15 pills a day seems like alot

[Cherie762]

dr trying to control my symptoms..I was weaned off Paxil ( to all never ever stop a anti depressant with out drs help)

Now synthroid 1x day,,10mg Xanax for per day, wellbutrin 1 x day,,trasadone 1x at bedtime( its antidepressant w a (great side effect that it will knock you to sleep for a good 6 hrs at least) Tramadol 4xper day and Flexeril 3 x per day

psyc meds cause I need them...painmeds cause I dont want to ever take narcotics again ..my shoulder is messed up from my neck surgery


I seem to be "bloating" sometimes notice my liver seems hard and distended....side effects or something I should phone dr

I have a pill box and a list to take right meds at right time

do any of you take THAT many pills?

[Hensley258]

Trazadone is an antidepressant but it is not Deserol.

Trazadone is the same as Desyrel. Is that the drug you meant to say?

Deserol is an ethanolamine antihistamine with antimicrobial propertys and is in no way related with Trazadone or any antidepressant.

You said you were taking Deserol and not Desyrel which is Trazadone. This is clearly stated in your post.

Trazadone is Desyrel not Deserol. Huge difference.

As I said before if you are taking Trazadone (Desyrel) along with Tramadol then you will get sick. You also seriously increase your chances of developing Serotonin Syndrome which can be deadly.

I'm sorry your doctor put you on Trazadone (Desyrel) in combination with Tramadol, but he is wrong and due to his lack of knowledge about medication drug interaction is putting your life at risk.

If you would like more medical documentation from 100s of doctors that outlines why Trazadone (Desyrel) and Tramadol should never be combined then I can easily direct you to all the Pharmalogical data that supports what I am telling you.

Just a good bit of advice.....Doctors are not always right.

Good luck.

[Cherie762]

My dr psyhiatrist in hospital said Trazodone( deserol) is an antidepressive med also helps w sleep..these meds are not listed hear so  i must investigate on net
aps when
I am certain I am dependant on xanax..I dont take other than prescribed,,I was addicted to vicodion thats why I refuse narcotics..this may sound odd but xanax helps me alot...if I grow much older I will still take xanax,,It controls my symptoms of anxiety and panic well.

I think I will never recover but I shall get better enough to fully function.its very hard to be cured from clinical depression..

ty for all the great information

[Hensley258]

Ok now that post makes things much more clear. 15 total dosages a day is a huge difference. I thought you meant 15 completly different meds.

Really the only antidepressant your taking is the Welbutrin and yes, it is a Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitor and it's ok to take that with the Tramadol.

Deserol is an ethanolamine antihistamine with antimicrobial propertys. I don't know much about drugs for the body so I am not too familiar with Deserol. I do know that it can also be taken with Tramadol. Deserol is not an antidepressant.

The Lamictal is actually an anti-sezure medication that also helps with racing thoughts and anxiety. (I take 200Mgs a day myself)

I didn't think your doc would be silly enough to have you taking any drug that effects Serotonin while taking Tramadol.

About Serotonin Syndrome. It can be deadly. It can happen if a person has perhaps taken an overdose of SSRI's, SNRI's or even Tricyclic antidepressants. It can also happen if two of the wrong drugs are paired together. For example Tramadol which has a strong effect on Serotonin and (for example) Paxil which strongly effects the Reuptake Inhibition of Serotonin. Symptoms can be many and you can read about them online.

Watch that intake of Xanax. You said your taking 1mg 4 times a day. Most doctors will not allow a patient to go higher than 1mg twice per day. (I used to be addicted to Xanax) It was my drug of choice and if allowed I would have taken 8Mgs or more a day. Xanax can be very addictive above the 2mg a day dosage. I used to take 3mgs at a time to get high, well and also because I suffer severe anxiety dissorder.

Problem with Xanax is that unlike some other meds, you will build a tolerance for the drug very fast. in just 5 months I built up a huge tolerance and when that happens your addicted. Once addicted Xanax is hell to withdrawl from. I had to use Klonopin to help me wean off the Xanax.

As far as the Tramadol. Funny thing about Tramadol is that while it's classified as a pain killer it also has very good antidepressant properties to it. In fact some people swear by Tramadol for their depression because they say it works better than antidepressant drugs they have tried.

The danger with Tramadol is that it is a wolf in sheeps clothing. It's not a narcotic drug and it's not even classified as a controled substance by the FDA, but make no mistake it is and can be very addictive. Yes, less addictive than Vicotin or Oxy, but still addictive just the same as Ultram.

Tolerance can also be built up to Tramadol very fast. This is why it makes for a poor long term antidepressant.

Getting back to your Depression that is still not fully under control. I think it's great that you said your going to see a therapist and a Psychologist, but don't expect them to know much about Psychotropic meds because they can't even prescribe them. They are experts in Psychotherapy such as CBT and other methods of dealing with depression.

