Tramadol Helps with Exhaustion

Thank you so much. I am surprised by the number of kind people going through this I found on this site. I think your point about Tramadol being an antidepressant is true for myself as well, and I had not considered that. On the other hand, I try not to emphasize this to my neurologist for fear she will think it is "all in my head." The exhaustion is very real, ten years ago I was a swimmer and horseback rider...I feel lucky these days to make it to the grocery. The Tramadol is the difference between being able to "lift my legs" or not - and taking a ridiculous number of "naps" a day, is 4 or 5. Thank you for your info. I'm not too good at sharing: This is the first website I have been on.

Thank you for the info on Brewers yeast. I will try that. I have found in the 8 years or so I've been dealing with this that you never know what may help - so I try to stay open-minded. What doesn't help is coffee...I can drink 3 cups and my legs put me right back to sleep! Thanks again.

I have had it for 8 years. It is permanent and progressive. It is idiopathic...I had lived a healthy, active life, so my neurologist thinks it may be genetic. My grandmother and my aunt had the same, one diagnosed, one not. As time goes by, I find that besides the Tramadol, people that "get it" keep self-pity away. So thank you. What tools do you use - if any - to stay hopeful?

@keeptrying

Welcome. I've never taken Tramadol, so I can't speak to that. But fatigue, yes. Have you had a sleep study? Finding that I have sleep apnea 15 years ago, and using a CPAP machine, changed my life. I was always tired because I wasn't getting healthy sleep, which made me sleep deprived. The sleep doctor was impressed with the number of hours I slept the first month, getting caught up on my sleep. Even if you don't have a sleep disorder, perhaps you should consider talking with a sleep specialist.

Several of my meds indicate the possibility of drowsiness, and I now have to restrict my sleep hours and I try to keep occupied to avoid naps - sleep doctor's orders. Sometimes I will sleep for 12 hours, but I'm working on reducing it to nine.

I do hope that you find a solution for the very frustrating problems with fatigue.

Jim

Good evening @keeptrying , sorry to hear it is progressive. I hope you are coping the best you can. I do not deal with the same issues that you are dealing with but multiple others. One is an irregular heartbeat, a symptom of mitral valve prolapse which runs in my fathers side of the family. It is believed to be genetic. That wears me down the most. I'm still working so it is very difficult to get through the day. Joint pain is severe at times making it difficult to walk or put a shirt on. I just have the attitude that it's what life is all about for me. There are many others who deal with much worse than I, so in a way I've got it pretty good. There are no guarantees in life. Every minute we are alive is a true miracle.

Believe me when I say that we do get it. I chuckle a little to myself each time I hear that because it is so true. I would also like to say that you are great at sharing. It is our hope to help you but you have also helped us/me, thank you. When we welcomed you to the Mayo Clinic Connect, you became one of us. That is very special opportunity and purpose. Hang in there, be strong!!
@vdouglas
Von

@techi

I took 800mg of Ibuprofen 4x a day for more than 20 years for shoulder pain. I had peptic ulcers around 8 years ago, so had to stop all NSAIDs, which includes Ibuprofen, Aleve, Aspirin, Meloxicam, and any other anti-inflammatory drugs. I did recently start taking Meloxicam, which is supposed to be easier on the stomach. Even after all those years of taking Ibuprofen, my liver and kidney functions are normal. I have idiopathic peripheral neuropathy pain in my feet, and numbness and tingling in my legs. The neuropathy is progressing, and is affecting my hands, and messages from nerves to my brain stem is slowing. I think other problems I have are likely neuropathy related.

I'm allergic to Vicodin and IV morphine, but I do take a small dose of morphine sulfate orally for pain. I know I'm not addicted to it because I tried tapering off it with no problems. I figured out that it was truly helping my pain when I stopped it, so I restarted it, but am at a lower dose than I was before. My feeling about the addiction issue is that if it's performing a function, it's not an addiction in the current sense of the word, but my body depends on the medication for its healing properties. I'm okay with knowing that I might have to take a medication the rest of my life if there's a reason and need for it.

I could say more, but it's time for nightly devotions with my wife.

Jim

@jimhd thanks for clarifying that for me because like l said l only take it when I am in excruciating pain and l shouldn't have to suffer if l need to take it. And he still gives it to me but he gives it to me small amount like 20 but says every 6hrs so that doesn't make sense to me either.

I know this is an old post but I know exactly what you mean about tramadol giving you energy to get things done. I get severe back pain but have 4 children to look after - my doctor prescribed me tramadol for the pain and it was great. But what I also noticed was I had more energy... so with it helping my pain and giving me a boost I was able to do some normal day to day tasks. The only problem I have is that it keeps me awake at night so I either have to have it with sleeping pills or not have it at all.

