Tramadol question...calling all drug specialist!

[hearts and roses]

My dr prescribed tramadol for the chronic pain in my knee and back from osteoarthritis. It is claimed to be a non narcotic, however, my dr said to only take it at night and it does initially make me tired, later not so much, I wake up wide eyed.

So, any thoughts or experience?

 

[Hound dog]

Well.................

It is a non narcotic. I would have to go look it up to be certain, but I believe it's a NSAID or works like one, which would be good for the osteoarthritis. Some people it seems to work wonderfully with. With others it's like taking a tic tac. Unfortunately for me, I was one of the tic tac people. I was not happy.

It's actually supposed to work rather well for arthritis I believe. But if it's not working.......be sure to contact your doctor and let him know. There is no sense in grinning and baring it when something else may work better.

Hugs

 

[flutterby]

It's not an NSAID or anti-inflammatory. A friend of mine takes it and it makes her tired. She's been on it for a couple of years and still can't take it if she's going to drive, etc, but it works well for her for pain. Me, personally, it made me feel stoned - and not in a good way - and didn't do squat for pain. Interestingly, though it made me feel stoned, I couldn't sleep on it.

 

[TerryJ2]

My cousin used to take it (the one I'm caring for) and it makes her "stoned" and sleepy but she can't get a good night's sleep. I'm glad she's off of it.
You may be different, though.
Best of luck.

 

[Hound dog]

Well I got the non narcotic part right. lol

At least with it not being an NSAID it's not going to tear up your stomach. Which is a very good thing.

I'm more used to the generic name of the drug, Ultram. (sp) Whenever husband has had it, it seems to knock him out cold. But I'm never sure if it's the power of suggestion or the medication.

I hope it works for you.

Hugs

 

[flutterby]

Lisa, you might have been thinking of toradol which is an NSAID. Easy to get the names confused.

 

[susiestar]

Actually tramadol is the generic name and Ultram is the brand name. It is for treating pain and many docs like it because it is not a narcotic. For some people it is amazing. I found it helpful for a month or two, but after that it just didn't work.

It is often sold as ultracet, or tramadol plus tylenol in one tablet (I think the label I had said tramadol/APAP which means it has tylenol). Most of the people I know hwo are helped by it find that taking it with tylenol makes it work even better.

It doesn't do much for severe pain, but for moderate pain it can be a good medication choice. It is easier on the stomach but I don't know how it affects the liver and kidneys.

 

[seriously]

Tramadol is not an opiate but it binds to the same pain receptors in the brain so it can be very effective for some people. It also has the potential to lead to drug dependence and/or addiction depending on how it is used. I took it for about a year PRN for fibromyalgia pain but eventually it didn't help my pain and made me really nauseated - just like opiates do. But a lot of people swear by it.

Here's a link to some basic info about it -

http://arthritis.about.com/od/ultram/a/tramadol.htm

 

[hearts and roses]

Thanks everyone. I had looked it up and was surprised it was listed as non narcotic so figured I'd ask. I have found that it works for the pain, though not immediately. For example if I take it at 10PM it really doesn't help until around 4AM. But it does help to zonk me out initially, but later in the wee hours of the morning I feel wide awake. I can usually get back to sleep, but there's that weird feeling I could potentially be zooming at 5AM! And then when I am up for the day, I feel like a bit of a hangover but it dissipates by mid morning.

I was just surprised about it being a non narcotic, when clearly it is.

I once took 100 mg and that worked right away, but I usually try to get away with less medications, only taking 50mg.

Thanks for the additional info.

 

[DammitJanet]

It was given to me when it first came out and I found out I was highly if not allergic to it, well, we didnt get along. The minute it hit my stomach, I violently threw it up. It was developed to be a non-narcotic pain reliever and for some folks it works well. I cant even get near it. We even tried it again when the generic came out but it was no go again, though interestingly, with the generic it stayed in my stomach for about 3 minutes before I threw it up when the name brand comes up before it can even get really down.