Tramadol

I have been newly diagnosed with fibro. Reading these posts scares me and gives me hope at the same time. I am going to try and combination of advil and tramadol. I take tram tid and am worrying that it will not be enough at some point.
Any advice/suggestions for me would be greatly appreciated. I have a compassionate and good listening doctor.
Thank you!

Are you talking about feeling like you've been dropped in boiling water? I have that, usually after I've overexerted myself. It's awful. Can't even stand to wear clothes. I've never had it last more than three days, though. Tramadol and ibuprofen help some but definitely don't make it go away. I started gabapentin a few weeks ago, and it is helping a lot with the nerve pain. I even worked in the garden for a couple of hours. I really hurt afterwards, but didn't get the boiled lobster feeling this time. Hope you find something that works for you. This whatever-it-is really stinks.

Hey Beachmom6929,

I have the same worries as you, that what works one day might not work much longer. I've noticed my pattern with using tramadol. I take it on these occasions: 1. I have breakthrough pain that warrants something extra. 2. When my body might not necessarily have a ton of breakthru pain, but I have anxiety n flu like symptoms that keep me from functioning. If I have no where to be, I deal with the funk. If I have a good reason to have to function (ie; traveling w/o Hubby) I take tramadol/advil. I don't take it everyday Willie nillie just to get extra pep. I'm afraid if I did that, it would stop working for pain, flu days. Trying a pain management like mine will keep u from unnecessarily using tram n it will work well for u longer. does that help?

I was given Tramadol a couple of years ago and it really helped. Unfortunately, I go to a free clinic now (no insurance), and the docs I have seen won't give it to me again because it is a controlled substance. I am currently on Neurontin (900mg 3x a day), Voltaren (50mg 2x a day), and Robaxin (750mg 3x a day) for my fibro. They help, but very little. And they order most of my meds through patient assistance, and I am out of the Neurontin until it comes in. Don't know when that will be. I feel like I've been beat up all over. I wish they would let me take the Tramadol again, it helped a lot. Its a $4 script, I would gladly pay for it.

I was on tramadol for years (can't remember how many, but more than 8). I think it actually made my menopause worse, but I didn't realize it because I had never been through menopause before (of course). The hot flashes lessened in intensity after I went off the tramadol at the first of this year and now they have almost completely disappeared. I was always concerned about taking it with other medications. I saw my ex-SIL abuse it and he suffered severe seizures. It scared me.

I was started on tramadol and lyrica and I wasn't sure which was giving me bad side affects so I stopped the lyrica and took the tramadol and I really did not like it at all, so I discontinued both

Beeswax,

I've been on Darvocet (as needed) for 20 years, too.  I'm going to see my dr. next week, and I've already been told he's going to want to put me on Tramadol instead.  Well, he must've forgotten that I tried it last year and didn't like it.  Gave me a really weird feeling of pressure in my head and chest.   Darvocet was great for me...what I don't understand is, why not give us something similar to what was working - like Norco or Percocet?

Debbie

I take the generic of ultracet, which is tylenol with the tramadol. I think it is doing a really good job except when I have the really "bad" flares. The only thing about the tramadol is that it has nasty withdrawel symptoms. If you take it "as needed" you are O.K. but if you take it as a "maintenance" regimine and skip a dose or have to stop for other reasons, it can be very hard on you. It causes irritability, agrivation, moodiness, restless leg symptoms, and it takes about 2 weeks to completely wean yourself off and or get over the withdrawel symptoms.
So, what I am saying is that if you can, try not to take it as a maintenance unless you really cannot do without it.
I know that this is just my opinion but I have seen first hand two different people go thru those withdrawels and it wasn't fun for them or me. I have been on tramadol (as a maintenance) for almost three years now and I am afraid of what will happen if they no longer work or if I have to quit "cold turkey".
I hope this doesn't scare you. I think tramadol is great for fibro, just be careful of the useage and never quit cold turkey unless absolutely necessary or under a doctors care.

Hi
thank u all.

as soon as i can drag my fat --- into dr. I will ask about tramadol and if it is given will try the advil. Its funny only because my gf said try the darvicot with aleeve. I wonder what the difference is between the two. I dread the scales i used to be so skinny what a change kinda funny in an ironic manner. I am checking into disability but because my work history got cut off when I got sick i wont have enough work credits in the last ten years. If they counted all of them I'd be fine. there is ssi but I have heard you have to be quite poor to qualify and hubbys retirement would probably be counted but it really shouldn't be.

