Thanks to all. Because I may be facing a "poop out" effect with this particular medication -- and I don't want to take more than recommended -- I'm wondering about the possibility of switching back and forth bewtween Ultram and ibuprofen. Also wondering about OTC Naproxen?

Right now, I feel pain in my lower back similar to that of a toothache. The Tramadol isn't helping much. Yuk.

Is there ANY such thing as a non-addictive pain reliever to which one doesn't develop tolerance?

Thanks again!

Thanks! What are the withdrawal symptoms you've experienced with Tramadol?

The symptoms are pretty much the same as with hydro .... aches and pains all over. As soon as I take one the aches are gone. I've come to realize that what my dr. meant when she said it was very addictive was about the quickness of the tolerance to it. However, unlike other drugs ... the tolerance goes down quickly too. I find that if I can just go for one or two days without it then the effectiveness comes back. With hydro, it's more like one or two weeks to accomplish the same thing. I've yet to completely taper off Tramadol but what I've read about other people's experience is that in addition to the physical aches there is also depression.
Hopefully, Kratom will help ease all w/d symptoms ... hope, hope
p.s. I have never seen anyone else post about this but, Tramadol has an effect on my appetite ... in that it dulls it. For me, this is good. When I do eat, I eat less and I don't think about it until it is in front of me.

Kratom will definitely help with Ultram WD's! It is the only thing that I have found that works. It helps with the depression part too.It is addictive too but I guess we all have to choose our own poison.It only helps a little with my pain but some say they get good releif with it!Good Luck!!

Hi Luvmykids...I was just curious, did you try Tramadol at one point?? If so, would you say it worked better than
Kratom? Or not?? I got some Tramadol to have on hand....now I'm wondering if I should keep some Kratom close by...just in case. If you have tried both at one time or another...what about sleep? Did either one let you do that better than the other?? I miss sleep...

suzio,
I also experience a loss of appetite with this med - i pretty much forget to eat until my stomach starts to tell me i need to. not a bad thing. they work well for my knee pain and the effect lasts. i take them every other day to combat the tolerance issue.

xxx All discussions and talk about Kratom, or non prescription drugs, must take place in our "Alternative medicine - Complementary therapies" forums and nowhere else on our message board board. We have a vendors list there. xxx

xxx All discussions and talk about Kratom, or non prescription drugs, must take place in our "Alternative medicine - Complementary therapies" forums and nowhere else on our message board board. We have a vendors list there. xxx

xxx All discussions and talk about Kratom, or non prescription drugs, must take place in our "Alternative medicine - Complementary therapies" forums and nowhere else on our message board board. We have a vendors list there. xxxsuffering. When i go off SSRIs the withdrawal from them is feeling extra energy, clear mindedness, other positive withdrawal effectives.

Yes there is. Naproxen which I think is actually generic Aleve. It takes a long time to build up a tolerance to that and it has always worked the best for me otc that is.

of course some people dont feel good when withdrawing from SSRIs too.

What are SSRI's. In laymen terms, please. Also, many people say they get a good energetic feeling from Tramadol. Oddly enough it makes me sleepy which nobody has posted except me. It also affects my appetite but except for Gypsy, nobody else has posted that. Odd.
I read your post several times but I'm not a scientist and don't get it.

As far as I know, SSRI's allow the build up of Seratonin in the brain. It's believed that some depressed people suffer from a LACK of Seratonin in the brain, and that's why these meds are prescribed for depression. If you do a Google search for SSRI or Seratonin (particularly on WebMD) you should find volumes of info.

Side note: Does anyone know if it's safe to take Aleve with Ultram?

Thanks!

Yeah, obviously Tone is lucky enough not to suffer from depression, in which case, extra seritonin is not needed and I guess gives negative effects. This is one complicated and confusing drug! I don't see any reason why you couldn't take aleve with it.

Did you find a good place to buy the Kratom? I have been reading up on it and would like to try it for chronic TMJ pain, but don't know where I can find it. Any suggestions?

1kidsmom, yes its safe to take Aleve (naproxen) w/ Ultram. I have a prescription for Ultram and take naproxen all the time for breakthrough pain and it works a lot better than just the Ultram by itself!!!

If you go to the main index and scroll down to alternative medicine their is a lot of helpful information about it in their. I would give you a good place but its not allowed to be posted on these threads. But they have pretty good info about it where I told you to go

Does anyone know if it is ok to take a Tramadol with a tylenol 3 in an effort to make the analgesic last longer?

That's exactly what will happen too. If the tylenol 3 usually lasts 3-4 hours then the Tramadol will make it last 6 hours but tolerance builds fast w/Tramadol so it's best not to take every day.

I have heard, and can personally verify, that Tramadol sort of "offsets" the effects of Hydrocodone because it works on the same receptors.

If this is true, then I would guess it would also be true for Tylenol 3. So, you might be "negating" the effects of your T3, not extending them.

I am not a Doctor, I don't play one on TV and at DB.com I am only spewing forth my opinions, repeating rumors and hearsay.

So, do not ever say, "Well, Swizzelstick says....", because most likely I probably "made up" whatever it is you might repeat.

~ Swizzel

still swizzle, you speak words of wisdom, I always enjoy your posts! You could be an addiction counsler!

Thanks BackPain. I was feeling pretty spunky yesterday. It is great to have a place like DB to share my experiences and great wealth of knowledge. HA!

