TRAMADOL

bounce

Hi all,

Im just asking a general question on taking Tramadol, as I have been taken off all my butrans patches due to severe allergic reaction to them, so the pain clinic have now transferred me onto the new stuff.

I have read the leaflet that comes with them, but im wondering how anybody who has been on it gets on with it, I have been warned that it might not suit me but to give it a go, they have put me on 50mg 4 times a day, and they could go to 100mg 4 times a day then the dreaded morphine comes into play. Im just not happy with the thought that im so near to having to take morphine.

so I was just wondering how you generally get on with it or not as the case maybe, im not starting yet not until I get over my chest infection I have at present and im off the antibiotics, then I have to go 24 hours at least off the patches before I go onto the new meds.

I prefer to listen to peoples advice and thinking of those who have taken Tramadol to those who have not.

Any feedback would be great. and thanks in advance.

Julie

dreamdaisy

Hello Bounce, I have them to take but rarely do so because I find they make me somewhat 'dopey' and as I am still working (albeit in a rather creaky fashion) I prefer to be more alert. If things do get too nasty then I'll take one at bedtime to help me get off to sleep but I honestly can't remember the last time I did that. When I have had them they don't appear to do much more than my cocos in terms of pain relief - it's more they take me away from the pain than the pain away from me. I wish you well and I hope they help. DD

Helenbothknees

I was given tramadol in May. My arthritis had got worse very quickly, and I asked my GP if I could have something stronger than codeine and paracetamol as I was about to go on a relatively strenuous touring holiday, booked several months earlier when I was in fairly good shape..

One tablet (can't remember potency) 4 times a day did little for me, but two 4 times a day worked brilliantly! For about 10 days I loved the stuff. Then it started making me nauseous, a side effect which gradually got worse. When I got home I asked my GP if I could stay on it, but have something for the nausea. He wasn't keen, but agreed to this, since I didn't need the anti-nausea stuff that often. However, the nausea got worse, until the anti-nausea stuff wasn't working that well. On top of that, I started having strange and unpredictable mental side effects - feeling great and not sleeping followed by utter exhaustion, for example. By this time I was on the waiting list for TKRs, but things got so bad that I was going to ask my GP for something else, despite the fact that tramadol still worked great for the pain. However, I got a cancellation, and my op was moved forward, so I ended up giving it up anyway.

My partner has been on a very low dose of tramadol for several years. It works well for him, but in some ways he wishes he'd never started it, as he gets unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if he tries to give it up. He also gets nauseous and other side effects now and then, and as with me it's unpredictable.

Our joint experience is that it works really well but can be very unpredictable. If you're lucky it's great. But personally I refused to go back on it after the op; I'd rather have the pain than have it screw up my head in the way it does.

Hope that helps. I'm sure other people with more experience will be able to tell you more.

SteveBurns

Horses for courses

I've been on Tramadol for over a year now, at first two twice a day - slow release and supposed to last all day) then after my TKR two four times a day instant release.

I also take two Paracetamol four times a day.

I have never suffered a reaction but had to halve the paracetamol due to Analgesic headaches.

Tramadol works very well for me

stickywicket

The only time I've had it (50mgs) was when discharged from hospital after my hip tendonitis. (They gave me codeine while I was in there.) I found it worked well for the pain but I only took it going to bed and then only for 3 nights as my stomach started playing up with it. (It doesn't take much to set my stomach off.) I then reverted to cocos. I still have a few tramadol and I've taken the odd one when desperate but I couldn't do them regularly.

dibdab

Hi,
I tried them a few months back but only took 1 dose as they made me feel very unwell- racing heartbeat, nausea and dizziness even when lying still with my eyes closed . My son who's a doctor tells me his uni lecturer describes them as an excellent emetic and rubbish pain killer! But apparently if they suit you they work well- it's just that they don't suit a substantial number of people. Though to balance that we all react differently to medication and what suits one will make another quite poorly.
Hope that you find something effective soon.
Deb

freesia

Everyones different I guess....

I tried Tramadol and didn't get on with it, made me feel really sick & heady, but guess anything is worth a try....
SO good luck & I hope it works for you....

bounce

Hi all,

Thanks for all your feedback on the Tramadol, I must admit, it was one of the few things on offer due to I just cannot get the tablets down my throat and it was give this a try,

I will start off gently on them to see how it goes, and if it doesnt then its back to the drawing board again, I have been told to take 1000mg of paracetamol with it at the same time, but im going to try just the tramadol first to see what reactions I get with it, as im still having to work too. and work thinks im crazy enough without meds anyway. lol.

It all seems to have taken the pain clinic by surprise about how vicious the pain is in my hand and wrist particularly the thumb, and she has spoken to the dr even about seeing if the ortheo specialist could get me in earlier ( im only 50) and the answer is no, 60 is the earliest he will think of doing something surgically with me, even if im the breadwinner of the house, I still wait.

