Tramadol

Sue
Sue Member Posts: 40
edited 2. Apr 2017, 16:01 in Living with Arthritis archive
Yesterday I was prescribed Tramadol. I was instructed to take two straight away and then every 4-6 hours. I took the two at 11 am whilst I was at work. What an effect! I was well spaced, never known anything like it. For the first time in nearly a year I didn't have any pain! I think I wrote some gobbledegook that afternoon though, I will check on Monday.

Didn't take anymore until 9pm. Went to bed at 9-30. Struggled to get off to sleep but didn't get until 9-30am. After months of waking up at all hours and pacing the house two or three time a night this was wonderful.

I have read some absolute horror stories about Tramadol, which I have found frightening. However, to get a nights sleep and have no pain is like a miracle.

I would welcome thoughts and advice from others who have tried or are on Tramadol.

Thanks in advance.
Sue

Comments

  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I'm one of the 'lucky' ones in that I have never experienced the spaced-out feeling. I have learned to keep them for the truly rough times, not the day-to-day dross because I am concerned about needing more and more junk to achieve less and less pain relief. I coined the term 'pain dullers' because that is all they do, as I see it they dull the sharper outer edges whereas the stronger stuff dulls further into the pain - the really strong stuff doesn't take the pain away from us, it takes us away from the pain which brings about its own troubles.

    Everybody is different in how they react to and handle pain. My father had a high pain threshold, maybe I have inherited that or maybe it's because I'm used to it: my life became a deal easier when I forgot about being pain free. Pain is impossible to see and hard to judge. It is frightening, debilitating and demoralising. Over time we develop our individual coping strategies, for me what works is distraction and minimum pain relief but I've had years of practice, for you it's still an obscene novelty. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • wazz42
    wazz42 Member Posts: 233
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Sue,

    I'm on tramadol too and take a regular dose twice a day. DD is right, I started on 50mg and eventually had to increase the dose to keep the effect, and also like DD my pain isn't absent, it's controlled enough to let me function.

    I'm now on a regular higher dose but haven't had to increase it for 10+yrs once I got my head round the cause and effect bit and understood more wasn't better. I don't worry too much about needing to take strong painkillers and becoming addicted, I can't see any future where I won't need it :wink:

    So there are pro's and con's to pain relief, for me I can function better with tramadol (sticking to a reasonable dose) than without and it's well worth the down side of becoming addicted.

    Take care xx