Tramadol Helps with Exhaustion

Hello @keeptrying, welcome to Mayo Connect. I see this is your first post. I'm happy you found us. Connect is a great place to ask questions, share your health story and learn what others with similar health issues are doing for treatments. I'm tagging other Connect members who have talked about using Tramadol to see if they can share their experience. @barbararene, @mrfish, @techi, @vdouglas, @carpe_bean, @steeldove are you able to offer @keeptrying any information or experience with Tramadol?

@keeptrying do you have a diagnosis for your neuropathy? I have idiopathic small fiber neuropathy but only have the numbness and no pain in my legs so I've never had to take pain medications.

John

My only experience with Tramodol was not good. A GP prescribed it for undiagnosable long term upper abdominal and side pain. Tramodol did nothing for the pain but scrambled my brain. When I eventually moved town and changed to another GP his opinuon was that Tramodol was a horrible drug and I should not use it.

Hello @keeptrying , welcome to the Mayo Clinic Connect. I'm sorry to hear you are dealing with an issue that causes a lot of constant pain and exhaustion. I find your reaction to Tramadol very informative and I appreciate @johnbishop connecting us so that I can share my experience using it with you.

I use Tramadol for moderate to severe joint pain. I am prescribed 50 mg 3 times daily but usually only take 50 mg to get me through my work day. I do not consider Tramadol a very effective pain medication but it does help and it's effects are unique. I take the 50 mg and about an hour later I feel a twinge of mild nausea that last maybe 30 minutes, I know the medication is kicking in when this occurs. I then feel unusually optimistic for about an hour, maybe two then it begins to taper off. By optimistic I mean that I want to become active, I begin to look forward to doing things at work and begin mentally planning after work projects. I had not thought of this as a boost in energy but more of an antidepressant effect. This reaction lasts for about 4 hours or slightly longer. I did ask my G.P. about this and got a funny look along with "Hmmmm".
I would add that I cannot sleep if I take Tramadol before bed. 4 hours before yes, but any sooner I will not sleep until the effects wear off. I am more alert driving and it never makes me drowsy and no euphoria.
I have read that Tramadol is closely related to some antidepressant medications and can have an antidepressant effect.
Maybe more than you needed to hear but it does have a unique effect.

@keeptrying do you find it difficult to sleep if you take it near your bedtime?

@vdouglas
Von

Hello @david49 , welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with Tramadol. Thank you for telling your experience with it. We are all different and react differently to medications so it is interesting and informative to compare. I hope you found something that worked for your pain. Upper abdominal and side pain sounds very familiar to me. If you don't mind me asking, were you ever diagnosed?
@vdouglas
Von

@keeptrying my only experience with tramadol has been on two occasions and both times it has always been taken in conjunction with other meds. I had a hip replacement last year and unfortunately developed an infection that has has required additional surgeries. Both times, the tramadol prescribed in conjunction with oxycontin and norco (hydrocodone). Sometimes, based on the timing of when each med was supposed to be taken, I'd notice that the he oxy and hydro's, in my opinion, have a much more profound effect on pain management & tolerance as well the more well-known and noticeable cognitive effects, and much less so from tramadol. I have also heard that tramadol may have possible antidepressive effects, but I can't say that I've noticed anything in particular along those lines.

Sorry, I'm probably not relaying anything that's helpful for you but I figured I'd chime in with my experience, nonetheless. I did have a little fun joking with the hospital staff, suggesting they were giving me dog medicine every time they showed up with my tramodol dose. In case you haven't seen it, his has been BIG news recently in Alaska:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/sports/iditarod-doping-dallas-seavey.html

Good luck, Art in Alaska.

No never diagnosed. Its more of a constant dull ache rather than a debilitating pain. Been through every test conceivable. Had it for 18 years now and just live with it and get on with life.

Re tramadol, pretty sure its a morphine like drug and highly addictive. Be very cautious with it people.

@keeptrying I take 2 Brewer's yeast 1000 mg tablets every morning that help give me an energy boost. There is some evidence that it provides an energy boost but I'm sure it may or may not work for everyone. Good news is that it's not too expensive. Here's a link that gives a little more info on the benefits, etc.

John

Well l would say watch out for hydrogen, oxycodone, ibuprofen and also acteminophen. I have taken all these messages and I tell everybody don't take them frequently because they finally put warning of kidney and liver damage. And I had an allergy to aspirin like l had on my charts and later l found out some of these messages have some of the ingredients of aspirin. A nurse told me that when I was having a reaction but I was never told it was a reaction and it seems like a lot of men's have an antidepressants in it. So now I can't take any of those pain meds. If I have even a simple headache I just have to wait until it passes. So when I was in the hospital after my surgery they gave me tramedol and it helped but I do go asleep after I take it. And my gp told me I can take it but not to continue to take I th because it's an opioid. So l looked it up because I don't want to get addicted to opioid. Now when l looked it up one site said it was and another said it isn't. So l was a little confused about this so l called the pharmacist because l said he knows that his field a doctor really doesn't he just prescribes and usually not upto date with that. The pharmacist said it's not and opioid so l said ok he's right. Then l found out it was so I take it only if nessecary it has to be so painful I just can't take it anymore. But mines is 50mg every 6hrs. And because of all those pain medicine l now have li b etc problems a antidepressant I was given which I found out you shouldn't stay on the same one for years if you have a reactions. And you can't tell if you are having a reaction because if you look up your medicines the symptoms of a reaction is the same. So you can't win for losing so that's why you have to trust the Lord. That why it says Give it to the Lord in prayer because he cares for you. Who else does.

Thanks @davido49 , Sorry you have to deal with that but I like your attitude.
@vdouglas
Von

@keeptrying, If you don't mind me asking, how long have you had your condition? is it considered permanent?
@vdouglas
Von