I am hoping to have a kind of easy ride with the tramadol, and if that is no good, then there is a mallet in my shed so at least I can get a good nights sleep.

All I know is that whichever painkiller or duller I use there are going to be some nasty side effects, but the worst one would be the feeling or being sick for me, very bad for work too.

Thanks again for all the feedback, at least I have some idea of what Im going to be putting myself through when I try them.

Cheers

Julie

knuckleduster

Hello Bounce

Can't take tramdol myself as it makes me sick and dizzy. Hubby even had to hold me up to go to the bathroom. Tried it twice and vowed never again.
But everybody's different.

Janet

loovechocolate

I had Tramadol after my TKR as nothing was touching the pain they are good took 2 4x day with 2 paracetamol , they killed the pain brilliant but they sent me crazy weird dreams, groggy, moody and now I have tinnitus which they think is caused by the Tramadol I took them back to the DR, back on the Naproxen etc for me, but they may suit you this is just me

mouseymousey

I've been taking it for about 2yrs. I also take Morphine and Diclofenac (& a lot of other stuff). I have been offered more Morphine if I want to drop the Tramadol, but; I'd rather stick with this and have less Morphine.
As the others have said its purely personal choice. All drugs have side effects (its catch 22). All I'd say is you have to give it a fair chance to work - it'll take a few weeks to see if its for you or not. Don't forget you may need to ask your GP about Omerprazole (it stops you getting an upset stomach ~ in theory).
With all best wishes
Mx

roses1

Hi Bounce,

I tried Tramadol , it didn't do anything for my pain but gave me nightmares :shock:

As others have said they may suit you, everyone is different, good luck

Rose x

Melrymax

Hi Julie. I have had tramadol for over a year. When I started taking it I had my concerns:
Will I become dependant on it? Will I cope with working 12.5 hour busy shifts (with newborns/in theatre etc- places where mistakes can't be made) will I be able to look after my children when dosed up?
So after thinking about that I started to take it on a as and when needed basis which it didn't effect me in any of the ways I feared. When I started getting bad, I was taking 100mg 4hourly with co codamol and still all the above I wasn't affected, I slept well at night and didn't get the spaced out symptoms and didn't get hooked on them or withdraw. They didn't get rid of the pain but most certainly took the edge off it.
I have gone back to only taking them when absolutely desperate (pregnant and worry about effects on baby) and for some reason cannot tolerate them in the same way.... 1x 50mg tablet completely spaces me out and leaves me feeling quite nauseous. Hope this is some help,
Mel x

bounce

Hi all,

Thanks again for the feedback on this medication, I have really taken note of everything that has been said, and Melrymax in particular you think of medication the way I do, my mum was a nurse so it got drummed into us about the importance of knowing everything first about any new meds, I must admit I can drive my doctors mad asking so many questions, but as I say to them its MY body and I want to know what im putting into it and any side effects I could come across.

I am going to try it as only when needed just to gently get myself started on it, and I have to give it 6 weeks to find out how I really am on it before the verdict at the pain clinic,

but thanks to you all I am more prepared for any side effects that could come my way, and the weirdy feeling too, but I find that happens with all my new stronger medications.

Thankyou so much for all your help guys, I really do appreciate it all.



Julie

daisyjay

hi i take 50mg 3 times a day to be upped soon to 100. i found it worked very well for me (arthritis and dejenerative discs/bulging). the first few days it made me a bit drowsy, it only stopped the duller pains but i felt the sharper pains more. after a week or two i had nearly no drowsieness and apart from a few sharp pains when i move i just had a dull aching, some days it works better than others but i found combining this with paracetamol and regualr rest breaks i can move around my home a bit easier very pleased. i get what you mean about the morphiene im very close to that myself and i hate the idea of being on that strong a medicine.

barbara12

I find this all very interesting...I was on tramadol over a year ago, but came off it because of the side effects...must say it worked well on the pain, and I have recently been debating whether or not to give it another go.
So thanks for this x

Harlansmummy

I recently came off BuTrans onto Tramadol too, and after the first day or two of lightheadedness I have found them good. They don't kill the pain (what does?!) but they take the edge off for a couple of hours. I was advised to take 1 50mg tablet at a time the first few days (partly because apparently the BuTrans takes a while to come out of your system, even after removing the patch) and from then on I have taken 2 x 50mg tablets, 4 x a day.

Hope it helps you!

Suestpeters

I haven't taken tramadol but used to experience nausea with co-co's - I use travel bands on my wrists and they work very well in getting rid of the nausea - may be worth a try if you get nausea as a side effect.

hope it works for your pain.
Sue

bounce

Hi all,

I have to say Im very surprised at all the feedback on Tramadol, it has given me a lot to think about. Im just about over the chest infection I had and Im planning to come off the butrans patches on friday morning and start on the smallest dose of Tramadol on saturday night, then I have sunday to assess any side effects I have on the medication, to see if I can get through the working week without scaring the customers and staff more then I normally do.

