tramadol

[jules]

Hi Tramadol
I found your comments quite interesting.
I took Tramol for quite some time with little effect on the pain. Looking back I did also suffer most of the effects on mood & sleep that you mention but I had put that down to the level of pain & stress I was under. I was then put onto Panadeine forte which helped some with the pain levels but never 100% pain free. After a procedure in hospital I was given Tramadol & had an alergic reaction. It was said that after not having it for a while then having it again & also that Iwas given 2 different pain meds in hospital, I had become hyper sensitive to the Tramal. It caused a very fine & very itchy rash.

As for other pain relief I can highly recommend the Sports Med (Electro Therapy Unit) available from the Bad Back Store. That worked with the pain meds to give much better pain relief & reduce the stress associated with the constant pain.

My concern with taking meds long term is not only addiction but the effects it has on the kidney's & liver. I have mentioned that to Drs & they shrug it off that if you need pain relief you need it but do warn of the addiction. Doesn't stop me having concern of the long term effect though.

Sorry I can't be of more help.
Kind Regards
Jules

[luvcatz00]

Hi, never done this b4 but here I go. The best info I have on chronic pain is "Never take enough pain meds to get rid of the pain". By just taking the least you can and having a little pain left over, that you can tolerate, will prevent you from having to up your dose. I have suffered with Fibromyalgia for the past 12 years and now Arthritis and the occasional Sciatica and I'm still only taking 4 to 8 tops Panadeine Forte per day. My Doctor wants me to go on to MS Contin but I definitely would put up with a bit of pain discomfort than upping my meds to a stronger medication. The more you take the more you need so to speak!
I Know this is really hard with the Sciatica but you must have periods when you are lying down when you just try not exacebate it and lay off the tablets for a while. I go to bed some nights and cant turn without the pain running down my legs but I still only have my 2-3 Panadeine Fortes. Now dont get me wrong, if you are on a stronger medication stay on it but take the least you can.
Everyone has different levels of pain tolerance as we know and also the same applies to tolerance to medication, but if you can do this method you will find it helps with having to up doses all the time.
Watch out for Tramadol/Tramal as it is harder to come off and causes severe withdrawals with spasms in the legs etc. It also has bad reactions with other meds. My daughter took 9 mths to come off this drug and had to do it by decreasing her dose by 30mgs down to tiny amounts. She has a Keneisiology practitioner that helped with that and she was excellent and I highly recommend them.
I sincerely hope this can help and have so much empathy for anyone suffering pain love to you all Noelsie.

[gregd]

Gday,

Wow Tramal...I think thats one hell of a lot of Tramal to take daily.
No wonder you've got side affects.
IMHO you need a Pain Specialist to take over and they will do tests to see which meds are best for you.

Some people can take Tramal ok and others just shouldn't...a lot of drugs are like that.
I have been on Tramal for 6 years and "there's nothing wrong with me"...ha lol.
it's not a bad drug and works ok for me in conjunction with Pan. forte.
i take 1-2x 150mg slow release per day (usually 1x) with 2x Pan. forte - 4 hrly as needed (max 8 per day)
My pain specialist put me on Norspan patches which work well for me and are on 24 /7.
Pain specialists and pain clinics are highly recommended by me.
Good luck good people.
greg

[Kylieah]

I thought I'd share my experience with Tramadol. I love it because it gets rid of my back pain, but I can't take it anymore as it has made me have 4 seizures in the last 2 years. It also causes mood swings, irritability and makes you scratch yourself to bits. Nothing else even comes close to relieving my pain as it does, but I am sick of the seizures and I have had enough. Its also addictive. My doctor took me of them after the first seizure, so I was getting them from other family members. Then I changed doctors because he wouldn't give me anymore pain relief whatsoever. After 12 months I begged my new doctor to put me back on Tramadol, as we weren't sure at that stage what caused the seizure, and I was in constant agony. (I have a crushed disc in the lower back). After the second and third seizure I didn't tell my doctor because I knew he would take them off me again. Needless to say it happened again. I've only got myself to blame though, I was hooked. I was on them for about 6 years all up. The first 4 years I was fine with them, so I guess they just built up over all that time and my body just had enough of it. I am now back on Fentanyl patches. I will never be going near Tramadol again, though it's not going to be easy.
From Kylieah