I have suspected adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) and after four days of suffering intractable pain, went to the GP today. She’s changed my painkiller from Zapain to Tramadol. She mentioned that I may hallucinate! Any STWers had this drug before and if so any problems?

Ta

DS

Best mate has them for arthiritis, are you takng them at set times or “when pain is bad?” Just a word of warning if that’s the case, he’s got a bit carried away several times on them and been off his tits. One memorable occasion was after a round of golf driving home. I made him pull over and I drove home!!! So take it easy.

Yup, go easy!
They are very effective, and people do go a little “off” sometimes.
It is effectively an opioid, same family as codeine, morphine & diamorphine (heroin).
So, enjoy!
Just stay away from operating heavy machinery!

I have a load of Tramodol 50’s . Left over from an op , they are very strong and I was supposed to take 2 , but 1 was enough for an out of body experience. They lasted about 18 hours , well the side effects did, the pain releif was about 12 for me.
Be very careful with driving , and working if you take them , they will even effect walking to a lesser extent.
As mentioned part of the morphine group of drug derevites so be warned, apparently work well with neurofen as an anti inflamitory according to web based research , I am no doctor so dont take my word for it.
I suggest try 1 now and see how you get on . I preferred the pain in the end to sitting in a near coma for hours . keep them in case of severe back pain , which i sometimes suffer from. Have fun.

Don’t drive on them. Your insurance will not be valid if you hit something/someone.

Tramadol makes little old ladies mental. It is an awful drug. However, for the 7% of the population that can’t metabolise codeine to its active form, it’s all there is between NSAIDs (like neurofen, which you can take with it) and strong opioids like morphine.

It is effectively an opioid, same family as codeine, morphine & diamorphine (heroin).

While it does indeed have some weak ? action (and is thus an opioid), its main action is not on morphine receptors (it works more on central neurotransmitters). As such, I’d consider it to be in a separate group of analgesics.

Andy

Strongest painkiller I can give in the wilderness as they aren’t an opiate. As strong as though so don’t think you can operate any machinery and drinking would be bad.

Oh oh oh my back, singletrackmind help! 😀

ratherbeintobago – Member

It is effectively an opioid, same family as codeine, morphine & diamorphine (heroin).

It’s not. Its main action is not on morphine receptors (though it does have some weak ? action), so it can’t really be called an opioid.

Andy

I thought that as it is, albeit weak, a ?-opioid receptor agonist, that it could be considered as part of the “opioid” family.

My Wife has been taking 8 Tramadol a day for the last 4 years and she got pretty addicted in the end! They also stopped working very well but she was told the next level up of pain killers were much worse. Now she has quite bad side effects if she goes too long without them such as flu-like symptoms, tingly limbs, numbness and one of the worst is a feeling that parts of her body don’t belong to her, quite freaky really. But if the pain is bad enough what can you do?!

I thought that as it is, albeit weak, a ?-opioid receptor agonist, that it could be considered as part of the “opioid” family.

That’s what Wikipedia says. I have to say that I don’t really agree – its main means of action is on 5HT release & NA reuptake rather than on ? receptors, and ketamine (which also has some ? action) isn’t generally considered to be an opioid.

I stand by the statement that it’s a dreadful drug, especially in that preparation of (IIRC) 325mg paracetamol & 37.5mg tramadol, which is a subtherapeutic dose of both even when you take two.

Andy

PS I meant it about not driving.

ratherbeintobago – Member
Don’t drive on them. Your insurance will not be valid if you hit something/someone.

and you’d be prosecuted for driving under the influence of drugs if the plod found out.

Works well as a painkiller though.

BNF lists “impaired consciousness; excessive bronchial secretions; not suitable as a substitute in opioid-dependent patients” as cautions, and “diarrhoea; fatigue; less commonly retching, gastritis, and flatulence; rarely anorexia, syncope, hypertension, bronchospasm, dyspnoea, wheezing, seizures, paraesthesia, and muscle weakness; blood disorders also reported” as side effects.

It’s a marmite drug. Some people hurl on it and some people get really freaky on it. For some people it is very effective – for some people it is useless. I use it second line when codeine isn’t tolerated. Had to use it a bit myself a few months back after a major RTA and airbag-related chest injuries.It did the job.

Maybe it ain’t quite as bad as ratherbeintobago paints it.

They are very strong last Christmas i was having trouble with the top of my hips which in turn caused even walking to be severely painful. After my doctor did nothing but tell me to buy some ibuprofen i thought sod it and went to hospital.

They prescribed me tramadol and it sorted it right away i was able to play sports and walk normally again. The effect i get when i use them is light headedness and feel tired. but they do work a charm if the pain is that bad.

Maybe it ain’t quite as bad as ratherbeintobago paints it.

My take on it is professional opinion rather than personal experience. As I’ve said, in my experience its not a great analgesia, it makes little old ladies go bonkers, and it makes lots of people vomit ++. And I have a range of alternatives in my arsenal that I think are better.

