Will the feeling of being off my face when taking tramadol pass?

[mineofuselessinformation]

Just that, really.
I'm in severe pain from my hip, co-codamol as making no difference, so I contacted OOH, and a GP prescribed tramadol.
I'm well aware of the addictive properties, but currently need it.
It's reducing the pain to a reasonable level for about 50% of the time (I'm taking 50mg every four hours), so it is helping, but I'm not up for driving or going to work.
Ideally, I'd like to double the dose at certain times of the day, but am worried I will be totally out of it. I also need to get back to work ASAP.
Does anyone have my advice? TIA.

I took them for nearly a year and then one day I realised I couldn't concentrate when trying to cross the road and decided they weren't working so stopped taking them.

I really don't think that going cold turkey was a sensible idea...

In the UK? Why will an X-ray take weeks? Most GP's can refer within 24 hours - mine gives you the referral and you just go! I assume you don't have a consultant?

It's always a really bad idea to start guessing about diagnoses.

How long have you had the tramadol? If it is only a short time (days) then I would suggest that you stick to a regime for seven days, and assuming your GP has given you discretion to up the does, try to increase it as little as possible. If they haven't prescribed slow release tramadol, you could ask for that - it may help tackle the pain better and knock the edge off the "highs".

If that doesn't work, then you may be one of the unlucky ones for which it may not work. I ended up on opioid patches which did help enormously - but that was for a very, very limited number of weeks while I waited for surgery. And the circumstances were very unusual - the surgery I required would have normally been done on the spot (the hip bone was literally crumbling away) but I cleverly managed to break by ankle a few weeks before on the opposite side and they couldn't do a hip replacement whilst I was in a cast on the other side!

I did hear you about needing to work. And I sympathise. But in that level of pain that you describe, even without the highs, I would be concerned about your fitness for work. Could you possibly take some annual leave, even for a short time, to relax and let the drugs do their job?

Isn’t it the drug that so many celebrities get addicted to? Michael Jackson was addicted I think. Wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole.

[quote mineofuselessinformation]@Moondust001, that remains a question for now.
Despite me being recommended to have an examination by OOH, my GP would not see me. They have referred me for an x-ray which will take weeks.
I have arthritis in multiple joints and I'm also hyper mobile. I'm not sure whether it's connected (and I did mention it to the GP), but my pelvis clunks as I walk now. I think it's my SI joint, on the same side.
Any ideas?[/quote]
If you are hypermobile then that is why you have arthritis. GPs know very little about hypermobility, they'll just dose you up on pills that hardly touch the pain while nothing is done to solve the actual problem. I have never found a painkiller that touches on my hypermobility pain, it is completely different to other pain types.
You need a physio and a rheumatologist. If you can afford a private physio, even just one appointment, it will be worth every penny.

If you are hypermobile then that is why you have arthritis.

Yes. But that doesn't exclude other issues and causes, especially if there has been a sudden and serious deterioration. So I agree with the suggestion that a private consultation might help (assuming it is affordable - the OP may not be able to afford it though), but confirmation of the diagnosis first would be a good idea. Hence the X-ray to ascertain what is going on. In the case of myself, for example, physio would have actually been potentially disastrous on a hip with oseteonecrosis.

I'm in the UK. The GP implied the wait would be due to the backlog caused by COVID. I only got my initial prescription for tramadol yesterday. The GP I spoke to today has prescribed me more.
Physio services here are non-existent anyway. (I had an MRI on my knee in December and it was the head of the county service who gave me my result - no cartilage left behind my kneecap - and told me the only patients now being seen were cancer patients etc.) I waited three months to get to this point, having had a swollen and painful knee for some time before I self-referred (on the advice of my GP).
I've also seen a rheumatologist (or houseman) three times over the last ten years and have been sent away and told to painkillers such as paracetamol, which is laughable.
I tested negative for rheumatoid factor about three years ago. I did ask as my joint pain seems to flare (at the same time my skin seems to worsen). I was negative and was told there is no connection.
Sorry for the rant. As you can tell, I'm feeling frustrated. I'm in my mid-fifties and have been having problems with my joints for just under 40 years.
Would it be worth seeing an osteopath?

I used to take tramadol for serious chronic pain.

The initial 'high' feeling when taking it did wear off. I think after a week or so it remained effective enough for my pain (combined with other pain relief) for me to function. I clearly remember seriously considering throwing the pills away after the first day and then being really glad I hadn't.

