Ultram - Tramadol

[Walking After Midnight]

Are these two drugs related to each other?
I have been taking Ultram for a month and I must say, as far as easing the pain in my feet and legs it's a noticable difference. It does nothing for RLS but for the pain, my days are better.
I know it's a "non-narcotic" and I've just read where Zach was telling someone that Tramadol was also "non-narcotic"...so it made me wonder if the two were related.

I think I'm the first one ever that Ultram has helped. I'd still rather have my Vicodin or something similar but since I only have Ultram, I'm glad I do.

I went to see the Neuro last week. He told me to go to a foot Dr. I told him I was feeling sleepy a lot and he said..."That's understandable with the amount of meds you're taking." Which was 450 Lyrica and .75 Klonopin. I told him I'd rather give up this combo and go back to the Vicodin. He told me that I told him on the last visit, that Vicodin wasn't helping and that's why he took me off of it. He told me I said Vicodin was making me tired. (He took me off of it in July) I told him I didn't remember saying anything like that, that I'd rather be on Vicodin. He said "We need to quit jumping back and forth and running in circles, find something and stick with it." I go..."I thought it was good to take holidays from prescriptions?" he goes..."Not always." What's he mean?
He avoided the Vicodin question like I never said it, then he increased my Lyrica and he was done talking about it, he got up and left. He's giving me the run-around for some reason.
He took me off Vicodin because I requested to come off it. I had told him I was starting to like it too much and was getting it re-filled almost a week early, and asked him if he thought I should get off it for awhile. That was this last July and it looks like he'll never prescribe it again. I should've kept my mouth shut. That's what I get for trying to do it right.

So anyway. Back to the Ultram...and Tramadol...related or not?

[jan3213]

WAM, Ultram and tramadol are the same thing. I take tramadol, which is a generic for Ultram. I take it for my back.

Jan

[Sojourner]

Hi WAM, I used Ultram for about a year and then began to develop almost a rebound effect with it--made my symptoms worse after taking it. Though this worsening only last for about an hour or so it, nevertheless, was that much more uncomfortable. Only took 100 mg in the evening. On rare ocassions 150 or maybe just 50. Anyway, about a month or so ago, I decided to give it up and just use the vicodin which I had been alternating with the vicodin. Some interesting things seem to have happened. 1) I started to sleep better--particularly when the rls was in check or not bad. Not perfect mind you, but significantly better. 2) The "eye movie" thing improved dramatically. 3) I seem to need less vicodin. Now usually just 1/2 tab v.s. 1 1/2 tabs (when I take it). Now as we all know, symptoms come and go so this could all be coincidental. Still... Now, prior to the "goings on," I did feel that the Ultram was relatively effective--also more so for the pain. Didn't seem to do anything for the PLM. I hope you also have success. But, if you develop insomnia, worsening of symptoms, or the "eye movies," please keep the Ultram in mind. Best wishes, my friend.

M.

[jan3213]

Not that anyone asked me, but I take Tramadol (Ultram) for pain--not for RLS. It is pretty effective. Since I had back surgery, I have pain in my back (didn't have pain before).

Jan

[glfngrl]

WAM,

Some doctors still live in the Dark Ages as far as certain meds go........they will prescribe some of this new age stuff in a hearbeat, even though the potential for side effects may be much greater. (Chalk up victory for the drug reps!) Then, too, they are scrutinzed regularly and held accountable for the narcotics that they prescribe. That being said, he should still be attune to what you are saying...you know your body better than anyone else. Having dealt with my late husband's cancer pain, I learned that many doctors are looking at pain medications in a new light, and are aware that most individuals will not become addicted where there is a genuine need for it. Vicodin was one of the first drugs that became pretty well known among RLSers as effective for most of us.
We, the patients, are the ones who educated the doctors to that fact. If somehow, opoids could be listed "on-label" for RLS, I am sure many more doctors would willingly prescribe it.

I think you were wise to take a holiday from it.....it will probably be "new" to your body again now. My advice: find a doctor who will work with you and listen to you. Lucky for me, not so for her, my doctor also has RLS. and we share tips and new info with each other.

As for the Ultram.........it has been used for several years by quite a few people with mixed reviews.

Good luck.

Jane

[Neco]

Sounds like he definitely doesn't want to prescribe it anymore.. I'd be surprised if you could pry a Tylenol #3 script out of him, even.

Be careful with the tramadol for sure.. I've gone very back and forth on this issue, especially the bit about it being non-narcotic. The bottom line is I believe it has potential to cause addictive behavior, and it did in me for a long time.

