I cant seem to create a new topic due to permission issues, so I am going to post my question here as it has to do with Tramadol.

Question : Does anyone know if Tramadol has an effect on lidocaine with regards to tolorance issues? The reason I ask is I had a tooth extracted this evening and although the dentist gave me copious amounts of lidocaine, I still was able to feel the pain of the the tooth being pulled. I didnt want to complain so I didnt say anything.

Please respond if anyone has any info on this or a similair experience.

In a general way, yes. Without going into the science (or boring you) -- Most any opiate used regularly can potentially cause issues with local anesthetics. However, this 'tolerance' issue if you will, does most certainly come back to acceptable levels with cessation of the opiate in question and time.

In the mean time, if you take it chronically, you might want to discuss this with the dentist. As it is not humane to allow yourself to feel the pain of a tooth being pulled. If it starts hurting, stop them, and let them try other angles and nerves in the mandibular/jaw region(s). They have many injection points they should know by heart and practice in which to numb areas of the mouth. Mostly they use the same 'reliable' injection sites from habit and practice... but they can try other areas and/or combinations of both to keep the pain from occurring.

In other words, they should be able to numb you completely, although it may take a little more time on their part.

Just from experience, I have had 2 of my 4 wisdom teeth pulled, and I had to stop them once because I could feel the pain immediately. It was something I could have bared, but the numbing agent is inexpensive relatively, and the surgeon was more than happy to make sure all I felt was 'pressure' and 'pulling'.

He used different areas, and in one it struck a nerve that went up to my eye. I immediately saw 'sparks' after/during the injection and then my eye started weeping uncontrollably. It shocked me and he explained that sometimes the nerve will reach that area, etc etc. It was just unexpected, nothing terribly painful.

On the flip side, some people who have been on high levels of opioids for decades report zero problems with a usual amount of anesthetic. So it is very individualized.

To speak on a personal note, I know several people who work in the Dental field, and they claim they can tell a 'pill popper, or junkie' because they don't numb up like someone who is 'clean'. This isn't to say be scared of admitting what you take, quite the opposite. Even with prejudices out there, the LAST thing the dentist/surgeon wants is to be causing you Pain. (Unless you happen upon a masochist ).

Hope that helps,

Also, were you using topical meds prior to having the tooth extracted?

I had a bad tooth, that I kept putting off and putting off. Each time I would use something different. oragel Pm. oragel max strength, anbesol...all diff brands and strengths.

Here I had used so much, I made the nerve immune to the lidocaine. Had to be knocked out to have to tooth pulled. As soon as I told them how much otc topical treatments I had been using every other week for a few moths, they knew what I had done. They also said, in some people it can happen quickly that the nerve will become less susceptible to the lidocaine due to the use of topicals.

So just something for everyone to be aware of!

My doctor prescribed me Vicodin for pain, but after a while my tolerance nixed its effectiveness. He switched me to Tramadol, and it works okay, but again my tolerance is building against it.

What other meds are generally prescribed for pain, as well as muscle relaxers, that don't have bad side edffects?

I don't seem to have any bad reactions to the Vicodin or the Tramadols, but am looking for something better for pain from my post-op surgery.

Has anyone experienced intense itching after taking Tramadol?
I rarely take it, but recently got a prescription and after taking a standard dose I started itching like crazy, much like the itch from an opoid but much worse and generalized, all over my body.
And a couple of days later I took another dose and experience that itch again.

Thanks!

OK, a little Tramadol horror story.

I decided for personal reasons to taper off oxycontin and was successful, however I do occasionally take percocet when the pain gets bad. The taper wasn’t pleasant but it wasn’t as bad as I expected. My doc put me on Tramadol 50mg 4 times a day. On the 3rd day I took my morning dose of tram and sat down to play a video game. Next thing I remember is paramedics and a police officer standing around me. I was very confused and combative. My wife witnessed me having a seizure for about 3-4 mins then go unconscious. I was eventually taken to the ER and evaluated (CAT of head and EKG) everything was normal. I have only vague memories of the events after the seizure.

