I know that some people feel that Tramadol/Ultram helps with depression. Is there an antidepressant med that is chemically similar to Tramadol or has the same antidepressant ingredient? Something with the same chemical structure?

That's a great question.....their some super smart guys out there....I hope they see this post

I know this sounds stupid, but why don't you just take Tramadol? Most anti-depressant drugs are ssri re-uptake inhibitors, and although tram isn't technically an anti-depressant, it's strange side effects include that.. Other than some sort of upper medicine like adderall or ritalin.. I wouldn't know either.. Hopefully, someone can help you out with this..

I've never taken an anti-depressant but I do know that Tramadol is physically addictive and fast too! It starts off as longer acting than hydro but after the body is used to it that changes. I can't stand the feeling of withdrawals creeping up every 2-3 hours all day and night. Seems that would add to one's depression. Then there's also the consideration if the person has a low seizure threshhold or not. I truly believe this is a more dangerous drug than the medical world has given credit to.

Effexor (venlafaxine) is an SNRI with structural similarities to Tramadol.

Here is an interesting study on the subject:

http://medind.nic.in/ibi/t06/i3/ibit06i3p181.pdf

Venlafaxine has a relatively short half life compared to other SSRIs/SNRIs and, IME, withdrawing from it can be quite uncomfortable.

I have been on Tramadol for a year now. I take 1 50 mg AM and 1 50mg PM. I have found the anti-depressant effects more beneficial than the pain relief. I am careful to stick to my set dosage so tolerance does not progress. I treat it much as my thyroid meds, take as directed!! Yes it is addicting and if you continue to increase your dose, tolerance and withdrawal will be an issue. So be careful. This is just my experience with Tram and not an endorsement.

Thnks for your honest reply......

You're right, Dawn! There are some super smart guys out there! Thanks for all of the information and everyone's reply!

My neurologist, although not an opiaphobe, was trying to explain to me why they sometimes use antidepressants as pain killers. This lead me to do some research and brought me to asking this question.

I don't have a depression disorder, however, I still notice a mood enhancing element when taking Tramadol. I have also noticed how quickly your body gets used to it!

Thanks again all!

That's so strange that some of you state that Tramadol wears off so quickly and/or you get used to the effects and build a tolerance so quickly. I have taken it for long periods and for short and I have never built a tolerance and had any withdrawls. When I was out of hydro and needed it a lot for pain, I would take up to 200mgs a day, but as a general dosage, I would take 50mgs in the am and 50 at night also. It does stay in your system for 72 hours, so you technically shouldn't feel withdrawls until then, but everyone's biology is different..

ive been using Tramadol for the antidepressant effect. i think it sucks as a pain reliever actually. i take 100mg a day. its worked better than anything else ive used, and ive tried many antidepressants, and mood stabilizers, about 20 all together. but still its far from perfect for me. i havent found it addictive. im looking for something else to help.

you might also research Kratom. its an herb and used as an antidepressant, among other things. i use it sometimes also. but my system is so odd i dont get the benefits most pple do that love it. thekratomforum.com will help you with infor on this herb, it has opiate like qualities. best wishes

Is this med given by a doctor? For the depression? Or your pain?

ive given up on docs for my depression. but most wont prescribe it for depression, as it can be addictive. even paxil can be hell to get off oh for some pple, yet they still prescribe that. but really its that most never think outside the box. so i read and self prescibe, trying to find something to help. not suggesting anyone else do this, but its about all i can do now. if i go back to the va hosp, im sure ill get supplied with just the same stuff that didnt work before.

My experience with Tramadol has been similar to yours. It provided anxiety relief the first time I tried it. There is no pain relief or high (same is the case with Hydrocodone). It lessens my anxiety and gives me energy throughout the day. I have not had to increase doses, nor have I experienced withdrawals.

i take Tramadol to help with my depression and anxiety. it totally works for me and it really relieves the tension and pain in my muscles too. now i think about it, its totally the business.

for me though, addiction and tolerance build up really fast - like in about 3 or 4 days but if you stop for a couple of days the tolerance is more or less gone.

the solution, i think is to take it for a few days, have a couple of days break, take some more etc. i usually take about 600mg in a day but i have often used up to 1000mg with few problems. i know this is really bad and dangerous since apparently you can have a seizure, but really it doesnt seem to cause any problems for me.

its pretty expensive also, but there are places you can buy really cheap generic stuff, especially if you buy in bulk.

This forum is not to discuss suppliers. This thread is to discuss Tramadol/Ultram and not the companies offering it.

