Ultram ES

Well, evidently your doctor wants to get you off the Vicodin. I take tramadol [generic Ultram] for my neuropathy pain and have been taking it for over 4 years. I have Vicodin for times that my pain is not managed by tramadol alone. Ultram can cause constipation so it might work on your IBS. I would think that you might experience some withdrawal if you suddenly stopped the Vicodin if you have been taking it daily. Others more experienced with potential Vicodin withdrawal will certainly have more information on that than I do.

Thanks so much for the feedback. My doctor is not taking my vicodin away. However I can't take both. My primary care doctor prescribes the vicodin to me for my IBS and migranes. My rheumatologist wants me to try the ultram for fibro. I'm reluctant to give up the vicodin because I don't want to give up my life. Its been helping me and I never go beyond the prescribed amount. In fact there are days I can cut it down. I don't like trying new meds if the current ones are working for me. My concern is that if I take the ultram and it doesn't work, what do I do? I would have to wait 24 hrs. The rheumatologist is not pushing me to take the ultram, he gave me samples and said "try it". I'm going away to Mexico in 2 weeks and I'm not going to try it until I get back but honestly, I am reluctant. My primary doctor is great with prescribing me the vicodin because I don't abuse it. What if I take the ultram and then get a migrane? I'm fearful of new meds; ugh

Thanks again

Kimb

I am one of those people who got discouraged with ultram in the begining as I was still working at the time and alot of Docs were prescribing it for elderly patients very leniently and I was caught off guard to the number of side effects associated with this med when they were hyping there was not any. In the elderly especially it was causing some very strange psychotic tendancies and in that age category these were not good things. So I am prejudiced against the drug early on.

I have not found very many people who get much if any relief from it and I know of not one who take it solely for CP without having to have anything else.

It warns you that it can and does cause w/d in narcotic tolerant folks so keep that in mind. Way too many Docs try to persuade us to take this instead of narcotics using very convincing statements to bring us around to thinking it is a strong pain med and I have heard them use this term widely in conjunction with tramadol.

Like Gramps said I think it is no stronger then OTC motrin and alot will find aleve is much better.

I can think of 10 better meds for migraine then this one.

As for the rheumy encouraging you to use it I dont get that either since unlike Ibuprophen and other Nsaids it has no antinflamatory properties to it.

I would certainly try it as long as it they dont want to replace my vicodin with it but would be really hesitant to just flat out make the switch! Alot of times it is nothing more then Docs using the same old song and dance and wanting to get another patient off narcotics and by switching from Vics to ultram they use the no aceteminophin in it to persuade us. There are however other narcotics with less or no tylenol if you require narcotic treatment for your pain to switch to if that is a concern as it usually is hence the GI statement not prescribing.

Good luck and if you are required to give up the Vics I would make sure they arrange a taper that is comfortable before doing so.

First Kimb it is NOT an addiction when your taking your meds as prescribed and you are taking them to give yourself a better qulaity of life,big difference there so dont beat yourself over the head for wanting more out life. You yourself said you didnt travel and had trouble working before the meds.

I certainly wouldnt give up something that works for a huge gamble in my book with the ultracet as I dont see enough folks get relief out of it to say switch. If you wouldnt get relief from 2-3 tylenol or a motrin then your not going to get alot more out of the ultracet unless it is an add on and you have already said they dont want you on both. THe other Dc sounds as though he is trying to get you away from narcotics and he may very well be one of those narc=phobic folks we tend to deal with more and more as the drug wars rages on.

There are many new meds in the headache are these days that work mere wonders for some and you may be better advised to see a headache specialist for some of those that can be taken in conjunction with the vico's and then again they may tell you to up your dose a bit when your in the middle of a migraine attack and then back to regular dosing after the fact but these are all things that can be handle by the right Doc and nice and smoothly for you without having to take away something that gave you a touch of life back.

Good luck!

You are more then welcome!

Too many times we long for the days we dont have to center our lives around meds but far more we exchange that for centering our lives around pain! I would much rather take the darn meds and do thing in life that I want and need for sanity's sake to to do then go back to having every aspect of my life controlled by my pain levels that day.

