Anyone else take Tramadol?

[Saltire]

I hate the things and only take them when really really bad as I hallucinate on them. Anyway I have had to take them at full daily dose for 2 days now and have got the most hoorendous itching. is this a normal side effect? I have misplaced the info sheet from the box

They make me itch too. Madly. I only tske one occasionally if i absolutely have to. They work. The pain goes for a while. But the mad itching goes on for days and the scratches all over from my delerious scratching takes weeks to go. They also make me so tired i can't speak yet give me insomnia so i can't sleep either.

Narsty.

Thanks for that Taggie, I was getting a bit stressed about the itching. They don't help me much with the pain jsut make it slightly more bearable

Hope you ferl bettrr doon.

Last time i gsvr in i had a blisdful hour einfow between syopping hurting and ghe itch srarting.

Bloody hell. Sorry. Sm now in bed on phone. Eyes packing up and fat fingers.

Translation.....

Last time i had a blissful window between no pain and mad itching.

Hope you feel better soon.

I took tramadol after I dislocated my hip. It seemed to reduce the severity of pain, but caused a weird foggish feeling. I ended up having a seizure that was attributed to this medication.

Tramadol leaflet from patient.co.uk.

Googling Tramadol and itching turns up quite a few hits, it seems to be one of the less common side-effects :(

I take tramadol daily, one 200mg SR in the morning and one 200mg SR in the evening. The itching is something I get mildly with most opiate pain relief and it dies down (as does the fuzzy feeling) once I have been taking it steadily for a little while.

I took 2 about an hour ago, and have had to get up out of bed, feel like I am on an acid trip, all bright colours and whirly bits!

Definately taking no more till DH gets back - thats 2.5 months away though.

My step dad takes them and has no side effects whatsoever.

its going to be a long night

I'd get some different pain relief Saltire. I take Tramadol frequently (really could do with it constantly, but am too stubborn and it doesn't get rid of all the pain anyway), and it never makes me trippy or itchy. Theres loads of painkillers out there, so don't put up with side effects.

It makes me itchy, so I avoid taking unless "emergency", although I find it really effective for back/leg pain.

Why did you take 2? My doctor started me on 100 mg a day and I was to increase the dose slowly if needed, but not for at least a week, it takes a few days to really work or something like that. Seemed true, as a few days after I started them, my leg pain was so much less.

I was never told to increase the dose or naything. I have 50mg tablets and it says on box " take 1-2 tabets 4 hourly if required".

lots of opiates make you itch. i have tramadol here but prefer codeine.

This is dosage information from the FDA, which says To improve tolerance patients should be started at 25 mg/day, and doses may be increased by 25 mg every 3 days to reach 100 mg/day (25 mg 4 times daily). Thereafter, doses can be increased by 50 mg every 3 days to reach 200 mg day (50 mg 4 times daily).

(btw the pop-up will try to take you to the UK equivalent site, which is part of Boots, but at least in my browser the link isn't working - this is the American site).

I'm worried about your side-effects when you're on your own, Saltire - I'd have a chat with the pain team or your GP for something more appropriate.

I take up to 200mg four times a day when really need to, with diclofenic in between. They don't make me itch but don't think its uncommon.

If they're making you hallucinate though, it might be worth having a chat with your GP - or a referal to a pain clinic, if you're not already under them. You can also get tramadol in 50mg caps, wonder if that would be better.

Hope you're all not in too much pain today.

I'm having to take it just now for torn knee ligaments but I've not had any problem with side effects. Hope the itching stops x

Hi saltire I have been on the full dose since Thursday for post operative pain and yes I also have very itchy skin but am not having hallucinations. Sounds like you should contact some- one about it

I didn't take anymore tramadol. I got prescribed them last year, and really only take them when the pain is unbearable - it was so bad yesterday I was crying.

The registrar at the rheumy clinic wanted to put me on gabapentin, but the consultant said no he said that he felt increasing ym amitryptilien to 70mg instead would help as "it would make me sleep better and the pain would go away with more sleep".

Only thing is I had weird dreams and more hallucinations on the increased does so it got lowered again!
So now I take 10-20mg of amitryptiline at night and 4 x 30/500g co-coamol daily and 2 x naproxen twice dialy.

none of it takes the pain away it jsut makes it slightly easier to deal with

Hi OP, O'm taking Maxitram (slow-release tramadol) twice a day. I take 50-150 mg in the morning and up 150mg at night This is variable depending on whether I have days ranging from moderate (50mg) to excruciating (150mg) back pain and I adjust the dosage regarding the severity of the pain.

I must be one of the very lucky ones as the only side effects from the combined meds I take for my back pain, is constipation.

That was meant to be I'm, not o'm. Doh!!!

if your pain is nerve pain, then Gaba can be really effective. Alas it made me feel terribly sick, but is well worth a try. Have you tried acupuncture ? It might seem like a stupid woo suggestion, but when the pain in my arm was so bad I would have cheerfully cut it off if a chainsaw had been handy (seriously, it was like having boiling water poured over it permanently), acupuncture gave me huge relief when no opiates did.

CMOT is right WRT to the Gabapentin. I'm on Lyrica (pregabalin) and it is good. When I was initially put on it years ago, it was like a new lease of life after the first day on it. I was climbing trees with the kids, playing footie and all sorts of other things.

Gabapentin, pregabalin and similar meds are generally for nerve pain. Pregabalin is also used for Generalised Anxiety Disorder and to help control epilepsy. Using that, Tramadol and Celebrex is good enough for the nerve pain I have, but the severe mechanical (bones and joint) pain I have isn't as easy to solve unfortunately. The other medication I was on was, initially Butrans 20mcg patches and then Transtec 35mcg patches (both morphine based). I was fine for a while then I started coming out in a really itchy rash. I wanted to dig a fork into the rash to get rid if the itch, so I was told to come off the patches. It was the sorriest thing I ever did as they were very good at controlling the pain I was in.

I would suggest you go to your GP and insist on a referral to your local pain clinic (providing you can get there by car, bus etc). Have you tried Versatis patches? They contain a local anaesthetis like lidocaine or similar.

I hope you get this sorted.

I've used tramadol before and had to think to stop on using it.

When using, it seems I'm not at easy when not taking tramadol and it's more advisable that don't take more tramadol when it hasn't prescribed for you. Taking more of it or taking it more often will cause dependency on it. You may also experience withdrawal symptoms if you stopped it suddenly and doctor will likely decrease the dosage gradually.

As my own experience and an additional information that I gathered here are some common side effect of it:
nausea
dizziness
headache
drowsiness
vomiting
There are minor side effect:
itching
sweating
diarrhea
rash
dry mouth

There are rare cases who developed seizures after taking tramadol.

Hope it helps!

Trent101