Dealing with pain through Tramadol.
In my opinion, there is nothing better than rollerblading. It’s a sport that thrills and enchants at the same time, offering you an incredible liberty hard to be compared to anything else. It’s been seven years since I made a passion for this sport and I can honestly say that I will probably be addicted to it all my life. As for Tramadol, things are a little bit more complicated.
When I mentioned that I was into rollerblading, I forgot to say that my genuine passion is to try all sorts of schemes and adventurous jumps, being of course prone to various injuries. I’ve broken my legs, sprained my wrist a couple of times and even banged my head as I had forgotten the protective helmet at home. All these ‘accidents’ have made me incredible sensible to pain and I learned my lesson to wear the protective gear. Still, the pain is now a constant presence in my life and I had to do something to get rid of it. If Tramadol was the best solution, that is yet to be determined.
I am used to taking several pills of Tramadol every day, depending on how intense the pain really is and what activities I intend to perform. When I go to work and I need to concentrate real hard, I increase the dose a little bit and suffer the consequences at five when I get home. The truth is that my body feels whenever I take more Tramadol and I end up in an agitated state, feeling restless and unable to sleep or even rest. My head hurts and I tend to drink a lot of water since Tramadol makes my mouth real dry. When I try to get up from bed, I feel how my blood pressure comes down and an awful dizziness affects my ability to stand. Lucky for me, the side-effects disappear in an hour or two, allowing me to return to a normal state.
When I go out to skate I prefer to take a lower dose of Tramadol even if the pain is more powerful. I keep on thinking what if some of the side-effects appear when I’m rollerblading and something goes terribly wrong. Then I go home and not only is the pain intense but I have to suffer from some of the side-effects Tramadol causes. The medication has started to make me drowsy in the past few weeks but also nauseous and weak. I do not like the way Tramadol makes me feel right now but I keep on taking it on account of the pain.
Meanwhile I said to myself how about going to a doctor and let him perform a routine check-up. That being said, I found a reputed doctor with plenty of experience in the field and asked his opinion on the situation. He agreed to my taking Tramadol but not to the random schedule I had gotten accustomed to. Together, we decided that I reduce the daily intake to 4 pills a day, meaning a dosage of 100 mg. Then, the doctor performed several tests on me, including a CT and MRI scan. He recommended that I would allow to be consulted by a surgeon for medical interventions on my hand and legs to repair some of the damage that was done.
The surgeon agreed to the diagnosis that my doctor had put and he operated on me with complete success. I am glad to say that after the three operations I feel much better and it seems that the pain has decreased as well. I am still taking Tramadol but only 50 mg/day and I guess I keep on taking because of the psychological effect. I was lucky enough to seek medical assistance and fortunately, I got the best one possible. Tramadol has helped me in bad times and I am really grateful for that, despite the side-effects I had to suffer!
Painting my life with Tramadol.
I’m a painter. That is what I do. It is my passion, my true reason for being here on this planet and the one thing I always wanted to do. For 35 years I have been painting emotions, thoughts and life-like characters, creating something wonderful and memorable for years to come. But we cannot defeat age and its effects are more than noticeable, being quite hard to bear sometimes. I was diagnosed a year ago with a cruel degenerative disease that affects all the major articulations in my body and leaves me with an unbearable pain to suffer.
The one thing that bothered me the most is that I had such a hard time painting and doing why I loved the most. The brush I could barely keep did not seem to do the same magic and leave those wonderful marks on the white canvas. I was almost desperate when I thought my doctor and asked for something to relieve the pain. I mentioned to her that for a painter there is nothing worse than not being able to create and express feelings through art. She decided that I should start a treatment with Tramadol, which was as she said, a synthetic opiate pain-reliever. As we proceeded with the treatment, we were going to discuss about dosage, side-effects and other important issues, she added.
In just one week, I recovered from the pain and even from the stiffness that the disease had caused, taking 2 pills a day just as recommended. Sure, they made me feel nauseous and a little bit agitated but I could pain and that was all I wanted. For weeks, I kept on working with a genuine frenzy and was more than satisfied with the new paintings I had succeeded to make. The doctor kept on supervising me and asked me how I was doing, if there were any side-effects and how serious they were. I mentioned them and she decided that the treatment will continue.
