Ultram | Arthritis Information

Hey You guys, There has been a lot of conversation about pain meds lately. I have been taking darvocett more than I like lately. It makes me itchy and tired. I have always said I was allergic to codeine because it would make me itch. Now I am thinking, all pain meds make me itch and maybe it is not an allergic reaction. I want to try something different from darvocett. I don't like vicoden and the over the counters are not strong enough. They barely have any effect on my pain - especially this constant pain in my Butt

I don't get itchy or get that "high" that comes from the opiate narcotics (although that euphoric feeling cheers me

Give 'em a try and give some feedback.

Take care!

Thanks Mike, It sounds good. I wish Darvocett made me Euphoric but it makes me more nervous than anything else. I hope my md will give me a rx to try it. I had told him I was allergic to codeine but that was before I realized that all of the opiates make me itchy.

Anyone take Tramadol?

Tramadol is the same as Ultram. They just like to confuse us Lovie

Sandy

I have been off and on ultram for almost 7 years. it worked fairly well at first...no loopy side effects. but after being on it for so long, it just doesn't cut the pain for me. over the years i have built a tolerance to it and now even the max daily dose does little for me. still no side effects. and i am not on it now. the only time i had any real side effects were when i'd increase a dose...but then again narcotics don't make me sleepy either.

Confused in deed Rox. I didn't realize it was the same thing...but then again; like I said...I've steered clear of pain meds for the most part.

I'm getting ready to take on righ tnow though...I need some releif...and some sleep!!

Night Ya'll.

Hi Wayney girl. Missed you. Glad you are back.

Thanks you guys. I am going to try the Ultram. Called the md for a rx. I figure if I have both darvocett and Ultram at hand, I can use them according to my needs.

I was RX'ed Ultram at the beginning of the year. I am not much for pain killers. I hardly have took any except when I broke my knee and had my c-section. With that said, Ultram did very lil' for my pain.

I would take it when I was hurting and go lay down, then I would fall alseep for about 30-45 mins and wake up and still have pain, BUT not as painful. It was like it kinda faded the pain away a lil', BUT I would be up all night with that lil' achy, faded pain I had.

But they might work for you. Everyone reacts to meds different. I hope that if you do get an RX for them they do wonders for ya!

one more thing....we've discussed tramadol and ultram being the same....
well, ultracet is ultram combined with tylenol. just in case you are ever given that.

So if it has the -cet in a drug it means tylenol??

Hey Roxy,

Taking Ultram myself, but only at night because it does make me sleepy a little. It works for the most part but it doesnt always take away all of the pain. No other side effects with it either except the drowsiness. Hope it works for ya, W/O THE ITCHING!!!!!!!!!

Shawnie

P.S.: Welcome back Wayney
about the sleepiness and how well it works..this is the advice given by my doc.....she said ultracet is one med that works better if it is taken regularly rather than as needed because it almost needs to have a constant level in your system. one benefit to taking it regulalry is that the common sleepiness does dissipate after a period of adjustment. i found that to be true.

Thats good to know Wanyey, guess I need to start taking every night now. Thanx for the info.

Shawnie

I take Ultam too, I don't feel it is the end all of the pain management drugs but I do like the fact that it does not pass through the liver and doesn't cause a lot of problems with your stomach and since I am on MTX that can harm the liver, this is probably the better choice of pain medications.

Toni

I've been on Ultracet about a year now. It keeps the edge off, not so much that I say "wow it doesn't hurt" just enough that I remember if I forgot a dose.

I'm not impressed.

I can not take darvocet, it makes me go into an absolute rage, angry, mean, sarcastic, hateful.. very unpleasant and it happens every time. I had to take it for oral surgery a few times, now I refuse it and ask for ANYTHING else. Hydrocodone mkes me itch. I LIKE indomethacin, but it tears my stomach up too badly. Celebrex did absolutely nothing. I had vicoprofin about 5 years ago when I injured my knee and that stuff was wonderful. Is that the same as vicodin? If so, maybe its a good thing they haven't prescribed it for me. LOL

I had asked my doctor for something to have on hand just to use "as needed". He knows I'm not big on medication unless I have to have it.

He prescribed Tramadol to just use occationally. He didn't mention anything about having to use it daily. No more than twice a day though.

He did mention that if I wanted it to help me sleep take two...and if I need to use it while working just take one. He said see how it effects me at home before trying to drive with it. I took it last night and slept pretty good...but then again; I've been really tired since I've been home too.

Wayney...add me to the welcome back crew. We've missed you. Hope you're feeling better.

