Originally Posted by lnkn

I used to be on Elavil (Tramadol) to fight the fibromyalgia and it worked very well; I couldn't take it after 3pm 'cuz it would give me sleep apnea. So the administration was only in the morning. I realized this narcotic was only masking the pain so I faded it out of my "diet" and found myself very tired; I guessed it was the withdrawal symptoms. But after just a few weeks, I was okay. I decided to live with the pain that sometimes tells me I should take it easier some days than others... Of course the doctors tried talking me into taking more stuff. I'm not taking anything anymore and it's been years now. The pain from osteoarthritis is slowly incleasing and I live with it: jacuzzi 45 minutes every day... That is all I can do that doesn't have side effects. I guess I'm not hurting enough to try drugs yet... But it takes me a good hour every morning before I feel "soft" enough to get dressed; right away is impossible, even putting my slippers on without pain!