Tramadol - the danger and the lies

No. I have posted openly what meds I take in other threads and posted proof. Not going into it any more.

tramadol = kratom in my experience. Same feeling.

Eat another pill.




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I completely agree. It does not have the effects when taking for pain as when taking for recreation. Tramadol...whoa..nasty stuff. People are better off with the natural substance. They should probably take the acetaminophen out and it wouldn't be as dangerous

Tramadol didn't effect me the time I was prescribed it.

That being said, 10% of the population have a biological quirk wherein their body lacks the enzyme necessary to process morphine and those drugs that are metabolized into it (like codeine or heroin) effectively and I lack that enzyme. Morphine doesn't effect me (thebaine-derived opiates do though, like hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxymorphone, et cetera.)

So even though tramadol is not technically an opiate and is certainly not metabolized into morphine, its effects are said to be vaguely similar and it's possible that enzyme plays a part in making the medication work for some people and not work for others. So maybe that's why the poster you mentioned and myself do not get a buzz from tramadol.

Samsies. I have a genetic defect with caffeine.



Last Edited by TlvmmCpoft on 12/08/2018 03:46 PM

I think one of the issues with withdrawal is because it acts on monoamine transporters to inhibit the reuptake of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. If you withdraw off something that affects brain chemistry this way over the long term, you would be a mess.

I took it for awhile for pain but noticed that it felt more like an antidepressant than pain medication. It did bring an overall sense of contentment and regained energy levels - short term anyway. I was never addicted..... I prefer the natural route. All pharmaceuticals IMHO tend to lead to the need for another in order to treat the side effect caused by the first. No thanks.

Not an argument worth having with him anymore. He's had 20 years to form an opinion and dependency, that's likely indelible.

Frankly, my only goal with him is to ensure that for every lie he makes about natural substances I counter and educate, so people have ALL of the facts at their disposal. At that point, if someone chooses to avoid cannabis as a whole plant, or extracts designed to help, good on them! I know they affect some more than others, my wife can't deal with much THC - uses a tincture with just enough to allow for the entourage effect.

CKP is a lost cause because he wants to be. We can't change that, just make sure the lies don't hurt other people.

One of the reasons for the "bone" pain felt during withdrawal is that the opiate molecule is larger than a muscle molecule. Opiates settle in next to the bones, and when cessation of the drug occurs that larger opiate molecule is shoving its way through the smaller muscle molecule, henceforth the pain.

That happens all over an addict's body while in withdrawal. It's why you see addicts in withdrawal beating their fists on their legs, arms, etc..

And you see, that's my concern with narcotics, and more so pharmaceuticals... you need pills to counteract pills which lead to pills to enhance the effects of pills that counteract...

You see where I'm going?

Mind you, I won't put any of that stuff in my body. My friends used to call me a "chicken," because I wouldn't try coke, or acid, even shrooms. But I have no DESIRE to hallucinate, be out of control, have "mind-altering" experiences, never have. I know some people find it safe and relaxing... I couldn't deal with the complete loss of control and handle on reality. The thought creeps me out.

I understand that for some in limited situations there's a case for narcotics... but I also KNOW through my experience with pain clinics and bored doctors that probably 2/3 of the people they are KILLING with this stuff don't actually need it. I deal with my arthritis and sciatica just fine without, as does my wife, adding of course the chronic pain and sensitivity thanks to a permanently damaged pain center and inner ear.
SO I fully admit to having a hard tome when someone asserts how much that they "need this stuff forever..." especially those that are PROUD of being on disability.

Taking 1 every few hours like intended and you will not get high. If you do get "high" off one you got other issues than a scary pill, probably an allergy. That said, yes, you take 10 50mg's recreationally, you will get "high" as long as a sick stomach and screwed up sleep is what you consider high.

The truth is when you take opiates long term, it perpetuates your pain and causes more pain, thus you need more and more medication. Throw in tolerance, and the cycle leads people to believe they can never stop taking it. I can attest to the fact that off pain meds for a period of time you will have less pain.

