Has anyone experienced that they've built up a tolerance to Tramadol? I've been using it pretty regularly since March when I was first dx'd. I don't take it when I have to drive though. I was just wondering what other non-nsaid type pain relievers were out there. Just wondering if there's something I already have in the medicine cabinet. I can't sleep. The pain just hopscotched to my lower back today for the first time and is keeping me from sleeping. I cannot take nsaids because it flares up my asthma pretty badly. I used to be able to take them before the PsA flair, but it seems the body cannot handle the flare and the nsaids simultaneously. My GP put me on Meloxicam before the rhuemy saw and dx'd me and I had the worst asthma attacks. Just wondering what some other folks are using. I may rummage my pill supply and see if I have Vicodin or something - I'll just have to check and make sure it isn't an Nsaid too. ;) Thx
Oh, Tylenol may work, but is it okay to be using with mtx since it too is processed through the liver?
You can definitely build up a tolerance for tramadol. I only take it when I REALLY need it. I have liver issues, so can't take tylenol, ibuprofen, naproxen, etc. I'm interested in the answer to this question, too, as when tramadol stops working, I need another alternative.
Tramadol does nothing for me . As for tylenol well if you take more than 4000mg a day you will have liver issues. Nym says she has liver issues now so she must never take tylenol. If you are getting regular bloodwork done ie: monthly you would be able to catch that in time. One of the things to watch for with liver failure.(my Dad had cirrosis of the liver) is extremely itchy skin. That being said we all have psoriasis and when I have skin issues ( I am P free now) I am itching like a crazy person. LOL And that is not really a something you can rely on as anyone can have liver failure and no signs until of it is too late. There ya go another thing to worry about.
I am taking 25 mg of amiltriptiline for pain and sleep. I did not think is was helping with pain at all but in a short time (a couple of weeks) I realise that I am not watching the clock anymore to take the tylenol.
If you are having sleep issues maybe you should be addressing that instead? and taking tylenol too.
My last doctor was the one to explain this tylenol to me. She had taken all kinds of pain management courses because a lot oa patients come in with pain issues. It works the tylenol but you must take it daily. I used to take about 3000mg daily on a regular basis.
wow I have lots to say lately!
Thx Nym and 2Trees. I wish I could take something occasionally for sleep. However, I am the around-the-clock nurse for my special-needs son with sleep disorder, aspergers and type one diabetes. I haven't had a full night's sleep in over 5 years since his diabetes onset. I force myself to stay awake until midnight, then check his blood between 2 am and 5 am, so my sleep is chopped up by necessity. I'd love to take a trazadone for a full nights rest, but it would probably prevent me from being able to wake up effectively. I guess narcotics would do the same unfortunately. No easy answers here, but I keep looking. I notice if I take Tramadol after 8pm that it can prevent me from sleeping even though it makes me drowsy. Go figure! So I lay there in a pretty chill state, but am unable to actually sleep.
I ended up not taking anything and finally fell asleep at 5 am on the couch. I was nervous about the Tylenol. I emailed my Arthritis Center and it looks like they responded, but the link is giving me fits. When I read it, I'll repost what they advised me to do.
Okay - doc said okay to Tylenol for OTC, and/or hydrocodone (vicodin). Time to raid my cabinet for old pills for after the gall bladder surgery!
2Trees gives good advice: really really watch your tylenol intake. The absolute maximum is 4000 mg, and my doc recommended that I try to stay below 3000. I believe there are some new recommendations and guidelines coming out in the US.
All of this is cumulative, of course: the more drugs that you take which are hard on the liver, the more careful you have to be. Alcohol factors in as well. It's bad enough having PsA without having liver problems as well.
As for tramadol, I "discovered" it thanks to my Baker's Cyst. It's the first heavy duty pain med that I've taken that doesn't make me dizzy and sick. (It also worked as an antidepressant for me, which was a very very happy discovery, but that's another story). It's an opiod, so I guess there is always a risk of habituation and reduced effectiveness, but I didn't take it long enough to know. I'm glad, though, that I now have a "stash" that I can use when I am desperate and I can throw my percocets away. Hate those things! I really don't understand why anybody would want to buy it as a street drug. But then, I've never understood stuff like that.
