How much Tramadol?

I have chronic pain from bad osteoarthritis (bone on bone knees) , plus fibromyalgia. I've discovered that 25mg of Tramadol (half of a 50mg tablet), gives me several hours of being at peace and a bit less pain. I'm very careful about not abusing drugs and probably am too careful at times, and just choosing to suffer. I can't take NSAIDS and take 3g of Tylenol every day.
At first I took 25mg of the Tramadol once a week. Now I've discovered that I need it at least 3 times a week, just to boost my spirits and forget about much of my pain. Am I headed down a bad road here? I'm aware that when I take it, it allows me to do things that cause me more pain the next day........but I never go up on the dose.
It's hard for me to know how much to suffer, and how much to take without getting into trouble with the drug.
I'm very aware of how hard it is for me to cut back/stop any medication of any kind, so I'm very cautious of avoiding those situations as much as possible.
Any suggestions? Thanks!

Hi Mercy&Grace. But my emotional wellbeing and body are connected. I can fairly ignore my pain, which boosts my spirits. The med allows me to not be as aware or held back by my pain. I can then do things I had wanted to do, but would have too much pain. I understand what you're saying, but I really think my spirits are boosted because I don't have to spend the day feeling my pain.
Isn't is pretty normal to get one's spirit boosted when their pain is lessened? Doesn't that work the same way for tylenol, NSAIDS, etc.? I know with opioids it's a real balancing act. I feel like I'm being honest with myself when I think that if I had to go up on the dosage, I probably wouldn't let myself.
Like I said, it's a real balancing act.
I had an epidural steroid injection a couple years ago and had absolutely no pain anywhere in my body.....but only for 2 weeks. I was in heaven! I'm not sure I want to have a lot of those either. Thanks for your input!

Cathy, I’ve taken ibuprofen for 34 years. I’ve developed ulcers twice. The second time they were bleeding ulcers and I was told no more NSAID’s. I tried that and within six months I almost couldn’t walk because of the extreme pain. My Internist said this is a quality of life issue. He said there was a medication that helps protect the stomach from ulcers and wondered if I was willing to take it. (I don’t always take what is suggested. 😊). I said yes and he prescribed Misoprostol. It’s generic but I get it through GoodRX which makes it less expensive. I started out taking one when I took my 600 mg of ibuprofen every six hours.

Meanwhile I heard about a muscle relaxer called Robaxin (Methocarbamol) and started that too. I was to take two tablets every six hours. I only took one and had no side effects.

I now only take the ibuprofen and misoprostol twice a day and also take one methocarbamol twice a day…both before breakfast and before dinner and I now have a fraction of the pain I had had for years!

I agree with Straydog and Mercy and Grace. Tramadol is for pain and not to lift your spirits. You need to talk to your doctor about this.

Sherrine

Just as an aside, tramadol has an SSRI in it. This could explain the feeling of improved mood.

Thanks all. I am always in pain. When I take the Tramadol, either I don't have the pain or I am able to not pay attention to it. I'm still aware of the pain, but am distracted from it. I have chosen to only take the small dose 1-2 times a week. The rest of the time I still do things, but am in a lot of pain. I don't think we can really compare pain between people and who can tolerate how much of it before not being able to do much. Everyone's body/brain can be quite different.

I took Motrin (Ibuprofen) and Aleve (Naproxen) for many years. In recent years I took prescription Naproxen. In August 2020 I had to go to the emergency room and have a blood transfusion while I was still in the ER. They did a endoscope later that morning. I had gastric bleeding from the NSAIDS. My pain level increased greatly when I had to stop take Naproxen. But, fortunately my pain doctor increased my Percocet.

@skinny_joe, I am the moderator in this forum & DID NOT delete a post of yours.

Medical marijuana has been discussed many times in this forum since the administrator allows it.

You are welcome to post here anytime, just leave your attitude at the door.