I don't get ultram??

[knitshappy]

I don't get it . . . my doctor has prescribed ultram 200mg. per day.  It has not done anything at all for the pain (chronic muscle and nerve pain).  I think regular Tylenol 2 tabs would be waaaayyyy more effective.  I was so encouraged . . . had read alot of people had good results from using it the only drawback was a tendency for addiction.  Addiction to what???  I didn't have any help with the pain, it had no effect at all on me.  Is there anyone else out there that experienced this??

[mareke]

I was on 400 mg of Tramal a day for 5 years. It worked pretty well for my arthritic pain but it had a downside and I'm glad I got off it. For 3 days while going cold turkey I barely slept and it was uncomfortable but then I started to feel okay. The downside was that it raised my blood pressure, caused chronic constipation, I slept too much and was generally far less active than I used to be resulting in my putting on 40 lb and the worst of all it gave me a slight mood lift (only if I took 400mg) so that I took it for the mood lift as much as for pain relief.

Paradoxically in my case it actually caused as much pain as it relieved because I became inactive sleeping more than normal and this inactivity resulted in much more arthritic pain which I then took more Tramal for. I now have mild high blood pressure even after stopping taking it because of the weight I put on while on Tramal. As soon as I got off it I started exercising and now do 2 hours of aerobic exercise a day and I’ve lost about 10 of the 40 lb I put on while on Tramal and my pain levels are probably 50% lower than before just through the exercise. My blood pressure still remains a moderately high but I’m hoping to get it down by eventually losing all the weight I put on while on Tramal. Also after 6 months off Tramal my bowels now finally work normally again as well!

If I was in a lot of pain I’d consider taking Tramal again but only if I was in so much pain I couldn’t bear it as I am now much wiser as to the downside. I suspect that if I ever took it on a regular basis again it would be the death of me through an eventual stroke or heart attack. Mind you if I was on it again on a daily basis the mood lift it gave me would make me oblivious to the downside and that is the ‘devil’ that lives in it that Bassplaayr referred to! If you take enough of it like most drugs that give a mood lift it makes you feel good while your body is struggling with metabolising it and eventually packs it in!

I hate constant pain and if I was in enough pain that was always there I’d probably take the stuff again as I would see it as the lesser of two evils but I hope it never comes to that. For the time being as long as I work at it my pain levels are low enough that given what I have learnt from taking it I won’t take it again unless I’ve exhausted all options and see it as the lesser of two evils. When I started on it I was oblivious to its downside but not anymore!

[Bassplaayr]

I've been taking Tramadol for 8 months now. I decided I would deal with the pain than to be dependant to a drug. I got my dosage down to 400 mgs a day & went cold turkey three days ago. The devil lives in this drug. It has totally disrupted my life. I haven't slept for three days & am going through living hell. They said this wasn't very addicting, that BS. Run as fast as you can from it.

[avisg]

knits, ultram is an odd drug , for some it works wonderfully and others get nothing from it . Not only does it work better for me for pain then anything else it gave me a nice happy little high . It was my DOC. I a very sorry it did not work for you pain .
Avis

[lurker]

I apprciate how stressful it is to have high hopes for something and be let down. I hit a wall when I tried Ultram.  But, becareful with it because higher doses can cause seizures.