Seenie - Tramadol works great for my anxiety disorder! I love getting two for the price of one! It's the first med that's worked for my anxiety that doesn't make me paranoid (which is a ton of fun - no anxiety, but I'm paranoid about everything! LOL).
Oh, so sorry to hear this, Dee! Lousy hopscotching! And the lower back is a very nasty place for it to settle. Makes it hard to sleep, bend, pick things up...play with the kids...
I don't have a medical answer about Tramadol because I just started on it and it made me super itchy so I stopped taking it. I'm also taking Lyrica, an antidepressant, and it helps the lower back pain some. Amilytriptilyne did too but stopped working for me after about two weeks. I don't know if my condition truly is PsA or not, so don't know if these meds would be appropriate for you or not. You could ask your doctor. The Lyrica, while not taking all of the pain away, does take the edge off, which helps.
Isn't that interesting, how our individual "wiring" gives us peculiar responses to various drugs. I'm just trying to imagine paranoia without anxiety ... you just calmly accept that everybody and everything is out to getcha? Yes, sounds like fun ... NOT! :-)
nym said:
Seenie - Tramadol works great for my anxiety disorder! I love getting two for the price of one! It's the first med that's worked for my anxiety that doesn't make me paranoid (which is a ton of fun - no anxiety, but I'm paranoid about everything! LOL).
Thanks Petunia, I'll do some research on Lyrica. Is it an SSRI type antidepressant? I never liked the other antidepressants I took in the past. I've been on Prozac, and Effexor, and Celexa and Trazadone. It's been 13 years now that I've not been on any anti-depressants. When I was on them, I did not like the side effects - felt numb, apathetic, and very uncreative. Yes, I was not at sad, but I didn't care about anything either. Plus, the sex life was not good as it made me dead from the waste down. Not that I have any sex life currently. : / It's complicated.
Nym, yes, I've noticed I am not as O C D -ish or spastic on the tramadol. It definitely helps me chillax! I'm so used to having to be hyper-alert all the time, that the chill time is refreshing. Things don't bother me quite as much. Tramadol is a cool drug and I'm glad to have been introduced to it! Makes me miss my cabernet a little less.
All - I found some 2 year old vicodin and am waiting for it to kick in. Ooh, I think it's working.
Hi Girls,
I take Lyrica for nerve pain, Sciatica, it does not touch back pain as in SI joint or facet, it was first used for Diabetic Neuropathy, now for Fibromyalgia. I have never seen or heard of it being an antidepressant, or surely I would be a much 'happier' girl as I take nearly 700mg daily.
I am not sure what you can take with Asthma, so I will just tell you what I take for pain/sleep. Oxiprozin, but that is like a super Tylenol, so that would be out but it really helps as a maintence drug for the ache and pain of arthritis. Opana is the narcotic with Phenergan 1 hour prior for nausea. I have tried various muscle relaxants with no help until GP put me on Xanax, but the Rheum wanted me on Valium instead, says it stays in the system longer. Sometimes it will allow me to sleep, sometimes not.
Sometimes the Opana makes me itch, sometimes it doesn't, GP said I could take small dose of Benadryl (tabs can be broken in half) for the itch. I cannot however take any time release pain meds (er) as the itching is catastrophic, must be too much caffeine or something similar to it.
Now all that said, you have to pick your poison, you cannot take all of these together, so if it is a muscle pain keeping you awake, the Valium, if it is a bone pain, the Opana.
Tried Tramadol years back and that made me really itch, was not aware I could take the benadryl with it, so that is always a future possiblity. I cannot take Codeine at all, ever, am allergic.
Hope this may be of some help to you DMaraJade, as surely you have your hands full too. Hugs to you and your little one!
Feel better,
SK
DMaraJade, I think Lyrica is a nerve pain med. I know what you mean about the SSRI's -- those are all really common side effects. (And who needs to be dead from the waist down, sex life or no sex life!) I loved tramadol too, especially the antidepressant effect. I've been on Paxil for years, but in the last few it hasn't wasn't doing a good job for me. Doc suggested a switch to another, newer, AD, but I couldn't face the thought of upsetting my whole neurotransmitter apple cart. My head felt lousy (yes, numb, apathetic etc.), but I decided I had to live with it until I could face the turmoil of an antidepressant switch.
