system
Have OCD. Taking Tramadol. Long term risks?
human
professor, i was diagnosed with ocd 7 years ago, i ve tried many anti depressants, only got side effects, at last i tried the painkiller tramadol hcl, i have been on it for 4 years now, it s the only thing that worked for me. is tramadol hcl a proper medication for me? does it have longterm risks? i am on 100 mg every 6 hours. thanks alooooooot :) thank you dr.
gpt
Hello........ Tramadol is a weak opioid agonist that has definite abuse potential. Hence, it is not advisable to continue the drug for long. Further it is not an approved treatment for OCD. OCD can be sometimes difficult to treat. It requires a combination of anti-obsessive agents (eg fluoxetine, clomipramine) as well as psychotherapy (eg exposure & response prevention). You can request your psychiatrist for an alternative drug or psychotherapy which might work for you. Hope you find the suggestions useful. Regards Dr Sundar Gnanavel Psychiatrist