# Tramadol side effects **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2013, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297 "2013-07-12T09:32:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/21 "2013-07-13T00:46:20Z")
In my experience Tramadol is a miracle drug. After my heart surgery last year they put me on Percoset, which had disastrous side-effects. Because of this, they then put me on Tramadol, which killed virtually all pain (including my chronic knee pain), and was also somewhat of an antidepressant. The only problem is that they gave me a 30-day non-refillable prescription. Day 31 was not a good day for me. ---
**Author:** ![Grateful-UnDead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ccd318/32.png) [@Grateful-UnDead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grateful-UnDead)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/22 "2013-07-13T01:08:42Z")
Thank you to those that have responded; now that I have a perspective on what I have to look forward to if I continue down this path, I am open to anyone describing how they handled their circumstances. My problem is that in a previous career I fractured a couple of vertebrae while jumping from a helicopter while carrying a heavy pack. Those fractures healed, but recent CT Scans show that calcification over the breaks is causing nerve compression/irritation, hence my current chronic pain problem. The second opinion I got was to have surgery to chisel away the calcification; however the side effect of this was possible paralysis. I chose to go with the drugs. Seems like that may not have been the best decision either. Given the comments made by the respondents above, I wonder how other people have coped with similar situations? ---
**Author:** ![CTburns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a5b964/32.png) [@CTburns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CTburns)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/23 "2013-07-13T02:15:09Z")
I take 50-100 mg each morning and 50mg in the afternoon for back pain. I feel like shit when I don’t have them. Achey and tired. How do I get off the things? Do I wean them slowly? ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/24 "2013-07-13T02:36:37Z")
Bump\* on my question, I haven’t found a definitive answer online. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/25 "2013-07-13T02:51:32Z")
Well in my experience anyway the times when I have stopped taking them it was better to wean off them instead of stopping cold turkey because when I did that I felt a great deal of lethargy both mentally and physically that persisted for almost a week. ---
**Author:** ![CTburns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a5b964/32.png) [@CTburns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CTburns)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/26 "2013-07-13T02:52:18Z")
Sorry Pool, I had the word “bump on my brain”! ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/27 "2013-07-13T04:49:23Z")
I have the opposite, actually. Tramadol makes me fall asleep – and dream about sex. More or less the **only** time I dream about sex is after taking Tramadol. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/28 "2013-07-13T05:37:42Z")
> [@pool](#): > > Bump\* on my question, I haven’t found a definitive answer online. Opioids as a class have been shown to lower testosterone for many individuals on it, both men and women. (Yes, women have testosterone. Be glad!) Tramadol is an opioid. Preliminary literature supports the idea that tramadol also lowers testosterone levels. It certainly does in rats. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/29 "2013-07-13T05:38:13Z")
> [@Grateful-UnDead](#): > > The second opinion I got was to have surgery to chisel away the calcification; however the side effect of this was possible paralysis. I chose to go with the drugs. Seems like that may not have been the best decision either. > > Given the comments made by the respondents above, I wonder how other people have coped with similar situations? My dad had the surgery - twice. He grows bone spurs, so the problem recurs. He went to the University of Chicago Hospitals where specialists did his surgeries. The second one ended up with vertebrae needing to be fused (I don’t know which ones), and a section actually removed to stop compression from happening again. He takes no pain meds, though has lost motility in his neck due to the fusions. I’m thinking that won’t be an issue for you. I’m sorry you’re going through this. I saw what the chronic pain did to my dad and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Grateful-UnDead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ccd318/32.png) [@Grateful-UnDead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grateful-UnDead)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/30 "2013-07-13T11:48:59Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Tramadol’s basically an opioid, with all the side-effects and other problems associated with opioids, plus a few more (it interacts with a LOT more drugs than standard opioids.) I rarely prescribe it, and then only under exceptional circumstances. I would NOT recommend it for long-term management of chronic, non-malignant pain. > > I wouldn’t _dream_ of adding valium to it in order to facilitate sleep. The combo of chronic opioids **and** benzos is truly a recipe for disaster for many people. > > You might want to get a second opinion. You are not my doctor, and you are not giving me medical advice, etc, etc etc… Given the circumstances I have described in posts #1 and #22, what would your suggestion be? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/31 "2013-07-13T15:46:43Z")
> [@Grateful-UnDead](#): > > You are not my doctor, and you are not giving me medical advice, etc, etc etc… > > Given the circumstances I have described in posts #1 and #22, what would your suggestion be? Consult a decent pain specialist (and not a doc at a pill mill, you may want to go to someone based at a University Medical school) to see about a pain treatment program that doesn’t employ opioids or muscle relaxers. These drugs have not been demonstrated to have benefits outweighing risks for most types of chronic non-malignant pain (testimonials from happy patients notwithstanding). Pain specialists who are also physiatrists (specializing in rehabilitation) tend as a whole to be better at finding solutions that don’t involve opioids. IMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/32 "2013-07-13T16:14:22Z")
I should also add that if you have neuropathic pain, there are medications out there that have been shown to be better and safer than opioids for neuropathic pain. Gabapentin, nortriptylene, pregabalin, tegretal, and cymbalta are some well known ones. ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/33 "2013-07-13T21:13:48Z")
Unlike QtM, IANAD, but I heartily second the recommendation of finding a good pain management specialist. Besides the medications QtM mentioned, there are interventions that pain mgmt docs use for some/many cases that don’t involve daily medications. ---
**Author:** ![Grateful-UnDead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ccd318/32.png) [@Grateful-UnDead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grateful-UnDead)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297/34 "2013-07-14T01:39:28Z")
Thanks Qadgop & horse: I will do that; thanks to the other contributors for relating their own experiences. G. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tramadol-side-effects/663297.md?page=1)