As it turns out, I got Vicoden and BELIEVE ME

Hi, Elizabeth,

I have been taking tramadol now for a week. I only take two a day. They are 50 mg tablets, and they work very well for me. I can't tane NSAIDs becasue of my bp medicine and my stomach. Tramadol does not interfere w/my bp meds, and it does not upset my stomach, either. This med has made me feel almost like my old self again. I am one of those people who cannot take Vicodin or anything w/codeine in it. All those type meds make me vomit and feel generally awful. I threw away two bottles of Vicodin. I know Vicodin helps many people, and that is wonderful for them. I'm just sharing that it doesn't work for me. The thing is this: Everyone is different. Tramadol may work for you as it has for me. Best Wishes, V

Hi there!  Just a quick update;  I was prescribed Tramadol and it did nothing for my pain, made my chest feel pressure and the headache it gave me was MUCH worse than my back pain.     I went to my doc and told him I was stopping taking it because of the bad side effects and that I wanted something that WORKED!  Well, his wisdom went right over my head after he told me to just take aspirin, lol.  I reminded him to read my chart and told him that I didn't know WHAT he was thinking.    I was taken off Darvocet N-100 when it was pulled and it worked wonders for me.  No high feeling and if there was, it was very minimal and if I ate when it did that, I was back to normal and able to function without that feeling.  Tramadol gave me nothing but make me not able to concentrate due to the horrible headaches, stomach problems and chest pressure.  He finally settled on perscribing Vicodin for me.  I've had that before with my teeth extractions and it works as well if not better than the Darvocet.  It is a Schedule III narcotic with a lot of regulation thrown in, but once you're on it and the hoops are jumped through, I find it to be a good replacement for the Darvocet.  I take two 7.5mg tablets a day for flare-ups and it works very well, much the same as the Darvocet N-100, actually better but it IS a considerably  stronger narcotic.    Everyones body and system and ailments are different so those who take Tramadol and it works for them, I'm very, very happy for you.  " type="#_x0000_t75"> I just had no releif whatsoever from pain from it, but again, everyones body responds differently.    Never take more Tramadol than prescribed and avoid it completely if you've had seizures in the past.  If you are taking meds for seizure control they will cancel out any effect that Tramadol has for pain.  I don't take seizure medication now but I don't need another one due to Tramadol.    Neurontin is a dangerous drug that my mother was on and it  caused all kinds of trouble for her.  She passed away due to congestive heart failure and neurontin is known for causing heart problems.  I wouldn't recommend it to anyone or Tramadol for that matter due to its side effects and dangers but when you look at ANY drug, it usually says you can die from taking it.       If Tramadol doesn't work for you, Vicodin might if your body can handle it and if you're not prone to addiction but the same goes for Tramadol.  Just be careful about anything you take and watch for signs of addictive behavior and if you start to show signs, its time to take to your doctor about weening off of it.  I have been taking Darvocet for over 25 years and didn't think I was addicted but the instant cut-off gave me problems for about four days while it worked it's way out of my system.  I mainly had very bad stomach cramps and diarrhea from withdrawl but that went away in that time.    Vicodin and Xanax together works well and for me, as long as I eat before taking it, there is very little "high" to deal with, if any.  Food is the answer to alleviate that feeling and I always eat with it and it manages my pain better than the Darvocet but it doesn't last as long.  Vicodin isn't recommended for long-term use but if you take it responsibly as directed by your physician, you should be fine with it.  My father has migrane headaches and has been on Hydrocodone for over 10 years and he's fine with it and isn't out of it, which is something to aviod.    Those who take medecine like Vicodin to get a "high" risk serious health problems and have no business taking pain meds, but those who are taking it for legitimate pain management know how to manage that high do well and function as normal and eating before taking it certainly helps.  Tramadol actually did less for me than two non-aspirins.  I'm glad to have FINALLY put the Darvocet behind me, although I don't believe it ever caused the risks that caused it to be pulled off the market.  I would rather have that than Vocodin just because it is a milder and less-regulated narcotic pain releiver but those who have no luck with Tramadol should at least ask your doctor about Hydrocodone if they were on Darvocet and took it responsibly and didn't abuse it.  Vicodin is Hydrocodone and non-aspirin and one 7.5 mg tablet does as much or more to relieve pain than two Darvocets.  Constipation may be your biggest problem if your body tolerates hydrocodone well you should look into it.  I'm not recommending any of these drugs to anyone , thats for you and your Doctor to figure out, but if you have a doctor who will LISTEN, your successful changeover will be a lot more smooth of a transition.  Good luck all.  I hope you do well and can get your ligitimate pain under control.    Hope you all have a Happy (and pain-free!) New Year! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Off Tramadol and now on Vicodin with MUCH BETTER results that match, (well actually work much better than two Darvocets.  For me, its the answer to the changeover.