Co-Dydramol vs. Tramadol?

[Laladog]

I've been on Co-Dydramol (Dihydrocodeine and Paracetamol) 30/500mg tablets for a few weeks now and my GP said that the next step up is Tramadol. I take them for fibro pain and they do take the edge off quite a bit but I still have quite a lot of pain. Is Tramadol stronger than Co-Dydramol by a lot or just a bit? Sorry to ask but I couldn't find much information about it.

Also Co-Dydramol tends to make me quite drowsy which I don't like during the day. Does Tramadol do this too? I've never been on it obviously. Thank you a lot if you can help x

I'm taking Tramadol at the moment. My experience is that it does make you fuzzy, but is very effective as pain relief. So in comparison with Co Drydamol you'll still have that issue but you should have better coverage of the pain.

Whenever I have taken tramadol I find it incredibly difficult to sleep on it. It makes my leg muscles ache which could be a problem with your fibro and I feel snappy and quite aggressive on them x

Just take care with both of those tablets.. they're addictive, and for a condition such as fibro that'll be around for a while, I would recommend looking into other options than opiods. The paintoolkit website is a good place to start - sorry can't link on my phone.

Tramadol are great. They most certainly knock out the pain. However, they will make you fuzzy, constipated, find it hard to sleep/ or fall asleep at the drop of a hat.
And they are addictive. I have been taking them for three years now and I get very few side effects now. But I had to stop taking them for a procedure for 24 hrs and I went cold turkey - and it was dreadful. Boiling hot one minute, freezing cold and shivering the next, vomiting, headache, aching body especially legs. I felt like a smack addict coming off the junk. And to all intents and purposes I was- it's just refined and comes in a packet from Boots rather than wrapped in foil from a dealer.
So if you are in terrible pain then yes, take them but with caution. I would reccomend them because ongoing pain is horrendous but when you don't need them anymore reduce them slowly- one tablet a week and you will be fine. If you want to ask anything else please feel free to PM me.

OrSoItSeemsThatWay - Thank you very much for sharing your experience. The drowsiness is annoying but it's not a major problem if it helps with the pain! I find that a combo of the Co-Dydramol the Methocarbamol really help with my sleep problems so that's always a plus x

Rejectedwoman - I'm really sorry to hear that. Can your doctor not prescribe something different or something to combat this? x

Artura - Thank you for the advice. I admit this is a worry of mine but my doctor has somewhat reassured me that addiction is unlikely when used for chronic pain conditions such as fibro. I also find that Methocarbamol really helps with the pain which according to my GP isn't addictive. Not to worry I will check out the website thank you very much for sharing it x

Yorkshireyummymummy - gosh so sorry to hear about your horrible withdrawal experience I have heard of many horrible stories and I'm sure it's horrible! I'm lucky enough to be rarely affected from withdrawal from medications but obviously I've never been on Tramadol so I have no idea what I'll experience.

My pain isn't horrendous but I do have my bad days. I can cope with it usually, it's very nagging though x

Be careful; Tramdol can make you have nasty hallucinations and actually fuck with your depth perception (rendering stairs etc a minefield) in a way that Co-D doesn't.

As a PP said neither should be anything but a short term solution for a pressing issue.

You may find you just don't get on with tramadol. I spent a lot of time crawling about when I took it as it made me v dizzy and sick.

I took tramadol for a while and like pp found it hard to sleep. No other side effects though. I think different people are affected by different drugs in different ways - I was woozy on codeine for example which is supposed to be weaker. I'm on Oxycodone now and have fewer side effects with that than with morphine, though it is stronger. Interestingly my dose is quite low now and theoretically I could drop back to tramadol, but my doctor has said it's a complicated drug and a lower dose of a stronger drug can be a better option.

Anyway I hope it works for you.

Just to say, tramadol (and other opiates), when used for chronic pain are considered to cause dependence, not addiction. So you may have withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking, but you wouldn't "crave" them.

That's what my doctor told me, that they can cause dependence when used for a chronic pain condition but it's not like being addicted to them.