I am sure one of the other members of the STW gas board will be along to argue in its defence in a minute 😛

Andy

Makes my missus puke, anc pretty much wipes her out for the rest of the day. She got prescribed it for severe gall stone pain, finds codine more managable and pretty effective.

ratherbeintobago – Member

“I thought that as it is, albeit weak, a ?-opioid receptor agonist, that it could be considered as part of the “opioid” family.”

That’s what Wikipedia says.

What are you suggesting?

🙂

What are you suggesting?

That Wikipedia is never the most accurate source? Though I’ve just had a quick squint at the Gospel* and it lumps tramadol with opioids.

Andy

*Peck, Hill & Williams

“I thought that as it is, albeit weak, a ?-opioid receptor agonist, that it could be considered as part of the “opioid” family.”

It’s just what a doc told me some time ago.

It’s effects on little old ladies can be somewhat spectacular, in an inappropriately sweary sort of violent way!

😆

It’s just what a doc told me some time ago

I think that people used to consider it to be mainly an opioid, but now we think the other actions are more important.

It’s effects on little old ladies can be somewhat spectacular, in an inappropriately sweary sort of violent way!

Learned that the hard way as an Orthopaedic PRHO many years ago…

Andy

Tramadol bears a structurally distant resebmblance to morphine – if you squint

I’d think of it as a combination of codeine and an antidepressant

Makes little old ladies wappy* (and quite a lot of young blokes go properly daft on it too) but also makes many anaesthetists and surgeons near-orgasmic IME – they’re hooked on it (plus, they can trot out the expensive anti-sickness drugs too – hurrah !)

* mind, the old girls love a bit of that – see how cross they got when co-proxamol was withdrawn, cos they all got a bit woooOOOOOOooooh on it !

also makes many anaesthetists and surgeons near-orgasmic IME – they’re hooked on it

That’s not really fair or true, is it? The GMC take a very dim view of that sort of behaviour.

I don’t regard needing to give expensive antiemetics because of poor choice of analgesic to be good anaesthetic technique, on the whole, and nor would any of my colleagues. IME the anaesthetic verdict on tramadol is a bit digital – either people think it’s the DBs or they think it’s awful.

see how cross they got when co-proxamol was withdrawn

A drug that makes tramadol appear a paragon of virtue. It was a good job it went, because it was lethal.

Andy

My missus has buprenorhine patches and sublingual Tablets, where is this in the scheme of things?

That’s not really fair or true, is it? The GMC take a very dim view of that sort of behaviour.

ah, no, they’re hooked on (prescribing) it

take 2 tramadol- night night starship.

Buprenorphine is a strong painkiller Tim

ah, no, they’re hooked on (prescribing) it

Send them up to Yorkshire & I shall re-educate them 😛

Andy

I was prescribed it when I was recovering from a fractured pelvis (which was VERY painful), all it did to me was knock me out. Very effective painkiller and I also had no problem sleeping – winner!

Can have a bit of a constipation effect, they sometimes prescribe a mild laxative with it too. And as mentioned, don’t try driving when you’re on it!

They kept me going when I broke my hip… Very effective for me but I was warned of side effects first, consultant was very cautious of that.

ratherbeintobago

well as someone who did a bit of gassing in the past and now has to prescribe people drugs for more than a day or so, I might actually know a bit about it. But thanks for your ex cathedra opinion.

Anyway – everyone knows hospital docs prefer to get hooked on fentanyl, and we all know about the addiction rates with that… 😉

agree about co-prox though.

prescribe people drugs for more than a day

Drugs for more than a day? You mean apart from Noradrenaline? 😮

Andy

Fascinating stuff. Is it one step down from someing like oramorph, and one up from codeine?

Is it one step down from someing like oramorph, and one up from codeine?

It’s used as an alternative to codeine, mainly. As I’ve said above, 7% (roughly) of the UK population can’t metabolise codeine to its active form, which tramadol avoids.

Andy

What was wrong with co-proximal?

I had it years ago and I do remember it acted rather abruptly when I started a pint within 3 hours of my last dose. (Woke up under the dartboard with a game in progress…)

I took loads of tramadol with no problems and no side effects after breaking my pelvis (after 4 weeks in hospital with lots of morphine etc). Had loads left over and took some recently after wrecking a shoulder and was off my tits for an evening.

The wife uses Tramadol and oramorph when she has pain after DVT and a PE last year.

Ratherbeintob. Wtf ?

why wtf stoaty ?

Stoatsbrother,

I’ve grasped the wrong end of the stick, haven’t I? Ignoring me might be the easiest option 😛

Scaredypants,

It’s to do with offline email communication (I assume)..

Oldnick,

As I understand it, Co-prox was withdrawn as it wasn’t any more effective than paracetamol as an analgesic, and was lethal in small overdose especially with alcohol.

Andy

I take Tramodol SR (slow release) 50mg twice daily (I have arthritis) and have done for years, luckily I don’t suffer with any noticeable side effects, nor do I get all space cadet on them

Trammy’s are a well sought after currency among prisoners.
I think that says a lot.

orangista – 50mg twice a day is nice & low; probably why (as well as not being guaranteed to affect everyone anyway)