Pain Management Community

You might want to read this article from WebMD. It does state, at the end, that it could cause problems for someone with past addiction problems.
http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-11276-Ultram Oral.aspx?drugid=11276&drugname=Ultram Oral
Hope this helps.

Congrats to your sister for being a recovering addict, instead of an active one. That is a hard path, and you should be very proud of her.

Because tramadol does not cause any kind of buzz or high, it is thought to be safe for addicts to use as far as triggering any addiction problems.

It does use the same opiate receptors in the brain as opiates do. It can cause a withdrawal syndrome in some folks. So can many other drugs, like antidepressants.

I think your sister needs to make this decision on her own with her doctor. As long as she told them she was an addict, and had that discussion with them, I would trust her doctor. If she was seen at the ER she needs to tell them EVERY time she goes there, as they don't always have access to all her old records, and even a particular ER doctor may not remember her from the last time she saw him.

I took tramadol for many years and never had any kind of withdrawal symptoms when I stopped taking it, or any kind of buzz when I was taking it. It is usually prescribed for mild to moderate pain.

Take care, Annette

I don't know about using Tramadol for a recovering addict, but I will tell you my experience with Tramadol. It sucks. It does absoultly nothing for me. Takes no pain away from me at all.
Jayne

Annette,

Tramadol does cause a "buzz or a high" in some people! It sure did when I took it!

Mom2ekj,

Please know that people DO become addicted to Tramadol. I was just recently reading about someone who was addicted to it, and having a VERY difficult time coming off of it, as withdrawal can be severe.

Please Google Tramadol addiction. You will find that people do become addicted to it. Unfortunately, doctors still prescribe it to addicts without supervision.

Can you please ask your sister to consult with a medical professional (that knows of her history) about taking Tramadol before she takes it?

I'm telling you...I have read so many stories of people becoming addicted to it.

Yes, it did cause the buzz for me as well, that is why I quit taking it.....

Everyone reacts differet to medication, just because it does not affect someone with buzz like feeling when taking it, does not mean it won't for another.

I apologize for my poor communication. By "buzz" I meant a high like opiates give not a buzz like feeling. I have never met an opiate addict who was willing to accept tramadol and whatever feeling it might give one rather than the real "high" that they get from opiates.

Also for Anon_54432 and the comment about addiction and severe withdrawals, I would suggest reading about the difference between addiction and dependence. Withdrawals have to do with dependence not addiction. Many non-addictive drugs cause withdrawals.

Addiction is a compulsive use of a substance for something other than what the doctor prescribed it for, and in spite of negative consequences in ones life due to using that drug.

We all respond to drugs differently.

Take care, Annette

am also a recover addict, i have not used in 30 years. i took trimodal once i new right away that i could become addicted not only dependant on it, i still crave it. i know other people that don't get a high from it, we are all so defiant

I have to say that I did become high from taking Tramadol. It gave me a very nice euphoric feeling. I took it for 8 or 9 months and went through terrible withdrawal symptoms going off of it. Not just physical, but mental too, because Tramadol also has an antidepressant effect.

I was in total shock at the horrible symptoms which lasted about 2 months. I only chime in here in the hopes of warning anyone about this possibility.

If you google Tramadol addiction, you should come across a support group. It has happened to alot of people.

just want to say i love your sing in name. i only took it once but i knew right away i would like it way to much. my doc gave it to me because i want take narcotic or opinions i don't see the difference, maybe it is because of my own past.

Annette,

There are opiate addicts who are willing to accept the high that Tramadol causes.

I just really want you to know that this is a serious drug of abuse for opiate addicts specifically because of the high that it does cause.

It's sad that many doctors don't realize this.

My sister is also a recovering pain pill addict, she had sinse moved on to Tramadol and is now addicted to that. She is using multiple online pharmacies to get them. I don't really know how many she takes a day but I know she's spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars a month on them! So IMO I would tell your sister to steer clear of them.

I am 34 years old and have been clean from all mind and mood altering substances for 9 years. There have been a few medical procedures in my 9 years and fortunately I have worked a program and God's grace both allowed me to survive. I was recently prescribed ultram/tramadol which I thought was toradol (I always get the 2 confused) and took 2 days worth as prescribed. Thinking I was taking Toradol (which is the safer of the 2) I began to feel similar feelings to the drugs I was addicted to (my drug of choice is anything opiate!!!)
I can share my experience with you-
AT 9 YEARS CLEAN ULTRAM IS NOT SAFE FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Taking 2 days worth woke my disease up. Thank God I was able to stop and not get too deeply emeshed with this drug. Had I continued down the road of this prescription- there is a good chance I would have been off to the races again. Drugs- even when prescribed by a doctor who had been informed that we are recovering addicts- can be DETRIMENTAL to our recovery. Those of us in the world of recovery seem to know the most about what we can and can't take. Even an addictionologist is in the dark at times. The years in a 12 step program have afforded me a sponsor AND support network which allow life saving information to be passed around.

