Drug Warning: Ultram (tramadol)
I was prescribed ultram (tramadol) for an old shoulder injury that has been bothering me. I have taken it for about a month and noticed that I get alot more done after I took it, and it gives me a euphoric feeling. I ran out 2 days ago and have felt like pure hell ever since. Then I googled it and Im not alone. Wow, this stuff is highly addictive with withdrawal lasting a month and longer. Dont take this stuff if you can avoid it. I have had night sweats and flu symptoms since I ran out, and apparently Im not alone. The pain you go thru getting off this junk is worse than the initial pain.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/237329
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/237329
0
-
Your doc didnt warn you of this..?[:0] 0 -
This is why I simply suffer, instead of taking a "pharmaceutical".
Unless it is a necessity for life,.......I won't take them,......poison![xx(]0 -
i have been on ultram about 6-7 months. i only take it when i need it. my doctor told me that it was non habit forming. sometimes wheni skip a day or two i do wake up sweating 0 -
quote:Originally posted by spryor
Your doc didnt warn you of this..?[:0]
niether did the pharmacist!0 -
I take it occasionally as needed for severe arthritus of the knees.
It is basically a synthetic morphine!!!!!!!!!
It's good poop, when the pain is unbearable, but I rarelY use it anymore!!!
The Dr did worn me of it's side effects, and they were also given to me by the Pharmicist at dispersal.
Now the good part if you take more than the two tablets as prescribed the stuff can kill ya, it can stop your breathing!
It is a strong drug, I believe it is a non narcotic, but he's full of crap if he told ya it wasn't addictive!!!!0 -
A lot of drugs are still on the market, that shouldn't be!
I wish they would stop the friggin stupid ads on TV also,.......shouldn't prescribing drugs, be left to the doctor, and not for the "patient", whom may be a hypochondriac, to suggest to the doctor?0 -
I guess I'm just an oddball (I'm sure my wife would attest to that if she were still alive). Dr. prescribed Ultram for my arthritis several years ago and I not only had no problems with it, it didn't work for me - nada, nothing, no pain relief at all. Strange. 0 -
It is not highly addictive.
But 5-7 % of people have the addiction gene for it.
For those folks it is as Addictive as heroin.
You are one of them apparently.
CP0 -
I used Ultram for 6 years. I took it 4 times everyday. When it was time to stop I had no problems at all just stopped taking it and never missed it at all. My only complaint while using it was lack of sleep and odd dreams.
I doubt you can find any medication that does not effect some people in a bad way. To me if it bothers 5 people but helps 500 then it should be used on the 500, the other 5 need to try something else.0 -
I'm with Marc..At the age of 69 the only medication I take is Lipitor. Soon that might have to change though. The BP is slowly getting my attention. Pains I can deal with. I have the usual Osteoartritis, and I grin and bear it. Oh, ok..sometimes I don't grin.. 0 -
I was told it's also bad for your kidneys.
I had one Quack prescribe it and it worked better then the Vicodin I was taking. Then a Back Specialist told me the real scoop.
Stay away from that stuff!0 -
How about Roxicodone???[;)]
Jeff0 -
Oldgunner,.......if you need a BP medicine, and have no other cardiac issues, such as arrythmyias, ask the doc about Diovan. My mom takes it, and has had no side effects whatsoever.
I have also read a lot about the drug, and it is highly regarded.
I took Cozaar, which is the same class of BP drug for a short while, due to stress related hypertension. It also caused me no problems, and especially not any in the "bedroom" department, like many of them do.
I am off of it now, and hope it remains that way.
Just a recommendation for ya![;)]0 -
Marc, I thank you. I've hesitated to begin because of side effects. I'll write down the two names you gave me and take them with me to my doc when I go. 0 -
Now that Vicodin is good stuff! I get hyper and all kinds of social when I pop a few of those. 0 -
Oldgunner,......I see you have an e-mail link.
I don't want to "hijack" this thread, but I will write you via e-mail in a few days, if you like, with some more info.
My mom is also on Lipitor, and is also prone to "side effects",......you are only 3 years older than her.
Maybe some info I have, because of looking out for her, may be helpful to you.
Let me know, as I don't want to bother you.[;)]0 -
quote:Originally posted by oldgunner
I'm with Marc..At the age of 69 the only medication I take is Lipitor. Soon that might have to change though. The BP is slowly getting my attention. Pains I can deal with. I have the usual Osteoartritis, and I grin and bear it. Oh, ok..sometimes I don't grin..
lipitor and any drugs of such nature gives me such pain in my leg muscles i can hardly walk0 -
my cousin takes some pretty strong crap
Its a pain patch, he also take oxycotin, I think I spelled that right
he's got a unit inplanted in him, that helps with the pain.
