Feedback on Ultram Side Effects and Usage page 27
About Ultram
If you have used Ultram, please help others by adding your feedback. What would you tell your best friend about using this pain medication?
Subj: It happened quickly and without warning
Date: 11/3/2008
I could go on and on about all the symptoms I have had trying to get off of this stuff, but basically I have had what everyone else has talked about already. I have a herniated disc and was really excited to find a med that was not a narcotic. I have two small children and needed relief without the side effects of narcs. When I first started, like others, I did get some relief from the pain…and I also got a sort of euphoric/high energy feeling. I had just started a small dose of anti-depressants a week or two prior to my injury and just assumed that it was working! I was just going to take the Ultram long enough to see my docs (spine doc and primary), get an MRI and then have my spinal steroid injection. That was about 5 weeks worth. I probably took about 4 tablets a day…give or take one or two depending on the severity or mildness of the pain that day. So a week ago today, I got my spinal injection and I had almost immediate relief. I was SO excited and stopped taking all my pain meds that day! (that is the thing about this drug VS. others, it is not really PSYCHOLOGICALLY addicting…but horribly PHYSICALLY addicting.)
That Monday I was fine. On Tuesday I might have taken one that morning b/c I had some pain upon waking. I also had knee pain that was pretty bad, but assumed it was related to my back somehow. By Wednesday I was low energy and irritable (also common when coming off of other narcs, but totally managable) On Thursday I woke up with a throbbing right knee, a sore throat, a general achy feeling, no appetite, nervousness, nausea…just a terrible flu like feeling. I thought that was what was happening. I was also sort of zombie like. And I forgot to mention that earlier in the week I noticed I had really dark circles under my eyes and couldn’t figure out why, since I was not taking or abusing the meds. I also had very, very restless sleep on the first two nights that I cut/stopped my dose.
I was so miserable on Thursday that I had to leave the mall (was going to be shoppin g with a friend all day) and go home and get in bed. I was achy and sick and freezing and then I started putting two and two together…and so I did a test. I popped two Ultram and covered up and waited for them to kick in. In an hour, I was fully recovered and feeling FINE. Soooo…the next day I lowered my dose to 1.5 tabs and stayed on that for 2 days and then yesterday I skipped the pills again, thinking that the worst was over. I mean, how bad can the withdraw be when you are only taking 1.5 tablets each morning?
Well…today I had to take one tablet, b/c I started getting flu-like again. It got me through the day, but now I am in bed, have taken a Vicodin, three Advil and some Benedryl for sleep and am starting to feel worse and worse. But I will not take anymore until tomorrow morning. I will wean down to one a day this week and then go to half a day next week and then to ZERO. Then I am going to make an appointment with my doc, print out all of these testimonies, tell her my story and flush every single one of my remaining Ultram down the toilet.
This is a dangerous drug and is more physically addicting to any narcotic I have ever taken. When I had my C-section, I took two bottles of Percocet and was NEVER addicted at all. And that was while taking care of newborn twins on NO sleep. Thank God I wasn’t taking Ultram or I would have been incapable of doing anything. The worst part is, I am a nurse and I always do my research. Yes, I had read that Ultram could be addictive in cases of people who have had previous addictions, but I never saw anything about PHYSICAL ADDICTION happening so fast. It is alarming to think that the people who are supposed to protect us, the FDA and even our physicians don’t really understand anything about this drug. This should be a controlled substance or an anti-depressant considering the way it affects your brain levels etc….I personally think that is why this is so hard to come off of. It acts much like a psych drug and this needs to be noted. For those on it…don’t worry too much, b/c if you want to get off of it, you can by weaning. I would definitely plan ahead though and please understand that the euphoria and energy and great feelings DO GO AWAY in time so don’t sit there thinking that this will never happen to you. Then you are just totally addicted. You will still have pain while you withdraw, but it is worth it not to let this thing take over. I was so upset to realize that my body (not my mind) was addicted to a drug. Wow. That was shocking and upsetting. It happened quickly and without warning. Good Luck to all of you and thanks to those who shared.
Eliza
Subj: Ultram
Date: 11/5/2008
I was told to take one 50mg pill a day for pain (I had ACL reconstruction surgery). One pill made me vomit all day. I was also very weak and lethargic. I don’t like it at all, and will never take it again!
Ash
Subj: Addicted
Date: 11/12/2008
Wow, I didn’t realize that everyone had the same symptoms as me. I started Ultram 3 1/2 years ago. I have never been addicted to anything before this. Ultram gave me such a high feeling. Whenever I got off I got flu like symptoms including: fatigue, runny nose diahrea, cold and hot sweats, man I feel like crap. I was on 100 pills about every three weeks but asked the doctor to drop my dosage to 25 pills per month. I have a problem though every where I go I find myself looking in peoples cabinents for some kind of opiad. I am mentally addicted and sometimes I wonder if I will ever be the same. I can’t see things the same now. I wish that I would have never got on the stuff. I cant even look at pill cabinents the same and I am always looking for a high now when I’m out of ultram whether it be exederine or energy drinks and ginseng. My mom is a pill addict and I can’t resist asking her for ultram every time I see her. I realize that if I can’t break this habbit soon it could kill me. When I get my 25 ultram now its like candy and it’s gone in like 2 or 3 days max. Does anyone know where I can get some help?
