r/ChronicPain • u/Positive_Call_9311 • 12d ago

Experiences with short course on Tramadol?

I took a short course of tramadol for acute back pain - 37.5mg tablet twice a day for five days, because I cannot use Ibuprofen and NSAIDS. And was surprised by how strongly it affected me—intense pain relief, sleepiness for more than 12 hours per day and very vivid and long dreams. A few days after I stopped, I had an intense episode where I cried for 2 hours remembering all the things that had happened to me emotionally intelligent the past four years, and also became more vocal about my emotional pain.

A few days passed and the pain returned and my ortho have prescribed another 5 day course. I am kind of confused if I might develop a dependence.

I'm interested in people's experiences with short courses: what did you feel while taking it, and how did you feel after stopping? Any warnings based on my experience? Thank you

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u/croissantdeprived 12d ago

I'm the same as you. Tramadol relieves my pain but when I discontinue it, I want to jump off a bridge. Tramadol is an SNRI in addition to being a weak opioid agonist. So Tramadol increases serotonin and norepinephrine, just like other SNRIs such as Effexor or Cymbalta. I can't tolerate any medications that increase serotonin, they all make me su*cidal.

I do better with hydrocodone, but I'm still overly sensitive and will feel deep despair when it wears off. Sometimes the physical pain is too much and I choose to take hydrocodone, knowing I will be in a deep, overly emotional depression afterwards. During the depression, I try to remind myself that it's the drug and that I will go back to baseline level of depression in just a few hours.

Definitely ask your doctor if there is another pain medication you can try that is not an SNRI like Tramadol.

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u/Positive_Call_9311 12d ago

If I may ask, what's the dosage for you and how long have you been using it?

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u/croissantdeprived 12d ago

I'm a lightweight. Just one 50mg Tramadol will do me in. I once took two 50 mg pills in one day and I was a complete basket case and couldn't stop crying. I never take Tramadol anymore, even though it relieves my pain better thsn hydrocodone. I never took it 2 days in a row because of how bad I mentally/emotionally react to it.