Is there a website or petition for the removal of tramadol from the market

[yllwjcket]

ive been thru alot of withdrawal from oxy/hydro,  but tramadol is truely the devil drug and should not be on the market.  made me crazy suicidal, and im pretty stable, while i was on it and the withdrawals are pure hell zaps in my brain, weightloss due to vomiting constantly, crazy dreams where im awake but paralyzed and shaking with buzzing,  and the absolute worst rls i have ever felt which has lasted 8 days now with no sign it wants to subside.  and here is the thing, i never took more than i was prescribed and i tapered before quitting.  

after reading other peoples experiences as well, all i can think is how is this drug not being pulled from the market and how are docs and drug companies not being sued for straight LYING to people.  

good god id rather be in W/D from the damn oxycontin, at least it didnt affect my brain and it was only a few days of hell.  

if anyone agrees please point me in the direction of a petition,  before someone commits suicide on this damn drug

[yllwjcket]

i totally agree.  i wasnt addicted to tramadol, physically maybe, but everyday was a strict taper to get off of it because i reacted so badly.  but i do know my past addictions are my responsibility, and only mine.  im taking 5mg perc twice a day now and gearing up to stop that because i know all too well the feelings coming back, and am afraid that complete abstinence is the the only way for me to be safe and avoid a meltdown.  i know that this is the case.  even with such a low dose im still nervous, im leaving monday to stay with family.  because with every withdrawal it gets harder and i will not fail.  its just too easy to go from 1 a day to 15 a day

[LeaAnn807]

I absolutely think that tramadol should be controlled in every state instead of just a state or two.  In defense of doctors, a lot of them are figuring tramadol out.  Others not so much!  Some just give it anyway, no matter what they know because they don't get held as accountable for prescribing it.  It's like a green light to give it to everyone who has an ache or pain because it's not scheduled and doesn't "look as bad" as giving something like Lorcet or Oxycodone.  Having said all that, I still take responsibility for my addiction and abuse of tramadol.  Maybe not at first, but after a while I knew I was becoming dependent.  And I kept right on taking it!

Anyway, my vote is to schedule it.....everywhere!!! :)

[yllwjcket]

ok so lets scrap the idea of completely taking it off the market.  but think about this, if it were scheduled just like say a lortab was, do you think tramadol would still be the #1 prescribed medication in ortho?  i dont think it would.  there are higher risks with it and less pain relief.   so perhaps it should be scheduled on up there with other opiates.  as much as people want to tell me that its not as addictive and while this hasnt been my case, i reacted badly,  it is the case of lots and lots of people.  honestly i think if you are given the tramadol before trying perc's etc i think you would develop just as strong an addiction to the tram's.  

I really dont believe in jerking things off the market or in over controlling things, but my whole idea is that docs over prescribe tramadol because it is convenient for them and not in the best interest of the patient. it is given out like skittles when an older but higher scheduled medication may be the best choice.

[LeaAnn807]

Yes, I discovered also that pain and insomnia are part of life that "earth people" (what I call non addicts!) even have to deal with!  Startling!!!!!!!!!  I can actually deal with pain without a pill.  AH mazing..........

[dominosarah]

No that isnt weird.  I had the same thing happen.  My biggest discovery when i cleaned up was that OTC meds actually worked!

[LeaAnn807]

Here's the deal as far as I see it.  Any drug is ok for people who don't abuse it.  Oxycontin, valium, tramadol, all of them are ok if they aren't given to one of us! LOL  It doesn't mean they can all be taken off the market.  I think, personally, tramadol is a horrible painkiller.  I get more relief from motrin now than I ever did from tramadol.  That's just me.  Everyone's body and brain are different.  True opiates are much better for pain killing properties.  Tramadol honestly is far better for depression, energy etc than pain. My pain actually increased after a while on tramadol.  Weird!!!!!!!

But, hey.....that's just one person's opinion!!! : )  

[yllwjcket]

ok i was just mad the other day because i dont think doctors know what it can do to someone mentally.  maybe its a great drug for very short term treatments, but they dont warn people that it can affect your mental health, more so than just an addiction im talking about like a psychiatric drug can do.  with some people it can really have the opposite effect on the mind and there are no warnings or studies about this?

i think the drug is pushed by drug companies and over rx'ed by doctors because they dont want to prescribe old fashioned opiates. those drugs are controlled and they can be fined for prescribing over their limits, so tramadol was a good way to keep patients and under the radar.  but most are completely ignorant about what it can do and how hard it is to come off of.  

[yllwjcket]

hey, sorry i didnt get on the computer yesterday.  but yes i was under my surgeons care, after lumbar fusion surgery he decided i was ready to get off my normal pain meds which i was ok with, but he knew i was in pain so he put me on tramadol 4 a day and told me these are non addictive. after a couple weeks my entire personality had changed after a month i was a recluse and going completely nuts, so i told him about it and he said oh thats weird well taper off this month and well talk about it next month.  and i gotta say again i never abused them, these are normal doses.  

[vicki595]

Hey!  I thought you were tired!!  LOL!    I prefer to get links in blue so I can just click on them...or is it pink?  Anyway...

[nursegirl6572]

Very interesting....

Proceedings to add, delete, or change the schedule of a drug or other substance may be initiated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), or by petition from any interested party, including the manufacturer of a drug, a medical society or association, a pharmacy association, a public interest group concerned with drug abuse, a state or local government agency, or an individual citizen. When a petition is received by the DEA, the agency begins its own investigation of the drug.



I'm going to petition for a whole bunch of random drugs to be controlled, and see what happens.  (Kidding!).  

Not usually a big Wiki fan, but this one is pretty good...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act

[dominosarah]

I didnt know that so thank you for explaining to me.  

