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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by TheOutsider on April 2, 2004, at 17:22:04
Social anxiety is not well treated here in the UK.
Nothing else seems to work, and theres no chance of getting Klonopin here!
SSRIs have done nothing for my SP, never has valium.
Posted by snapper on April 2, 2004, at 21:55:30
In reply to Does Ultram work for Social anxiety?, posted by TheOutsider on April 2, 2004, at 17:22:04
not for me, but worth a try!!
Posted by vjw on April 3, 2004, at 1:03:10
In reply to Re: Does Ultram work for Social anxiety?, posted by snapper on April 2, 2004, at 21:55:30
Isn't Ultram a short-term pain reliever???
Posted by snapper on April 3, 2004, at 1:24:13
In reply to Re: Does Ultram work for Social anxiety?, posted by vjw on April 3, 2004, at 1:03:10
yes, it is a short term pain reliever, from what I hear it is somewhat like an snri. I got some from an er doc for some pain few weeks ago and it did'nt do squat for me. I don't know why either.
s
Posted by TheOutsider on April 3, 2004, at 4:46:33
In reply to Re: Does Ultram work for Social anxiety?, posted by snapper on April 3, 2004, at 1:24:13
It was origonally developed for pain relief.
It has some affect on seratonin and noradrenaline.
Mainly its a partial opiat receptor agonist I think.
Some people find it very good for depression and anxiety. But I don't know about social anxiety thats what I'm trying to find out!Its not nearly as potentialy adictive as most opiates, apparently.
Posted by btnd on April 3, 2004, at 5:44:51
In reply to Does Ultram work for Social anxiety?, posted by TheOutsider on April 2, 2004, at 17:22:04
You can give it a shot with Ultram, doses from 100mg-400mg per day. As far as other meds- you can try MAOis: Nardil (phenelzine) or Parnate. Also worth looking are: Sulpiride or Amisulpride (Solian).
As far as supplements - there are few people who swear that 2 supps work great for social anxiety: L-Theanine and Picamilon.My experience:
L-Theanine,tried at various doses - and can honestly say that it hasn't worked for me. Klonopin works great, 2mg/day, but I try to space out the usage, to keep the tolerance/addiction away.
Amisulpride was (it pooped out over time :( TREMENDOUSLY/THE MOST helpful for my social-anxiety, for about 2 months, then unfortunately it stopped working.
Hmm, what else.. well as far as other drugs: GHB/Xyrem is great for relieving short-term anxiety + increases sociability.
Adderall increases sociability/talkativeness, but very often also increases agitation/jitterness.
Other benzos, Valium/Xanax/Temazepam/Bromazepam haven't been as helpful for my SA as Clonazepam (Klonopin).I'm currently trying to work out new regime, since Amisulpride stopped working. Temporarily use Klonopin but I'll probably give Sulpiride a try, and then see how thing go.
Take care.
Posted by TheOutsider on April 3, 2004, at 6:06:37
In reply to Ultram for SA (+MAOi/Amisulpride/benzos/supps) » TheOutsider, posted by btnd on April 3, 2004, at 5:44:51
> You can give it a shot with Ultram, doses from 100mg-400mg per day. As far as other meds- you can try MAOis: Nardil (phenelzine) or Parnate. Also worth looking are: Sulpiride or Amisulpride (Solian).
> As far as supplements - there are few people who swear that 2 supps work great for social anxiety: L-Theanine and Picamilon.
>
> My experience:
> L-Theanine,tried at various doses - and can honestly say that it hasn't worked for me. Klonopin works great, 2mg/day, but I try to space out the usage, to keep the tolerance/addiction away.
> Amisulpride was (it pooped out over time :( TREMENDOUSLY/THE MOST helpful for my social-anxiety, for about 2 months, then unfortunately it stopped working.
> Hmm, what else.. well as far as other drugs: GHB/Xyrem is great for relieving short-term anxiety + increases sociability.
> Adderall increases sociability/talkativeness, but very often also increases agitation/jitterness.
> Other benzos, Valium/Xanax/Temazepam/Bromazepam haven't been as helpful for my SA as Clonazepam (Klonopin).
>
> I'm currently trying to work out new regime, since Amisulpride stopped working. Temporarily use Klonopin but I'll probably give Sulpiride a try, and then see how thing go.
>
> Take care.
I found GHB to be very effective for SA! Unfortunatly its illegal here.
Funnily enough amisulpride did nothing for me.Do you have any direct experience of Ultram?
Nardil is almost impossible to get prescribed here, especially in reasonable doses.
Clonezepam is almost impossible to get hold of.
Posted by Sad Panda on April 3, 2004, at 11:30:20
In reply to Does Ultram work for Social anxiety?, posted by TheOutsider on April 2, 2004, at 17:22:04
> Social anxiety is not well treated here in the UK.
>
> Nothing else seems to work, and theres no chance of getting Klonopin here!
>
> SSRIs have done nothing for my SP, never has valium.