If you want an expert in helping you with your Psychotropic meds then a good Psychiatrist would be your best bet.

Regarding antidepressant alternatives (because your taking Tramadol for pain) you may want to do some research on Neurotenergic antidepressants. They do not have a strong effect on Serotonin and maybe can be taken with Tramadol with no risk.
(I don't know this for sure so do your homework and ask your doctor)

One good one to think about is Protriptilyne. It's kind of the forgotten step child of Nortriptilyne and Amitriptilyne, but works in a completly different way. Protriptilyne is a very energizing antidepressant which also has a calming effect.

Don't expect any doctor to even know what Protriptilyne is. They will confuse it with "just another tricyclic antidepressant" and it is far different. Not sure, but just maybe it can be taken with Tramadol, but make sure you check first.

Protriptilyne is so rare that even many Psychiatrist don't know much about it, as they almost never prescribe it. (Don't know why because it works very well)
I have to have my Protriptilyne special ordered because no Pharms even keep it in stock. It might be the trick to knock down that depression of yours if it can be taken with Tramadol.

The fact is that while on Tramadol, your antidepressant options are going to be limited so dig deep and find out which can be taken safely with your Tramadol.

So now you have some ideas to share with your doc.
Hope you recover soon.

[Cherie762]

I did mean 1.0 for the xanax 4 times per day

I take two meds for the pain requested non narcotic as my pain may last up to two years thats how long it takes to recover fully from a cervical (upper spine bones in neck) discetomy ( intervertabal plates where very thin causing nerve entrapment putting me at high risk for paraplegic.

I am now seeing a therapist who has a masters degree..and have an appointment for next week for a psuchologist,

Also I am not taking 15 different meds just 15 pills per day

am ..synthroid must wait 1 hour to eat
9 am....wellubutrin..1 tablet..xanax 1 tab,,flexeril 10 mg..Tramadol PRN lactimal 1 tab(100 mg)

1 pm xanax,,

3pm.flexeril and tramadol

5 pm xanax,

9 pm Deseol, xanax, flexerilPRN tramadol PRN

I already dumped my old primary care dr..he was nothing more than a drug dealer..I would go in there for 3 min hed crack a joke get out his prescription pad and ask me what I wanted  I always said 120 vicodin..( lead to my misuse which is why I REFUSE any narcotics.) 120 XANAX..  point zero 5 and on top of that he gave me 30 flurazapam ( strong sleep med)

I got a real dr now,,he prescribed the flexril and tramadol..instucted me to use moist heat several times per day,,for no longer than 15 min a a time and taught me exercises to do with bands( stretchy things like large thich rubber band,) he wants me to do physical therapy but knots in sholder muscle are too bad..he wants me to take flexeril three times per day,,and get sholder stronger before he will allow pt. He was made aware of all psyc meds..

ty all excellant advice..

what is serotin syndrome..? I thought Deserol was a dophimine uptake inhibitor
1 pm  

[Hensley258]

You have two very big problems here.
1. Please tell me you ment to say 1.0Mg a day of Xanax and not 10Mgs a day such as you posted.
2. Your on Trazadone which is a tetracyclic antidepressant that activates Serotonin. No problem with that except your taking Tramadol with the Trazadone.

Here me very well, you can NOT take Tramadol with most antidepressants and this includes Trazadone. To do so puts you at a very high risk for Serotonin Syndrome.
Reason is because the pain killer Tramadol also activates Serotonin. This is a drug interaction that has the potental for disaster.

I will give you another bit of advice. You need to stop seeing a regular MD for your mental health issue. You would not trust a Pediatrist to perform open heart surgury on you right? Then don't trust a regular MD to diagnose and select the proper psychotropic meds for you.

You want to know how much training regular MD's have regarding the treatment of mental health dissorders? Less than my 8 year old daughter. Get in to see a Psychiatrist.

As to your question about the amount of pills your taking...... No way my friend you are way over medicated. People who are terminal don't even need 15 different meds.

Maybe 5 at most for your depression and anxiety (most people don't even need that many to control their depression, but some do)

I'm not going to speculate on how many different drugs you may need just for the pain, but most good doctors can control a patients pain with three or less meds. Then maybe there might be one or two meds to help with inflamation if it's your shoulder.

I'm saying all together 8 different meds at most, not 15.

Dump that doctor like a bad habbit and get one that has a clue.
Sorry if I sound direct and even cold, but I see trouble in your post and in your meds.

Get a second opinion from a better trained doctor. Please, before you get hurt.

[remar]

Wellbutrin goes through the liver so if your taking Flexaril too then you need to see your Dr if your feeling anything going on with your liver.
ILadvocate is right. You need a liver function test. Remar

[ILADVOCATE]

I take a fair amount of prescriptions for tardive dystonia. Flexaril is one of the medications I take for control of dystonic spasms and that can cause liver damage as a side effect so you should call your doctor immediately and they would do a liver function test and decide what is neccessary to do from there.