Koala - I think you are right on the head with that. Thanks.

Mrs D - I take 2 50 mgs, 2 times a day, or I did. Now, I am down to 1 per day. I don't *feel* anything when taking them but some very mild relief, hardly felt when they wore off on my 4 a day dose.

I was on it for about a year ? Since I had a bad reaction to the flector patch and had to stop using that.


I tend to have a high tolerance to pain meds. Always been like that, like they don't absorb. I could always out-drink people twice my size in my youth.

Anyhoo, is there some way to help get past this without the tram, like Koala suggested?

If you are tapering too quickly... you will feel it.

Are you out of tablets completely? Your dose is moderate, not really high. There is a poster on PN who take 400mg a day of it.

L-tryptophan (amino acid-- not cheap) is used for some people trying to get off SSRIs. I wouldn't take it WITH any tramadol however. And if you try this, start at low 500mg dose at bedtime and see if you get any relief. I used to get sleepy with it, so I take it at bedtime. I have noticed with daily use my pain levels are lower. I have been using it every day since my vacation, as I was having nightmares too. I am much better now.

I find l-tryptophan helps me at night for night type pain. I have nagging pain sometimes and that is why I tried the tramadol.
If I take ONE Tylenol w/codeine #3....it will last me into the next day! I am very sensitive and may in fact be a slow metabolizer.

If you do NOT have serious withdrawal symptoms, like on the list...you may be able to stop more quickly.
Alot of pain perception is central in the brain, and the l-tryptophan works there IMO. (it makes serotonin).

Having the pain come "back" is to be expected. But if you had vomiting, cramping etc...that would be "withdrawal" above just the return of pain.

I sure wish we had better pain relievers. Why can't Big Pharma do that?

The regular pain is back, but way more pain is back as well, and pain I never had is there on top of that?

I have burning in my fingers - that's new, but is it withdrawal or just a new sx from all the stress? And ache in wrists? A fibro flare?

All I am sure of is I was up till after 4 am just rocking to and fro in bed in pain. That is so unlike me, I can sleep through a root canal I'm so tired.



I have about 8-10 pills left. hard to count, my eyes are blurry. Called neuro, they can't help. Closest urgent care is an hour away, no can drive that far feeling like this.

I am making one last ditch attempt to get a hold of pcp and if I can talk to him, see what he thinks I should do. I really don't even wanna take this med anymore if it's gonna put me in a bind like this. I think my regular pain is bad enuf, thanks.

I know you use salon pas, but the ones in my store are just like ben gay ingredients.

I feel at the end of my rope. I've tried everything I can think of. And they DO make good pain meds. Thye just won't GIVE me any. They are so afraid I'll get addicted, they'd rather i just shoot myself I guess.

Walgreen's has them, and RiteAid too.

I get mine in bulk at Costco. 120 to a pack. I use them often for my feet and fingers, and sometimes back. (I stack them 2 or 3 on the back.)

Only the methyl salicylate ones have active pain reliever.

I haven't tried the new fixey ones that are approved by the FDA.
They are expensive! Like $8.00 for ten.

I don't think the opiates we have now are "good" pain meds.
They increase pain over time. So you have to keep upping the doses etc.

We need meds that take care of pain, without all that nasty baggage.

For your hands you can try, tepid water soak with epsom salts.
Put in 2-3 oz in a dishpan sized container or sink. Works on the feet and whole body in that bathtub. (have to use a bit more for a whole tub, like 6-8oz epsom). If you take a bath in them, watch out, because they make things slippery. So be careful getting out. Do not use hot water either. Just tepid or lukewarm. It can work wonders for some types of pain.

There isn't a Costco around here. I made it as far as uptown and found some kind of gel stuff with the ingredients you mention. Thera gesic. Burns to high heaven for like 20 mins, but after tha it does help some. At least I'm not waking up in the middle of the night.

I'm past whatever the tramadol was doing to me, I can tell. but in a flare, I can tell that too. This is new, pain in my knee caps. lol, it's always something. Gilda was right.

BGB, have you tried this? Good for any pain. Rub on the gel and it works.
Knees, back, shoulders, neck, etc. this is from Walgreen's but Wal mart and all stores carry it. Rub it on sparingly.

Lady - thanks, but I can't do anything that claims to make you either cold or warm. Most of those contain menthol. Thera gesic does too, but I could not see that in the tiny print till i found my jeweler's loupe.

This stuff, the thera gesic, is not too bad. Some of them are just off the charts painful. what is with me?

That's my biggest prob with all these otc creams - menthol. It is on my skin like a jalepeno on the tongue.