>
>I take Ultram's close cousin Effexor with Remeron added. It has helped my social anxiety somewhat, but I'm not sure which drug it was or if it's a combination of the two as social anxiety is a secondary problem to my depression.
Cheers,
Panda.
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on April 3, 2004, at 13:23:54
In reply to Re: Ultram for SA, posted by TheOutsider on April 3, 2004, at 6:06:37
I've had an extensive personal experience with Ultram prescribed for both social phobia and depression. Excepting the medication combo I take now (Klonopin 8mg, Adderall 60mg, Prozac 40mg), Ultram was (for a time) the best thing that ever happened to me. In my opinion, it has a *MUCH* more powerful effect on serotonin/norepinephrine than anyone gives it credit for. I say this because withdrawal from it was pure hell -- many times worse than my withdrawals from Paxil and Luvox, but with the exact same symptoms.
Anyway, my social anxiety is very severe, and Ultram worked so great at a dose of 100mg three times during the day and 100mg before bed. The Problem: After a few months, it paradoxically worsened my already severe fibromyalgia pain. So I just quit taking it, and the withdrawal set in. I tried several times to quit... both cold-turkey and tapering. The withdrawal was too horrible for me to bear, so, as one would do with Effexor/Paxil (Seroxat) withdrawal, I asked my doctor to switch me to Prozac because of its ultra-long half-life. And whaddya know, it worked beautifully. There were no opioid-withdrawal effects, and I've been on and off Prozac at different doses since then.
Bottom line is, I'd absolutely recommend giving it a try (though it seems a bit warped to me that a U.K. doctor would prescribe a combination narcotic/SNRI but would shun the idea of clonazepam...). Just take it slow, as it can cause nausea and some other very opioid-like side effects in the beginning, and remember that Prozac is practically a must should you ever decide to discontinue it.
Posted by TheOutsider on April 4, 2004, at 14:34:55
In reply to Re: Ultram for SA, posted by Ame Sans Vie on April 3, 2004, at 13:23:54
I triad Prozac but it did nothing for my SA, does it have a positive effect on your SA?
My brain chemistry seems to be significantly different from other peoples! A lot of people swear by Amisulpride for SA, but it did nothing for me.
Fluoxetine just made me feel like a zombieMy situation is complicated because I have ADD
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on April 4, 2004, at 16:57:57
In reply to Re: Ultram for SA For Ame Sans Vie, posted by TheOutsider on April 4, 2004, at 14:34:55
As far as I can tell, fluoxetine doesn't do a thing for me on its own; it primarily seems to potentiate the effects of every other drug I take.
I have ADD as well -- nothing, in my opinion, works better for the ADD/SA combination than a reasonable dose of amphetamine combined with either tramadol or a benzodiazepine (doesn't necessarily have to be clonazepam). In fact, the amphetamine on its own seems to have an extremely powerful effect on my social anxiety in that it causes me to be very extroverted.
Posted by katalina on April 5, 2004, at 8:57:50
In reply to Does Ultram work for Social anxiety?, posted by TheOutsider on April 2, 2004, at 17:22:04
I just discontinued using Ultram for 2 months on a daily basis due to a herniated disk. While I didn't really "need" to take it for 2 months, I had it and was certainly going to enjoy it. I have always had a penchant for opiates and effect it has on my mood (improving it of course).
I also take Adderall XR (between 30 - 50 mgs. per day) and Klonopin 1.5 per day. I discontinued Lexapro a few months ago and seem to be doing o.k. without an SSRI (before that took prozac, effexor and then prozac again and lexapro). I am amazed at how well I was doing without the SSRI, as I've always suffered from mild dysthmyia (negative attitude and thinking the world sucks in general that I can never seem to shake, mild OCD traits/thoughts).
Anyway, the Ultram made me feel mellow and normal and just all over good. Fortunately(?) my doctor would only give me two months worth without a referral to a pain doctor since he wasn't comfortable having any of his patients on this long term. I have been off it for a week and have had flu like symptoms and basically feel awful. I only took 100 - 200 mgs. per day for two months and even skipped a couple days in between. I was surprised to suffer withdrawals. I'm hoping my "normal" state of mind returns soon. Even the Adderall, which usually lifts me out of any funk, is not working nearly as strongly as it was. I have had terrible insomnia (which I never have thanks to Klonopin) and body aches that are just untouchable even with high doses of Ibuprofen.
I guess my response is yes, ultram does work for SA and as a mood enhancer, but it probably isn't a good solution if you can't take it long term. I don't know much about tolerance issues and how soon before you need more to feel as good, but I'm guessing like most opiates, it's just a temporary road to nowhere.
Good luck in finding the magic bullet!
Katie
Posted by TheOutsider on April 6, 2004, at 6:20:47
In reply to My Experience with Ultram as a Pain Reliever, posted by katalina on April 5, 2004, at 8:57:50
N
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on April 6, 2004, at 8:21:13
In reply to Thank you all for your Help! Especialy Ame! (nm), posted by TheOutsider on April 6, 2004, at 6:20:47
This is the end of the thread.
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