I really dont know how he does it.0 -
just because a drug doesnt work for some people doesnt mean it should be removed from the market. ultram is a great drug. its veryy effective in the vast majority of people prescribed it. you should have been instructed to taper down your dose. you also should have planned use v. supply and refills if applicable.
i have had a series of traumatic injuries. due to a broad scope med allergy, there are few pain meds i can take. one of them being ultram. i found it to be very effective with no side effects and no withdrawl whatsoever.
keep in mind meds effect people in different way based on body type, biochemistry and how that relates to pharmacokinetics. sometimes it can take a few failure to find out what meds work for a person and what med dont. while i agree your doc should have discussed the full drug profile with you, i also place some of the blame with you for not asking enough questions. ditto for your pharmacist. they are avail for questions but arent required to sit there and explain every drug to you if you dont ask. a concious consumer doesnt blindly take pills without understanding what they do.0 -
quote:Originally posted by KEVD18
just because a drug doesnt work for some people doesnt mean it should be removed from the market. ultram is a great drug. its veryy effective in the vast majority of people prescribed it. you should have been instructed to taper down your dose. you also should have planned use v. supply and refills if applicable.
i have had a series of traumatic injuries. due to a broad scope med allergy, there are few pain meds i can take. one of them being ultram. i found it to be very effective with no side effects and no withdrawl whatsoever.
keep in mind meds effect people in different way based on body type, biochemistry and how that relates to pharmacokinetics. sometimes it can take a few failure to find out what meds work for a person and what med dont. while i agree your doc should have discussed the full drug profile with you, i also place some of the blame with you for not asking enough questions. ditto for your pharmacist. they are avail for questions but arent required to sit there and explain every drug to you if you dont ask. a concious consumer doesnt blindly take pills without understanding what they do.
[:o)]BS0 -
Another one to watch for is Klonopin. (clonazepam) It is a KILLER, and whoever prescribes it should be in jail. 0 -
how do you fig that statement is bs. if your smart, you find out what a drug does before taking it. if you dont, your an idiot and get what you deserve.
im an emt and a paramedic student. ive been on the job 4 years and have a very thorough understanding or pharmacology that only gets better every day. i research and question every medication i take becasue i i want to know whats its going to do for me, and to me, before i take it. if thats not your policy, then i reckon its your fault.0 -
quote:Originally posted by KEVD18
how do you fig that statement is bs. if your smart, you find out what a drug does before taking it. if you dont, your an idiot and get what you deserve.
im an emt and a paramedic student. ive been on the job 4 years and have a very thorough understanding or pharmacology that only gets better every day. i research and question every medication i take becasue i i want to know whats its going to do for me, and to me, before i take it. if thats not your policy, then i reckon its your fault.
It BS because most people (particularly senior citzens) blindly follow there doctors advice without question. do you disagree? So I deserved all of these side effects because im an idiot? Spoken like a true professional.
And how would all of your research that you preform have haulted any side effects?
pardon me if I seem a little touchy but Im in withdrawal.0 -
The idiot label was conditional, not absolute. Close, but no foul.
Ya'll be nice.
At one time, I did pretty much trust the docs. Still do, but I follow the Reagan doctrine, "Trust but verify." I have run into way too many MDs without sense enough to pour piss out of a boot to blindly trust any of them anymore. I am ultimately the one responsible for my health care, not the doctor.0 -
I take a hand full of pills every day because of the heart attack I had a while back and a few other ailments. I read up on the side effects of all the junk I'm taking and mentioned to the doctor that I didn't think it was a good idea to take things that do all that stuff to your body. He said I would be better off if I had never learned to read. He said those fact sheets you get with the drugs are lawyer boilerplate, let him worry about the doctor stuff. I take the pills. 0 -
+
D.0 -
This has turned in to an idiot's humerous thread
And Nunn, for the first time I can recall, you have made an asinine blanket statement.
CP0 -
I didn't make a blanket statement at all. I didn't label all docs as incompetent. I only remarked that I had met enough of them to make me do my own homework. You have the initials "md" in your user name. Are you a MD? If so, you know PLENTY of colleagues who you would not go to see for a hangnail.
I am in charge, not the doctor.
If you mean my statement about Klonopin, I stand by it. From harsh experience. The only docs I know that still prescribe it are the hacks at the public-funded MHMR, and they don't care.
Speaking of MHMR: Lots of people who don't need serious drugs, usually Xanax, go and get loaded up on 4-bars, and then go sell them on the street to supplement their SSI income, which they also lied to get.
And, why do docs continue to prescribe hillbilly heroin to addicts? Pain management, right? Just as big a racket as weight control used to be.0 -
I spent 7 months on Oxycontin and that medicine was good. It took away the pain and I had no side effects. Then I had to move/got medically retired from the military....couldn't find a doctor to re-prescribe it.
I was booted from Active Duty, the VA won't help me. They won't give me the surgery to screw my spine together...Guam vet's/retiree's can't be sent to Hawaii for needed surgeries... and they won't re-prescribe pain meds....but they did give me ULTRAM a few weeks ago.....Oxycontin side effects=0....Ultram=Addiction/Death
50mg pills of Ultram...supposed to take 2x a day. I've taken once a day. First day was cool...wow....no pain. Then it dwindled down...less and less effect every day.....but I only took 1 per day. Screw the doctor...I'm not getting addicted to this junk....then I had to concentrate on breathing....my heart didn't feel right....always feel like I'm about to die
(best I can describe it....feeling of heart stress)....
I have been off of ULTRAM for 5 days after taking it for 13 whole days.......Screw this crap.
DON'T TAKE IT!!!
I've been taking half doses for 13 days and it has caused, breathing problems, heart pain, facial sores my wife says is do to some kinda stress....god dang...wish I never took the crap!
DON'T TAKE IT!!!0 -
I can see that many of you have great concerns about the possible side effects of prescribed medications.
Bear in mind, different people react in different ways to prescribed medications. Side effects as advertised in the package insert are regarded in most cases as possible, but yet unlikely. There is no reason to distrust science or doctors, or to avoid taking medications.
In my private practice, I frequently perform acupuncture (auriculotherapy) for pain management rather than prescribing narcotics for patients where medication side effects are a major concern.
Ask your primary care practicioner about alternative and complementary medicine.
Dr. D.0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
43 comments