Hi, @vibert22 -- I'd like to welcome you to Mayo Clinic Connect. Very interesting about your experience with tramadol and extra energy. That works out nicely you have been able to look after your 4 children and do some normal day to day tasks. Hard if it keeps you up at night, though.

I'd like to share some Mayo Clinic information on tramadol: https://mayocl.in/2vucNRJ.

I thought you might like to meet some others who have talked about tramadol, like @gailb, @2011panc @lioness @tcccpa and @jfsherley. They may have some input on using this medication for pain as well as the energy it can bring and the potential for interfering with sleep.

Are you also doing other things in addition to taking tramadol to relieve your back pain, @vibert22?

@vibert22 @lisalucier

Thanks Lisa for inviting my input with vibert22. I'm not a medical professional, but I have taken Tramadol 50 mg, 4 times a day as needed for back pain before and after my laminectomy surgery in December, 2016. A laminectomy is outpatient surgery where part of my L5-S1 disk was removed to relieve my spinal cord from the pressure on it. I also have a herniated and misaligned L4 disk that can only be repaired with major surgery involving rods and pins. I was directed to Pain Management following my surgery on my L5-S1. I was also taking Baclofen and Gabapentin at first, and I have been taking Citalopram antidepressant for 6 years.

My experience with Tramadol was great. My pain was reduced as long as I took it 4 times a day. Actually, my pain on the left side of my back was completely resolved by the laminectomy, but my right side was so,painful I couldn't walk without great pain and I couldn't go up steps a t all. That's what I was taking Tramadol for. It helped, but didn't make my pain go away. I needed it just to walk. My surgeon had recommended that before I opted for the major surgery, I should seek other ways to relieve my chronic pain on the right. I was taking physical therapy at the time and it wasn't helping, nor did acupuncture or massage. In the meantime, I was still taking all my pain medications.

I felt so out of it and brain foggy, that I decided to stop taking Baclofen first, and began withdrawing from it, which was pretty easy. Next, I began withdrawing from Gabapentin, which was quite difficult, but I did get off it. I discovered that my brain fog went away and my memory was restored after stopping the Gabapentin. It's a bad drug in my opinion. That left only the Tramadol which I continued to take to relieve my pain.

My experience of Tramadol was that I felt very calm, and pretty good on it. My attitude even with pain was good. I had no trouble sleeping except for the pain in my right leg, hip, and back. I took the Tramadol every 6 hours even at night. As far as I could tell, I was having no side effects from the Tramadol. If you are taking the 50 mg version, you might want to try Tylenol PM with the Tramadol. If you're taking the 5/325 version, don't take any Tylenol as it's already in the Tramadol pill.

At about this time I decided to try Active Release Technique ( ART ), which uses deep muscle massage with certain body movement by the practitioner to release the nerves and muscles that have been bound together from trauma. To my surprise and delight, it worked. But I continued to take the Tramadol for 8 more months for other pain, and now I know I was dependent on it. I decided to get off it several months ago and began to slowly withdraw from it. I used CBD to help my withdrawal symptoms. After I was off it, I began to feel my normal self again. That's when I realized Tramadol gave me what I have described as a boost in my mood and energy. I used to feel that from my antidepressant, but the antidepressant seemed not to be working after I stopped the Tramadol. I am back to having my normal boost from my antidepressant now that I've been off Tramadol for several months.

I liked the extra help Tramadol 50 mg gave me--it was very pleasant. But now I have learned that I shouldn't have been taking Tramadol with Citalopram as they are both SSRIs and I could have been overdosed and gotten serotonin syndrome. I didn't ever feel bad on both drugs, in fact they made me feel better, so I may need more serotonin in my brain than I'm getting with my antidepressant. I continue to take 1/2 a Tramadol 50 pill when I am having difficult pain. I usually can get into my ART chiropractor before I take more than 1/2 a pill. I am still using the final prescription I was given in February, so I haven't used the 1/2 pill very often. Today is a day I required it for back pain. Im out of town, but fortunately, I'll see my ART doctor on Friday. My back doesn't do "travel" well--different beds, luggage, etc.

I hope this has been helpful for you, even though it was long. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. I think Tramadol is very good for certain kinds of pain. Some people become dependent on it, and im one of those people. But I never required more than I was prescribed. I never craved it, and I didn't abuse it. It was difficult for me to stop taking, but not too bad. I had a few weeks of foggy, cranky thinking and anxiety which CBD relieved enough for me to tough it out. I'm happy I took Tramadol when I needed it, and I'm glad to be off of it on a regular basis. I find pain relief from Tylenol when I need it, and only add the 1/2 pill when Tylenol doesn't work.

Warm regards,
Gail
Volunteer Mentor