I followed up with my PCP today and he tells me this is a rare side effect of tram and since I have never had a seizure before he is assuming I am allergic to it. Of course he ordered an EEG, MRI and a neuro consult just to be sure. People please be safe taking tram. I was taking the smallest dose and had problems. I have heard of people taking many times the recommended dose apparently looking for a buzz, which definitely increases your chances of having a seizure. I hope no one else has to go through this, I especially feel bad for my wife who witnessed the event.

My message to everyone is seizures can happen on tram even at a low dose.


ff66

I have tried Tramadol and do take SSRI's as well. Have talked with various pharmacists and doctors and as long as you keep your Tramadol use moderate and short term, Serotonin Syndrome is no worry at all.

I find that Tramadol does not work on pain as well as the opiates, but does sort of make me feel good.

I have had some skin irritations, but do not know if Tramadol had anything to do with it.

My itching, skin irritations are localized and really not that bad. I had my doctor look at skin irritations on my arm and various pharmacists? Nobody thinks the Tramadol has anything to do with the skin problems, but I wonder.

I would appreciate anyone else's comments as well.

Thanks,

JM

One "side effect" i've noticed when I do take Tramadol for awhile is that I lose weight and notice a loss in appetite.Anyone get this too?

NEUROCET QUESTION
I'm sorry...for some reason I can't create a new topic.
My question regards Neurocet....I have been unable to find what this med contains...other than APAP. Anyone know?
Thank you.

Tramadol and nortriptyline. A goofy combo if there ever was one.

Just wanted to add my bit about Tramadol. Tried it for the first time a few weeks ago, 150 mg first dose, then 50 mg at night (for my rotator cuff.) Usually I just use codeine. For me, it didn't provide pain relief even close to codeine. I lost my appetite, and was unfortunately at a dinner party. Into the next day, I had an odd side-effect that caused my teeth to chatter. Yet shoulder is still in terrible pain. I think I may just dump it down the toilet. Not a fan of Tramadol.

But the doctors don't want to prescribe me anything else (I haven't asked, but they haven't offered), despite that I only need pain relief for short periods of time when the shoulder acts up about 2-3x a year.

I asked my doctor about drinking, since I'm a college student and, well, a beer appears in my hand every now and then. She actually told me it was fine to have beer with Tramadol, and that it was safer than mixing alcohol with codeine. I don't believe that for a second. Codeine doesn't cause unexpected seizures.

I am new and do not know where to ask this question. Which drug company is the best and fastest for ordering Tramadol online?

for me it has been "Freindly Clinic"... Freindly Clinic
They are certainly fast...always overnight depending on when you place the order...

I'm never the spelling or grammar police, but it's Friendlyclinic - I before E except after C and a couple of other cases (stupid English classes never go away do they?).

I didn't want the poster to try to go to the above link and have nothing happen, or end up at a scammer's site.

No slight to you, because I misspell too, and I never use spellcheck so I often don't catch it until it's too late to change the post...

Indeed, but strangely, the "Friendly" part of the link was coded correctly; but it was followed by "Clinc", which is why the link didn't work (a missing i).

http://friendlyclinic.com/

Is it just me, or when I type "Friendlyclinic" into Google, it doesn't return the site itself in its results, but plenty of places (like Drugbuyers) that discuss Friendlyclinic. So I'm now finding myself having to add the ".com" to these places to get Google to fire it to the top of the page.

Is this something to do with Google getting all anal about online pharmacies, because I'm sure it used to list virtually any site at the top if you typed in the domain without the ".com" or dot whatever?

Oh, and Google did return this in the top 5 hits for "friendlyclinic":

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/friendlycliniccom-c129493.html

Has anyone had any experience with GENERIC Tramadol? I got mine from wholesale-pharm...
I made 3 different orders, and all three are different colors (Blue, red/green, and Green). Now Im trying to get off methadone, which is why I got them, to help with withdrawal.