Mr. Tired of Pills
Subj: Taking Ultram as directed and unable to stop
Date: 11/13/2008
I was so relieved to hear some of these stories. I too have been taking Ultram for about 3 years. I started taking it every day as my doctor prescribed. He told me it was non-narcotic and I could take as much as I wanted…it’s non-addictive. Of course by now I know this isn’t true but why do doctors think this? I get SO sick when I run out…flu like sypmthoms, depressed, emotional, weak, dizzy, sweaty, cold then hot and I absolutely can not sleep. The longest I have made it through the withdrawal, is five days. After 5 days of not sleeping and feeling sick, I give up. It does help me with the pain but suddenly you start to think that your world revolves around pills. I start to feel ashamed and guilty like some kind of addict. I tell my doctor about the sickness I feel trying to stop taking it. He tells me that that would happen with the Percocet (that I also take) but not with the Ultram. I’ve never had a problem with the Percocet. I don’t know if he thinks I’m trying to get more Percocet or he really just doesn’t know how powerful the Ultram really is. It is comforting to hear that I’m not the only one that has taking Ultram as directed and been unable to stop. Do they get kick backs? I have to say it is far more expensive than any others I’ve taken. Or is it just that it is perceived to be less dangerous to the FDA?
CJ
AskDocWeb: For the part, doctors rely on information provided by the drug company that sells the drugs. The FDA is suppose to protect us from drugs being put into the wrong category but that doesn’t always happen.
Subj: Ultram did nothing for the pain
Date: 11/17/2008
I was prescribed Ultram for pain due to an impacted wisdom tooth and an infection in the tooth that was impacted. This stuff did absolutely NOTHING for the pain. Nothing at all. I took two for the initial dose and I was still in absolute agony. I don’t know why this stuff doesn’t work for me. I guess some people don’t respond to tramadol. Hydrocodone didn’t do anything for me either. Sucks b/c I’m still in massive pain and am left to rely on advil. yikes.
Camryn
Subj: Quitting Ultram cold turkey
Date: 11/17/2008
I am surprised to see so many post for a numerous amount of years, which is compelled me to write. I am embarrassed to say that I am on day 2 of quitting Ultram cold turkey. It really is hell. Everyone around me thinks I am suffering from a bad case of the flu, but I know the truth. Like my willpower to quit this drug (rec’d a new prescription today and will not take it), I will conquer these horrible withdrawal symptoms. I am taking cold medicine because I am so stuffed up, I can hardly talk. I am always cold. Needless to say…I am hoping the 3-5 days will be the worst of it! That’s 2 down, 3 to go. Curious though…is there anything to take to make this better…other than a prescription med?
K.
AskDocWeb: It may help to keep reminding yourself that you have to stick to quitting or face going through more withdrawal symptoms again later. This really isn’t something that you want to do more than once. We encourage readers to share anything that helps get through the withdrawal period.
Subj: TERRIBLE depression
Date: 11/18/2008
I am paraplegic, started taking Ultram about 10 days ago, 1 to 2 tabs per day. Works great, BUT…..I took 2 days off and TERRIBLE depression took place. Crying like a baby, just thinking of the past, good times and bad, doesn’t matter. I read a comment above, and the person slowly decreased amount to nothing. I highly recommend that. I am going on 4 days off now and probably will throw the rest away.
Michael
Subj: Ultram seemed a good compromise
Date: 12/3/2008
I have used Ultram off and on for several years. I have Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, a complex nerve disease of my arm, and sarcoidosis, which affects the rest of my body. I am 49. I have seen two pain specialists. One was very bad. Gave me an infection in my neck from an injection. The other was great. Really helped me. But he had me on a total of five narcotics, along with the injections. I would see him on the 24th of one month, the 27th of the next, and go through physical withdrawl hell every month. After three months of trying to tell him that I wanted to get off of as much as possible, I decided to take matters into my own hands and wean the meds. He ran a drug screen on me in the office, and the levels of his prescribed drugs weren’t right, so he cancelled on me. I went through hell for weeks, finally having a light heart attack, and spending three days in the hospital. Ultram seemed a good compromise to me. It helps the pain. It acts the same way as the narcotics, without the high. I do think that there is withdrawl problems from it. The symptoms that you have listed are all mine, too. So it’s a question of wether we should be addicted to a controlled substance or ultram. I choose Ultram. I have alot of trouble making my doctor’s nurse understand that Ultram is NOT a narcotic, although it kind of acts as one. If it’s used right, it can be a miracle for people like me who don’t want to live life crippled in pain. Last time that I ran out of the Ultram I took an overdose of tylenol. I wasn’t really trying to kill myself, just trying to stop the pain. I wish doctors would be more helpful.
Lorelei
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