Stay away from Tramadol!

I try to warn everyone I can about it. The most I ever took was 150 mg. I thought it was a wonder drug because I have a physically demanding job and it gave me boundless energy as well as taking away most of my back pain. Or to be more accurate, it did not really take away the pain, just made me able to cope with the pain. I only becaome aware that I was addicted the day I was due to go to the specialist about my back and I decided not to take any so that I was more able to describe and pinpoint the pain. On the way to the hospital I began to feel panicky, and my body felt weak and ached all over. I wanted to scream and cry. I felt like I was cracking up. The specialist was so concerned about me that he wrote to my GP suggesting all kinds of tests be carried out. It was only a few days later that I began to put two and two together and realise that it was tramadol withdrawal that made me feel this way.

It became so bad that one day when I had misplaced my pills I virtually tore the house apart looking for them. I became paranoid that my husband was hiding them from me. When I found them, I downed one straight away and felt 100% better an hour later. It was then that I decided that I didn't care how much they did for my pain, I was going to quit. I managed to get down to two a day (100 mg) quite easily. But stepping down to 50 mg was much harder. But the worst was coming off the last 50mg. They do not make any smaller doses and so I had to open th capsules and empty out half of the powder and then reseal it. I managed to come off the last 25 mg by taking it alternate days and then every 3 days until finally getting 'clean'.

My experience with tramadol was good, it did the job when other pain killers didn't but I heeded the warnings and only used them when I really needed them.

The moral is, as with tobacco, food and drink, make a pig of yourself and you invite trouble! I have now smoked for 65 years without ill effect and I still enjoy my smokes but in moderation.

I think everyone has to decide completely for themselves about meds.

Every person is different, physically & mentally - there are no one size fits all rules with this.

Tramadol has never had any ill effects for me. It does cause constipation which you have to adapt your lifestyle to function with, it can cause dry mouth, decreased appetite and some slight euphoria/anxiety - but for me its about the benefits outweighing the negative side effects.

I prefer coping with those effects than being in too much pain to work at 23 years old...

I work in the medical field so am hyper-aware of all the negatives/addictive potential etc and when I queried it with my own GP they told me 'nobody gets addicted to painkillers unless they are using them when they do not need to' - basically if you're taking them when you could be taking simple paracetamol to manage the pain - yes you'll probably become addicted. Or if you have a history of addiction then - yes its risky... but a GP should be supervising you & discussing all this with you. Tramadol is not an OTC med therefore noone should take it without being 'risk assessed'.

ive been on & off paracetamol/ibuprofen/diclofenac/30/500 cocodamol & tramadol for around 4 years now for pain and when the pain dies down (it flares up, comes and goes) then i don't take anything... but when its bad i take everything

(either ibu or diclo & same with co-codamol/paracet - not together of course as they would overlap... just saying as i don't want anyone to freak out thinking im OD-ing lol) .

.. and anyway the point is, ive never felt the NEED to take any of these pills other than to control my pain - if i don't have pain, i don't take any tablets.

Only a doctor should be telling you what you can/can't try and only you can decide what works for you!

Sounds like you had a horrible experience but I just thought I should throw my 2 cents in because people shouldn't be put off trying them if a GP recommends they will imrpove their quality of life!

I know my body, I know my family history, my doctor used to pre NHS but no longer does because he just doesn't or no longer has the time to find out. That's a fact. Problem there is any treatment he prescribes is an educated guess and you it's us that take the risk?

that is true, and its a real shame...

i work with doctors so i see the side of the patients - we want the best health care possible and a personal experience - but at the same time, i see the side of the healthcare professionals - they wish they could offer that, but resources don't allow for it in the nhs ...

either way they certainly can make a better judgement based on your breif medical history in front of them, and talking to you, than strangers on the internet who may have had a bad experience for a multitude of reasons...

i know doctors aren't perfect and can't always provide us with the best care available because the funds just aren't there - you'd have to be paying privately to have the ?hour or so discussions with a GP that would really make for fantastic health care ... but many of us simply can't afford to do that.