But it effects us all slightly differently - both in effectiveness for pain relief and with side effects.

I took tramadol whilst I was waiting for my gallbladder surgery. It got rid of the pain (if I took it at the right time) but left me completely out of it. The one time I tried to go to work on it I smashed my phone, got on the wrong train and said about 4 words in a 2 hour meeting.

I get the worst headaches on it.
I took some as prescribed for endo.
The headache was unbearable!

If you got on ok with cocodomal, but it just isn’t strong enough, I’d ask for dihydrocodiene as an alternative to tramadol.

i was prescribed it for a shoulder injury. just made me v sick - i vomited them back up in under 10 mins so pretty useless for me. i feel very short changed now as it sounds like it should have helped with the pain and given me an “experience “ oh well.

I had a prolapsed disc and was prescribed them by my GP. I react very poorly to codeine so quite why either of us thought it would be a good idea I couldn't say.

I only took them for four days as I felt utterly shitfaced. At one point poor DH had to come and rescue me from the shower as I clung desperately to the spinning walls.

I was given tramadol in hospital for post c section pain. At the time I was delighted with the pain relief and euphoria and I had a great time though it left me unsafe with a baby. Thank god my partner was with me to do everything, I was properly high. I very quickly wanted to carry on taking it but was discharged home without any more of the pills thank goodness. I still wonder what on earth the hospital thought they were doing giving addictive euphoria-inducing painkillers to an exhausted new mum.

Mmmmm Tramadol🤩

Something like gabapentin might work better for you. Tramadol made me violently sick.

@mineofuselessinformation

I have EDS, so know hypermobility well. With osteopaths you have to be careful as the hypermobile body is easily pushed out of alignment. Some are really good and some will leave you in more pain than before. If the money is there for an osteopath I would suggest seeking out a private physio that is familiar with hypermobility. I would also suggest having a look at the Muldowney Protocol, an exercise regime designed for people with EDS/severe hypermobility. Having a solid physio programme will make the most difference to your joints in terms of hypermobility.

@murasaki

I took it once - a friend had left some in my house when staying over, and I had a bad back, so thought I'd take one to help when I got to work. I was out of my tree, and had to fess up to my boss. He laughed. I never took it again and threw them away.

So no, they are hard core. It was mildly diverting, but I was useless all day.

I did this once, too. Spent four hours feeling like my head was trying to remove itself from my body, then was violently sick, fell over, cracked my head on the toilet (blood EVERYWHERE), then slept for 14 hours.

It would appear that I'm quite sensitive to opiates.

Just to reiterate, Tramadol is an opiOID, not an opiATE. It’s synthetic and metabolised differently to natural opiates such as morphine. A bad reaction to tramadol doesn’t mean that all strong painkillers will make you feel the same way.

@JeannieTheZebra, I was feeling same way with co-codamol. (I can take the odd dose of co-codamol here and there without the woozy feeling, though, so I think it's when I'm taking anything like this full-time.)
I have an appointment tomorrow with an osteopath, for an assessment to try to work out what's going on. I've already mentioned hyper mobility when making the appointment, and will tell them again when I'm there. They can help me to get an x-ray or scan if they think it would be helpful too.
I have some money put aside so I can afford to pay, luckily.

I take 50mg every 4 hours during flare ups of a long term injury/painful condition, can't say I've ever been off my face! Slightly drowsy but never anything noticeable- what's wrong with me!?

I was taking tramadol slow release 100 mg for really bad and constant back spasms a few weeks ago and also valium so I could sleep. I stopped as soon as possible due to bizarre, whacked-out dreams, scary auditory hallucinations and the perpetual feeling of being smashed out of my head.

I do not tolerate any drugs particularly well.

Hope you feel better soon.

I take them or 30/500 cocodamol almost daily and they have little effect on me now. But I have been on them for years. I remember they used to make me feel drunk

I've taken tramadol for years and get zero side effects just pain relief. If I'm having a good spell I can go 10 days without and when I take them again I don't have the wobbly/drowsy feeling.

@JeannieTheZebra

Just to reiterate, Tramadol is an opiOID, not an opiATE. It’s synthetic and metabolised differently to natural opiates such as morphine. A bad reaction to tramadol doesn’t mean that all strong painkillers will make you feel the same way.

Sorry, you're right! I always get that the wrong way round.