Im not sure, but it seems my methadone blocks any effects of Tramadol..i took 150 mgs and nothing..does anyone know if tramadols just dont feel like anything if taken?

Also, Ive heard from a lot of people that Tramadol can cause euphoria. is this possible from generics? Also people have said it doesnt cause any sort of feel good feelings whatsoever. Which is it?

And does methadone actually block Tramadol? What is it supposed to feel like on 100-150mgs of Tram? Any answers would be very much appreciated.

What is it supposed to feel like? It is an opiate-like painkiller so first of all it is supposed to feel like your pain is reduced. It has reported effects that reduce serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake thus may feel like it is helpful in treating clinical depression.
Regarding "euphoria" in a basically opiate naive individual, there can be this effect but not for long if used in long term treatment. Switching from methadone to Tramadol will probably not give you any buzz.
If you are on a methadone clinic at a relatively high dose, you will get no effect whatsoever from Tramadol. Doesn't make any difference if it is generic or not.
However, if you are tapering off of methadone and are asking if Tramadol can help with withdrawal symptoms in the later stages, it likely will some but not much. Tapering from a methadone clinic is a lengthy, difficult process that is successful most often in my experience when as few "comfort" meds as possible are used to achieve the end result. Especially just substituting another narcotic.
A lot of the answers you are asking questions about depend on why you are taking methadone and why you are tapering off of it.

I know--->Tramadol, taken as directed, was developed as an opiate subsitute that specifically does NOT cause euphoria; it is supposed to have low abuse potential (although I have found it to deaden the senses and make my mind fuzzy, I have never felt "euphoria" from it, I usually took 100mgs at a time, although I have taken up to 200mgs at once, which will make you drowsy.) Taken in larger amounts, Tramadol can cause seizures in some people. It also doesn't do much for pain, IMO. I don't know if it would be very useful in getting off of Methadone, but good luck to you, I have completely stopped taking it myself although it is useful for w/ds from hydro, it is addicting itself, so if the point is to get off of drugs, it is ultimately useless, IMO.

all these answers make it seem like Tramadol is, well...useless.
i am on 60 mgs methadone. i skipped yesterdays dose, which is the first time ive went a single day without methadone in 8 months. for a while i felt fine. around the 24 hour mark i took 3 50 mg Tramadol. 48 hours later, this is the odd part..no real wihtdrawal pain..no joint ache, runny nose, no diharreah, nothing, i attribute this to the Tramadol; as i didnt feel any physical withdrawal pain, but mentally, i felt it. my mind started playign the same tricks as it did when i used to withdraw from oxycontin; same mindset. but the Tramadol DID in fact block out the physical pain.. i THINK> maybe the real methadone withdrawal pain doesnt start until 72 hours in or so; i dont know, becaUSE AFTER 50 HOURS, i took my dose for the day.

somethign i find odd; all these people say, no, Tramadol doesnt give you any sort of euphoria whatsover; yet i hear of all the abuse potential, and all these Tramadol addicts. so tell me, why would anyone continue taking Tramadol like an addict, when it allegedly doesnt do anything? I find that kind of fishy.

im not searchign for some sort of buzz; hello, chasing the buzz got me on the hell that is methadone after all. i was just hoping that since ill be suffering from mild wihtdrawal fo the next couplemonths, i do still need to work, which involves talkign to people, and when im coming off meth, or slightly wihtdrawign i do not want to talk to people. if Tramadol has some slight euphoric properties, maybe that could help with that.

There could be several reasons why some find Tramadol addictive and some don't. Apart from the usual individual differences in our body chemistry, some people will have opioid tolerance before they try Tramadol. A huge opioid tolerance, and 50mg Tramadol probably won't do anything noticeable. Those who have no or little opioid tolerance may be more susceptible.

Then there is the dose. Some take a large amount. I was prescribed it for tonsillitis and felt 100mg, not unlike a small amount of morphine. I have read on here of people taking much more, and I can only imagine that it could be quite strong an effect, though of course, not recommended.