It's quite interesting how people can have such different reactions to the same medication x

I also have fibro. I take tramadol in preference to anything codeine based because codeine (in any form) doesn't seem to quite agree with me, I get loads of side effects and get withdrawal symptoms after only a couple of days use. Tramadol I can take as much or as little as I need for that day (anywhere from 1 to 8 on my very worst flares!) without any issues.

That said everyone's different, many people fine amyltriptaline and gabapentin work but I couldn't get on with either. Debating trying duloxotine but the side effects from the other two were horrible

Have you tried.... Meptid.... Gabapentin.... Neproxen....

Thank you for sharing your experiences with my iccy I really appreciate it! Fibro can be such a tricky illness to treat so I can imagine the relief when you finally find a medication that's for you. Methocarbamol I feel has really helped me, I feel a lot less pain since starting them a few days ago x

LondonLass - Anti inflams don't work for fibro alone since it's not inflammatory. I've never tried Gabapentin or Pregabalin but I do have only been diagnosed for about a month x

It's such a crappy illness I take paracetamol and naproxen as first line (the naproxen is for joint pain more than that horrible fibro skin pain) plus tramadol and I also have some codeine incase of breakthrough pain in a flare. I use at least one crutch pretty much all the time as I keep loosing my left leg and falling over.

I also use heat a lot, hot showers and heat packs mainly but I think I may be known as the deep heat lady locally the biggest thing is pacing myself and learning to listen to the little niggles though. I still have rough days but I've not had a full on bed bound flare this year (frantically touching wood!!)

I had tramadol for a couple of months for severe back pain. Very effective, no adverse effects except for feeling a bit 'spaced' for the first few days. But the pain relief was excellent.

Tramadol is not a true opiate - it's a manufactured one or something (I don't know the science). It doesn't work for everyone. I was spaced out the first 2 times I took it, but now it does nothing at all for me - no pain relief, no side effects.

I've been on solpadol, a strong codeine/paracetamol mix for severe back pain, and was prescribed Tramadol a few months ago. I was fine for the first 24 hours, but then started being sick, constantly shivering then sweating and having hallucinations. This lasted for 3 days having only taken 6 Tramadol in total. This reaction is rare so I'm told, but it doesn't suit everyone

I meant to add, I find Solpadol better than co-dydramol (no constipation), but they're probably the same mix of drug under a different name.

Iccy - The skin pain is terrible, thankfully I don't get it that often! Paracetamol and Naproxen don't do much for me unfortunately. I wish they did ☹. We don't all have the money like Lady Gaga does to go into hospital every time we have a flare x

Thank you Lineys and Vivienne for sharing your experiences I really appreciate it. Co-Dydramol doesn't make me drowsy or light headed/spaced out or anything, but I don't know how tramadol will compare to that or the side effects I might get x

I had tramadol after an accident and would NOT recommend them to anyone they are so addictive and you can't fall asleep on them, yes they take away the pain but I'd rather of took something with less shit side effects and felt some pain hope this helps

Fancyacuppaluv - I actually find Solpadol took my pain away better than Co-Dydramol, even though my doctor told me that Dihydrocodeine (stuff that's in Co-Dydramol) is supposed to be stronger than Codeine (Stuff that's in Solpadol/Co-Codamol). Sorry to hear that you had such a bad reaction to tramadol that must have been terrible!

I get terrible constipation with Co-Dydramol, much worse than with Co-Codamol x

Tramadol is meant to be stronger than Codeine. It is a synthetic opiate, manmade to supposedly have less side effects. I find to be less drowsy and stonger, but find it is more constipating and at first does make you feel a bit spaced out. I think try it for a fortnight and see how you find it as everyone is different.

Who diagnosed you out of interest? You really need to be trying amitriptyline, gabapentin etc not just opioids.

I've not long been diagnosed. I saw a rheumatologist and she confirmed it. I'm thinking maybe my doctor is just building up my medication to see what works for me? The Dihydrocodeine isn't really helping with the nerve pain x