Originally Posted by IZZY'SMOM
Sending you good thoughts, and hang in there!
Steve- whats the new AD? Ive not heard of it, and how does it work?
Effexor (venlafaxine) is a reuptake inhibitor of serotonin and norepinephrine.
Interestingly enough, Ultram (tramadol) is a weak reuptake inhibitor of the same elements, along with being active at the (opioid) mu receptor, making it a weak narcotic as well.
That's why I mentioned to brianpain33 that it didn't surprise me that stopping Ultram cold turkey sent him into depression - as it would be very similar to quitting an antidepressant.
This is also why it can be dangerous to take to much Ultram while on ADs (SSRIs - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors like celexa, serzone, prozac, etc) as it can cause seizures or possibly serotonin syndrome.
I remember one time I wanted to back off from my Ultram dose since I was on a new long-acting opioid that was very good by itself, so my primary care doc consulted an addiction doc who's very good with going off of narcotics. The advice was to go very, very slowly to avoid severe depression. The addiction doc was much more worried about stopping the AD element of Ultram than the potential for narcotic withdrawal.