Tramadol now being tracked along with opioids

Good times, good times LOL .....

Yeah, they've been cracking down in NY too.  I used to get tramadol for the 2 yrs before my surgery for my back pain (degenerative disc). My doc used to give me 100 count at a time lol, with 2 or 3 re-fills. Then when I went to the same doc to start my w.l.s. process in January of this year, when I said my back was bothering me, she wouldn't write me a script cuz she said they were considered a narcotic now. Stinks

I have been getting 180 Tramadol (two 50mg pills three times a day as needed) plus 20-30 Vicodin per month for four years for the arthritis in my knees (the Vicodin was initially for the abdominal pain I was in before they found the problem with adhesions and my intestine, but it helps my knees much more than the Tramadol, so my PCP allowed me to continue to take it before bed as needed).  I haven't had any issues with him not wanting to prescribe them, but he is the only one prescribing them, and he knows how bad the knees are/were because he has the reports from the X-rays and the orthopedic surgeon.  Once I get my second knee done in a week (yikes!) he may be more reluctant to prescribe the Tramadol if I need it for some other kind of pain, but I very rarely ever had any kind of pain issues before my knees started to hurt, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

I did wonder, when I got a script for additional Vicodin from the ER and urologist for the kidney stones, if that was going to flag something. Apparently not.

To me, it almost seems as if the ones who are "doctor hopping" just to get meds have an easier time getting scripts than the ones who legitimately go to the doctor in pain. Although, maybe it only seems harder cuz we don't try as hard (as in going to several different docs)

Interesting. I asked for Tramadol after my bad fall because I did not feel I needed the Hydrocodon or Percocet they offered me. I prefer it to other drugs post-op and because the doctor did detect the beginning stages of arthritis when he did my xrays, I figure I am going to have to find something that will work over time effectively and had thought it would be Tramadol. But I also am not keen on being a regular user of a drug on a watch list, either. 

Thanks for this nugget to tuck away for the future when I talk pain management with my doctor!

I take Tramadol, but I have a reaction if I take more than 1 in a day -- I start to itch internally all over. That is also my reaction when I take hydrocodone, so I'm limited to 1 Tramadol when I really need it.

That said, even though both my knees are to be replaced in 6 weeks, I only take about 2 Tramadol a month for the pain when it's truly unbearable. Otherwise I just live on candy (500 mg Tylenol) with a max of 5 per day.

Susan

Wow, you a definitely a "warrior"!  If your knee pain is anything close to like mine, I salute you for being able to take nothing but Tylenol.  Without the Vicodin, I get almost me sleep at night because every time I shift position, it causes stabbing pain in my knee(s).   One Tramadol (assuming it is the 50mg) doesn't do much for me.

You are also braver than I about replacing both knees at once.  I had the first one done in March and am having the second one done in a week. Good luck.  At least you will get it all over with at once, and I know there are advantages to that.

Lora

My pain tolerance level is VERY high. I had emergency abdominal surgery this summer (small bowel obstruction where a part got caught in a pocket and blocked off). After surgery I had morphine every 3 hours for 4 doses. After that I took nothing for pain because I was not in pain. Amazed the doctors and nurses.

My 4th c-section I took no pain meds following because I wasn't in pain. There was discomfort, but as I told the nurse - I'd rather keep the discomfort because it reminds me to move slowly and cautiously rather than block it and do something stupid which tears a stitch or does internal damage I can't feel.

Tramadol (50mg) is enough to take the edge off the sharp pain so I can function. I actually had to take one on Saturday night because I had walked nearly 3 miles over hilly surfaces and my knees were killing me especially when I had to climb (and then go down) the stairs in the stadium.

As for replacing both at once, I don't have a good leg left to stand on so I'd rather do it all at once -- one surgery, one anesthesia, one recovery, one rehab. Yes, it's going to be tough. Yes, I probably will cry during and after rehab. However, I will be happy to be able to walk without pain; stand without pain; sit without pain....

Susan

Wow, I wish I had a pain tolerance that high!  Hopefully, it will serve you well for the knee replacements.  I was taking narcotics for the first two weeks on a regular schedule, and then for another week or so just before bed and right before PT.

I think that if I had needed to have my right (better) knee done before the left one (the really bad one) for some reason, I probably would have considered doing them at the same time, too. 

Lora

Lora,

I suspect I will be on pain meds a bit longer for the knee replacement, but probably no longer than 2 days.

When the doctor did my shoulder surgery, I asked when I could drive again. I was told, "When you are no longer taking pain meds." So I drove to Christmas Eve services just 3 days after surgery. I had bone spur and torn cartilage all the way over the top of my arm (9 to 3, as you look at the clock).

Both knees, as of November 2012, have no cartilage on the kneecaps, have bone spurs, and less than 1mm meniscus left. Not sure how bad they are now, but I hope it isn't bone on bone yet.

Susan