Can I make it to the store today? Can I go to work and tough it out the entire shift? Get an invite and the family wants to go and you know that you also would love to but if you get up that day and your pain is thru the roof your going to ruin everyone's day,what a load to bare on my already heavy shoulders,to know my pain levels also effect the entire family.

Stay on the meds and lose the guilt trip sweety,take that trip and have a blast for all of us while you can. In this life we dont know when leaving the house may just become impossible so I am going for the gusto now while I can and whatever I have to take to be able to do that? Well I just will.

Kim, I'm glad that you've made a decision and that your stress level has decreased. That in itself can help with the pain. I hope your trip is wonderful, just don't make the same "Mexican vacation trip" mistake that I made. Of course I knew I had gut trouble, but I hadn't yet been Dx with Crohn's. I also new that I shouldn't drink the water unless I was in one of those larger, fancy hotels, however, it just never occurred to me that the ice in my drink was water! I spent 2 days in an LA hospital with terrible abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

I can also relate to the issues surrounding trying to determine the cause of a headache. I've had serious sinus problems which we suspect is related to the inflammation from Crohn's. The "simple" surgery to fix my sinuses was a disaster, ended with me in the hospital for a week instead of going home the same day and required 2 additional surgeries to try and fix the problems caused by the initial one. What a nightmare! I also have bad TMJ which is getting worse as my Spondylitis progresses and then there's always the possibility of tension headaches caused by stress. Of course I also have very typical migraines too, so I've got 4 possible causes behind my headaches. Now, the question becomes, how do we treat them all? For me, the answer is Fioricet.

Fioricet used to be one of the most prescribed meds for migraines but now, the literature mostly talks about it being used for tension headaches. I've found over 25+ years that it's really good for any pain above the shoulders. Headaches - regardless of the cause, earaches, dental pain... almost anything can be relieved with this most amazing med. Now, I should probably say that an average day for me consists of at least 40mgs of Oxycontin twice with an occasional 10mg Norco in addition, so I'm not a lightweight where meds are concerned. Yet, none of the narcotics that I've ever been on have really helped much with my headaches. I really NEED to have that Fioricet. So, it might be worth talking about this with your Doc, to see if you can find some additional relief from something other than a narcotic. Besides, even if you only ask about it, at least you'll be showing that you are willing to consider something other than Vicodin for that problem. It would be sorta like saying that if you found a non-narcotic capable of treating the pain, you'd use it. Then you might only need the Vic for the IBS & FMS, but at least you'd not need it for the headaches.

HMMMMM. OK, it's late and now I'll shut up hoping to heaven that I didn't make a mess out of this and that you understand what I mean. ;-)

I just found this forum and I'm kind of new, and didn't read everyones posts, sorry... but I take Ultram and I've taken Ultracet (has tylenol added). I'm allergic to NSAIDS so no motrin or aleve from me. I've taken this for more than a year and love it. I have spondylothesis (25%) two leaking bulging discs, osteoarthritis and a vertabrea that has fused to my pelvis and Fibro. I have been told I will never not feel pain, lucky me :). I have taken IV pain meds, narcotics, etc and ULTRAM is WONDERFUL. I've been on it about 1.5 to 2 years. I can control the dose (on a good week 2 a day on a bad 6...) If the Ultram doesn't kick the pain within the first dose I can take 2 Tylenol, which I do on a rare occasion. It is a very mild painreleiver, but it is an opiod, and works similar to codine. Google Tramadol and check out the Wikipidia (sp) article explains it in Dr terms. And as to strenght, my pharmisist says it is a pretty strong painkiller, and be careful, her words not mine... (2 pills do make me slurr when I speak because they make me drowsy and I just don't wnat to admit it or don't have time to be tired) If I change to a higher dose I don't feel any withdrawl when I go back to the lower which is wonderful. Ultracet however did nothing for me. Go figure. I would recomend it because this is the first I have found something that really works on all levels of pain. But that is just my oppinion.