Then there are people who are taking SSRIs or other ADs; their experience is likely to be altered in some way due to the mechanism of Tramadol's action regarding serotonin and noradrenaline.

Some people also take Tramadol to prevent traditional opioid withdrawal, or at least minimise it, and become dependent from that situation, since when they try to reduce the Tramadol, they can experience quite severe withdrawal symptoms.

That's why I asked the questions that I did.
If you are tapering off of 60mg/day of methadone, the last thing you should be looking for is a pill that will provide "euphoria." Not going to happen with Tramadol or any other opioid for that matter.
Tramadol might provide you with a little relief from withdrawals (as opposed to euphoria) in the later stages.
However, as I noted earlier, using one narcotic to withdraw from another is just prolonging the inevitable. You will find people who say they used a step-down process going from oxycodone to hydrocodone to codeine to Tramadol to some herb to get off but it's a drawn out excercise that probably could have been accomplished simply by tapering off of the oxycodone in the first place.
I have worked with addicts on initial doses similar to yours. The ones who achieved the best success slowly tapered to 30mg of methadone and then either entered a short-term in-patient detox/intensive out-patient program or went to a 28 day rehab.
Tapering fully off of methadone while on a clinic is difficult but not impossible. What you should change quickly is the mindset that you need to find another drug to get you off of the drug you are having a problem with. More often than not, you just end up going in circles and really getting nowhere.

Tramadol is the best medicine I've ever used to suppress my pain. To avoid nausea and other side effects it should be used at a low doses for a relatively short period of time. But when I'm hurting the most, nothing has ever worked so well. Visit Buy Discount Tramadol Article & Favorite Sites for useful information and several online pharmacy recommendations. Learn everything you ever wanted to know about Discount Tramadol.

OOOO-kay...?

I think it has to do with how you interpet euphoria. In my dictionary it defines as "A feeling of well being and happiness." From a psychological perspective it is defined as an "exaggerated sense of well being and happiness."
Tramadol has always given me a sense of well being, not exaggerated though. This well being is due to the immediate anti depressive effects of Tramadol I think. This feeling of well being is not the same well being ( exaggerated ), all is right with the world, nothing can bring me down, euphoria that can accompany hydrocodone/oxycodone.

I have been on Tramadol off/on for the past 5 to 6 years. Due to my pain becoming chronic pain, I've been on Tramadol for the past two years with no breaks. Tolerance does develop, and you have to play it smart not to go overboard to try and keep up with it or you will find yourself in trouble, as this drug is easy to abuse!

I totally agree with this assessment. I especially think that this feeling from Tramadol of "well being" without euphoria is marked at first use, but I found eventually that I just felt numb when using it, not to mention that other side effects can involve headaches, visual disturbence, etc. Look, people can become addicted to just about anything mood altering (including spinning until dizzy when you are a kid), however, where Tramadol is concerned, the DEA has had this drug on their watch list (for abuse potential) for years, yet it remains a non-controlled drug. I am sure that Tramadol has decent pain killing properties for some conditions (although never mine), but if you ask me, IBU has just as good pain killing potential with NO addiction. I sometimes wonder if Doctors prescribe Tramadol to get patients off their back vis a vis prescribing hydrocodone.

Headaches for me. Do not like the stuff.

I've been on and off Tram for five years. At first, it was a great feeling. I guess something like the first time I took a hydro when I hurt my back. I also immediately noticed an improvement in energy and mood. After years, and some days taking way too much, here's what I can say:

Tramadol has given me and others I know pain relief that, like narcotics, gradually becomes less effective. I'm at a point now where it does give me some back pain relief, with ibuprofen, but not nearly as much as it used to. I have trouble fully emptying my bladder and having the urge to go more often (did not when they switched me to mscontin, but as soon as I came back to tram, symptoms returned). I'm just going to be honest, here; almost everybody in my family (several siblings a step parent too) had the same withdrawal symptoms, and they are FIERCE, even if you are only taking 400mg daily. You get crawly arms and legs, which will NOT let you sleep, at all, because you constantly have to move them due to the "tickle" feeling. You will get diarhhea like you've never had before, depression will set in, even if only short term. Your nose will run like a garden hose. Last time I went through withdrawals, I was awake for 87 hours w/o sleep. Very not cool.

