Although patients find that taking Ultram will relieve pain and elevate their mood it is not FDA approved as an antidepressant, and for very good reasons. The generic name for Ultram is tramadol. Tramadol is an effective analgesic or pain reliever. It resembles narcotics but it has significantly less potential for abuse and addiction with short-term use than narcotics. Ultram does have an increased potential for addiction when it is used for 2 months or longer or is the user has been addicted to other medications or alcohol in the past.
Ultram comes as a 50 mg pill as a prescription only. Usually Ultram is prescribed for moderate to moderately severe pain. The drug manufacturer recommends that people using Ultram do not use machinery or drive since the drug will impair thinking and the physical abilities needed to perform these tasks. While your thinking is impaired you wont be able to determine that you are impaired its a vicious cycle.
Some people have stumbled onto one of the side effects of Ultram, elevated mood. Those who suffer from chronic pain can also suffer from depression. However using Ultram for depression increases the users risk of seizures, and depressed respirations (decreased ability to breath) when alcohol or another anesthetic agents are used.
The risk for seizures increases in people who have a history of seizure or head injury, a metabolic disorder or if you are taking an antidepressant prescribed by your doctor. Muscle relaxers and medication for nausea and vomiting will also cause an increased risk of seizures.
The side effects of Ultram are also more severe than the SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications) or Tricyclic antidepressant medications. Those side effects include nausea, constipation, dizziness, headache, vomiting, sweating, dry mouth, rash and visual disturbances.
The use of Ultram for depression should be done only if your doctor prescribes it for you. Those people who have had problems with opiate abuse will have a significant risk of addiction to Ultram. Using Ultram for depression in these sufferers will only increase their risk for addiction and long term liver and kidney problems.
Unfortunately some people use Ultram for depression when it isnt prescribed. Running short of the medication will cause withdrawal symptoms that include anxiety, sweating, nausea, tremors, chills, hallucinations, trouble sleeping or breathing problems. Without a prescription or a physician following your care, these side effects can have devastating results.
Those who are using Ultram for depression without the knowledge of their physician must also know that it should never be taken in conjunction with alcohol, cold medication, narcotic medication, medications for depression or anxiety or medications for other mental illnesses. The combination of Ultram for depression and these other substances will increase the risk of depressed respirations and death.
Another significant side effect of Ultram for depression when the user is also taking an SSRI is Serotonin syndrome. A syndrome is a set of signs and symptoms that happen together from a single source. In serotonin syndrome the symptoms are usually rapid and can include tachycardia and hypertension that can lead to shock, hyperthermia, agitation, hypervigilance, renal failure, and seizures.
Before taking Ultram for depression weigh the risk versus benefit. This is your health and you only have it once.