Feedback on Ultram Side Effects and Usage page 42
About Ultram
If you have used Ultram, please help others by sharing your experience with side effects. What would you tell your best friend about using this pain medication?
Subj: Severe anxiety and panic attacks
Date: 3/7/2011
I am a 40 year old female. I am in good general health despite degenerative disc disease in my lower back. I have 2 herniated discs in my low back. I had been taking ultram for 6 months both before and after back surgery on 10/29/10. I had severe sciatica and low back pain. I tapered off of the Ultram 23 days ago and have since developed severe anxiety, and panic attacks. I get night sweats and feel cold all the time. My doctor prescribe Sarafem to help with these symptoms. My question is how long will these withdrawal symptoms last? I have never had anxiety or panic attacks before. Now that my pain is significantly better, why do I feel so horrible and how long will this last? any help you can provide would be great.
Adrienne
AskDocWeb: According to those who have quit taking this so-called non-addictive drug, withdrawal symptoms may last from 7 to 10 days. About the only thing you can do is to drink plenty of water. Staying well hydrated will help the body flush the drug from your system.
Subj: Worried about withdrawals
Date: 3/28/2011
I was prescribed ultram about 3 mos ago after a fall that really did a number on my back. I am breast feeding a toddler, which I told the Dr at the time. However, it wasn’t until I saw another Dr. (at his same practice) that I was told this was not good. But they decided I should stay on it. Now, I’m trying to get a different pain med because I feel sick all the time (while that is better than laying on an ice pack all day crying, I need a better option). I’m worried about withdrawals for me and for my toddler. Any advice?
Katie
AskDocWeb: On this forum we are limited to questions about side effects. For advice contact a local or 
online doctor.
Subj: Addicted to Ultram
Date: 4/18/2011
I think this is the worst medicine anyone can take. My husband has been addicted to this for a few years now. I had thought he quit taking them about nine months ago but I was wrong he has been taking more and more of them and lying about it this whole time. It has caused us to have horrible fights that have almost destroyed our marriage and now I can’t trust him at all. He has not taken it for one week and the things I have watched him experience were just unimaginable. This medicine has torn us apart and I still don’t know if we are going to make it through this. I do not recommend anybody to take this medicine. It will destroy you and your relationship and family.
Terra
Subj: ANYTHING that kills pain CAN BE ADDICTIVE
Date: 5/10/2011
I’ve been a user of ultram/tramadol for about ten years for lower back pain. BUT I only utilize about one bottle (40-60 pills) for an entire year. Many stories on here are scary because they go beyond the prescribed dose. I DO agree with noticing symptoms of withdrawal after a bad back-pain episode(about a week of prescribed dosage or less) and I take myself off of it immediately …..especially if I am “craving” the ease provided by taking it.
Taking ultram must be based prescribed dose…..ANYTHING that kills pain CAN BE ADDICTIVE …addiction is about control….be careful with any pain killer….even ultram….my side effects have been headaches to amazing superhuman focus and “organization skills”…. my withdrawal symptoms have ranged from lack of sleep, night sweats, extreme fatigue and depression. Tell your doctor if you have any of these…don’t hide your addiction, follow his prescription and find as many healthy habits as possible.
Jag
Subj: Scares me to think I may be addicted
Date: 5/15/2011
I have been taking 3×50 for a few years and feel a little off between pills. I wonder if I am developing tolerance. I take for arthritis pain and feel they help my quality of life. I don’t like being addicted if I am. I don’t drink or smoke. Don’t have any family members with addiction problems and never have. Scares me to think I may be addicted. People say pot helps withdrawls? Is this true?
Ralph
AskDocWeb: Sorry Ralph, we do NOT support the illegal use of any substance.
Subj: Sudden mood swings (rage)
Date: 6/22/2011
When first taking Tramadol (just 100mg per day – 2-50mg 12 hrs. apart), I found my pain from diabetic neuropathy lessened. I have been very strict about sticking to this dose over the past 2 years. I began to notice early that Tramadol calmed me down (I tend to be a tense person). My doctor seemed skeptical of this effect, but I am confident this was caused be the Tramadol. I have currently been experiencing sudden inexplicable mood swings (rage) to the point that I am frightened of these unpredictable and dangerous events. I theorize that over time I have developed a resistance to Tramadol. I realize my dosage is small and doctors will be dubious of any connection with Tramadol and my rage events. Nevertheless, I am getting off of it to eliminate this variable. I have started by reducing to 1 50mg pill per day. We are all different metabolically and I resent the one-drug-fits-all approach to medicine. More and more I am also becoming a believer in the notion that one can’t get something for nothing, or no gain without pain.
