Running out of pain meds

[Guest guest]

My heart goes out to those of you who run out of pain meds. I can't imagine the

stress and pain that causes. I have fibromyalgia and I want to share what has

worked for me for pain, and energy relief.

Have you tried Tramadol extended release? You take it once a day. They go up to

300 mg in strength and you won't be tempted to take another one. Studies show,

and I agree, that over 300 mg doesn't give you additional pain relief. Also,

with the dosage at one a day your doctor can't underprescribe them. I also have

Tramadol, not extended release, for breakthrough pain. If I'm having a really

bad month and I run out of those, at least I have some pain relief with the

Tramadol extended release. I also find that the Tramadol also helps me a lot

with energy - it has serotonin reuptake inhibitor along with the opoid effect..

It is important to titer up to the 300mg really slowly so you don't have nasty

side effects.

I have also found that I use way less pain pills and they are more effective if

I stay ahead of the pain. I take a pain pill about an hour before I do something

that I know causes pain. You do have to really get to know what your triggers

are.

Hope this helps someone.

Betsy

[Guest guest]

People on tramadol ER can be under dosed and frequently are, especially in

people already on true opioids. A lot of doctors will only prescribe the

100mg pills, leaving patients under dosed.

Tramadol helps many people, but it also does next to nothing for many

others.

Tramadol is not an opioid, but it does weakly act on the mu-opioid

receptors. Its primary action is on serotonin. Switching from a real opioid

to tramadol can cause withdrawal.

Tramadol carries risks that real opioids do not, one of them is the life

threatening condition called Serotonin Syndrome. Serotonin Syndrome

extremely rare with tramadol alone, but is much more common when combined

with SSRIs, SSNRIs, TCAs, and MAOIs, including, but not limited to:

Prozac (fluoxetine)

Zoloft (sertraline)

Paxil (paroxetine)

Cymbalta (duloxetine)

Luvox (fluvoxamine)

Pristiq (desvenlafaxine)

Effexor (venlafaxine)

Lexapro (escitalopram)

Celexa (citalopram)

Viibryd (vilazodone)

Trazodone

Remeron (mirtazapine)

Elavil (amitryptiline)

Pamelor (nortriptyline)

Tofranil (imipramine)

Wellbutrin is the only antidepressant that I am aware if that doesn't

affect serotonin. Since Wellbutrin does not directly affect serotonin (some

studies have suggested that it could cause insignificant changes in

serotonin indirectly), it will not cause Serotonin Syndrome.

Tramadol ER is also expensive (over $100/month). Methadone is only

$5-10/month at a dose equal to the largest dose of tramadol ER. MSContin is

also cheaper (brand is $40/month and generic is about half of that).

Steve M in PA

My heart goes out to those of you who run out of pain meds. I can't imagine

the stress and pain that causes. I have fibromyalgia and I want to share

what has worked for me for pain, and energy relief. Have you tried Tramadol

extended release? You take it once a day. They go up to 300 mg in strength

and you won't be tempted to take another one. Studies show, and I agree,

that over 300 mg doesn't give you additional pain relief. Also, with the

dosage at one a day your doctor can't underprescribe them. I also have

Tramadol, not extended release, for breakthrough pain. If I'm having a

really bad month and I run out of those, at least I have some pain relief

with the Tramadol extended release. I also find that the Tramadol also

helps me a lot with energy - it has serotonin reuptake inhibitor along with

the opoid effect.. It is important to titer up to the 300mg really slowly

so you don't have nasty side effects. I have also found that I use way less

pain pills and they are more effective if I stay ahead of the pain. I take

a pain pill about an hour before I do something that I know causes pain.

You do have to really get to know what your triggers are.

Hope this helps someone.

Betsy