I have chronic pain because of a herniated disc and disc surgery and the dr. told me the muscle is spasaming around the bone to protect it? Would Tramadol be good for the relief of those muscle spasms?
Is Tramadol good for chronic back pain after a back surgery?
Question posted by Paige42986 on 25 Jan 2010
Last updated on 6 October 2011 by ladyh
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8 Answers
ladyh
7 Oct 2011
to; Paige42986,
Myself, I had a 'fusion" back surgery, and I did well with the muscle relaxer
Robaxin, and trammadol. shortly after the surgery itself, was also on the valium as well. I hope this helps some, good luck.
amandastenosis
4 Oct 2011
You need to know it has a effect similar to a light anti-depressant, of the SSRI class. If you are on an SSRI such as paxil, prozac or zoloft, I would speak about this with your doctor. It caused my husband to to into a manic episode and he is on lamictal for bi-polar disorder. I found it effective for pain but not for after a surgery. I would suggest you need a regular pain medicine, if you can handle opiate pain medication with as little Tylenol as possible especially for the first week or two. If you are going into physical therapy then maybe longer. If your doctor refuses, ask them again. It seems like that might be inadequate and some people say it is about as effective and naproxen sodium or ibuprofen so you can judge what you need from there. If I was having the surgery I would insist more adequate pain management not Tramadol. Especially for the first few weeks that is just my opinion.
Basically it is a light weight pain med for light to moderate pain at most, and the worst part is it takes about 24 hours of taking as prescribed to feel any pain relief, so after surgery you need something that works faster. I would ask for Norco, Percocet, something like that. I personally cannot take Tylenol so they have other options but my pain is so severe I cannot hardly sit here to type this and have been bed ridden by stenosis for 6 weeks. I expect relief to come soon with specialist appointments. I learned one thing I did not know, and that is that you should eat when you take your pain medication, somehow it tells your stomach to digest the medicine and it is stronger and works better. If I take pain medicine with no food, it does not seem to work hardly at all... good luck and I wish you relief..Amanda
Diana1218
1 July 2011
i have herniated disc and Dr gave me tramadol, this pills makes me sick to my stomach, i have spent all day just throwing up anything that goes in my mouth, i don't plan on taking it any more..as for the pain it has taken some pain away but then i end up left nauseated and a headache all day don't know if i want it any more..just not for me
brenda fain
8 June 2011
ultran along with other med work great for pain!but our bodies respond differently to pain and pain meds !i'm on ultrams 4 per day ,oxycodone 15mg x 4 a day and the fentanyl patch 75mcg's and for really bad break through pain i'm on fentora buccal tablet x2 a day !this is powerful pain meds and very expensive !so i take the fentora only when nothing else will ease the pain where i can handle it!!! i too have had 4 back surgeries and was told i would need pain meds the rest of my life !!
i'm hoping you don't have to be put on the strong pain meds !i am not the same person i was before my pain!pain really takes a toll on our lives !and taking all these meds helps some times with the pain!but it can make me very sleepy !oh i'm on a muscle relaxer too!
God bless & best wishes
hurting n need help
8 June 2011
Mvpt is totally right. I hope tramadol works for you. It didn't touch my pain.. God bless.
hurting n need help
3 June 2011
I took tramadol n it didn't touch my pain at all. Good luck..although I would stay as low on pain med as possible..I hope it works for u.
teal
25 Jan 2010
Im not going to say anything for sure,BUT,i will give you my experience. I have 6 blown disc's,S shaped spine(not born with),deteriorating spine,neck bone problems,one disc pressing on my spinal cord,a few others that have deteriorated almost completely,and major back spasms,et cetera,anyway,Tramadol did nothing for me,to be frank,it was like taking a water pill,BUT that was me,i've heard that it works for others,however my doctor had told me it's more in the lower case of pain meds,so he put me on percocets,and had me on tramadol,but like i said,i noticed no difference at all,so i just stopped taking them,BUT,it may work for you. im stating everything this way,because the last time i talked about a drug,someone here got on me saying i shouldnt be telling ppl how to do drugs or something to that fact,so im very cautious in what i say now,lol,so im just giving you my experience,it did nothing. good luck to you:)
teal
25 Jan 2010
and both above are correct about the drug,and about a muscle relaxer,that's what they just added with my pain medication and it's helped
allyoop_58
29 Jan 2010
teal,
Are you saying that your dr had you on percocets AnD tramodol at the same time? Just wondering because I'm currently taking percocet 5/325 for post-surgery (C6-7 ruptured disc). I have to take 2 to get any relief. I normally take tramodol every day for fibromyalgia, plus a long list i won't go in to right now. I checked with the "Interactions Checker" here to see if I could get any extra relief from the combination of the two, but, it said it was a "no-go" (didn't interact too well).
So, I was just curious.
Thanks, Alice
teal
29 Jan 2010
yes they did. I take percocet 10mg/325 2 of them,3x a day,and they had me on tramadol next to the highest level,1or2 3x a day,but i didnt notice any difference in the pain,so i stopped the tramadol,and they then added flexeril. you will notice moderate interactions here with alot of drugs,most mine have that,like the percocet and xanax that im also on. The percocet im on now is starting to not work,i've been on it a long time(also getting surgery,3 on my back). but yes to your question,they had me on both at the same time,but like i said i just gave the bottle back to them after trying it for a couple months because the tramadol didnt add any relief for me anyway.
Paige42986
29 Jan 2010
Thanks guy's I am trying to find a way to relieve this pain and not become addicted to the substance. I ask questions because I like to her everyone's opinions about things before I go and try something.
teal
29 Jan 2010
thats what i always worry about,the addiction,withdrawls,but i always always take it as prescribed,and i know once everything is done and i can get off these stupid things,lol,i will be able to wean off slowly and be fine. I was on xanax for years and decided to go off,and i weaned myself very very slowly,probably ridiculously slow,but i was fine and didnt go through any withdrawls,however the panic attacks came back and had to go back on them. I hate pills,and always worry about that stuff,plus what it's doing to my body. I just hope when all the surgeries are done,i can get off any pain med and feel physically good,pain free,thats what im hoping for. good luck to you!!
amandastenosis
4 Oct 2011
Ya why, because it says the Tramadol has an opiate agonist in it. That blocks the receptors so your other pain meds perhaps cannot work. That is what it says about the Tramadol anyway. Also the SSRI interaction for a lot of people is a serious concern.
mpvt
25 Jan 2010
It may give you some relief but muscle spasms respond best with benzodiazapines like Valium. You only need a very small dose 3 times a day for a few days... Good luck and by the way, Tramadol has the pain killing strength equal to Tylenol#3. It is also terribly addictive for a supposedly non-opiate. So be careful with this med as it can also cause seizures if you take to much...
kimmie1
25 Jan 2010
mpvt is correct again. I keep telling people how smart he is. I agree with his comment. You need a muscle relaxer for muscle spasms. I take valium for them also. As far as chronic pain, depends on how long you have had it and what type of medication your are looking for. Long lasting opiates or non addictive meds. Best to you. kimmie1
Related topics
pain, back pain, tramadol, surgery, herniated disc
Further information
- Tramadol uses and safety info
- Tramadol prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Tramadol (detailed)
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