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Can I become addicted to tramadol?

Medically reviewed by Leigh Ann Anderson, PharmD. Last updated on Nov 2, 2023.

Official answer

by Drugs.com

Yes, tramadol has been found to be linked with drug abuse, addiction, and overdose. Even if you take your dose correctly as prescribed you are at risk for opioid addiction, abuse, and misuse that can lead to death.

Tramadol is a strong prescription pain medicine. It contains an opioid (narcotic) that is used for the management of pain when other pain treatments such as non-opioid pain medicines do not treat your pain well enough or you cannot tolerate them.

To address these concerns, the DEA placed all forms of tramadol into Schedule IV of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), meaning it does have potential for abuse. This limits the number of prescription refills you can have over a certain period of time.

References
  • Ultram [tramadol] prescribing information. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Revosed Oct. 2019. Accessed Nov. 12, 2020 at https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2019/020281s045lbl.pdf
  • Tramadol product monograph. Drugs.com. Updated March 1, 2020. Accessed Nov 11, 2020 at https://www.drugs.com/tramadol.html

Read next

Yes, it is safe for most people to take tramadol with acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or aspirin if they are old enough (aspirin is not recommended for children less than 16 years and tramadol should not be taken by children under the age of 12). Continue reading

How much tramadol you give your dog depends on the size of your dog. Smaller dogs do not need as much tramadol as larger dogs need to relieve pain. If you give too much tramadol your dog is likely to have more severe side effects. The tramadol dosage for dogs is usually between 0.45 to 1.8 mg per pound of body weight (1mg to 5 mg/kg). The frequency varies depending on what you are giving it for. For general pain, it is given every 8 to 12 hours, but for cancer-related pain, it can be administered every 6 hours. Continue reading

Both tramadol and codeine are prescription opioid painkillers, and they seem to be equally effective in terms of pain relief. There is no evidence that tramadol is any stronger than codeine at relieving pain. Continue reading

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