There are only a few ways to handle this the way I see it: either regularly switch off of Tram onto something else (I did this with mscontin for a while, but mscontin made me gain so much weight I just didn't wanna do it anymore) so your tolerance can lower to Tram (and maybe the other drug), permanently switch to another pain killer, stop taking Tramadol altogether for a period of time til a low dose works again, or just stay on your regular dose and gradually feel the benefits pretty much disappear.

For most of us in my family and circles, we aren't even after the benefits of the Tramadol anymore--we take it because of the sheer terror of the withdrawals.

This was a scattered post but I hope it helped. Ask any questions.

I think your taking the time to share your experience with Tramadol can be very helpful to others who might think that, because of its more liberal federal status as a non-controlled drug, it is not as problematic as other opioids regarding tolerance, dependence and discontinuation syndrome.
Medical professionals and state medical agencies are becoming much more aware of Tramadol's shortcomings as a pain reliever.
The withdrawal problem seems to be worse possibly because of this drug's properties as a reuptake inhibitor of noradrenergic and serotonergic systems.
Sort of like withdrawing from an antidepressant and a painkiller all at the same time.
You should make a serious attempt to taper off of this medication. Continuing to take it just to avoid withdrawals is not a very healthy medical solution.

I never felt any pain relieving properties from Tramadol (I guess that efficacy depends on the type of pain), and only used it when I was out of hydrocodone; I hated the side effects of Tramadol so much that, after the Haight Law went into effect, I vowed to get by on my hydro prescription from my doctor, and IBU as needed alone. To get off of a 200mg a day Tramadol habit I used Kratom, then finally went down to nothing (I also had trazodone for sleep at first, but now just use melatonin when I need to)...there was some discomfort, but the Kratom was a god-send to me at least. I am not advocating for Kratom, I'm just saying that it is a useful tool in ratcheting down drug dependancy.

All sounds reasonable, martind but I've thought about this everyday since I hurt myself in 2001. I've thought about what type of addict I was going to choose to be, because I knew I would be one--living with this pain is not an option. I refuse to just stop everything and use ice or yoga or voodoo; all bs. We have made enough advances in medicine that a man shouldn't have to live with serious pain everyday. My docs have tried a lot; methadone, fentanyl, hyrdo, tram, mscontin, and I could go on. All had drawbacks, yet all helped with pain, so I think my question to myself has been, "Do you want to live the rest of your life in pain just so that you can feel 'pure,' or so that nobody can call you an, 'addict?'" My answer to myself was a resounding, "NO."

So it came down to what kind of addict I was going to choose to be. After weighing all the options, somehow, tram keeps coming up as the least of the evils. Maybe it's part-psychological, due to the fact that I can tell people, "It's not a narcotic--it's a low-level, synthetic, analgesic pain reliever." Most likely, my permanent psychological attraction to it formed when I realized that it lifted my mood and energy which have both been low my entire life (not like hyrdo, which may lower energy and makes you wanna hug everybody, but in a refusal-to-give-up manner... get the job done, work overtime, work all day AND do the chores, and not feel bitchy the whole time because you hurt or you're tired).

So, after all the thinking, reading, and listening I've done, and I refusal to get more than the 4 surgeries I've already had on my back and r. knee, this is really the only ideal situation for me: find another drug with the same properties as Tramadol but with a different chemical composition and physiological effect (i.e. the drug would seem "new" to your system) and permanently cycle back and forth between that and Tramadol, perhaps every 3 months, forever. Wish me luck on that search. If I have to quit all meds to be "healthy," I'll find the nearest cliff and do a stylish, energetic triple backflip off of it--no jokey.