Tramadol over time

[Michael009]

I'm getting very frustrated with Tramadol. I'm 19 and my back pain has been bad for a few years, I take Tramadol every day and have in the past year and a half. Why do the effects of this drug barely last an hour and a half anymore? Every time I take them, I definitely feel the effects -- it's just the duration has shortened to the point where it's almost nonexistent. Can someone please tell me????

[Michael009]

Yes, I've tried chiropractors. It worked a little. The main question I'm struggling with now is..............now that my body and mind is so used to Tramadol, and I can't go a day without it (mostly because the rebound pain is so bad), does that mean I have the actual brain disease of drug addiction?

I hope to God not.

[worried878]

I know some people especially some doctors think lowly of the profession of chiropractic...but it is a natural way of pain relief that can actually fix the problem instead of medicating the problem...unfortunately for me..i did not find chiropractic til 10 years after i hurt my back...so the damage was done...nerves and muscles that can not be fixed...i have scoliosis and was an aerobic instructor in the "hard core" days and did not kknow i had scoliosis...it sets ur whole spine off wack and leaves u open to injury...i have done evrything under the sun MD wise and chiropractic keeps me functioning...some people have spinal problems that occurred during the birth procedure and some mothers take thier newborns for adjustment after they hit a certain age just to be sure all is well...a crooked spine or a misplaced vertevrae can cause tons of pain and other illnesses as well
I will get off my chiro kick...but have u tried it?

[Michael009]

Yeah, now that I think about it I do not have a longterm plan. I asked my doc and physical therapist that question, about how bad I would be by the time I'm middle aged. Both said to keep working on posture and watch for developing arthritis. I find it very interesting though that up till age 17 I was the most athletic kid you could know. I still look that way, just the back pain keep getting stronger. When I take Tramadol I can manage it, along with physical therapy, but do agree that it is ridiculous to keep taking it. I've been on it for a year and a half. I have scoliosis, degenerative disk disease, and extremely stiff muscles. The first two I mentioned shouldn't have too bad of pain by themselves, maybe they tame the muscles worse. Other than that, nobody can figure it out.

[walternowotny]

The biggest question is:What is a long term plan?
If you have so much problems is such a young age what are you going to do 20...40 years from now.?
There is an increasing portion of population who is now dependent on narcotics for their chronic problems.Problem is...narcotics do not work long term.They also carry significant health risk.Once you are on high doses of narcotics for a long time it is very difficult to stop.Not only you will be physically dependent but narcotics will make the pain much worse anytime you try to stop or decrease the dose.
Long term use of opiates is not a long term plan(and Tramadol is in the same cathegory as opiates).If you just rely on narcotics you will be on morphine pump taking larger and larger doses of pain meds on the top of it in 5-10 years.
What is your underlying condition?Who is treating you?
Walter

[worried878]

yes...the effects get weaker and weaker and doses get closer and closer together = tolerence

[Michael009]

Thanks very much, everything you said is explaining so much to me now. I'm still not sure why Tramadol's duration would shorten over time, you'd think your body would metabolize the drug the same way with every dose (not exactly but pretty close). I've never heard of a drug wearing off quicker and quicker over a period of time -- like I mentioned, I thought it would just be the effects getting weaker. Does anyone know about this?

Also, I take Norflex and it is supposed to potentate Tramadol. Anyone have experience with that?

Thanks, worried878!!

[worried878]

tramadol is not classified as a true opiate but that will soon be re-analyzed and i dont think it will be long before it is a controlled substance...it was misadvertised in the beginning and most educated doctors do not fall into this myth...it affects and sits on the MU receptor just like a narcotic..so to the body..it is a narcotic...tram also has an AD effect which makes it the dickens to withdraw off of and has very little analgesic effect///the drug is not worth the risk for pain control as it provides /very weak pain control   thought as to be safe but it is not even safe...so the drug is basically good for nothing...except for unknowing people to become addicted to....not recommending narcs...but if i had severe pain/which i do but choose none on the above/ i would choose a true narcotic that actually provides pain relief over this drug

[Michael009]

I am prescribed 8 a day, and I take anywhere between 2-8, a good portion of the time 5 or 6 when my back is doing reasonably well.

Yes, I know Tramadol is addicting, but my doctor and I have tried every other method of treatment -- from acupuncture to physical therapy, daily exercises, muscle relaxants, hypnosis, you name it. My back pain has been awful in the last few years, and Tramadol was the last resort (other than true narcotics). Thankfully, It helped for a very long while, it's just now it seems to not last very long.

If my back pain weren't there, I'd stop it in a heartbeat, and I have several times when the acupuncture worked, but of course it stopped working after about a month.

I thought building a tolerance to something meant for the effects -- not the duration. I read everywhere how long of a half-life Tramadol has but it just doesn't last anymore. I took 3 two hours ago and for some reason they are lasting up till now. Maybe it's because I drank a lot of tea to metabolize it.

[worried878]

could be tolerence....where u would have to take more and more to feel the same effects...time to maybe quit them before it is a major ordeal to get off of them...how many r u taking a day now?