Appreciate I’m only just coming to this post from 6 yrs ago. But in answer to @keeptrying YES, YES, YES Tramadol gives me energy too(physically & cognitively) and I’ve only ever taken modified release Tramadol!!I knew I couldn’t be the only person who experienced this ‘side effect’ but I guess unless you have a problem with energy levels (or are a Ghanaian Commercial vehicle driver) you probably wouldn’t link the two. I’ve only read the 1st page of replies so far & it will take me some time to get through the rest to see others experiences/story. Tramadol it seems is like marmite, people either love it hate it & understandably as with all drugs how it effects each person can differ vastly. But it is such a relief to finally have some proof I’m not crazy in my belief it has been the Tramadol doing this & providing me with at least a small amount of quality to life. Alas like others to date no medical professional overseeing my care has believed this. My primary diagnosis isn’t neuropathy but myalgic encephalomyelitis & I won’t go into details about everything, but will say that even after 20years I still experience this positive side effect. Before people start replying in horror, I am well aware of the dangers & repercussions of being on this kind of drug for this length of time & heartbreakingly for me it’s unlikely to be for much longer. Once I lose the energy it has provided I won’t be fit for a haircut, let alone being able to go online to post on a forum or research this further. It infuriates me that because of the fact this drug is a synthetic opiate & opiates are no longer the go to pharmacological panacea for pain relief prescribed by the medical fraternity for decades, any resistance to reducing/stopping this treatment is labelled as ‘addictive behaviour’!!
I did want to say thank you for asking your question & I hope are day someone will do some research into this effect. Although it will be too late for me, I pray that even if it doesn’t result in it being used for this positive effect, just understanding how it creates this effect could lead to something further down the line.

Finally I just wanted to wish you well & so hope you are in a place where you have some bearable(if not pain free) time & quality. Thank you again!!