I take 50mg's once a day. For me I've found that the pain relief/muting effect of the Tramadol lasts a minimum of 6 hours and it seems to have residual effects up to about 10 hrs. It took a bit of playing with the dose and time of dose to get it just right so that I took it early enough in the day so that I can sleep at night (Tramadol tends to give me a speed buzz of sorts...at any rate I'm wide freakin' awake, that's for sure). If I don't take at least one pill a day I can't get through the night it would appear as I have issues falling asleep and my feet tend to wake me about 4 or 5 AM. And to be honest I'm not sure if it's all PN pain or if there's some of the RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) thrown in there as well.

I do know that for me Tramadol has been a miracle as far as dealing with what level of pain I still have from the PN. There are even days I can get away with only half a pill just a bit before bedtime.

Another great thing about Tramadol is doctors don't seem as afraid to prescribe this as they are the opiates. The addiction risk for Tramadol is very low. Almost non-existent as far as my doc is concerned. That doesn't mean I'm not worried about dependence (which is different than addiction) and that I'm not very careful with it. I am. I don't want addiction or dependence issues of any kind. I finally quit smoking after a lifetime of heavy smoking/nicotine addiction so I'm not even going there!