When tramadol made me feel so good, I did some reading and discovered that, for some people, it acts as an NRI -- norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor -- which explained its antidepressant effect on me. So I went looking for a proper NRI antidepressant, and found that Wellbutrin is exactly that. I asked my doc to prescribe it as an add-on to Paxil. (Gotta love this do-it-yourself psychiatry!) That was two weeks ago, and I'm feeling mentally better than I have in years. And no turmoil ... a couple of restless nights, that's all.
Wellbutrin is bupropion, the same drug as Zyban, the smoking cessation med. I wonder: you like tramadol, so maybe you'd feel good on Wellbutrin too.
Sorry for morphing the nsaid thread into an antidepressant thread. But it's yours, so I guess you won't mind! LOL
chillax I love it. Iam finding the amiltriptiline not as effective either . I have insomnia instead some nights. I have been playing with doseage. half tab one day full the next. Seems to be working but I am going to go down to half tab for a couple of days. worst case I will stop sleeping altogether.
Thanks SK and Seenie, I've not heard of some of those so I'm adding it to my notes in case I feel I need them. The Wellbutrin is good to know about too. So far not too terribly depressed (too busy and stressed to get that low) LOL. But, having been hospitalized for depression years ago, I know the possibility exists of recurrance. Great info. Interesting about the itch. I've had some weird itchyness at night and it is different from the PS itch. I did not know Tramadol could do that. Man, it feels like fleas biting intermittantly! Ew. But, it really doesn't distract me too badly. The discussion morph is no biggie, it's all good to know. Thanks again.
Seenie said:
DMaraJade, I think Lyrica is a nerve pain med. I know what you mean about the SSRI's -- those are all really common side effects. (And who needs to be dead from the waist down, sex life or no sex life!) I loved tramadol too, especially the antidepressant effect. I've been on Paxil for years, but in the last few it hasn't wasn't doing a good job for me. Doc suggested a switch to another, newer, AD, but I couldn't face the thought of upsetting my whole neurotransmitter apple cart. My head felt lousy (yes, numb, apathetic etc.), but I decided I had to live with it until I could face the turmoil of an antidepressant switch.
When tramadol made me feel so good, I did some reading and discovered that, for some people, it acts as an NRI -- norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor -- which explained its antidepressant effect on me. So I went looking for a proper NRI antidepressant, and found that Wellbutrin is exactly that. I asked my doc to prescribe it as an add-on to Paxil. (Gotta love this do-it-yourself psychiatry!) That was two weeks ago, and I'm feeling mentally better than I have in years. And no turmoil ... a couple of restless nights, that's all.
Wellbutrin is bupropion, the same drug as Zyban, the smoking cessation med. I wonder: you like tramadol, so maybe you'd feel good on Wellbutrin too.
Sorry for morphing the nsaid thread into an antidepressant thread. But it's yours, so I guess you won't mind! LOL
Make friends with torodol. IV or injectable when really bad.
I know pain too. Trust me on this, Somehow someway you have got to get any opiads out of your regime. They will cause more pain (literal pain) long term, than they will solve short term. There will be times you will need them. You want no doubt about there ability to knock you on your butt when you do.
In the meantime, a tens unit, predi bursts, what ever... If you haven't tried flector patches get some cut 'em half to get two spots.
Get your hormones checked. If you don't have a young persons body that way get one, you need all thehelp you can get t to fight this (paind reduces them) High levels fight fatique too. For guys there are certain other advantages to normal T levels.
Probably most of you have heard of neurontin; lyrica is in the same drug class as neurontin. It's primary use is treatment of seizure disorder. Both drugs commonly are used off-label to treat chronic pain. Interestingly, another variant, called "Horizant" was recently approved to treat Restless Leg Syndrome and post-herpetic neuropathy (pain after shingles).
