Ultram?

[Cinderella1]

I have been suffering with a painful shoulder/upper arm for 2 months and finally this morning, I couldn't take it any longer and went to an Urgent Care. Because I have high blood pressure, the doctor said he was limited in what he could give me and so gave me Ultram and told me to see a primary care doctor, who may or may not take x-rays. I've never used this medicine before and read the information that came from the pharmacy, but was wondering what side effects any one experienced with this drug.

[sambob]

@Cinderella1, Ultram is brand name for tramadol, which can be habit forming and IMO is one of the worst drugs to Withdraw from, although most Dr. disagree and/or are clueless. Take as prescribed remember you can only take 400mg a day, otherwise you run the risk of seizure, use with caution and as directed. At one point I was taking between 600mg to 800mg, don't be dumb like me. Without getting into specifics it's basically a non narcotic pain killer with anti depressant qualities, so you withdraw from two drugs, fun, fun!

[Cinderella1]

Thanks for the information, Sambob. I really think that, unless the doctor takes the drug themselves, they have no idea of what it does. I went through this when one prescribed for me a blood pressure medication which, one of the side effects is a chronic cough. I coughed for a year --- and going to the same doctor for treatment of the cough. Then someone who heard me hacking constantly said to me "do you by any chance take lisinopril for blood pressure?" I said yes, and she told me that she had the same thing happen to her. When I was switched from lisinopril, in less than a week, the cough went away.

[alumni]

I have been suffering with a painful shoulder/upper arm for 2 months and finally this morning, I couldn't take it any longer and went to an Urgent Care. Because I have high blood pressure, the doctor said he was limited in what he could give me and so gave me Ultram and told me to see a primary care doctor, who may or may not take x-rays. I've never used this medicine before and read the information that came from the pharmacy, but was wondering what side effects any one experienced with this drug.

Are you taking any other prescription medications that are listed in your patient insert that indicates adverse reaction potential with tramadol?

[Good Apollo]

@Cinderella1, Ultram is brand name for tramadol, which can be habit forming and IMO is one of the worst drugs to Withdraw from, although most Dr. disagree and/or are clueless. Take as prescribed remember you can only take 400mg a day, otherwise you run the risk of seizure, use with caution and as directed. At one point I was taking between 600mg to 800mg, don't be dumb like me. Without getting into specifics it's basically a non narcotic pain killer with anti depressant qualities, so you withdraw from two drugs, fun, fun!

to piggyback on @sambob ... tramadol is less powerful than hydro, and while it helped with lower back pain, it had some weird side effects- you might feel talkative, chatty, generally positive mood... but after taking it for a while (for me 2 years) that stopped. I had to take it to get outta bed, go to work, come home, etc. So short term good, long term... not something to be messed with, unless there is no other option for some reason. I have had to WD from a lot of things in my time. This was by far the worst. I only use Tram now if I cannot get my usual crutch for my back. Good luck, and what you might do is tell the doctor you did some research and ask about specific side effects. Realistically if the doc said this is all they can give you, that may have to do for now, but it does lay the ground work for you to come back to it with the doc later and ask for another option. It may be very effective for the short term, and if that winds up being all you need, awesome.

Be careful driving, operating machinery blah blah blah as you get used to it. At first it made me chatty and all then once I had increased dosage it made me really feel loopy, and not in a cool way. Dizzy, sleepy, etc. At my max i was taking 300 mg per day, and actually found that taking 50 to 75mg was more effective. But beware the withdrawls. Not a good time.

[Cinderella1]

Are you taking any other prescription medications that are listed in your patient insert that indicates adverse reaction potential with tramadol?