The one thing I forgot to mention is that the disease is commonly manifested by acute episodes with severe inflammation, pain and extreme stiffness. The three symptoms appeared in my case as well, preventing me from functioning at all sometimes. I had to increase the dosage of Tramadol as I could not be the type of guy destined to spend his life in bed, hoping for the pain to go away. The doctor agreed to a dosage of 100 mg/day, meaning 4 pills and she said that we will see how it goes, then discuss any further.
The amazing thing is that Tramadol reduced the number of acute episodes and their severity as well. I felt just fine except maybe a little bit anxious and could not sleep. But once again I could paint. The dosage of Tramadol was working fine for me and during that period I even had a very successful exhibition at the cultural center. At nights, I shivered and sweated extremely, symptoms that kind of got me worried. Was Tramadol right, after all?
During the course of the next weeks, the doctor recommended that we reduce the dosage to three pills a day. I started to feel better but still not like myself. Then I realized that I had to make a choice and started to look for other pain relieving medication. No matter how many drugs I have tried, Tramadol seems to be the most effective and with reduced side-effects. I returned to Tramadol and hoped that somehow I will learn to deal with the effects it had on me.
I still take Tramadol and at times passes, the side-effects seem to be less impressive. I do not know for how long I will continue the treatment with Tramadol but I am sure that it is what I need for the moment. The truth is that I would not be able to create so many wonderful paintings without being free of pain and that is what Tramadol offers to me. I prefer to learn to deal with the side-effects than live without art!
The dangers of taking Tramadol without a prescription.
How do you say no to something that does you good? Is anyone strong enough to overcome the dependence for a drug that relieves pain? From the millions of people that suffer each day from pain, I am part of those who had enough and sought treatment. When I heard for the first time of Tramadol, I had recently been to the doctor and he had told me that my bones were starting to lose calcium and that I had osteoporosis. What can I say, he didn’t have much good news to give to me.
I went home, faced my family and told them I was fine, it was just a routine check-up. I did not want to put such a burden on them but I felt the need to talk with someone. I went online and drenched my sorrow in one of the many chat rooms. You would not believe it, but there are actual chat rooms for osteoporosis. People talk about their diagnosis, ongoing treatment and their upsetting symptoms. For me, it has become like a second home, a place where I can talk freely about the constant pain in my neck and search for possible answers. This is the place where I discovered Tramadol and with just a few clicks, I was able to order some as well.
The Tramadol arrived at my house after 2 weeks and I had to tell my husband there were some vitamin supplements the doctor had recommended. Fortunately, he did not ask for more details and he did not pay too much attention when I took them. I hid the pill bottle and started at a dosage of 100 mg/day. The doctor had given me hormonal treatments for my osteoporosis and he had also prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs (with analgesic properties). Still, I did not feel very well taking them as I suffered from gastric acidity and they made me feel really bad. I had to take something for the pain and Tramadol was the best!
Today I take 100 mg. Tomorrow I might raise the dosage up to 150 mg, just to see if the pain disappears faster and the effects last longer. So what if I feel nauseous and agitated? It’s the first time I took such medication. These were the kinds of affirmations I used to fool myself. The truth is that the more side effects that appeared, the more inclined to finding explanations I was. The doctor could not understand why I had lost my appetite, was so weak and complained of constant headaches. He kept on asking if I had taken other medication and I denied taking anything else. Tramadol was a personal decision and I wanted to keep it that way.
In just a few weeks, I had reached a comfortable dosage of 300 mg/day and I have to say that the side-effects grew worse. They were combined with hallucinations and extreme anger, symptoms that disappeared in a moment and were usually replaced with a euphoric mood. My husband was at a total loss as he could not understand my behavior; he called the doctor and he mentioned about the possibility of me taking pills without anyone knowing. I was out for a half an hour and it did not take him longer to find the hidden bottle of Tramadol. When I saw him, I realized the truth. I was an addict, a junkie and I felt incredibly ashamed.
Pale and trembling, my husband asked me why I had not told anyone about the treatment of Tramadol, and particularly the doctor. How many pills do you take? Well, just about 6 a day, maybe 8 when I felt under the weather and the pain was really intense. Are the symptoms he had noticed possible side effects? I nodded. He did not wait for a verbal answer and he called the doctor. He asked him if Tramadol is indeed addictive. The doctor’s response was everything he needed to hear. The next morning we went to the rehabilitation center and I was admitted without any questions asked. I learned to say no and I am happy, taking the treatment that the doctor prescribed along with analgesics that do not harm my stomach or my integrity as a human being.
Tramadol prescribed on my honeymoon?