Joe
Subj: Shocking withdrawal symptoms
Date: 6/22/2011
I have been taking Ultram since the late 90’s. In 2003 I stopped taking it and suffered shocking withdrawal symptoms almost at once. Insomnia and severe lower leg cramps. These symptoms went on for about 1 month and then stopped. I went back on Ultram in 2004 and just stopped the last week in June 2011.
No one should take a pain killer for 7 years straight even IF they need it as I do. Again, I have difficulty sleeping, restlessness when laying down, and leg cramps. But last night was the first night I could not sleep at all. This is a very addictive drug in my opinion. I was given Ultram due to long term problems from a car accident in which I nearly died and was hospitalized for 2 months because of. My doctors feared by 1997 I would be addicted to Vicodin if I continued using it. They switched me to this drug. I must say it managed the pain but now I feel the trade off is not good at all. I had no trouble stopping Demerol usage in the hospital after 6 weeks of continuous use for pain treatment from my accident injuries.
After hospital I was given Fiornyl and used very little of one 30 pill prescription over the next 3 months. I began using Vicodin in 1992 when metal from bone reconstruction and surgical adhesions began bothering me too much but used it sporadically from then to 1997. About 5 times per year at 30 pills per prescription. This narcotic I only took when pain was present and no longer tolerable.
At first, when given Ultram I was assured it was not addictive and far safer than Vicodin. But by 2003 when I first stopped I had realized that this drug had to be taken every day to be effective. Once I had the drug clear of my system the first time, I was fine except for recurrent pain. It was a mistake to begin taking Ultram again in 2004. This is a drug that must be taken every day. It is a drug that physically will not allow you to “skip” a dose or two. If you do, you realize in yourself side effects which are most unpleasant such as agitation. Once you take a “missed dose” a noticeable euphoria occurs and of course in that state there is no sense of physical pain. This is not normal.
Whenever I took Vicodin, the only sensation I experienced was a sensation of no pain. Physical pain was dulled or ended. And I did not need to keep taking it continuously as Ultram seemed to demand of me. This is in my experience a dreadfully addictive drug. It is also much more expensive than other pain killers. From what I have read in medical journals it is also lethal in low doses. There have been many reports deaths at low doses. I find that troubling.
Certain anti depressants must NOT be taken with Ultram due to very dangerous reactions. Alcohol must not consumed at all when on Ultram as the risk of accidental death is high. These facts I have learned from the drug’s manufacturer as well as reports in medical journals. This seems to be a very troubling situation and from what I have read here, I am not the only person who has been caught up in this problem.
I know that Oxycontin has taken everyone’s attention with its addictive qualities but Ultram should be more closely examined by the medical community and by the media. It is NOT a safe replacement in the treatment of moderate pain. It is in my experience more addictive than Demerol or Vicodin, less effective at treating moderate pain, and much more difficult to not only stop using altogether but very difficult to attempt to use ONLY in the prescence of pain. Does it make sense to take something for pain every day when you are not at that moment suffering pain? But this drug once started must be taken continuously every day even if the pain is not present. Moderating doses and stopping this drug altogether is very hard to do and requires tremendous physical and mental strength and discipline and the patience to see the side effects through without losing focus.
C
Subj: Given Ultram for pain
Date: 6/28/2011
I was given Ultram for pain I was having from a fracture in ankle. This was five days ago. I could not sleep, I had diarrhea and felt very amped up. I started looking to see if it was this drug and it was. I started today to take myself off of it. The funny thing is the doctor told me this would not make me all wacky like vicodin would. I will never take this drug again.
Sharon
Subj: Intermittent buzz
Date: 6/230/2011
Ultram is available in time realase form with 3 strengths: 100, 200, and 300mg. I started with Ultram 100 seven days ago as an alternative to 1 Vicodin per day. I don’t know where people get their information, but this drug is not consistent enough to be safe or relaible in my opinion. I find that it makes you feel stoned occasionally throughout the day, even up to 24 hours after you take it. It has a sizeable buzz (more than Vicodin). It’s about 75% as effective for pain, but overall probably better than 1 Vicodin per day. Intermittent buzz is not fun at all.
Tim
Subj: Tramadol withdrawal
Date: 9/3/2011
I use Tramadol and have also experienced withdrawal. I have chronic pain from injuries during active duty military. I was on narcotics for about two years and they were not working anymore. I had taken tramadol before and know that it was not going to be as effective, but was willing to try it again as an alternative to narcotics. Boy, when my script ran out I was in deep trouble. I had to call my doctor about 3 days without my refill and beg her to refill early. I didnt realize that was what withdrawal felt like. Holy Cow!!!! Depression, pain, skin felt like it was crawling, couldnt sleep, flu like achiness, lethargy, anger easily and so on. Be very careful. I have overheard another doctor tell a patient that Tramadol is a synthetic morphine.
One who shares the same withdrawal from Tramadol (ultram)
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