@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

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