If you take the extra steps to address the root cause of your issues with specific diets, herbs, food sourced vitamins and minerals you can address most illnesses. Obviously not all, but, most, unless you dabble in pharmaceuticals which treat symptoms and not causes and prevent your body from healing itself. Of course, this keeps physician's and pharmaceutical companies rolling in the dough so it will never change unless one chooses to do the research and the work.

Also, the more one uses opiates, the more opiate receptors are created in the brain. Therefore there's the need for more and more opiates.

I’ve been on Tramadol for about five years. 300mg a day spread between 3 doses.

I’ve been trying to get off of it by weening the dosage by 25mg starting with the mid day dose. Withdrawal is a nightmare I would’ve never taken it if I’d known how hard it is to get off of it.

Part of the issue is not only is it an opioid but it also affects seretonoin and norepinephrine like SSRI meds do.

I had surgery and they required that I not take it for two days prior. Hellish withdrawal I couldn’t do it.

The way it’s going it will take months to get off it if I can.

Not worth it.

Really? Yikes! I don't know what I'd do if caffeine didn't work for me.

I hadn't heard of people being 'immune' (for lack of a better word) to caffeine before! I've heard of the so-called paradoxical effect wherein in certain people certain drugs will have the opposite effect than what they are supposed to, like people with ADHD getting tired or less-wired from stimulants like caffeine and even amphetamines, but it's the first time I've heard what you have. Doesn't sound particularly fun to have.

Pharmacology is a fascinating subject. I love it. If I were to do over again I think I'd like to have been a pharmacist.

Yes and more damage to receptor sites and neurotransmitters occur.

I love science. I also love the softer sciences like social psychology, but it gets on my nerves when people misuse it, which is always.

Coffee is meant to be "less effective" because I metabolize it faster...or something along those lines. I did notice I could always drink a whole lot more of it late into the night without affecting sleep, when compared with nearly everyone I knew.

I've become one of those cliche "triple shot cappuccino, please" people. I hate myself.

For me, it was no more effective than aspirin and no withdrawal problems. Ineffective as a pain med and at most just put me in a better mood.

This makes a lot of sense, and again, thank you for sharing. I'm getting a lot of informative facts and insights here, from you and others, and it's great, I really appreciate it!

Possibly that's my issue? I've actually nearly stopped drinking coffee... it doesn't seem to have any reaction for me, never had much (3 pots daily when night dispatching.)

Due to some esophagial issues, I just decided to basically stop. Now, maybe once a week I'll have a coffee jsut for the sake of a nice warm bev.

Odd. I know I heal quickly and metabolize things fast, always have... never much thought about it.

Wow, sorry to hear that... best of luck to you, you can do it!

The better mood part is why I think people abuse it. Short story. I am a former Director of Nursing. Before Tramadol was regulated we had an issue with patients Tramadol disappearing. The nurses used it to get through their long shift improving their mood and body aches. We ended up making it a controlled substance in our facility prior to the FDA regulating it.

Could be. I think I read it's something like two percent of the population.

Something that might help your withdrawal is supporting your brain chemistry with over the counter neurotransmitter L-Tyrosine. It releases dopamine and will help with your mood and energy levels. If you have difficulty sleeping because of the withdrawal anxiety an herb called valerian and or sleepy time tea can help. It is important to do a long taper off of it as stopping suddenly can cause seizures.

It is best to have the support of a physician. B vitamins also support nerve function. A more natural source for vitmain B is bee pollen, a pinch under your tongue. Hang in there, you can do it.

A slow taper might include, breaking one dose a day in half for a week or two. Then decrease by another half a pill a day and so on, 1/4 pill if need be. In the end, you may be down to 1/4 a pill once a day for awhile. You will have some discomfort, but, what is it worth to you in the end? It can be very freeing to not have to depend on something.