Thanks for your support

While 600mg is very risky, 1000mg is just asking for a seizure. Be careful. Tramadol works really well for some people but others find it useless. Try and keep it under 400 mg a day.

Why is it not a real opioid?

well, off topic...but if doctors prescribed Tramadol for depression big pharma wouldnt make much money, and all ssri, snri, whatevers have discontinuation syndrome and i did read the article in elle magazine that db users suggested who started on 10 mg of paxil daily and got up to one hundred twenty mg, so tolerance does build up...so either way if you quit you are going to some have issues possible either from discontinuation sydrome or w/d depending on the dosage of Tramadol/opiate/stimulant you may use for your depression. its like they lose the patent on one drug, make an isomer or an extended release version, rerelease it and charge 5 times as much for the off patent version. and nephro the easy way to explain that is to wiki it.

cymbalta maybe similar since it is used for diabetic neuropathic pain, an snri like Tramadol and in the same class as effexor.

I have yet to find a respectable article which does not describe Tramadol as a real opioid, due to its (or its metabolite's) agonistic effect on the ĩ-opioid receptor (which is the definition of an opioid). True, it has other mechanisms as well, but this does not preclude it from being an opioid.

Codeine uses its metabolite for its analgesic action due to activation of the ĩ-opioid receptor, and we all know that codeine is an opioid.

not sure about that, but has any one tried the med that it lists on wiki called Tapentadol? so its up in the air, do articles say its an opiod, or a synthetic non narcotic pain killer?

and the last line in legal status of wiki states specifically it is not related chemically to opiates...so explain that.

It's an opioid like medication....not an opiate. It works like an opioid....it binds to opioid receptors in the body to help reduce pain. It is, I believe is man made and not related at all to opiate drugs, but works like them....yeah, didn't make much sense to me either. I use them for migraines every so often and they do help take the edge off some, but definitely aren't like a shot of demerol in the butt...lol

Be careful of seizures in conjuction with ssri or tricyclic antidepressents. In other words if your going to use Tramadol make sure you dont mix it with anti d'ds. It does significantly lower the seizure threshold so be careful.

The reference used by the person who wrote the Wikipedia article on Tramadol is this:

http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?IA=US2006061873&WO=2007070779&DISPLAY=DESC

The differentiation between opiates and opioids is no longer in medical use; instead the word "opioids" (not 'opiods'!) is used, and any necessary differences are described by the words "natural" or "synthetic".

In a similar way to which dextropropoxyphene is described as "opioid-like", so is Tramadol, but formularies tend to lump them together as "narcotic analgesics" or "opioid analgesics", if they have agonistic action at the opioid receptors.

Methadone is chemically quite different from morphine, but it is treated as an opioid analgesic.

Very interesting post nephro. Is this medication controlled in the USA?. I have heard about it's euphoric side effects and many people report that this drug has a very positive and uplifting effect on both mood and depression. It seems like a relitively cheap and obtainable medicine throughout Europe. Also I dont know if you have observed the website- http://biopsychiatry.com/

But it makes for a very good read.

It's not currently controlled in the US, but expect that to change in time.

Tramadol is not a controlled substance federally in the US but at least two states (Arkansas and Kentucky) have scheduled it C-IV. Much like Soma, it will likely continue to be under scrutiny because of its increasing abuse profile.
I also expect it to be scheduled federally along with Soma.

i use Tramadol for treatment resistent depression. but for me its no miracle drug. i still am not stable like id like to be, still have bad thoughts and am depressed. but im not a normal case, nothing has helped me. this has helped more than the other stuff and ive tried about every antidepressant/mood stabilizer out there.

i try not to take more than 200mg a day. generally its 100 or 150. i dont find more is better with this med either. i dont get that euphoric feeling, but when i have taken a short break from it of a day or 2 i feel more of a lift when i start it again mood wise. it helps my limited patience too. its also used for chronic fatigue, and i get nervous exhaustion which has similar symptoms. lately ive been using it with provigil hoping for some added energy. so thats by 2 cents about the med. theres really nothing i know of like it in the world of current antidepressants.

if you havent tried meds like stablon, reboxetine or amineptine, you might read up on those. they arent available in the usa, but are by way of overseas vendors.
ive tried all three, stablon helped me for a week then stopped, amineptine made my nerves so bad i had to stop taking it. good luck in finding something that helps i know how hard it is.

Personally I think trams are a poor excuse for anything other than something else to get dependant on. They offer no pain relief at all and your body can become physically dependant on them quickly. Wd's from trams are reported to be as bad or worse than hydro and or oxy.