Has anyone used tramadol for when the pain gets bad and did it work??? Also what kind of side effects-like will I be able to drive, function at work, or just go to bed???
Turtlebug-
I was given Tramadol for pain associated with brachial plexopathy (before the TN started). It was relatively effective for the pain. A bit like Tylenol for a headache; not a long term fix. Unfortunately, it left a minor headache in its wake, and eventually that became tedious enough that I abandoned its use.
I would hesitate to say that there are no other effects. I had none, but then pain killers notoriously don’t effect my family much, nor does benedryl put us to sleep. So, I’d think a comment from someone who has a more reactive system might be useful here.
Sue
Hi Turtlebug,
I was prescribed Tramadol at one point early on in my journey with TN. It was given for breakthrough TN pain…
In my experience, it did not touch the pain but it did make me pass out within minutes and when I woke I always had like a hang over headache.
Tried it a few times but always with same result.
We’re all different… Traditional pain medications or opiates have never worked for me, but they do work for some…
Good luck, Mimi
Hi Turtlebug, I'm very medication sensitive so I'm still trying to manage TN2 without daily meds. (My neurologist thinks I'm nuts but I'm afraid of bad side effects). After being miserable for months with a misdiagnosed allergy/intolerance to ibuprofen I'm still traumatized from that. I use a combo of tramadol 50 mg plus 500 mg tylenol at night when things are bad. I've had no ill effects from those two together. Doesn't alleviate the pain but what it does for me is make my body relax and feel drowsy enough to distance from it, if that makes sense, and then I'll sleep for a while. I don't think I could use tramadol during the day if I had to drive but if you have a higher tolerance you might be okay with it.
I agree with what Sue said - the doctor told me tramadol can cause rebound headaches if taken regularly. I think you have to be careful with that.
Waving to Obsidian... Yep, NSAID allergy and nastiness here. Naproxen, horrible stuff :( I cannot take any NSAIDs or aspirin. The ER people always question it, drives me crazy. People can have reactions and then there are people with both a reaction and immune issue. I'm the latter :/ Yea me.
Yes sir , it is highly effective in general and ultrafast if SC injection.
NO important side effects , effective but Very difficult to have in my country at least.
yes you can function , but you will be high "nurcotics effects".
by the way it is veryyyy popular in my country among not well educated people "men use it to retard the ejaculation during sex"
as an advice get vials and inject SC with minimal effective dose (around 0.5 ml)
Wife has T2 TN going on nearly 5 years now. I don't know that tramadol would work well for T1 and/or breakthrough pain, but tramadol and clonazepam have helped her more than anything else, and she has tried nearly every option short of surgery. Gabapentin seems to work fairly well, but the side effects of the max dosage (I think 6000mg daily) are much more of a burden than going with the tramadol/clonazepam.
Currently, she takes 200mg of tramadol twice daily, and 0.5mg - 1mg of clonazepam three times daily. It doesn't get rid of the pain, but it makes it more manageable and the side effects aren't terrible.
Hi Obsidian-just curious about your choice of screen name...you see I'm an archaeologist and former flintknapper-so I see obsidian almost every day and have probably 1000 lbs. of it in my front yard for future flintknapping adventures....that is if I can ever get beyond this face pain crap!!!
Obsidian said:
Hi Turtlebug, I'm very medication sensitive so I'm still trying to manage TN2 without daily meds. (My neurologist thinks I'm nuts but I'm afraid of bad side effects). After being miserable for months with a misdiagnosed allergy/intolerance to ibuprofen I'm still traumatized from that. I use a combo of tramadol 50 mg plus 500 mg tylenol at night when things are bad. I've had no ill effects from those two together. Doesn't alleviate the pain but what it does for me is make my body relax and feel drowsy enough to distance from it, if that makes sense, and then I'll sleep for a while. I don't think I could use tramadol during the day if I had to drive but if you have a higher tolerance you might be okay with it.
I agree with what Sue said - the doctor told me tramadol can cause rebound headaches if taken regularly. I think you have to be careful with that.
Hi Turtlebug
For many years I've been interested in 19th century clothing and jewelry, particularly Civil War era. I love the beauty of it and the craftsmanship. A lot of mourning jewelry from that period was made with jet, onyx or black obsidian. Hence the name. That's so interesting that you're an archaeologist! I hope you can get back to your flintknapping adventures before too long. Wishing you pain free days ahead!
Turtlebug said:
Hi Obsidian-just curious about your choice of screen name...you see I'm an archaeologist and former flintknapper-so I see obsidian almost every day and have probably 1000 lbs. of it in my front yard for future flintknapping adventures....that is if I can ever get beyond this face pain crap!!!
Obsidian said:Hi Turtlebug, I'm very medication sensitive so I'm still trying to manage TN2 without daily meds. (My neurologist thinks I'm nuts but I'm afraid of bad side effects). After being miserable for months with a misdiagnosed allergy/intolerance to ibuprofen I'm still traumatized from that. I use a combo of tramadol 50 mg plus 500 mg tylenol at night when things are bad. I've had no ill effects from those two together. Doesn't alleviate the pain but what it does for me is make my body relax and feel drowsy enough to distance from it, if that makes sense, and then I'll sleep for a while. I don't think I could use tramadol during the day if I had to drive but if you have a higher tolerance you might be okay with it.
I agree with what Sue said - the doctor told me tramadol can cause rebound headaches if taken regularly. I think you have to be careful with that.