I was 25 years old when I got married to my college sweetheart. We have been together since the first year and discovered a new world while being with each other. The wedding was beautiful and we decided to take a short trip to Paris. The two weeks spent there were lovely and in the last day we went out for some souvenir shopping. While we were crossing one of the major streets in France’s capital, a crazy cab driver hit us while taking the wrong curb. My husband suffered minor injuries but I was hurt pretty badly.
I remember waking up in the hospital and asking for my Charlie, being almost desperate that I could not move. A nurse came to my bed and said that I was to rest, that my husband was fine and would soon come to me. She gave me a mild sedative and when I woke up again, it was night and Charlie was standing right by my bed and holding my hand. He told me what had happened and regretted making the decision to come to Paris. The driver had died in the accident, he added. Was he ok, I asked? Yes, he had a small head bump from the fall and a twisted ankle. Why could I not move? They said I had fractured one of the bones in my leg, the femur, and it was pretty serious.
It was in Paris that I was put on Tramadol for the first time and fortunately, it helped me to get through many nights when the pain was unbearable. I decided with Charlie that it was for the best to prolong our stay in Paris as it was rather risky to travel in that condition. While I began to recuperate, Tramadol was administered to me on a daily basis, at first two tablets a day (100 mg dose) and then it was increased up to 250-300 mg/day as the pain grew worse. When I stood upright for the first time in a couple of months, it hurt like hell and I asked the nurse to consult the doctor for an increase in the dosage. After he saw me, he raised the dosage to 350 mg/day and said that was the limit.
Charlie stood by my side day and night, taking part in all the training and exercising, using the Internet to search for new recovery techniques and also to read about Tramadol. He did not want to have a wife that was addicted to pain-relief medication and he was right. Each time I would throw up and complained of being sick, he begged me to talk to the doctor and reduce the dosage of Tramadol. The side-effects were more serious than that, but I was careful not to express them all to him; there was no point in worrying Charlie more than it was necessary.
Sometimes I felt so weak I could not get out bed, hating all the food that was given to me and feeling nauseous at the slightest head movement. My mouth was dry, I felt constant chest pains and I had become easily irritable. Charlie went over my head and discussed it all with the doctor. He said to him that he had noticed all these symptoms, no matter how hard I tried to hide them and that my leg was almost recovered. Was the treatment with Tramadol necessary? How about stopping it and allowing me to recover? The doctor agreed that Tramadol could become a problem but he was not alright with the stopping of the treatment. Powerful withdrawal symptoms could have appeared and the dosage had to be reduced step by step.
They decided to maintain the same dosage of Tramadol but they replaced part of the pills with placebo tablets in order to decrease the amount of medication. I did not notice the change as the pills looked extremely similar and perhaps the only difference was that the side-effects subsided. The dosage was decreased so much until I had begun to take only placebo pills and thought that my body had finally adjusted to Tramadol. I was released from the hospital, left Paris and arrived home recovered. It would take another two or three months before Charlie told me the truth but I am glad he made that decision for me.
Tramadol cured my back pain.
When someone tells you that you are going to suffer from a constant, nagging pain all your life, you probably hope that it’s all a bad dream. But that was not my situation. I went to the doctor after menopause had started and was prescribed a suitable hormonal treatment. I told my doctor that my neck hurt real badly in the back and I wanted something for the pain as well; he analyzed my medical history with careful attention and decided that a treatment with Tramadol was most suitable. He warned me about the potential risks of osteoporosis in menopausal women and said that I should follow his indications precisely.
As weeks passed, the pain in my neck subsided and I returned to the doctor to have an X-ray, just to be certain that I did not suffer from abnormal loss of bone tissue. Unfortunately, the X-ray picture showed early signs of osteoporosis and the doctor recommended an increase in the hormonal treatment to supply the body with the hormones that were missing. I had no intention of continuing the treatment with Tramadol for longer than it was necessary, but when I thought about the painful symptoms I had experienced, I decided that I would keep on taking the medication. When the effect of the medication passed, I noticed that the pain would appear in other parts of the spine as well, especially after I spent many hours in an upright-standing position.
Consulting with my doctor, he said that the osteoporosis might have advanced and he put me on a newly discovered treatment based on the same hormones but with increased efficiency. He decided that it was the proper moment to increase the dosage to 100 mg/day for Tramadol and he said to call if I do not feel well or the medication does not work. The following weeks after the consultation I continued to take Tramadol and I did not even want to mention how it made me feel. Sometimes I felt nauseous and just downright ill, throwing up everything I ate and going through splitting headaches. Other times, I could not eat anything and felt an intense loss of appetite and a general weakness in the body. I had read about the side-effects of Tramadol online but I had hoped that I would be an exception to the general rule.
