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Overview
Ultram is a new type of pain reliever. Although it appears to work in part by blocking opioid recepters, it is not considered a narcotic.
It is prescribed for moderate to moderately severe pain, and is approximately as potent as Darvocet.
Side Effects and Interactions
Ultram may cause side effects such as dizziness, nausea, constipation, headache, drowsiness, vomiting and itching.
Agitation and anxiety, weakness or fatigue, sweating, indigestion, dry mouth or diarrhea may also occur.
It is important to recognize that Ultram may affect a person's coordination or impair their judgment, so that driving or operating machinery would be hazardous.
Report any symptoms or suspected side effects to your physician promptly.
Ultram is less effective when taken in conjunction with the anticonvulsant Tegretol, and a larger dose may be needed.
MAO inhibitor drugs, on the other hand (Eldepryl, Nardil, Parnate) appear to increase Ultram levels and may, therefore, increase the risk of seizures.
Check with your doctor and pharmacist to make sure this medicine is safe in combination with any other drugs you take.
Special Precautions
Large doses of Ultram carry a risk of seizures.
People with kidney disease or cirrhosis may need a lower dose of Ultram, as may the elderly.
Taking the Medicine
Ultram may be taken with or without meals, every four to six hours.
Maximum dose is 400 mg daily, except in those over 75 years, who should be limited to 300 mg per day or less.
My doctor prescribed ultram for a chronic back pain that I was experiencing about 6-7 years ago. It was the only thing that kept me going for several months. We never determined the origin of the back pain even after nearly every medical test available. It finally went away after about ten months. I was concerned about any addictive properties in the ultram but when the pain finally subsided, I was able to stop taking the drug quickly.
I been taking ultram for a while now for lower back pain and i must say this drug is very addictive and i am hopefully looking into the future without it. one of the biggest precautions is that the aggravation and anxiety that comes with it so be very careful.....
I take Tegretol, have a serious seizure disorder, and also take Tramadol as needed for pain relief for prolapsed disks that aren't surgically repairable. At times, I have constant pain for up to ten days, but I've always been able to immediately stop taking Tramadol without any noticeable adverse feeling or effect when the pain subsides. We are all different and we react differently to medications, but I wouldn't rule out Tramadol for pain relief.
My doctor (and the orthopedist to whom I was referred for severe hip pain) prescribed Tramadol for recurring pain. After reading your entry about the drug, I now understand why I was nauseated, dizzy, had hot flashes, and many of the other side effects this supposedly safe drug causes.
I decided to take all my prescriptions (which included a variety of arthritis drugs -- e.g., Naproxen sodium, Arthrotek and Meloxicam-- they had been trying out on me in succession, all of which had very little effect on my arthritis and upset my stomach even further) back to the pharmacy drive-through window and ask the pharmacist to incinerate them with the rest of the medical waste.
I then went through what I can only describe as "withdrawal" for about 48 hours (which made me more sympathetic to celebrities who become dependent on the big-time painkillers) and when it was over it felt like coming out from under a cloud.
All this, from a patient like me who is conservative and careful in her use of medications. However, the inflammation is still a big issue, so I'm trying a variety of non-drug alternatives like acupuncture, the grape juice/pectin drink, and Chinese herbs. Haven't tried the gin-soaked raisins yet!
In the future, I will try my darndest to eschew pharmaceuticals: the "health" care industry is hardly that, but rather an unending flow of drugs thrown at patients, with the effect all too often of only making them sicker. Certainly that has been my experience.
Yes, if I'm hit by a car, I'll go to the E.R. and be very grateful for a surgeon... but aside from conditions requiring machines, or illnesses like Bubonic Plague, I'm planning NOT to be sucked into the grinder of conventional medicine again.
Now, let's see if those gin-soaked yellow raisins really work! :-)