Ultram (Tramadol)

[icgennifer]

Hi Everyone,

Has anyone had found any relief by taking Tramadol (Ultram)? I am in pain and looking for pain medicines that might work while my bladder tries to heal. If you use this medicine, have you had any side effects?

[ICNDonna]

It really knocks my pain. I have Ultram ER so I only need to take it once a day. I do get nausea from all pain meds, but have phenergan to take with it. The good thing is that doctors are willing to order it when they don't want to order other pain meds.

Donna

[icgennifer]

Thanks Donna!

[NicoleB]

YES YES YES! Tramadol was a life saver, better than anything else, even the stronger stuff.

Probably because tramadol has antidepressent qualities too, as well as a pain killer. Nerve pain (which can be a big issue with IC) is helped by antidepressents so it makes sense why tramadol is a double-whammy

interestingly enough though, tramadol wont even touch a headache or muscle ache at all for me. hmmmm.

[c2miracle]

Yes! Tramadol is a lifesaver when I am having no relief from pain! I thought it's interesting also, that it doesn't take a headache away. Think Positive! :smile tee

[icgennifer]

Thank you so very much for your replies! I might go to the urgent care office tonight and show the doctor their some of your posts to see if he'll give me a 2 week prescription to try while I wait to see my new urogynecologist..Im trying to think positive, but I was just diagnosed 3 weeks ago and nothing seems to be working. Both Pyridium and Elmiron gave me severe headaches!!

[c2miracle]

:) Hang in there! Relief is just around the corner! :)

[jjt001]

I know that it helps a lot of people with pelvic pain. Unfortunately it didn't work for me, it made me retain urine and it really made me loopy, and I didn't really feel like it addressed my pain. Elavil has been my lifesaver for pain -- I felt relief within a few days and was almost completely pain-free after about three months. Hopefully you are one of the many that Ultram works for, but you might also want to consider something like Elavil, if you haven't. Good luck!

[Briza]

Yes, Ultram does seem to help many ICers for bladder pain and burning relief. I have not tried it for IC because a few months before I had my first IC symptoms I was dealing with severe and disabling headaches, possibly sinus related, and I was Rxd Ultracet. Of all the pain meds or any other meds I have tried Ultracet (Tramadol+Tylenol) that I was prescribed for the headaches it gave me the most severe dizzy, loopy, nauseating side effects of any med I have ever taken in my life. It did not help for the headaches that I could tell, since I was dealing with all those side effects, and the side effects overwhelmed me so much that I really wasn't focused on the painful headaches.. It is the only med that has ever made me feel "high" for lack of a better word and it was very unpleasant. Possilby, like with many meds, those side effects would have gone away with time, but I just did not have the time to deal with that since I was working full time as a teacher at the time.
The pain meds that have worked best for me without side effects are Tylenol 3 and Dilaudid. Tho many drs are more likely to prescribe Ultram it seems, since it is considered non narcotic...but Tylenol 3 is one of the lowest tier narcotic pain meds and I haven't had problems getting that prescribed. Dilaudid is in another category of pain meds and not so easy to get an Rx for.
Best wishes for you...hopefullly Ultram will work for you well with few to no side effects. I know that it does help many people with their IC for pain, and for those who have success with it it seems that few of them complain of disabling side effects. Best wishes,BRi:)

[JenAZ07]

It didn't work for me at all....didn't even touch my pain, but I think a lot of my pain was muscle pain from the PFD not necessarily from the IC.

Please be careful though......you are not supposed to take Tramadol if you are taking certain anti-depressants.....it can cause massive seizures. A GI dr was rxing the Tramadol for me and I was taking Wellbutrin at the same time (which he knew about) and when I switched to my first pain management dr he took me off the Tramadol immediately. Said with the dose I was taking he was surprised I hadn't had a seizure yet. So please, please be careful.

[kuntrygurl78]

Be careful when you take it. It said on my bottle to eat something with it. First time I took it with an empty stomach and it made me drunk. At work too:biglaugh: Luckily my co worker at the time was a former EMT. She had me eat a big piece of pizza and I felt normal and my pain went away. A few weeks later, I took it in the middle of the night, and didnt eat anything. I woke up a few hours later, and spent the next 5 hours bent over the toilet. Almost had to go to the ER. I decided that I didnt like it after that.

I take Darvon (like darvocet but without the tylenol ingredient) when I need to. I like it. I would talk to your doc. There are so many different things that you can try.

[mortisha]

Nope, Ultram has never helped me with post-op pain, IC pain or any other type pain. I can't take opiate-type meds like morphine, codiene, vicoden, etc. so I usually end up with Tylenol ES or Tordal IV post-op. What has almost eliminated my IC pain was Lyrica. I have been virtuately pain-free since starting it about a month ago. I had one episode of ureathral pain one night and took a left over Ultram (I have lots) which again did nothing. I finally resorted to a helating pack and ativan. No pain the next day.

If you want to look at long-term pain management you might consider Lyrica.

[Sheila6830]

Yes - Tramadol is the only pain med that helped my pain. I had one doc give me hydracodone, but that didn't touch the pain (worked great when I had my hysterectomy).

For me Tramadol saved my life. It helped me get through some really rough months. If it wasn't for the tramadol, I don't know if I would be typing this right now. Doctors shouldn't be so afraid to give it out for IC sufferers. I keep some on hand in case of another flare. I also found that it had some antidepressant side effects - which is nice when you are in so much pain you want to die. I bet at some point in time they will prescribe it as an antidepressant.

I also DID NOT find Tramadol addictive at all. For any doctor out there who is stingy with the pain med - I wish them a week in the body of an IC sufferer.