My concern with these kind of threads are that people will be scared and avoid things which actually might be great for them and a doctor is qualified to help you make the decisions - thats definitely the key, in my opinion - doctors don't decide for us, WE decide, WE take responsibility for our own healthcare - we have to, but a GP is the best person to assist us in that.

i think we have to be very careful when sharing experiences that we don't decide we are all one and the same

In an ideal world it would go back to everyone having their own family doctor who actually knew who you are and knew your medical history, but i don't ever see that happening sadly

As my pain condition is incurable I expect to be taking Tramadol on a permanent basis. I am so fortunate that it does not cause constipation for me and I am extremely grateful for that.

Tramadol (and all the other pain meds that I take) do not remove the pain but they make it manageable and that means that my life is livable - before Tramadol I had decided to kill myself because I could no longer stand the pain.

It's horses for courses isn't it?

Hi,

I would just like to add a happy ending to the dreaded tramadol. I was prescribed 400mg a day and have been using this amount for 6 years due to back and neck problems. I loved the tramadol It gave me my life back I could do anything without pain.

I realised there was a problem when i forgot to take my lunch time tablets, Within 1 hour I was in awfull pain and had chronic fatigue.

I approached my doctor who stated that tramadol are not addictive.

I pushed further and eventually got to see some specialist who prescribed butrans 10micro grams ph transdermal patch. I used these for 6 weeks each week cutting a small portion off the patch, until I was I was down to about a quarter I then stopped the patches.

I had 5 days of bad withdrawal shakes,sweats,leg and arm jerks,insomnia,diahorrea,crawling skin I couldnt stand the light and the symptoms are worse at night. During this time I took magnesium supplements, Drank milk, I also took vitamin D, And when it was difficult I took anadin extra I also bought some Hylands Restful legs (which works to stop the night tremors).

It Is possible to come off these but It Is hard I am now free of all tablets and my quality of life has returned. I still have some muscle stiffness and a small amount of tingling in my legs, but i do sleep and operate normally during the day thank god.

It took approx 5 days of bad symptoms then a further 10 days of milder symptoms which were nothing in comparison.

And remember to keep a positive mind.

About 3yrs ago was prescribed Tramadol for sever pain rib and back area. Then developed shingles. Didnt get relief from pain, mind you think as new medicine was scared to take 2 together, due to age and on my own. I do remember saying I shouldnt have to manage this pain on my own at my age. (it was really bad) so perhaps the medicine did have odd effects. Anyway didnt take all just them away even though in pain as didnt think helping. In some ways perhaps was for the best as could have got other effects. Had shingles before but just skin irritation for long time, not the bad pain. Should have said just put them away. I wasnt aware it was shingle pain but appears it was.

Following a painful foot injury I ended up needing Tramadol, this time 50mg dose no help so increased to 4 times daily This made the pain bearable. Reduced to 3 times daily but today took at 6am and so far have put up with increasing pain will try paracetamol later. No sign of after effects as yet. Case of wait and see if need to go back on tramadol.

Should have said increased to 100mg 4 times daily then made it more comfortable.

kitty16, I have re read all the above and am very careful taking the capsules, have been able to reduce to 200mg daily as problems eased. Still waiting for answer to injury.. MRI test arranged which might help. At least am aware of possible side effects now which is helpful.

This page came up when I googled tramadol and sleep so thought I'd add my experience. You should gradually increase the dose to avoid or lessen side effects.  I can now manage on 50mg most days but even that causes sleep disturbance - difficulty falling asleep, frequent wakening, and shallow sleep.  I think its worth it not to have the pain.  You can take paracetemol as well as tramadol (ask your doctor) to keep your dose lower.  My pain specialist prescribed Endep in low doses to help counteract the sleep disturbance.  It helps.  

Your symptoms may have been a reaction to residual anesthetic, possibly triggered by combining with the tramadol. Or, looked at another way, it WAS the tramadol, but made worse by residual anesthetic.