Thanks everyone...

You know I am having a distinct up in mood from just that one
50mg tablet! It must have jump started me somehow?
Also all that "tripping" was sort of like vacuuming out my brain...as I feel much better.

I did alot of pain inducing stuff yesterday, and I slept thru the night 2 nights in a row now!

I am working on this rock wall, which is very deep. Yesterday was day 3 on it.
Day 1 --- 2 wks ago my son came and helped us get the huge rock out safely and move it...too heavy for me or hubby. We cleaned out the broken mortar and decided to put smaller rock back in. My hubby bless his heart just cannot handle cement/mortar, so my son and I get this task (we've done rock now several times).
Day 2 I did alone last week. Because of the gravity and nature of the mortar (the Quickcrete company has added a moisture enhancer to make curing slower), putting it in wrong or too much and it falls out! That was a BIG pain inducing day.
Day 3 -- yesterday I did quite a bit... now it is half done! No pain today or during sleeptimes!

Here is a picture of what it looks like after yesterday's work:
The red area is where I worked on it.
It looks dinky... but it is really a tough thing to fix (at least for me it is! LOL)

With all your kind advice, I will try 1/2 tablet (25mg) next time I have severe pain. Maybe that will work without setting off the "tripping" effect. I'll try it at 4pm on a day I don't have to drive, and see if I can sleep by nightime!

Mrs D.
I've never had to use the Slow Release Tramadol (SR),
but It may be beneficial for you.
At least, check into it.
Brian ('Aussie') posted that he had good results with it.

Mrs D,

I've been taking Ultram ER for a very long time and I never experienced that. I did find a big difference between the pain relief from the regular version vs. the extended time release one.

I would check the pill to make sure there wasn't a mistake at the pharmacy, just to be sure. Most give a physical description of the pill.

Take care, EE

Thanks EE...

The pharmacy I use has a double barcode verification system.
So the wrong pills should not be in the bottle.

Many pharmacies are switching to this to reduce errors, and since pharmacies are noisey and busy any system like this works pretty well. When the drug is typed on the label its bar code is loaded onto the side of the label as well. So then when checked, the label is scanned and has to match the stock bottle's label.

The only way an error can happen then is if the wrong drug is picked in the beginning and typed on the label. Or you have an evil employee trying to get even for something who deliberately moves labels and bottles out of baskets. (this is not that common but I have seen it happen).

It is always a good idea to check with the store...when you are having problems. But I am sure my medication is correct. It is just a huge whammy for me side effect wise. I did get 3 good days out of it. Today I am slipping back to limping etc.

Mrs D I sort of feel dumb giving you a suggestion since you know so much but just trying to help a little as you do so much for me. My pain doc yesterday was talking about narcotics/opiates and anyway since he would rather me not be on them he suggested an anti inflammatory but rx one so it is stronger then like aleve. I was wondering if you have any thoughts for that possibly? I am not sure if that would be enough though or work with what you are dealing with. Just a thought and by the way like the picture. I love seeing flowers too so nice.

I saw your post about the Trilisate on RSD.

I have a friend with RA...severe. She uses Humira and methotrexate for it. But for pain all she likes is Disalcid. (this is a salicylate like the one you posted that was just added).

She does not use opiates at all.

I think you need to find out what is wrong with your ankle. It may be RSD, or it may be something else.

Things work differently for different people. Try this one and see what happens. That is all you can do. Eventually people find the things that help, but being patient until that happens is very difficult.

Have you explored nerve entrapments? Had an EMG of the foot?
It has been so long, I have lost track. I had that MP nerve thing in my right thigh. It took a long time to find Lidoderm worked for it (they were new, and by then I'd try anything).

Thanks Mrs D. I have been diagnosticly tested so much that there is no more really on that front. I have had multiple emg/ncbone scans,mri,bloodwork,dopplers I mean I could go on. Have seen almost every specialty and multiple opinions. I have been dx with PN from the emg/nc and RSD. They feel though my rsd is in the brain now from so long aka why the invasive treatments like lumbar blocks make me worse. My current pain and most the other ones are not big on opiates because they say your brain process it more and I will just continue to need more. Basically I often feel I am a guess to them and since my left ankle/calf/foot,the spread to my right,the eye conditions,migraines so on I have no idea and have been tested for auto immune many many times. So now it is more finding something to help with pain control. SO the med your friend is on is like the one I am starting or no? Sorry I am confused. I hope you are feeling better

yes, Disalcid and Trilisate are both salicylates. Yours has magnesium in it, and at one time that was intended for back problems with spasms. It is a pretty old drug. Preceded the NSAIDs.

Your doctor is correct about the opiates. They stimulate the glial cells in the brain which then make MORE inflammatory cytokines, and create more pain. So if you can control your pain differently, that is better in the long run.

Last night I tried 1/2 of the tramadol. There was much less "zooming/tripping" with less pain relief. But I still had some rest and slept pretty well. So for now I will be using the 1/2 dose when I need it prn. We'll see how that goes.

Thanks Mrs D and I am glad you are doing better and had a better reaction

Hey everyone i am vicky.I am 29 years old and have been dx with syringomyelia. I have a syrinx that is located from my c/6 to t/2 and is 8mm wide.I am currently taking tramadol and it is the first time for me and i am taking 50 mg 3x a day.This i am using now because my pcp put me on Fentanyl pain patches and the first day i had one on i had a severe allergic reaction.I scratched everywhere and was profusely sweating and was severly lightheaded from it.Any how he puts me on Tramadol and i do not mean to down size your guys side effects to it,but it is not even touching my pain at all.I called him to see if he would call something in stronger and he told me to just up my dosage of Neurontin i am on.I allready take that 3xa day at 300mg each.I am also on Selexa for depression,Flexeril for spasms,Xanax for anxiety,and the Tramadol and Neurontin.I just wish i could find something that could control all my symptoms.It is so frustrating.I go to see my NL on thursday so i am going to ask him if he can put me on anything stronger for pain.Also have been to see a NS and he wants to put a shunt in.So i guess maybe after surgery i will get some effective pain relief..LOL