OT - well, kinda - Ultram question

[2flamingos]

I was recently given Ultram by my doctor for arthritis and tendonitis (yea, I am now officially old!). Took it for the first time yesterday - one at 4 and one at 8. Went to bed around 11. Did not feel like I got much sleep. I remember lying there, looking at the clock and thinking that I would never get to sleep - seeing 1:00, 3:00, 5:00 and 6:00. Odd thing was - I got up around 6:15 - totally rested and in a good mood (which has remained through out the day).

Even stranger was checking my numbers this morning..... I stayed at Max pressure much of the night, and had both apneas and hipo apneas when I know I was awake AND breathing. of course, to make all of that even stranger - my leak line was the straightest it has ever been (with only 3 or 4 exceptions, it was a straight line), and even lower that some of my best averages.

Has anyone else had anything similar to this with Ultram? It helped with pain a lot better than advil/tylenol, aleeve, or even Lortab.

[kteague]

I have the same medication, but haven't taken it at night for a long time. I have so much else going on (limb movements) that I wouldn't have known to place any blame on the med. As far as your data, being awake so much could mean you were aware of your mask and preventing leaks more than when sleeping and knocking it around without knowing. Don't know about you, but I tend to hold my breath when rolling over and have occasional coughing fits that sometimes show up on my data as events. Odd that you felt good after your sleep being that broken The pain without the med must disturb your sleep a lot for this to feel good in comparison. Things that make you go "Hmmmm".

[Catnap]

Ultram is well known for giving some people kind of a "trippy" experience. Possibly you were asleep more than it seemed in between looking at the clock. Some who take it report highly realistic dreams, strange nightmares, and feelings of euphoria. I tried it once and discontinued it because it just made me feel all-around strange. At the same time, a friend of mine was using it and loved the high she got from it. Both of us felt it kept us awake at times.

[Pugsy]

I took Ultram for probably 12 years after the auto accident. Then switched to Lortab for about 3 years and now back on Ultram for 3 months. So I can tell you first hand that everything that has been mentioned here can be a side effect. It simply affects different people differently and even the same person can have completely opposite side effects. Sometimes it lets me sleep really, really good. Sometimes I can't sleep at all with it, and sometimes the sleep is fragmented. I can't explain why the variations unless it happens to be related to the level of pain that is being masked. My dosage is 2 tablets 4 times a day as needed. I rarely take more than 1 tablet in the AM and maybe one in the afternoon. If I take 2 tablets at the same time I get vertigo and nausea. If I take one and wait an hour and take the other, I can get by no vertigo or nausea.

It isn't a narcotic like codeine, hydrocodone, or darvon but it works similar to narcotics in how it relieves pain. It doesn't get rid of the cause of the pain, it just dulls whatever it dulls so we don't feel the pain as much. I can't take any Motrin or Advil or any of those NSAID's. The stomach pain is worse than having a baby.

It can give someone a little "buzz" and I suppose if someone is really sensitive to these type of meds they could take a real trip on it but I never found that to be the case with me. I would notice a slight increase in my energy level but never really knew if it was a "buzz" or simply the fact that with the pain diminished I felt like doing more. I asked the doctor about it one time because I wondered about the possible addicting properties to it, he just told me that since I rarely take anywhere near the allowed dosage and I don't take it unless I hurt, he wasn't concerned.

If it seems to disrupt sleep, try taking last pill about 6 hours before bedtime. Most of it is out of the system by then that is why dosage is 4 times a day.

I have taken 2 at bedtime prior to CPAP treatment and at least not noticed that I was choking all night and sleep seemed less fragmented and got some rest BUT I have also taken it since starting CPAP and feel wired to the gills.

Everyone can react differently to any drug whether it is prescription or over the counter. I tried Melatonin and it made me extremely dizzy, and I felt little bugs crawling on my skin and sort of "on edge".

Ultram is a good pain reliever for lots of people. Each person needs to explore how they individually react to it and adjust accordingly. My husband who is a large man cannot tolerate it at all. One pill makes him extremely nauseated for about 4 hours and is useless. I take one pill and clean the house. Go figure.

[mallen4258]

i was prescribed Ultram (Tramadol) when I tore the rotator cuff and 2 tendons (completely) in my right shoulder before I eventually had sugery to repair the damage. I found it did not help the pain much at all for me. The major side effect that I had was severe urinary retention, I could not void while taking it even though my bladder was full. This lead to me stopping its use, I would rather hurt than not go when I had to.