What the heck is up with all these people saying that Tramadol does not give ya a high?! YES TRAMADOL DOES GIVE YOU A HIGH!!! It isnt as STRONG as other opiate narcotics such as oxycontin, heroin but if you took away all thepain pills and herion in the world,and gave an opiate addict some tramadol as their only other option, YES!WE WOULD TAKE IT!!! It DOES give you a high, I know, I am an addict and am STILL unfortunately an active one. (Now, I'm letting you all know this following comment NOT to promote using but for health and safety so please dont confuse that) For all you people out there using or know one, DO NOT TAKE TRAMADOL WITH METHADONE, HEROIN OR OTHER NARCOTIC PAIN PILLS BEING IN YOUR SYSTEM!!!! You WILL experience withdrawl "dope sickness"/detox symptoms!! They ARE VERY EXTREME and even caused me to have a seizure!!! I think you only get sick though if you are PHYSICALLY addicted to a narcotic pain pill such as Methadone, Oxy's or to heroin. If, let's say, you just took some pain pills and youve never really had any before, then tommorrow take some tramadol, I think you are safe from getting "dope sick". The withdrawls we are all talking about will happen to virtually anyone who takes them for any extended period of time ( generally about 30 days straight of use) and theey last anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months.Symptoms of opiate withdrawl are as follows:
nausea/ vomiting
diarrhea
, EXTREMELY SEVERE anxiety ( the WORST symptom for me)
, insomnia
, shakes
, the feeling of bugs under your skin
, restless legs
, mild fever
, HIGH blood pressure
, hot flashes
/cold sweats
and sneezing/multiple sneezes in a row. Addicts call them "sneezing fits" and are EXTREMELY annoyingand tiresome. I do it like 10-15x a DAY when I am in withdrawls (like I am now , just being honest ( Ive experienced and seen up to 17-24 even in a row... so many i gave mself a seizure
. But if you take Methadone daily , DO tell your doctor because if he /she prescibes tramadol, there is a very serious drug interaction which WILL cause withdrawls. If you ARE an addict and cannot do it on your own, there ARE medications to help with the symptoms nd I reccommend all or any of the following which are typically given to ease symptoms . You can go to a detox facility for these or ask your doctor:
Klonapin- anxiety and seizures
Tegretol_ seizures
Clonidine- high blood pressure
Flexiril or Robaxin- muscle cramps
Phenergan- nausea/vomitting
Immodium- anti-diarrheal

(THIS IS PART 2 OF THE REST OF MY REPLY AND IS TO BE READ IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LIST OF WITHDRAWL SYMPTOMS ABOVE)
There is also a medication called Suboxone which is a sublingual tablet( under the tongue n dissolves) which takes away ALL SYMPTOMS! It is a miracle medication for some people (like me) and it also has narcan in it which makes it so u CANNOT use opiates because if u do, u will get extremely sick. You also cannot shoo it up or it will make u very very ill and u cannot swallow it ( u must dissolve it for 15 min under tongue to get ANY effects) or it simply WONT work. So that makes it better for addicts because those are generallly all the ways we use to get hig so dissolving it takes away other ways which were part of our addiction and can trigger us to useso there are MANY benefits to this medication, however if u odnt have it or when u stop taking it, you WILL have withdrawls. They arent as bad as herion or pain pills some people say , but to me the withdrawls are basically thesame but they arent as long as some other "kicks" that ive gone thru....There is also Methadone and Methadone Clinics for treating opiate addiction, however, this IS a narcotic, one of the strongest, but if u choose this route, just know that when you stop, it is the HARDEST STRONGEST AND MOST SEVERE withdrawl known to man for most people. It is a 6months -1 YEAR kick!! It also can very easily bwe misused, abused and u can get high off of it. It has a very LOW success rate in the clinic with alot of the patients still using other drugs ie. meth, cocaine ,alcohol, marijuana. It does , however have a "fail-safe/safeguard" in it ( generally after 60 - 80mgs, that makes it so you edo not have the ability (allegedly) to gethigh off of other opiates. I have found that you can, but u have to tkae extremely high quantities, but as with anything, if an addict wants to get high, they will get high. Give us a rule n we will try nwont stop til we find a way to break it....(very sad, i know but I am just giving this information to HELP people, not teach them ways to get high. If they want to get high, they will find a way to do it. I promote health and SAFETY ONLY!!!!!) I AM a registered nurse, and an opiate addict who has learned all of this the hard way unfortunately, from experience, and from other patients i work with. I work with ALOT of fellow opiate addicts.I hope all this information I provided helps!!! GOD BLESS