I cannot tell you the 1-10 but it was weak for me...

If you have a chart with pain meds according to their strength, Tramadol would be the mildest med.

Tramadol is a Schedule IV. The only other pain med that is not a Schedule II that I can think of right now is Tylenol #3 & #4 which is a Schedule III.

Tramadol was not created for Chronic Pain control, it was made for Acute Pain control...when it was found to have "narcotic like" properties despite its synthetic creation it began to be used for Chronic Pain. Its generally one of the first meds tried. If your taking any kind of psych meds, even off-lable for nerve pain, you have to be careful with Tramadol as it has an anti-depressant component built in, and it does effect Serotonin levels, which can be dangerous if you're taking other meds that affect your Serotonin levels.

Another thing to note about Tramadol, it's very addictive and very difficult to detox off of once you become dependent on it after long term use.

Tramadol is a mild opiod, comparing to others. It doesn't convert into morphine in the brain in the same was as the other drugs.


http://agencymeddirectors.wa.gov/mobile.html

100 mg of Tramadol I think is approximate to 7.5 hydro and 5 mg Oxycodone.

I am not sure that Tramadol is " highly" addictive.
Tramadol has not become a schedule IV drug until just recently but has been around for decades.
I ve been taking care of plenty of people on Oxy and hydro withdrawal and have never had a patient for Tramadol withdrawal neither have I ever seen a patient admitted to the hospital for Detox off Tramadol.
I would imagine that discomfort off Tramadol withdrawal is similar to that from coming off antidepressant.
Having done that several times myself, not too much happened, but of course o was on a low dose.

I never got hooked on Tramadol. I used to get a slight buzz off of it for two hours but no pain relief. We all have different chemical make-ups, and different medications work differently in different people. I would give it a try and see how well it works for you. It won't take very long to figure out whether or not it is working. I met a cab driver last year who gets massive pain relief off of Tramadol and Gabapentin. I however get no relief off of those two medications. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

J

http://www.who.int/medicines/areas/quality_safety/6_1_Update.pdf

PS - I just took a 2 month break from Tramadol, because I got tolerant but didn't want to go up on the dose. I am on 2.5 mg 2-3 times a day of Oxy right now and it feels like crap. I am brain-fogged and tired all the time.
I am definitely Going back to Tramadol at my next appointment.

I also get foggy from the meds Ariona. If I take too high a dose of Norco I get bouts of anxiety and do not do well. I wish the Tramadol would have worked on me, but even the Tramadol gave me a brain buzz. I've been biting the bullet lately and just taking the Methadone. It give me better pain control and it does not affect my cognitive abilities.

I am so glad that at least you have something that works, Jeremy... You have been through a lot

It works well for me. I just can't get the withdrawal stories of Methadone out of my brain. I keep on getting this voice in my head that says I will have to pay the piper some day if I get dependent. But the relief is much needed. I have been able to get a lot of work done around here while on the done. I still want those Lydocaine patches. I will be bugging my pain doc about those again next week.

I have stacks of lidocaine patches and they are cheap. Good stuff.

Apparently they are five bucks a patch and the doc is prescribing two of them per day.

I can personally attest to the hell that detoxing from Ultram is. Back in the day when it was the new shiny drug on the scene, I was on 400mg a day, back before they realized that was too high of a safe daily max. Back before the Dr. I saw understood how the anti-depressant quality in the medication mixed dangerously with other psych meds that affected chemicals like Serotonin.

I was one of the ones who ended up in the hospital for a month trying not to die of Serotonin Storm, unfortunately or not, I lived. After 3 hellish months I finally got the last of the Ultram (Tramadol) out of my system and was free of it. The fun thing about drugs that work on both pain and depression is the grab hold of you mentally and physically and the grab hold for a long time.

Over the last 29 yrs. I've detoxed off of Percocets, Oxycontin, Fentanyl, all Anti-Anxiety meds and every psych med you could think of. Ultram was the one that was pure hell that i'll never forget, ever. There were 2 other members here that had the same fight with Serotonin Syndrome/Storm and almost died from it, but I can't remember their names anymore.

I can direct you to 2 really good "Addiction and Withdrawal" support sites that have many folks with their own nightmare stories regarding detoxing from Tramadol.

As long as I live, I'll never suggest to anyone with a clean conscience that they go on that drug, because Dr.'s still don't tell people what all is in it and how dangerous it is if taken with certain other meds.