Kratom is another option once you are off tramadol. It is not safe to take them at the same time. Many stop opiates abruptly without withdrawal with kratom. It supports mood, energy and pain. You cannot take it with tramadol though because of the effects both have on serotonin and NE. I am giving you this information so that you can do your own research and/or have information to explore with your physician.

Best of luck to you!

I have had to take pain medication off and on for years. 1st it was far a ruptured disc in my lower back causing severe sciatica and muscle spasms. The treatment of choice was vicodin and flexiril muscle relaxers. I hated the itchiness, foggy feeling, and general nervousness that the vicodin would cause. I have also taken hydrocodone, oxycodone, and even time release morphine for the back issue. I finally gave in and had a vertebral fusion done and the pain went away almost completely. I was able to stop taking the pain meds with no issue and certainly no withdrawal symptoms.

Fast forward about 5 years and I was diagnosed with Stage IV rectal cancer and before my diagnosis, I had a lot of pain in my right buttock very similar to the sciatica but it did not go down my leg and cause numbness like the disc issue caused.

I was taking Tramadol for the pain so that I could keep working, eventually the pain and other symptoms forced me to seek medical help and that is when a doc ordered a colonoscopy and discovered a tumor in my rectum that was a malignant adenocarcinoma. As they performed scans and tests to stage the cancer, they found over 20 tumors on my liver.

The oncologist immediately took my off the Tramadol and put me on time released morphine pills and liquid morphine for breakthrough pain. WHile it helped with the pain tremedously, it also caused nausea and vomiting. Once I had about two weeks of radiation therapy the pain went away due to the primary tumor shrinking and getting away from the nerves.

I currently have scrips for loratab, tramadol, and morphine and will take the tramadol first. If it does not ease the pain, I take the stronger drugs.

Going through this ordeal has also forced me to try Rick Simpson Oil and I find that in addition to helping the nausea from chemo, it increases my appetite and dulls the pain better than the tramadol and even the hydrocodone. However, from time to time I will have severe rectal spasms and pain that only morphine and muscle relaxers will ease.

I am not concerned about addiction because I do not take the pain meds daily, only as needed. I do take the RSO daily and I have it timed to where I can take a "pill" get the munchies, and then hit the bed and sleep well. If there is a high involved, I guess I sleep through it. When I wake up in the morning I don't have the grogginess that comes with the pain meds and it doesn't cause the constipation that comes with the opioid medication.

As an added benefit, since I started on the RSO my diabetes has been in perfect check with no effort at all and my mood has been better.

I have used it all and the RSO works better for mild to moderate pain than pain meds and has other health benefits to help with the chemo side effects. It also MAY help kill cancer cells.
Just my experience,

Wow, I'm very sorry to hear about your trials, but I'm glad to see you so positive and using such sound judgement in your treatment options. You sound very strong - glad you're controlling your situation rather than letting the situation control you!

This is exactly what helped my husband withdraw from the Tramadol that the VA constantly encouraged and sent him. L-Tyrosine in the AM, Vitamin B complex, plus magnesium and Gaba at night before bed for sleeping. He did a slow taper like you describe.

Off most all meds except 1 (he had been on soooo many), his health is better than it has been for years. They just kept adding more and more meds for the side effects, and then for the side effects of the side effect meds, etc. etc. It was getting ridiculous and he was just feeling worse and worse with new symptoms showing up all the time. Now everything seems to have normalized. Yay!

Tramadol can definitely get you pleasantly high....BUT, as with opiates and opioids in general, it can also make you feel nauseous and fuzzy-minded. It just depends on your constitution and the dosage. Tramadol is a slightly weird kind of high though, because it works also like an SSRI, and it definitely isn't to everyone's taste.

I’m in so much pain from severe neuropathy, I would try anything. But I live in the heroin capital of the US and Drs here won’t prescribe anything. So I’m on the highest dose of Lyrica and it barely works. Pretty soon I’ll have to turn to alcohol.