Re: An article on Ultram

[Guest guest]

Lynne,

Maybe this will help. I found it at the Southern California Restless

Legs Support Group. They really have good information on ALL the drugs

currently being used to treat us.

BTW, It really honks me off how we have to fight with our HMO's for our

drug treatment. I don't know about your physician, but my family doctor

is very concerned about this " attitude " and what it is ultimately doing

for patient care in this country. He's working to change it too.

Bye for now, Susie

Ultram (Tramodol)

Ultram is a new synthetic medication for pain relief and is not

chemically related to the opiates, like all the above medication in this

class. It may bind to some of the opiod receptors but has other actions

for pain relief, not fully understood. The drug does not appear to be as

addictive as others in this class of RLS medications. This drug can be

very effective for treating RLS.

Some patients have used Ultram for drug holidays from the other pain

killers above (in the narcotic family).  This seems to have been very

helpful for many, and no cross tolerance has developed. This information

however, is only anecdotal, and is not proven yet in a clinical study or

trial.

Ultram comes in 50 mg tablets. It can be given at 50 - 100 mg every 4-6

hours with a maximum daily dose of 400 mg. Some RLS patients have

reported longer durations of action of 6-8 hours.