It doesn't have to be used al lthe time but for it to work best especially for chronic pain, it is best to use meds regulary.
I posted this link in the links section but wanted to post it here as one of the statements in it says what I'm trying to say better than I can say it.
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC253/29721/29724/33 6384.html?d=dmtContent

Here's what it states:
"

In the past 20 years, a host of new pain medications have become available. These new formulations give people with chronic pain more options than ever. But all drugs can have side effects that limit how they're used.

Two strategies can guide your use of pain medications:

First, if you're taking pain medications, you'll want to find the lowest dose that controls your pain. The lower the dose, the fewer and less severe the side effects.
And second, it's often better to "stay ahead" of chronic pain by taking your medication at regular intervals, rather than waiting until the pain becomes intolerable. If the pain is predictable, as migraine pain can be, taking your medication before the pain begins may be the best approach."

Toni,
Who told you it doesn't pass through the liver? RXList.com says it is "eliminated primarily through metabolism by the liver and the metabolites are eliminated primarily by the kidneys."
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/tramadol_cp.htm
Further it states that another adverse experience reported during trials (but not yet determined to be a causal relationship to ultram) is elevated liver enzymes. In people who have cirrhosis of the liver, it has reduced metabolism and therefore requires a much lower dose in those patients.

Wayney

That was the information I received from my RA doctor. I may have mis -understood her. I am going to bring that question up to her on my next visit. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. She knew I was very concerned about not over taxing my liver since I already had nodules showing up on it. That was her reasoning for putting me on Ultram.

Toni

Well I tried Ultram last night. I did end up going back to bed for a couple hours so maybe it helped. My butt and hips are hurting so bad today (and all last night) that I think I am going back to the damn darvocett for the day. In fact, I wish I had something stronger. This sucks. I want to act like a newlywed, not a crippled up old lady Ive been on ultram for about a month. I take 50mg only. It does nothing for me, But I think my dose is too small, I dunno. I also get an alergic reaction to the sun, im not sure if its ultram doing that. Has anyone ever had that happen to them?

Jealousy,

I read in AT magazine that some meds taken for RA can cause a reaction if you are exposed to the sun. I believe one of them was Plaquenil, and the other was MTX. Not sure about Ultram, Ill have to check the article again and Ill let you know.

Shawnie

Jealousy -

I do not really know if Ultram makes you sensitive to the sun. BUT I use to be "allergic" to the sun when I was a kid. I would get these white blotches on my face and arms when I was out in the sun for a long period of time.

I have recently noticed that my daughter now has the same problem. She has white blotches (looks like dry skin, but a white patch) on her face and arms. She has been out in the sun alot this summer. She has been swimming in her nanny's pool. She has a good tan, it is one of those tans people pay for...lol. I use to tan like that...just 30 mins in the sun and I looked like I had been tanning for days...lol.

Maybe you are "allergic" to the sun?

Ultram and me don't work too well together it makes me spacey.Shawnie, Thanks so much I would really appreciate that. Im on so many meds I know one of them is making me break out I just would like to know which one. My dr recommended that I try sunscreen, so Im gonna try that out and see how it goes.

Jooniper, this started happening as of recently, and I mean I swear I was "in" the sun for a total of 2 mins the other day and I get a bad rash with red stuff on my arms and on my forehead. Its odd. I know it has to be one of the meds I recently started. But I dont think im allergic to the sun. Thanks so much for your advice :)

I was given tramadol by my doctor and it made me extremely sick....I vomited for hours, sweat buckets, couldn't sleep the night I took it and the next morning was so weak, dizzy, tired, sleepy I actually couldn't think or function..I was in bed all day long. I hadn't taken another one since. I had been wondering what other pain meds I could try...can't take vicoden either....any suggestions???

Delenaj

I've been taking a good bit of Tramadol myself over the last month and it's working pretty good for me. At night anyway. It does seem to make i I'm not confortable taking anything other than advil during the day...and I'll take 4 of those at a time and it usually works well.

Check into the pain patches that Meme was referring to as well. I use those myself and find them to be very helpful at times.

I am allergic to vicodine- but take ultracet for pain management and then oxycodone for break thru relief. I was just toughing it out until last month. I was off all my meds because of an infection and boy was that miserable.

Now I take 1-2 ultracets and 3 ibupfens (OC) it keeps the pain to a dull roar....If it gets really bad I take the oxycodone. So far this has worked the best. I really prefer to not take anything but the ibuprofen, but sometimes it just doesn't get the job done. I also have found when I am really achey if I do some exercising or this is really crazy vacume the house I feel better. I try to bicycle once or twice a week- it really helps me with my attitude and it is a low stress exercise- of course load up on the sun screen before you go...or you will get the lovely itcheys from the sun.