Anyone have experience/info on Tramadol for Pain?

[Victim of Surgery]

I'm still fighting w/d from Suboxone, which I take for w/d from hydrocodone, which I took for pain before and after neck surgery. I have to have more neck surgery and I'm looking for an alternative to opiates. The GNP at a new Pain Mgt doctor's office told me I might be able to use Tramadol for pain after the next surgery but I don't know anything about it. I will not meet with the actual Pain Mgt doctor for a few more weeks.

[Victim of Surgery]

Thanks for the info. I actually started on Subutex but my insurance wouldn't pay for it. They would only pay for Suboxone. I don't know why it is taking so long. I am one of those freaks of nature that is EXTREMELY sensitive to opiates. I've been told that blonde, fair skinned people are much less tolerant. My surgeon, my first PM doctor and my current PM doctor are all equally amazed at how much trouble I am having. I only took hydrocodone for a few months and have been on Suboxone for about 6 months. I'm down to 1/4 of 1 0.5 mg pill every 30 hours and my body will just not let me stop. I don't have much pain from surgery or the degenerative bone disease in my neck. My only pain is from withdrawal. It is a nightmare. The doctors just shrug their shoulders. I am the one who has been tapering. My PM even asked me "Why do you want to stop the Suboxone?" What an idiot! He wants me to stay on it forever.

[oxyaddict420]

AMEN TO THAT!!  

I am currently searching to get a Suboxone DR.. I have many years off horrible pill abuse and have a horrible story to go along with it, but I will just say that I AGREE 100%

So many people want a rapid detox then get on with life-- I for one believe that since i have abusing for years this is going to tqake some serious work and some serious time to recover! I AM FINALLY READY TO DO THIS!

[notmenow!]

To anybody presently off tramadol you would have to be out of your mind to go back to what is most synthetic opiates on the market, Oh sure it works fine if you are able to stick to the prescribed dose. Well I don't think anyone of us who are inquiring about this drug with a history of opiate addiction, The makers of tramadol lied to the FDA and the Dr's they had drug reps also. I have read more horror stories about tramadol than any other drug in its class III category, The beginning of the treatment is all rainbow and butterflies, But if you intend on going on it for more than 60 days. Then I would tell the doctor no, I would rather go on vicodin or darvocet as the withdrawal from this synthetic opiate is hell, And last longer than that of narcotics as mentioned above,   To the person taking suboxone one of the drugs that list an interaction with sub is tramadol, You will be prone to fainting spells among other serious reactions, Your PM doctor I am sure is not aware of the side effects as they only get 8hrs training to obtain a waiver to dispense suboxone or subutex. Why are you having such a hard time coming off the suboxone, The withdrawal profile is much easier than that of a full opiate antagonist. When done so under a doctors supervision, After you neck spinal fusion which failed why would they want to  put you on suboxone and not subutex which contains no naloxone, Unless you developed an addiction to the opiates as a prior pain management patient. If happens it happened to me, About a month post back surgery, I was unable to stick to a taper plan so my doctor mentioned suboxone along with Lyrica, a nerve medication. That was 8 months ago. Today I am feeling like a new person and have been told by my PM doctor that I have been making wonderful progress, And at this point are not even talking about detox, She told me the Brian needs at least 6 months to heal from the opiate use and the brains serotonin levels realign themselves for future use once you are drug free, But we must be patient as we did not develop this treatable chronic disease of the brain, There is a great big world out there If up to each and everyone of us can make it  if we are brave enough to try-----NOAH

[oxyaddict420]

My fiancee was prescribed #120 of the 50mg tabs to take 4 times daily for pain in her neck and headaches.. She didnt like them, due to the fact they DIDNT WORK AT ALL!

From the horrible pain you might have from them hacking into your neck, I would say that you might need to take the narcotic(stronger pain meds) to actually manage that bad pain, but if you have a high tolernce for pain maybe you can tough it out without them. As for the 800mg IBupfofen, foe me(personally) they dont fo anything at all!  But everyone is different.. Who knows maybe it would help you..  

As for the tramadol that she has left around #112 or so, I will keep them in case I personally run out of the narcotics to use for a withdrawl tamer.. Call it what you want but I am a wussy..

[Victim of Surgery]

THANK YOU Soooooooooooooooo Much. I read every post. You must truly be an angel! Tramadol will NOT be an option and I can't believe it was even suggested. What is wrong with these doctors? I will be canceling my appointment in the morning!

[CinCee]

I've heard so much about how bad Tramadol is, but I tried it, didn't like it and didn't ever really want to take much of it.  And I'm the first to get addicted to a decent painkiller.  It just didn't float my boat, I guess.  Didn't do much for pain either.

[angel44240]

Hey there! I wanted to hurry and post this before you had a chance to rethink Tramadol (aka Ultram). I'll give you a link to copy and paste and please read over 'fairlight1's posts about her ordeal with the W/D's from the Ultram- of course she did more of a cold turkey than a slow 'weaning' process- http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Addiction/messages/30974.html
This girl, and many more previous Ultram users, felt as if they were literally DYING and couldn't take much more, but eventually got through it, and are back to normal now- Deep REGRETS from Ultram users, trust me- NOTHING TO MESS WITH!
For the pain? I know this may sound silly, but I recommend 800 mgs of Ibuprofen- works WONDERS for pain- it's also an anti-inflammatory and works many different ways in the body, but you should alternate between Ibuprofen and Tylenol- I usually took the generic Tylenol, 1000mgs, and it worked wonders as well!
Just a note- I'm currently slowly weaning off of Tramadol (Ultram) and it's NO picnic, but I can't let anything get me down! lol.. Please don't take it, but if you choose to take anything, although they may make you 'feel good' after a while, stop them as soon as you start to feel 'less' pain- meaning at least over some time after surgery- maybe a couple of weeks? good luck! Love to all!
Alli

[Victim of Surgery]

Wow! That's to the point. What can I take after they cut another big hole in my neck and take out the metal plate because the first surgery didn't work and my vertebre aren't fusing? Are opiates the only answer? That's what my Pain Mgt doctor told me but I think he just wants another year of fees from me because I will definitely be physically addicted with only a few pills after surgery.

[strictlyforpain]

Tramadol for pain? I think aspirin works better. They did nothing for me. I'd rather use ice and heat than tramadol which includes Ultram. I've got about 160 of them left and believe me... no wait... {flush} I don't have 160 anymore. I don't need them around and they don't work.

Bye-Bye! Ultram!!!  :)

[GoingToMakeIt]

As was said, it has a longer half life. Which means w/ds are longer. If not even nasty. There are some risks of seizures during w/d too. Tapering is the best method to get off them. When I took them, they never even touched the pain. They also made me very irritable.

[Victim of Surgery]

The truth is, I never abused the opiates. I just took what was prescribed and tried to stop as soon as I could after surgery. As it turns out, I am very sensitive and became physically addicted pretty quickly. Do you know anything about the w/d from Tramadol?

[SotiredIcantsleep]

Well, it's as addictive if not more than most opiates, It has a longer half-life and it's also a pretty powerful anti-depressant.  Most people go through pretty heavy depression when they quit, and I just realized this recently it's actually dangerous to c/t from (wish someone would have told me that last month :D)  I find they give me a nice energy boost and mood boost but do little for pain relief.  Most docs don't realize how addictive they are(my dad included), please be careful.

[GoingToMakeIt]

Tramadol is a synthetic opiate. It is warned on their site to not use if you were/are abusin opiates. Tramadol is addictive too.