I'm taking Diovan for blood pressure and Lasix for fluid retention, but he prescribed these for me as well. I go to see a primary care physician on Wednesday and I'll make sure to ask her about it.

to piggyback on @sambob ... tramadol is less powerful than hydro, and while it helped with lower back pain, it had some weird side effects- you might feel talkative, chatty, generally positive mood... but after taking it for a while (for me 2 years) that stopped. I had to take it to get outta bed, go to work, come home, etc. So short term good, long term... not something to be messed with, unless there is no other option for some reason. I have had to WD from a lot of things in my time. This was by far the worst. I only use Tram now if I cannot get my usual crutch for my back. Good luck, and what you might do is tell the doctor you did some research and ask about specific side effects. Realistically if the doc said this is all they can give you, that may have to do for now, but it does lay the ground work for you to come back to it with the doc later and ask for another option. It may be very effective for the short term, and if that winds up being all you need, awesome.

Be careful driving, operating machinery blah blah blah as you get used to it. At first it made me chatty and all then once I had increased dosage it made me really feel loopy, and not in a cool way. Dizzy, sleepy, etc. At my max i was taking 300 mg per day, and actually found that taking 50 to 75mg was more effective. But beware the withdrawls. Not a good time.

I don't particularly care for the way I'm feeling, kind of drowsy, like you say, not in a good way. And to make matters worse, I don't feel any pain relief -- not yet anyway.

[Good Apollo]

@Cinderella1 it is only helpful for me at a certain dose, and it makes one feel like you're saying. One thing though is that for me the eventual pain relief took over an hour to hit, so I do not think one can expect the instant -codone relief... but I defininately feel your pain. I had to have a AC Clavicle Distension (shave collar bone @ top of shoulder) due to impacted bones from weight lifting. For that obviously I had stronger stuff, but it took me over a year of misery and pleading with various doctors to get them to fix it. Shoulder is 100% now, only hurts in the cold. Of course I live somewhere it is ALWAYS COLD! But thats temporary. Shoulders can usually be fixed, if thats applicable I say push for it!

Generally xrays are not going to show anything unless you have a broken something or rather. It took me forever to get them to take an MRI- MRI shows dif things. Whatever they saw made them decide to cut it open and fix it. I would start asking as soon as possible, if xrays are negative. I think that shoulders and backs can be hard to fix and diagnose for docs, so you kinda have to be proactive in asking for and about different types of treatment. Just don't let them push you outta the office with a lose 20 lbs and quit smoking type answer (unless that totally is the prob ) Good luck.

[mistressC]

I thought this was a great solution to the 'hard-to-obtain-narcotics' problem. It is available on-line; Most doctors will prescribe with no problem; It's cheap, too. It has a good euphoria like hydro and oxy too. At least it did while I was taking it- about 1 year or so.

But then I had two seizures one day! Never had one before and I know I exacerbated the situation by taking some Xanax I bought on-line ********. I can't be sure which caused the seizures, but it scared me from taking it again. I felt so sick and handicapped and afraid to have another seizure.

So, I vowed NEVER to take any medicines I receive in the mail from ********. No one knows what's in that stuff. Really. And I haven't taken another Tramadol since.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire: Now I only take Norco and Percocet. So much for avoiding the CDS troubles.

[mistressC]

Also forgot to mention that I have psoriatic arthritis- Is why I take the pain medicines. No one seems to take narcotics for this pain, but I find it works best.

[salizander]

What @sambob said, be very sure that you want to use this drug, be very careful with it. I don't use it for pain relief, but I use it because the SNRI in it is the only med that has helped for my depression.

As a pain reliever it isn't that effective for most people. But like @sambob said, the withdrawls are horrific. I have had w/d's from many different opiates, but w/d from tramadol is a freaking nightmare. Be very careful...

[naughtysmurf]

@salizander,can you get your cute a$$ over to the clickremedy thread? I have a question you might be able to answer!

[pibo369]

I cannot take Ultram at all, it makes me nervous, irritable and depressed. My wife on the other hand says it makes her feel great. I guess it affects everyone differently.

[alumni]

Also forgot to mention that I have psoriatic arthritis- Is why I take the pain medicines. No one seems to take narcotics for this pain, but I find it works best.

