I recently tore a ligament in my left leg, (Ouch ) The orthepedic Dr. prescribed me 30 50mg Ultram pills with three refills. Instantly, I got mixed reactions when people heard Ultram was prescribed. A family member told me that a Dr. once told him that he would never prescribe Ultram…
Before I get this prescription filled, please give me the ins and outs of this drug. How are the affects compared to hydrocodone or codeine or the such? How will I feel when taking it? Is it addictive? I ask if it is addictive because he seemed to prescribe a liberal amount of pills. Please give me any info! What are the dangers involved? I’m relying on you all here!
Yes, it can be habit-forming, but it’s not as addictive as opiates. It’s a painkiller; it sounds like it’ll be likely to make you dizzy or drowsy. Don’t try to drive while using it.
I have no idea how it compares to codeine. People respond to different medications differently, so how it affects you will be quite unique to you, I guess.
Side effects.
Too much to Copy and Paste–read.
The “seizure” thing may be why so-and-so’s doctor said he would never prescribe it. Most folks can deal with drowsiness and dizziness as side effects, but outright seizures are a different kettle of fish. However, (a) it’s rare and (b) it’s apparently only a factor in epileptics.
If the idea of taking it makes you nervous, then for heaven’s sake get on the phone to your doctor (if he’s still there, it’s 5 p.m. on a Saturday night here), and tell him. He’ll be glad to give you a prescription for something else.
And if he’s not there, then surely his answering service will be able to get hold of him, and he can phone in a prescription for something else to a pharmacy.
The doctor is not God, ya know. If you ever have reservations about taking any meds, you have the right as an Alert Consumer to express them to your doctor, and to refuse to take anything if you don’t want to, even if the Doctor prescribed it. It’s your life, your body.
I’m not a doctor or pharmacist. The info is not hard to find on any presciption drug. They all have websites with the full “fear sheet,” testing and all. Here’s Ultram’s. http://www.ortho-mcneil.com/products/pi/pdfs/ultram.pdf
It’s a pdf, and from what I could tell, it has a dependence along the lines of morphine. Besides that, (again, I’m no expert) the frequency for the top three side effects seem rather high.
I always read the whole “fear sheet” when I’m prescribed a new drug, and I suggest you read this one. It’s only a coupla pages. You can make your own informed choice.
If you’re a recovering opiate addict, stay away from Ultram!!!.
The drug has significant activity at the opiate receptors, and I’ve known a lot of recovering addicts who were placed on it, having been told it was safe, only to discover they got euphoric (or dysphoric) on it, and struggled to remain clean and sober.
Recovering alcoholics and addicts in general should really steer clear. My philosophy (and I am a physician trained in the treatment of chronic and acute pain in both normies and addicts) is that if a narcotic is needed to treat acute pain, use hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, or whatever, until it’s not needed anymore. If the patient is an addict, or a recovering addict, use the same meds, but be real clear about who will administer them, and draw limits on their use.
For chronic pain in addicts/recovering types, skip the mood altering drugs.
For normies (non-addicts/non-alcoholics), use what works best.
I’m pretty knowledgeable about painkillers, and I don’t think you have much to worry about with Ultram. I’ve tried it and it did nothing for me. Take one, see how you feel, and if you’re prescibed to take two, then proceed as necessary.
I wouldn’t worry about getting addicted to them, just as long as you only take them as prescribed.
I guess I could address the actual question. :smack:
If you have no history of addiction or addictive tendencies, and meds like codiene and hydrocodone work for you, the ultram is unlikely to cause you any problems.
In my practice as a pharmacist (since 1990), I can count on my fingers the number of people that I have seen abuse tramadol. NOT SO for opiate pain killers (codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone)… I think that you are the best judge of your potential for addiction. There are some people who have addictive personalities and will abuse nearly anything (vitamins/supplements, laxatives, etc).
I personally have taken tramadol for 5-6 years. I have residual problems from a broken tailbone (rollerblades sold cheap at garage sale) and also suffer from migraines. Narcotic pain relievers make me itch, and also cause nausea for me.
Tramadol does not cause me to feel any kind of euphoria or drowsiness, only relief of pain. However, every individual responds differently to medications.
It is worth noting that although it can be habit forming in rare cases, tramadol is not a controlled substance. Which is to say that although it is a prescription medication, regulated by the FDA like antibiotics, the DEA has not seen fit to include it in the list of addictive or otherwise dangerous drugs that it controls as a law enforcement agency.
Similarly, its use is not prohibited by regulatory bodies in human sports. It is, however, prohibited in greyhound racing and the like.
I had great success with Tramadol for a ligimental injury. It causes slight euphoria, It controlled the pain for the 2 weeks I had to wait for surgery. It helped me remain mobile , albiet slow.
The one caveat worth mentioning is, don’t take it with a muscle relaxer. They potentiate one another.
My doctor missed the note in the PDR to that effect, and gave me both.
I’ve never taken heroin, but it couldn’t make you loopier than that combination! The doc had me take them (together) before leaving his office. Luckily I had someone drive me. No way could I have driven, hell, I was so dizzy I couldn’t get out of the car! My husband helped me to bed and I slept for 14 hours. At least it helped my pain.
Hope you feel better.
I’ve taken Ultram for about 5 years for migraines and it is very effective for this. It does make me mildly euphoric for about an hour; however, this is followed by extreme drowsiness combined with an inability to sleep deeper than a light doze (plus I get mild, intermittent skin itches). Because of this, I can only handle about two days max on the meds…anything more than this really starts to mess me up in terms of functionality.
) The orthepedic Dr. prescribed me 30 50mg Ultram pills with three refills. Instantly, I got mixed reactions when people heard Ultram was prescribed. A family member told me that a Dr. once told him that he would never prescribe Ultram…