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Tramadol Risks and addiction Oct 2016 - claiming more lives than any other drug including heroin and cocaine -Northern Irelands top pathologist


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http://www.itv.com/news/utv/update/2016-10-06/prescription-painkiller-claiming-more-lives-than-any-other-drug/

 

In a series of special reports, UTV looks at the risks surrounding the prescription painkiller tramadol, as leading experts call for it to be made a Class A drug and one addict - hooked since the age of 14 - tells how it ruined his life.

Prescription painkiller tramadol ‘claiming more lives than any other drug’

Prescription painkiller tramadol, taken by thousands of people every day, is claiming more lives than any other drug – including heroin and cocaine – according to Northern Ireland’s top pathologist.

 

Last year, 33 deaths in Northern Ireland were linked to tramadol.

Among them were a 16-year-old girl and a pensioner in his 70s.

I don't think that people realise how potentially risky taking tramadol is.

I think it’s because it’s a prescription drug - people assume it’s safe.

– Professor Jack Crane, State Pathologist for NI

The opiate-based drug used to treat moderate or severe pain should only be available on prescription – it was reclassified in 2014 making it an illegal Class C drug without prescription.

But anti-drug campaigners say more and more people are turning to the black market.

Professor Jack Crane has spoken out to say he fears more people will die unless urgent action is taken and he is calling for a crackdown on the illegal market.

He wants tramadol to be upgraded again, this time to Class A.

Professor Crane is now set to meet Northern Ireland's Chief Medical Officer later this month to push for change.

 

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

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Thanks for the interesting read, NZ.

 

I'm glad they're trying to restrict this drug, as it is indeed dangerous. But I worry with journalism that reports the problem by these type of comments:

 

The painkiller doesn’t cause harm if taken correctly, but the danger rises when users mix it with other drugs or alcohol.

 

This is a clear case of blaming the patient, but it's simply not the case for a drug like Tramadol, which is a combo drug (opioid and antidepressant), and is dangerous all by itself. We actually have a "tips for tapering off" section for this drug, as MammaP did some great research:

 

Tips for tapering Tramadol

 

As she writes,  "It is a dreadful drug that has 2 modes of action, a synthetic opioid and anti depressant (SNRI)."

 

And JanCarol's next post in that thread mentions other problems:

 

"However, two significant adverse reactions are known to potentially occur with tramadol—seizures and serotonin syndrome. These two adverse reactions may develop during tramadol monotherapy, but appear much more likely to emerge during misuse/overdose as well as with the coadministration of other drugs, particularly antidepressants."

 

Many doctors don't recognize the symptoms of serotonin syndrome, so this again is another drug that is really too dangerous for 99.9% of doctors to be able to safely use.

 

So I'm a bit concerned about how the patient is being blamed in this article by saying the problem is because patients aren't taking it correctly. And the video is about the "craving" form of addiction, but as we all know, the antidepressant component of Tramadol deals with "dependency".

 

So I really hope it does get restricted more. And I hope doctors get an education in antidepressant withdrawal, especially with this type of dangerous pharmacology. I'm quite convinced that the drug companies were well aware of what they were doing when they combined these two drugs and made Tramadol. 

 

 

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Been busy but wanted to pop in and say thanks for commenting on my post Shep.

 

About 4 yrs into drug free wdl i fell off the roof trying to clean the moss off.

I ended up in hospital with a broken collar bone and severe bruising on my back. They gave me morphine i think it was. Which i reluctantly took. But i told them i didnt want anything addictive so they said oh ok here have some tramadol. I tried to ph outto ask someone to look this drug up as it was a new one to me and i was still on the learning curve for the myriad of names these drugs hide behind. Stupidly i took one. But that was all after that my gut feeling was to refuse it.

When i got home i discovered it was an snri and i was outraged....i could relate to the MammaP moment. (an unfortunate episode in the dark which some may recall). 

The hospital staff said everyone who comes in takes this and they also take the blood thinner injection which i refused to take. After being given the scare tactics...funny how i am still alive clearly i didnt need the blood thinner afterall.

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

There really is a massive problem in the north of Ireland at the moment with the illicit use and supply of prescription only drugs, particularly Pregabalin and Tramadol. Young people are dying left, right and centre on them at the moment. A father of one particular victim said they were easier to obtain than a packet of cigarettes. Traditionally it was the abuse of Benzos that was the problem in NI.

May 2007 - October 2007 Citalopram 20 mg od. 1st Antidepressant ever taken. No problem with fast taper and no withdrawal effects. No antidepressants for over 5 years.

 

January 2013 started Citalopram 20mg.

March 2014 Switched to Sertraline 50 mg od.

23rd June 2016 started taper 45mg

23.07.16 40.5mg 23.08.16 36.45mg 27.09.16 34.65mg 24.10.16 32.90mg 28.11.16 31.26mg 04.01.17 32mg 25.02.17 31mg 22.03.17 30mg 14.04.17 29mg 09.05.17 28mg 07.06.17 27mg 08.06.17 26mg 13.07.17 25mg 07.08.17 24mg 24.08.17 23mg 13.09.17 22mg 12.10.17 21mg 10.11.17 20mg 04.12.17 19mg 01.01.18 17mg 25.01.18 15mg 22.02.18 13.5mg 25.03.18 12.15mg 

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