I found an injectable form of Tramadol called adolonta. Anyone heard of that??

Hi. I have been taking Tramadol for about three years steadily. I have had low doses and given myself very high doses. With this in mind, just realize that every person's body reacts differently to a medication. I never had a seizure no matter how many I took. Constipation, on the other hand, was awful. Never had that before this med.

1. This med is a mild pain reliever and never realy worked well for the pain. However, for depression, it is terrific (things that doctors do not know... remember, most M.D.'s are stupid and only have that degree because their family was wealthy... they do not even try what they prescribe). That said, Tramadol (Ultram) has a mild opiate effect and also has a mild antidepressant effect as it provides a bit of norepinephine and serotonin reuptake. The result is that this pill is a great well-being pill. No need for antidepressants along with it for that is a bad combination. I also do not drink much... but I would say that alcohol might up the seizure potential. BE CAREFUL WITH THIS AND ALCOHOl.

2. Now, the tendency is to continue to take more in order to get the same effect. It is in this way that it is addictive and will be a controlled substance ala the narcotics soon. Docs are waking up to the fact that the pill is waay addictive with awful withdrawals if you go cold turkey. Clients are calling in and reporting trouble coming off. I know. I was taking 30 to 40 a day with no problem but cost and waking up the next morning feeling depressed. Additionally, it does cause constipation and prolongs the sexual ability to ejaculate (could be a godsend to some; but I found that at large dosages, I was having a hard time keeping erections or even having them... of course, you will not read that anywhere... but it is true). So, the med is not perfect, but it really helps the mood and is further elevated by 420.

3. Withdrawal is a pain in the behind. No different from any narcotic and they even prescribe methadone-like drugs (suboxone) to help you get off the [censored] thing. I remember once when I was almost out of this med and had been taking a lot and boy those were tough withdrawals. I woke up in the middle of the night and it felt like my entire nervous system was on fire. Two pills and it was gone. But BE CAREFUL please!! This little pill is nothing to fool with and you do not want the withdrawals. At a low dose, it might even begin to bother you as it pushes you for more. Yet, the low dose withdrawal is not bad if you have something to wean you off like a benzo or another opiate.

4. It does affect sleep. Very odd is this. It puts you in a "reverie"... a dreamlike state between waking and sleeping. Actually, it is pleasant experience and I never worried about going to sleep.

5. Finally, I loved taking this drug as it promoted my enjoying this life more and I was very functional. One does not feel much different than normal but much happier. I could do anything... drive, write, speak... no sweat. Yet, there comes a time when the money outlay is considerable and the addiction FACT has hit home and, at that point, you are traversing a chasm you might not want to cross. AND there is resultant depression the next day until you take some (which could be as much as 12 at a time even though the dosage is recommended to be no more than 8 a day).

It makes me wonder why the medical community and the government are allowing this when they must know the effects of the med. It will not wipe you out like cocaine or heroin, but it can wreak havoc if you use too much.

I like it. It is a good drug as an antidepressant and very mild pain reliever. However, I do not know if I can afford the cost and the withdrawals to continue. Currently, I am off and I do miss it. My life has not been an easy one and it is great to find something that promotes some well-being in the midst of this world that has gone nuts. What happened to freedom around this world? You work your buns off to get from paycheck to paycheck and the alcohol/cigarettes thing is a legal poisoning. Man.... I am not surprised that anyone would seek some relief from these gas prices and the constant lies by the government.

So, Tramadol can be a substance that is calming. I liked to have it with a benzo so that the feeling is really controlled. Yet, it has its downfalls like all things foreign to the body. So, be careful and take care of yourself. This thing can sneak up on you and you will find that it becomes a part of your life.

You are extremely lucky that you didn't have seizures from taking 30-40 pills a day. I take one in the morning and one at night and have never felt a need/urge to take anymore than that. If I feel the effectiveness is diminishing, then I stop for a couple of days and the effectiveness comes right back.

I take it for the saratonin and not for pain because it doesn't help me for pain at all. It's strange how different this drug is for everyone. If I take one right before going to bed, I sleep solid for hours...otherwise I have a huge insomnia problem.

p.s. changing title back so people can find the thread

I had two seizures while taking Tramadol during a 1 year time. I was up to 8 - 50mg pills three times a day (so 24 pills per day). Although, when taking that many I would tend to forget if I'd taken them yet that day and probably double dosed a few times. Both my seizures were at night and came out of no where. It wasn't until the second seizure that it occured that it was because of the Tramadol. Be careful with these!!

I am really glad (and amazed) some people actually get relief from this drug.

It did absolutely nothing for my pain. Zero. Then I found out it causes seizures sometimes. Never again. I actually threw them away, which I sort of regret now as maybe they work for tapering off Hydro, and so could be of some use (?).

That is incredible that it's addictive. That something so ineffective could have any potential for that... It didn't do anything for me mentally either, as far as relieving the anger/frustration of being in pain. No "well-being." Plus it takes like chlorine.

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones with high sensitivity to Tramadol. I only need to take ONE 50mg tablet for all-day pain relief and excellent mood elevation. Seriously, it lasts me 8-10 hrs, and will last 16 hrs if I take 1 extra tablet 2 hrs after initial dose. I have never been so impressed by any medication as this one, it's been a lifesaver for me. I've been on various painkillers and antidepressants in the past, but Tramadol works better without the side effects.