawal, i told them i was having a Spondylitis flair up, which i had been there for before so they believed me. I told them i was in extreme pain and they gave me demerol and a script for Trams which only held off the withdrawal for a few days and than i was back to square one and had to go threw it anyway- the withdrawal.

That's just my experience. Everyone is different.

Goddessofrats

[satori]

This tam use was over a year ago. I get ideas in my head and obsess about them! Fracking OCD. Not to make light of OCD i do have moderate OCD and aspergers but you throw in drug use and the theoretical possibility of harm done to ones brain (imagined dammage)..... My mind can loop for hours. I still dont think i EVER exceeded 300mg in a day..... EVER.

[nick]

Sorry to pull this thread from the thread graveyard,but my last post got wiped,just wanted to say tramadol is embryo toxic.DO NOT TAKE IF PREGNANT.

[newParadigm]

Tramadol isn't going to cause any long-term problems beyond what any other opioid and SSRI would do, so I wouldn't worry.

Now, coming off of it after all that time, that's a different story. You will have a withdrawal syndrome comparable to that of other opioids, so you will need to carefully and very slowly taper your dose down and wean off of it gently to avoid most of the problems.

i am not certain, but it might cause withdrawal symptoms typical of prozak or the other SSRI' as well, just a guess though.

Having personally come off of significantly higher doses* used regurlaurly (in the neighborhood of 800mgs*), I know that the withdrawls are like hell. While the opiod WD's are not very severe (and will be even less so fo you with the lower dosage), the seratonin/norepinephrine/GABA WD's component makes it truly a bitch though. I've never been suceptable to depresion before, but after that I know what people go through with true clinical depression. Don't try anything stupid like using an SSRI to curb the withdrawls either, that could have some VERY bad side effects.

~new

*I used this drug for months before I found out about the seizure issue, and because of that I know that I am not suceptable, I do NOT recomend anyone else do this

[stross]

Having experienced some pretty wicked withdrawals off this stuff myself, I'd say it has some potential for being dangerous. It is very hard to say whether or not it will have long-term side effects because it is a relatively new drug. We will find out within the next 20 years though. I mean, how long did it take people to figure out that hydrocodone can cause hearing loss?

[vaxn8]

it's been in use 40 years, much more research done in europe than the US, they started using it in the early 70's, i think i already said that back when this was around the first time

[Ale]

Well Tramadol has become the new "safe-considered" opioid-like drug of choice..meant as the one which Doc.'s tend to give away most easily..due to its very low addiction potential and it's low affinity for mu receptors I wouldn't want to talk shit..but I would think that it's way more likely to get issues out of the SSRI action it provides more than the opiate-receptors binding potential itself.Oh and I would ike to recall you to one of the chemistry mainstays maybe the most actual one and the most suitable for all the cases and of course for this too OMNIA IN MENSURA ET NUMERO ET PONDERE