The travel bands idea of yours Suestpeters sounds brilliant and I shall buy some in preperation of that side effect, as I could do without any more meds to be honest,

The butrans patches have run their course, they dont really help much and the allergic reaction to them is just as bad as any pain, so the only option I have is to go ahead with the tramadol,

Whenever I have seen the pain clinic and I go to the doctors to get my meds changed by them they always say we dont want you to go onto morphine just yet, and I just say to them "and you think I do????" I have said I would be willing to try anything to get the pain controlled better without me feeling like I want to be an axe murderer, and they cant come up with any better so its stay on what the pain clinic are saying, but at least they know how I feel on morphine, as its a very dangerous drug loads of side effects and its the strongest medication that you can take, ( as far as I know), but it does break your heart knowing you are nearing the morphine due to a few wonky arthritic joints that you have no control at all over and that life sure plays some nasty vicious tricks on you.

But im thinking positively on all of this, and hopefully the Tramadol will keep me going for a long time before I have to have it upped yet again, fingers crossed. ( agh, crossing the fingers is painful. ) sorry my weird joking is starting to come through. hehehehehe

Thanks again for all your feedback, help and advice, mum used to have the answers to everything, and its times like this I really miss her like crazy, especially when she used to Hug me into a better frame of mind.

Julie. XX

merri

I take 8 x 50mg per day. The thing that I found was that they need to be increased slowly otherwise I did feel floaty and out of it. I've been on them now for 2 years, and instead of taking 2 x 4 times a day, I take 1 every 2 hours which works better for me. Hope you get on well with them

Niknak

Hi hun, so sorry you are in so much pain. I don't have Arthiritus, but my little girl does. However, I have recently been on tramadol for a perforated ear drum and nasty ear infection. Taking 50 a time didn't really do anything, but 100 really stopped the pain. However, I was very drowsy couldn't keep my eyes open and felt really spaced out. And the headaches and dizziness were awful. But I would take them for the pain as they worked. I wish you well and all the best taking them, maybe you will be okay on them. Xxxx chrissy

bounce

Hi all,

I thought I would update you all with my adventures with trying out tramadol for the first time.

I have felt sick as a dog even with using travel bands, I even tried ginger ale and that didnt work, and it laid me out all weekend, I was on the sofa asleep most of the time, couldnt even keep upright, I was really feeling death warmed up for want of a better term to use, and woah it really messes around with your head, you just dont know where you are a lot of the time, I dont know if it was because I still had some butrans still in the system even after removing the patches for well over 24 hours like I got told, but it was a very nasty experience overall,

I have stopped the tramadol and Im using a 5 butrans patch and co codamol to take as much of the edge of it all as possible, im refusing to try it again as it lost me a whole 2 days where I cant really remember anything except how rough I felt,

I go back to my pain clinic again on 17th september, and I shall ask if I can keep to a low dose butrans and the strong cocodamol like I did before, I have my tens machine and my warm wax bath, and then see what else could be offered to try, but those without massive side effects for starters, I am working through it all feeling like a zombie, but hey even zombies have bills to pay week in and week out,

I think this shows that im unable to stomach tramadol as a pain medication, but I think my weight issue is a pointer, Im only 8 stone 4ibs, where as when I started the mega stuff I was 9.5 stone, so all that weight loss could have something to do with it,

drs wont prescribe anything without the pain clinics approval, so Im on my own with this for a while, but Im determind that I will cope with it all. Im quite a stubborn mule when I want to be, and my feet are dug in ready for the fight already,

so thats my update on the tramadol.

Julie. XX

Soretoe2

Hello bounce, I have been reading this post with interest . I also tried Tramadol several times and each time landed on another planet. If I took them at night the nightmares were awful. So I gave up on them.
I see that you are worried about morphine but are happy to be on the Butrans patch, which is related to morphine and a synthetic opiod.
I have recently given up the same patch, which I've perservered for a nearly year on, mainly due to an allergy to the glue. I was also prescribed alongside it MST for breakthrough pain, which is slow release 12 hour morphine. All via my gp.
My gp tells me that morphine is still the most natural and the safest long term pain medication there is.
I have liver cysts due to having too many steroid injections /tablets /epidurals over many years and morphine is still ok with it and better than most other medications.
My own experience is that for minimal side effects it's great. Some days I take it just at bedtime, some days twice a day but am able on a good day not to take it at all and just take codeine with paracetamol. Apparently although dependence can happen, with people who take it for genuine pain control it hardly ever does. (ie; we are not looking for a high on it just a bit less searing pain).
I also have an elderly friend who has been taking morphine for over 30 years and is fit and healthy.
So if you are really stuck perhaps you could give the MST or similar a try. You can always stop taking it if it didn't work for you. As we all know what suits one person doesn't always suit another.
Do hope you find some good pain control soon though.

bounce

Hi Soretoe2

I must admit, I am just allowing myself the 5 patch of butrans as I had to come off them due to severe allergic reaction not to the adhesive but to the part where the medication was against my skin, it looked like the skin had been boiled, and red weals in the same area too, It was thought to be an easy switch to tramadol, but it didnt turn out that way for me personally, so it was a case of feck it and keep off it, as I tried at different times of the day and evening and it was just knocking me for a loop, not good for me, but I must admit now its out of my system im feeling more my old self again, woohoo.