After the whole seizure deal, and then the increasing spasm'ing problems I had even in respectably low doses (given my history) I just finally fought to get off the stuff.

If you really want to push for a narcotic solution similar to Vicodin, and for some reason the Ultram doesn't cut it, you could try and talk him into Methadone, but that's about it.

[SquirmingSusan]

Sorry about your doc giving you the run around, WAM. Who knows what goes on in the minds of doctors who work with us complicated cases. I don't know if you have a pain clinic nearby, but you might get better results going to one.

[Walking After Midnight]

Not that anyone asked me, but I take Tramadol (Ultram) for pain--not for RLS. It is pretty effective. Since I had back surgery, I have pain in my back (didn't have pain before).

Jan

Ha Ha Ha
Jan, that reply is making me laugh.
What do you mean..."Not that anyone asked me?"
Must've been the delivery, I don't know but it's funny.

Thanks for the info everybody.
I think I'm going to have kill my Neuro. That's code for "Get a new one". (Maybe it's code)
I don't know, maybe he's looking out for my best interest.

Zach...I didn't know a Non-Narcotic could be addictive, but I read that on the prescription info..."can be addictive". That's just great. Well, at least it doesn't have the evil Tylenol acematapaheoneoaoeine (whatever) in it.

"Eye Movie?" huh?

Jane (glfngrl), don't think we've met before. Welcome. Thanks for the info and comments. I agree.

[Sojourner]

WAM, Eye-movie...Ever close your eyes at night and see bright lights or something similar. Some of us see these lights or even pictures (or something similar) that stream across our eyes as we're trying to sleep. Hence, eye-movies. Anyway, they became pretty "severe" for me but tended to diminish significantly once I stopped the Ultram. Still have them to some degree but not nearly as much. Best wishes.

M>

[Neco]

sounds like some kind of closed eye hallicunation... weird.

Anyway about it being non-narcotic, I'm just not sure anymore... I don't run around saying it as much as I used to. I guess for me, the burden of proof is in the fact it does act on opiod receptors, which makes it narcotic in my book, even if it is considerably weaker.

You will get all the common narcotic side effects, mood affect, possible short-term energy increase, insomnia, a "buzz" that is very light compared to other narcotics, but still evident. sure I haven't named them all.

Just watch out for any twitches or spasms that start to develop, and DON'T ignore them if they do. They WILL get worse and can put you in potentially deadly situations since they can hit randomly (in my case it was shortly after dosing, and would go away after a few hours usually).

If you aren't taking anti-depressants or other drugs that conflict with it, then you are most likely safe, and have nothing to worry about.

I now suffer from what I deem to be permanent side effects because of my experiences with mixing meds and then staying on it for so long. I suffer from myclonic /hypnagic jerks, that aren't very threatening but are very annoying.. Even taking my methadone sometimes seems to bring them to the surface, but its very weird.. The most prominent ones I can actually feel run down my spine just a split second before they happen.

[Aiken]

Yup, WAM, you probably shouldn't have said you were liking it too much. Kudos for honesty and willpower, but you probably put him in a tough spot. While he may possibly be a jerk, chances are best that your doctor's reluctance to offer Vicodin again is less about being a jerk and more about covering his butt. Now that you've now made him aware that you're a potential addict (like anyone isn't, for pete's sake) and he cannot claim ignorance if you become one, he'd be wide open to a lawsuit. I wouldn't be surprised if his malpractice insurance outright requires him to behave this way, lest he lose coverage.

And yeah, as someone else said, I'd consider Ultram/tramadol a narcotic. It's a pretty mediocre narcotic, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised to find people are reselling it on the streets. There's definitely a narcotic buzz of sorts. Not like Vicodin or Percoset, but definitely something.

I second the vote for suggesting methadone if you cannot get him to go for what you'd prefer. Not only is a doctor probably much more likely to prescribe a drug well-known for killing other opioids' buzz, but you may actually prefer it yourself. I'm finding it far superior to Ultram, though I must say I'm mainly using it for RLS and not much for pain. It did work well when I triggered my chronic back problem recently.

Just take care if you do get it. There are a lot of cautions to note when you start it, more than I know/remember here. Make sure you do plenty of research.

[Walking After Midnight]

Thanks Aiken, Zach and Mark.
Good info.
I noticed one day at work, I'd taken two ultram earlier, and then went and took half a Klonopin and a Lyrica and it almost seemed to trigger some kind of really laid back almost "buzz". Not really but almost. But they are helping with pain really well.

He skeduled me for an MRI on my lowerback. Wants to look at my vertabrae I guess. More tests that will show "Everything looks good" I bet.