I also have great respect for Toradol injectible. I get those occassionally, but since years of NSAIDs ate holes in my stomach, I have to be very careful with Toradol. When things are bad, though, I often do take the risk with Toradol, as it is quite helpful. I stop by one of those "immediate care" places, where you don't see your regular doc. Very little waiting, and when they find out I don't want narcotics, they are DELIGHTED to give me the Toradol. :-)
Hope this helps.
I stopped having anxiety about things like leaving the house, not doing well at my job, etc. and instead was paranoid that people were talking about me, out to get me, etc.
Seenie said:
Isn't that interesting, how our individual "wiring" gives us peculiar responses to various drugs. I'm just trying to imagine paranoia without anxiety ... you just calmly accept that everybody and everything is out to getcha? Yes, sounds like fun ... NOT! :-)
nym said:Seenie - Tramadol works great for my anxiety disorder! I love getting two for the price of one! It's the first med that's worked for my anxiety that doesn't make me paranoid (which is a ton of fun - no anxiety, but I'm paranoid about everything! LOL).
Thanks tntlamb. I am not a fan of opioids hence the 2 year old stockpile from my last surgery. I would never want to take them around the clock. I don't like the hangover feeling the next day and I need to be focused, so anything that dulls my thinking is not something I want to do regularly. I took the one Vicodin and it got me through. Had a great night last night. Back still hurts, but not to the levels where I need to take anything. Today will be drug free. I'm hosting a play date. I've never heard of torodol, so thanks for this. Are flector patches OTC? Something like that might help on long drives maybe? I'm still scared of prednisone. My bp went completely wack last burst (if that's what it was). I had a big push dose, followed by a steady weaning off. I don't want to do that again because I swelled up, couldn't sleep at all, heart was racing - Ugh. My body does not tolerate prednisone well it seems. Even the inhaled asthma med that my GP put me on in Feb. drove my blood pressure through the roof. My normal bp is about 130 / 72 and it went to 200 / 92 and I felt like crap. Wish I could take prednisone as it made the pain go away, the ps cleared considerably, and my range of motion was totally back to normal. It worked like a miracle except for the serious se's. :( In closing, thanks for looking out for me lamb. No chance of this gal getting hooked on opioids if I can help it! I had my hormones checked when I was first going to my GP about the fatigue and joint pain. Everything came back normal except for the Gilbert's Syndrome (non disease really) with hi bilirubin levels. Cortisol, female hormones etc, were all normal. It wasn't until some months later, and after new symptoms such as swelled/hot hand and increasing joint issues that I got sent to the rheumy. In addition, I'm confused as to how I can have swelling and pain and my sed rates are fine?! Weird? My other symptoms are classic PsA with the added one of chronic low-grade fever. No infections though according to bloodwork. What say you Oh Wise One? Can someone have normal Sed and still have this disease?
tntlamb said:
Make friends with torodol. IV or injectable when really bad.
I know pain too. Trust me on this, Somehow someway you have got to get any opiads out of your regime. They will cause more pain (literal pain) long term, than they will solve short term. There will be times you will need them. You want no doubt about there ability to knock you on your butt when you do.
In the meantime, a tens unit, predi bursts, what ever... If you haven't tried flector patches get some cut 'em half to get two spots.
Get your hormones checked. If you don't have a young persons body that way get one, you need all thehelp you can get t to fight this (paind reduces them) High levels fight fatique too. For guys there are certain other advantages to normal T levels.
Darn! I just looked up Flector patches. They too are nsaids and have warnings for people with asthma that react poorly to other nsaids. : ( This sounded great - I'm bummed now.
tntlamb said:
Make friends with torodol. IV or injectable when really bad.
I know pain too. Trust me on this, Somehow someway you have got to get any opiads out of your regime. They will cause more pain (literal pain) long term, than they will solve short term. There will be times you will need them. You want no doubt about there ability to knock you on your butt when you do.
In the meantime, a tens unit, predi bursts, what ever... If you haven't tried flector patches get some cut 'em half to get two spots.
Get your hormones checked. If you don't have a young persons body that way get one, you need all thehelp you can get t to fight this (paind reduces them) High levels fight fatique too. For guys there are certain other advantages to normal T levels.