I am losing ground

[GaryHB]

Hi good people. I have had great advice and encouragement from you all. I am a bit low at present as I seem to be losing ground. I am taking Tramadol 50mg morning and lunch and 100mg at night. My rls is under complete control. I was also on Pregabalin but as it seemed unnecessary I am now reducing it slowly to come off it. I also take 75mg Trazadone at night to help with sleep. The daily problem I am now experiencing is utter exhaustion. Nausea too, but not as bad as the exhaustion. It is debilitating. Any idea why I would be experiencing this? I hope to see my Doctor soon but to be honest it's hit or miss with them.

[ChrisColumbus]

Following is just NHS advice:

Common side effects of both tramadol and trazodone can include: feeling sleepy, tired or dizzy and feeling sick or nauseous.

Advice includes:

1. Feeling sleepy should become less of a problem after a week or two on tramadol, after a few days on trazodone. Avoid alcohol.

2. Nausea: both - try taking with or after food and best to avoid rich or spicy food.

Tell your doctor if this advice does not help or the side effects do not go away.

[GaryHB in reply to ChrisColumbus]

Hey ChrisC. Thanks for replying. I've been on Tramadol now for 9 months. I dont drink alcohol at all and I always take the meds with food. I feel shattered most of the time.

[ChrisColumbus in reply to GaryHB]

The fact that you're taking both might increase the severity of the effects?

The BNF also points out that tramadol and trazodone *can* interact to cause hyponatraemia, low serum sodium concentration - a fairly common electrolyte disorder, effects of which can include vomiting and drowsiness. May be worth a test.

Others may have better ideas!

[GaryHB in reply to ChrisColumbus]

Thanks ChrisC. I will check that out. I am wondering if it is some kind of interaction of the meds I am on. Hence why I am cutting down on the Pregabalin.

[SueJohnson]

You mentioned previously that you switched pregabalin to the daytime and that helped your tiredness and nausea so maybe weaning off pregabalin is causing that.

[GaryHB in reply to SueJohnson]

Hi Sue. I really don't know. When I look back to when I stopped Pramipexole and went on to Kratom, I experienced the same thing then too. Initially I have very positive results and then slowly exhaustion and nausea creeps in. Its happened with Kratom and Tramadol. Maybe it's an opiate thing? I also wonder if it's too much seratonin producing chemicals in my system. That is part of the reason why I am coming off the Pregabalin.

[Wordsworth99]

hi Gary, I was on Tramadol for about half a year while decreasing Pramipexole. Then I stopped taking it (by slowly reducing it) because I felt that I was augmenting on it, just like we do on dopamine agonists. I knew this might happen, as Tramadol is thought to be the only opioid that does this, but I was hoping that I would be able to come off the Pramipexole before that happened! Now I’m slowly increasing Pregabalin and that’s going great. I think the side effects of needing more opioid (Tramadol) is nausea and exhaustion, so perhaps that’s what’s happening to you? I wish you all the best!

[GaryHB in reply to Wordsworth99]

Thanks for your reply. I have noted that. I'll keep it in mind. Its good to hear that Pregabalin is working for you. Great news!

[TheDoDahMan]

So you're taking 3 different drugs, all of which are known to induce drowsiness? And you're feeling exhausted? Hmm...