This is actually not an uncommon diagnosis and coincidentally, I've discussed it with two doctors fairly recently to learn more about its symptoms and treatment since I previously knew little about it.
Based on what I learned, you are correct that typical narcotic painkillers are not used as the treatment of choice for this condition. Drugs like methotrexate, sterioid injections and, very recently, Enbrel or Humira are the medication choices I heard about. Have you had experience with these treatments or the non-prescription alternatives such as physical therapy and/or NSAIDS?

[kmontayne]

Saw norco and percs are mentioned here. Please remember to stick by forum rules. Inquiring and asking where to obtain these products is not allowed in the open area of the forum. For any more information please remember to go over the forum rules to understand better.

You may say you take those meds, but you can't say where you go them from, who you use, or anyone can't ask where you get them and who to recommend to get them.

Just thought I would give a heads up before this thread moves any further

[amt1954]

if tramadol work for anyone, you are blessed, but for me it did nothing. My Dr of 2 years decided to get out of the pain management business. He gave me a tramadol script and said good bye. maybe it was because i was on 20 mg of methadone for 2 years that the tramadol does not work. This is happening to a lot of people. If enough of us would start suing these c drs for sending people out with nothing to give them a chance to at least wean them selves off maybe it would stop happening. My advice to people getting pain meds, be prepared because it could happen to you. because this younger bunch of drs dont care. what about do no harm

[mrstef513]

I had a really bad experience with Ultram and would warn anyone who wants to try it. I took it for about two weeks when I noticed my sleep cycles getting shorter and shorter. By the next week I wasn't able to sleep at all. I weaned myself off of it but had severe insomnia and anxiety for about 30 days. I was going totally nuts and began to think aliens had tapped into my head (delusions from lack of sleep). At the end of my rope I took 100mg of valium and it stopped it in it's tracks.

I have read many reports on other forums that describe excruciating withdrawal symptoms. I've also read that Ultram should not be taken with anti-depressants, Ambien, or alcohol as this will increase the chance of insomnia side effect. In my experience no medical or psychiatric doctor will acknowledge this effect. I found this drug to be a total nightmare and no more effective than taking Tylenol or Advil.

[dallas1zs]

I was given Ultram when I first tore my shoulder. It gave me the strangest nerved out feeling and I felt like I needed to throw up. Maybe Im just not a good fit for it but never again will I take that stuff..would rather poke myself in the eye.

[mistressC]

Drugs like methotrexate, sterioid injections and, very recently, Enbrel or Humira are the medication choices I heard about. Have you had experience with these treatments or the non-prescription alternatives such as physical therapy and/or NSAIDS?

Yes I have tried Mobic and other NSAIDs with no help. I was on Enbrel for about a year. But it just seemed to be more trouble than it was worth. The skin lesions cleared up some, but not all; I had bruising and itching at the injection sites; it was VERY expensive, but I had good insurance at that time so it cost me $40/month instead of $1600. Plus, by design it is meant to lower your immune system activity. This doesn't seem like something that is good to do for the long term. So I stopped that treatment. Mostly I just suffer with the pain during certain activities. The Norco works and I do have a doctor who will prescribe it.

[Frank McGhee]

Years ago I was prescribed Ultram for both lower back pain and a shoulder injury. Other than the occasional drowsiness and slight headache, it was tolerated quite well. It was not very strong in my opinion, so we had to move on to more effective medications.

[DutchJacob]

Ultram/Tramadol/Ultracet works wonders for me. It's like a 3-in-1 drug; it takes care of my back and neck pain, gives me energy and relieves my depression and anxiety. I only take it once in awhile though 'cause I can't find a Dr that will prescribe me anything stronger than Flexiril (muscle relaxer). As far as effects go, they're pretty much a mild version of Vic/Perc effects; slight nausia if you take it on an empty stomach, itchiness, slight feeling of euphoria...It's not as strong or addicting as those two prescriptions but the danger is still there. I've heard a few WD horror stories from friends in life and on the internet. Just don't take more than is needed, 'cause it'll make you feel too good and you'll wanna keep feelin' that way (or that's how I felt anyway).