For me, it was good news indeed that the pain in the vertebral column was not present, but sometimes the side effects were too much to bear. Tramadol had to be eliminated from my treatment plan and that was my final decision. The doctor asked me patiently to wait for another week to give my body the time to adjust to the new dosage of Tramadol. He said that these side-effects are usual when the dosage is increased and they tend to disappear after the body adapts to the new quantities of active agents. I decided to listen to him and it was a fortunate decision. During that week, I started to feel less of the side-effects until they subsided completely. Tramadol was working fine for me but there was one more problem I was worried about. Would Tramadol transform me into an addict?
I surfed the web and read all about Tramadol addiction, the way the active metabolites of Tramadol can lead to dependence and even participated in online discussions with persons who have passed through such experiences. When I went to see the doctor, he calmly explained that Tramadol can be habit-forming and this is why patients are so carefully monitored. The treatment, he said, is recommended only for patients with moderate to intense pain, long-lasting and often recurrent pain. As soon as Tramadol is no longer necessary in these patients, the dosage is reduced and the drug is eliminated from the system in a gradual manner. Well, I asked, how about me? He asked if I feel the increased need to take the medicine and if the effect of the medicine has worn off in the past few weeks. I answered no to both questions and he said that I was not addicted to Tramadol. We will be following your case, my doctor assured me, and so he did. I am still taking Tramadol under his careful supervision and I am completely satisfied with the results.
Can one be too young to be an addict?
When we reach adolescence, we tend to have an exuberant period during which we try to discover who we are and what we desire to be. I was only 18 when I went to my first rave beach party and discovered that all I wanted to do was pretty much party. The music was great, the girls wonderful and the atmosphere delightful. Each weekend I would travel with my friends to the nearest beach resort and have a blast, drinking till we passed out and taking a little something to enhance our party mood. Among the stuff that we took was Tramadol, which I later found out was just another opiate drug. But that did not stop me and in just a couple of months, I had grown a fondness for it, just like my buddies. We did not realize that we were fools, destroying what should have been a beautiful period in our lives.
One night we decided to join in another party that was on the beach and took some Tramadol a dude had brought. After several pills mixed with vodka, we started to feel really excited and euphoric; it did not take too much for us to realize that there was room for more stupid things to do and so we jumped in the water. From what I can remember, there was a great feeling being in the water and just floating, even though the waves were quite high and they kept on coming without stopping. I must have floated for half on hour or so when I saw my best friend, David, practically being smashed to the rocks of the pier. Without thinking, I swam to him and fortunately I succeeded in dragging his body out of the water. Blood was running from his forehead and I was incredibly scared. I called 911 and hoped for the best.
At the hospital, David was bandaged and doctors were positive that the head injury was not so serious. Still, they were amazed at the quantity of Tramadol that was in his body and had to perform urgent procedures to remove the drug from his system as there was a risk for overdose. They quickly noticed that I wasn’t feeling so good myself and found out that I had taken about the same number of pills as he did. In fact, the two of us and two other friends who had gotten lost on the beach split a bottle of Tramadol. I was admitted to the hospital as well and the doctors did the same thing to me, freeing my body of Tramadol.
David awoke the next morning with an impressive headache and a general state of confusion due to the head injury. The one thing he was sure of was that he needed some Tramadol for the pain and unfortunately, I felt the same craving, even if my headache was not that severe. The doctors talked with us and in just a few minutes, it was settled. When you hear the word addiction from the mouth of someone who has seen the worst, it’s practically like a cold shower, at least so it was for me and David. We wanted to stop taking Tramadol right that minute and never touch it again. Still, the doctors warned that abrupt discontinuations can very well lead to similar symptoms of overdosing and that is not indicated at all.
We continued to take Tramadol at doses that were gradually decreased and at the same time, became active participants in group meetings for drug addiction. We told our parents about the mistakes we made and pleaded for forgiveness; fortunately, we both had the greatest mom and dad in the world, they stood by our side through a painful and extremely long recovery process. Today, both me and David are students at prestigious universities, have serious girlfriends but we still attend the meetings I mentioned earlier. We never want to get back to the way things were before and we are satisfied with our current lives. I guess it’s a story with a happy ending, after all! Don’t you think that?
