Tramadol, Naprosyn & Amitriptyline. Which one is the most likely to be causing withdrawal effects?

[Bohica]

Amitriptyline 10mg taking one at night time.
Naprosyn 250 mg - one tablet 3 times a day
Tramadol 50 mg - 2 tablets 4 times a day.

DH has been on this combo of meds for a month but the back ain is now ok he stopped taking them around 6 days ago.

He is behaving very strangely. He is moody & tetchy, jumpy & twitchy, not sleeping or eating much & feels sweaty and generally not right.

We are due to see the doctor next week but I am wondering if he is having some sort of withdrawal from the tablets or am i way off the mark?

its most probably the tramodol out of the three, followed closely by the amitriptyline.

defo tramadol withdrawal would make him twitchy. needs to come off this SLOWLY

Could be amitriptyline or tramadol. He should reduce the dose or stop taking them only under GP supervision. Could he phone for advice tomorrow?

He restarted taking the Tramadol yesterday (1 of an evening) which has taken the edge off.

What are the amatriptyline then? I would google but google was scary when I looked up tramadol!

Thanks for you help.

Tramadol definitely. I have been on the stuff for weeks, I am currently cutting down and have had some horribly unsettling moments.

tramadol which is an opioid therefore addictive

amitriptyline is an old anti depressant that is also licensed for use in back pain (especially after surgery)- because its an older drug the side effects can be pretty grim.

his symptoms sound more like tramadol withdrawal though. especially the twitching and sweating

Tramadol, he needs to cut down slowly.

Phone NHSDirect/24 - they can advise you

Do you think he should re-start taking the amitriptyline then? (1 at night) he was taking 8 tramadol a day but is now taking 1 a night as of yesterday.

His sleep is very unsettled and he can't sit still, thanks for the help he's a right grumpy git

We have a dr's app on Tuesday.

Oh I'm not phoning NHSDon'tHaveAClue Norman I'd much rather take advice from total strangers lovely MN'ers with real life experiances and half a chance of a medical background of some sort.

Crazy I know!

Tramadol can be awful to come off. I took amatriptyline and tramadol for two years for fibro and felt worse getting off them.. In the end I stopped both dead one day, took myself off to my caravan, alone , the better to be ill and miserable in peace. It's not easy or pretty. On balance I think the tramadol was worse, and the amatriptyline can and should be cut down gradually I believe.

I would say it is likely to be the tramadol rather than the amytriptiline

Tramadol has the same effect as opiates, and 8 a day (assume you mean 2 tablets 4 times a day) is the maximum recommended dose (i had them for rotator cuff damage)

I take amytriptiline now at a 25mg dose for anxiety, but 10mg is a low dose (they start from 2mg liquid form) really so shouldnt have a massive withdrawal effect at that level, though i am not a doctor so cannot say for sure.

Going from the maximum amount to nothing overnight is going to have side effects, i would get advice from a gp about the best way to come off them over a period of time.

I dont know about the other 2 but I had bad withdrawal from tramadol and I only took it about 5 days (didn't like it as it made me feel like i was drunk and falling asleep all the time) and when I stopped I got really bad headaches, night sweats etc for a few days.

I agree the lowish dose of amatriptyline is unlikely to be the culprit. He may be best just to take the one tramadol at night tonight, try to get tired out tomorrow and do without, and maybe go that way. Or tough it out and prepare for a sober but sleepless night tonight. I don't believe it's dangerous to stop them, just very uncomfortable.

6 days after stopping is quite late to suddenly develop withdrawal.
Amytriptaline is a tricyclic antidepressant thought 10mg is quite a low dose.
Tramadol as well as being an opiate base (like morphine) has some effects on noradrenaline receptors in the body.
This causes shakiness fast heart rate dry mouth etc.
I suspect it is more the tramadol but stopping them both suddenly was not ideal.
The third drug is a non steroidal and would not cause withdrawal.

Glad you are seeing the gp, shouldn't take too long to sort if it is withdrawal

Thank you, McQueasy he has had these side affects since stopping 6 days ago but it took me a couple of his grumpy nights to find out he had stopped taking them and then another night or 2 to think it may be withdrawal symptoms.

We will be getting the results of his MRI scan on Tuesday and will definatly talk over the medication

Great help, thanks MN'ers!

Would like to point out that although amitriptyline is an antidepressant, it is also prescribed for insomnia; and suddenly stopping taking it can cause rebound insomnia.

Mind I had no side effects taking or stoping tramdol but amitripline at same dose as your Dh for back pain to was horrendus side effects it made me very sleepy infact dangerourdly sleepy even more than the diazepam had take when in hospital to prevent muscle spasms so it could infact be that .

Took 10-14 days to feel better after stopping them

Amitripline is used for nerve pain if. Dh gets that kind of back pain get him to ask about gaberpentin or pre gablin ., gaberpentin is drug used to treat epilepsy but they found as a side effect works on nerve pain

I'm on 10mg of Amitriptyline and when I thought I could come off it, it gave me bad side effects, such as feeling dizzy, odd vision issues and feeling light headed . I take it for nerve pain.

Tramadol can be highly addictive and should be weaned slowly.

I've been using tramadol on and off since 2007 for bouts of pancreatitis, and haven't had any major withdrawal symptoms, but have seen them in others.

Always worth talking to GP before coming off any meds... I would get a phone consultation ASAP. withdrawal can do all sorts of things in different people so need to be very careful.

I would say it's the Tramadol...dreadful stuff. I had an awful time taking it.... felt myself becoming addicted to it. i wasn't weaned off it slowly and suffered insomnia ,shaking and sweats, I wouldn't ever touch it again.

Another vote for tramadol. My dh managed to take a months supply in two weeks last christmas (he was taking them for RA). When they ran out he stopped cold turkey (bad idea) and was in a very bad way with withdrawal symptoms. I think the symptoms lasted for about 5 days so they do wear off. I hope your dh is OK.