Butrans was the best thing I had been taking for the pain, but with everything that we take something happens so we have to switch to something else, and I have an added problem, I have a severe phobia of taking tablets, due to a bad choking episode and being thumped on the back to get it lodged back out of my throat, so im rather hampered by that so I can only have stuff like patches or disaolveable tablets which makes everybodys life that little bit more fun in the prescribing,

Drs cannot sort out help for getting me out of this phobia I really want to beat it, but no one can put me in the right direction,

As im in the pain clinic the drs wont mess with any meds changing in any way as the pain clinic is more qualified to do that, but the appointments are lengthy inbetween each one, mind you drs appointments are like that too. :-P

But I will make you laugh, when I want to swear like crazy about the pain and tell it what I think of it, I do it in Norwegian, I have started to learn the better words in that language so when I let rip, nobody can tell how much swearing is going on, well except if you know Norwegian that is,

but I am going to kick this pain into touch and maybe get something that will work with me and not against me next appointment time, its difficult coping with it, but I am not doing too badly at the moment.

Julie XX

Soretoe2

Well you did make me laugh, I shall have to look up 'Norweigan swear words!' that'll flummox Mr Soretoe2!
Really sorry to hear of your problem swallowing pills it must be so hard for you .Have you thought of hypnotism to help you get over this phobia? I have tried it for pain control and insomnia and can now get to sleep with no problem using a technique installed in my brain. However I wake up after about an hour or so because of the pain but at least I can get off sometimes, which I couldn't for years. I also 'think' my pain down and have been able to reduce my daily dose of meds so it was worthwhile. It did take a few months to learn it all. I had 6 sessions and had to do a back up cd daily for 30 minutes a day laying on the bed, undisturbed. I now listen occasionally to the cd. I never thought he'd 'get me under' as I'm a bit bolshy sometimes and not a pushover. Well I sat down with my feet up, had a quick chat, he asked to to make a note of the time, next thing I knew 40 minutes had passed and I thought it was about 5 mins! I could hear him and answered him , very weird but ok. My elder son had some sessions to help his extreme nervousness for his A Levels, he breezed through them. He then went to 2 universities and is now doing a doctorate, we are all amazed by him, he completely lost his nervousness in general. Sorry gone off subject a bit...
MST are very small tablets not a capsule, just so you know. Also there is Oramorph, which is liquid morphine. I used to use it before I went on the tablets and it tastes ok.
I liked the butrans but had terrible sores (like you) and as I have psoriasis too they became very inflamed. I stuck them on every different bit I had but it was always the same. I've got a nice selection of scars to prove it.
I actually only stopped Monday this week.
Have you tried any of the other different types of meds available for pain control? Most pain medications can be got in liquid form, the docs just don't like to tout it around too much as they're usually more expensive than the tablet form.
I do hope that the pain clinic can help you more, the appointments are long here too. I gave up a few years ago on them as I felt I was not getting anywhere. Luckily my doc is great ( when you can get to see her mind you) and will give me anything I ask for, so I'm very careful not to push her too far.
Well, nice to have met you, although you have it tough you seem to have kept your sense of humour. I really hope you manage to conquer your phobia, it would make your life so much easier.
Nice to 'meet' you. Joy.

bounce

Hi Soretoe2

I told you I would make you laugh at the Norwegian swear words, it really works if you say them in a normal voice and not raised then people think you are just speaking normal Norwegian. hehehehehhee.

I will have to look into the hypnotism in my area, and to seek some reccomendations on it too. I really need to be able to be able to swallow pills before the pain goes into orbit.

I am making a list of the MST and Oramorph to ask the pain clinic about trying me on one of those, and can I escape horrible side effects too. the butrans scars, my brother says they look like tattoo's on my arms in particular, it made me smile though.

I do have a weird and wacky sense of humour, and I tell people if I didnt laugh I would blinking cry. :-) but the humour keeps me going.

I agree conquering the phobia would make life so much better and easier for me, so Im going to ask the professionals next time I see them.

it is very nice to have met you too, and made you laugh too.

I will let you know how I get on next month with the follow up on the meds, and hopefully it will be some good news too.

:-D

Julie XX