[vicki595]

Sara: The local DEA makes the decision. It's only scheduled in a couple states; I think Virginia is one.  Matt will know...   I know it's not in NM or in MA. My Mother takes this crap as does everyone in her neighborhood.  So ask me how fun that was for 2 months!!!
Here's the conversation:  "Oh..Hi..um...it's so hot out...um...hi...what was I saying?...where's my daughter?...Hi...it's so hot..."   Yikes!!   I put them all on a taper!!
I think it should be scheduled,as well,obviously!  LOL!

[nursegirl6572]

It's a Schedule IV in Kentucky for sure.  There is the US DEA and Individual state branches of the DEA who can regulate which meds are controlled and which ones aren't.  Typically though, meds get "scheduled" on the national level.  I also think it should be a scheduled med...not like a Schedule II, but at least a IV.

[dominosarah]

You said in some states it is controlled.....Who decides this?  

[my_mayberry]

i haven't read the responses to this...so maybe it's already been said. in the pharmacy that i work at, tramadol is in the top 20 drugs that we dispense. i work in a very high volume pharmacy, so thats saying something. reactions like this are almost never heard of at pharmacy level. obviously, nationwide, you will easily find many people who respond to this drug in this way...but they only reperesent a small number of those who actually take it. in what i have seen, tramadol tends to help people. the rates of addiction aren't all that high (although it SHOULD be a controlled substance) compared to opiates, and reactions like this are very rare.

ambien, triazolam, sonota, and many other downers carry risks of sleep walking and killing your loved ones. there was actually a case in which this **supposedly** happened. personally, i think it was just an angry wife who offed her husband and blamed pills as the cause. in any event...there is no doubt that benzo's cause many weird problems too, but thats just the risk. they help faaaar more people than the population who has adverse reactions.

even addicts....most addicts would wish that their drug of choice simply didn't exist. i feel that way. however, unfortunately this isn't fair for the much larger population who doesn't have any problem taking my drug of choice without any consequence.

i do believe tramadol should be controlled, though. there are by far enough addicts out there to warrent it. in some states, it IS controlled...but in many, it unfortunately isn't.

[mookie377]

yellowjacket was the name given to the methamthetamine diet-pill back in the day.Im sorry to hear about all your adverse affects as a result of tramadol,I tried it once,No high, No pain relief,so i put the rest in the Toilet.Thye best place for it and other Sneaky-Evil drugd like it.Tramodol acts by way of the opiad reseptors,and is metabolised?changed into a more letal product.Its similar to Pro-hormones,there metabolised into testosterone.This crap is metabolised into a similar narcotic likr morphine,but you cant tell there is no HIHG.Good luck john

[Oxy480Jim]

I have a 2yr. old male English Mastiff. (Tan)  He's only addicted to food and couch foam though. :)

[sandstone27]

I hope you're through the worst of it - your w/d's sound awful..Good luck!

[sandstone27]

You could say this about so many different medications - It just depends on what drugs someone has had personal experience with - Reading through the different posts, some would feel oxycontin is the absolute worst, others vicodin,  and then there are the benzos.  
It begs an interesting question.  But I have to say, I don't think the answer is removing the medication off the shelf.  Maybe it would be a good poll question?

[vicki595]

I,also,agree. It's a tough drug to come off of and should NEVER be taken in large doses per day. But,yes,the fact is that it does it's job very well. It's the #1 drug prescribed in Ortho. Like any other drug, you need to know what you're taking before you take it. If it says "may cause drowsiness", you pretty much know that it bears looking into. If doctors aren't telling their patients just yet about the disadvantages and the ingredients of Tramadol, the accompanying literature clearly states it.

One thing that would help,I think,would be for it to get properly scheduled. It is in a few other countries and here only in a few states.  

It doesn't need to be prescribed by a psychiatrist exclusively or at all. But,it's good to know one after you take it!

[Ballgame]

Not sure I agree with this thread. It is awful but to pull it because you had bad wd is not a good reason. Won't debate how bad it is because I agree. But you pull this then you pull them all.  And the fact is it helps some people.

[el_em_en_oh]

As much as I hate to say this, Tramadol, when used correctly & as prescribed, is a very effective medication.

Just because some of us on here have been addicted to it, and had horrible experiences with it, it doesn't mean that it should be taken off the market.

Maybe educating doctors a bit more, regarding the addictive nature of the medication is the answer, I don't know, but just having it taken off the market will not work. FORCING the pharma companies to educate doctors, put warning labels as to the addictive nature of the drug, or things along those lines.

Heroin, crack, cocaine, etc, aren't available "on the market" and legally... you see my point?

I use Tramadol form my English Mastiff (she has bad knees), and it works WONDERS for her.

Like I said, when taken as prescribed, or as directed by your doctor, or under supervision, it's helpful and effective.

I completely understand what you're saying, but I can't agree with you, about having it taken off the market.

[Oxy480Jim]

He said it didn't act like an opiate?  What does he think it is then? What an idiot.

It's sad, but some doctors don't know anything about the drugs they prescribe other than what the salesmen tell them.

This stuff is one of the stronger opiates they make.  Some opiate drugs bond to one opoid receptor, some bound to 2, but this one bonds to  three! There are receptors in the brain, spinal cord and gi tract.  

It only stands to reason that the more receptor and receptor locations a drug bonds to, the harder it's going to be to withdrawal from it.

[avisg]

tramadol was my drug of choice I don't think thy will pull it off the market because for many its far less addictive then other opiates .However you are right it very destructive and H el;l to come of it I would taper of it if you are still on it.All w can try to do is info as many people as possible about it dangerous.