What is Tramadol?
Tramadol is an opioid pain reliever that is used to treat moderate and severe pains. Tramadol is sold in the market under the brand name Ultram. This medicine is taken from the mouth and relieves the pain in an hour. The intake of tramadol is usually accompanied by paracetamol for quick results.
Tramadol was first introduced by the name of Tramal in Germany by the German pharmaceutical company in 1977. Twenty years later, it was introduced in several countries under many different names such as Uk, Australia, and the US.
Tramadol is used to treat both acute and chronic pains and the pain reliefs from tramadol last for about 6 hours after which another dose of the tablet is recommended.
Can tramadol be used to treat fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia can be controlled by numerous medications, but tramadol is the best medicine to do so. The problem of fibromyalgia is very common in the US and around 5 million people suffer from it.
The pain from fibromyalgia is extremely severe and exhausting. It is impossible to tolerate the pain from fibromyalgia.
Tramadol acts in two ways to treat fibromyalgia. The first way that the tramadol works is by directly acting upon the brain receptors or else by increasing the transmitters of the brain, serotine, and norepinephrine. These transmitters are low in those people who experience fibromyalgia.
When the level of serotine is increased, the sleep cycle is improved and there is a definite relief in the pain. Norepinephrine, however, gives a definite relief to a stressful mind and helps to relieve the stress.
The effectiveness of tramadol on fibromyalgia according to research
A study that was made in the year 2015 concluded that people who were suffering from fibromyalgia taking tramadol had to make lesser visits to doctors. A review stated that tramadol was highly effective in treating pains associated with fibromyalgia.
How should you use tramadol and what should be the normal dosage of it?
Tramadol might be good medicine, but it has many side effects and high doses of this medicine may have higher side effects. Tramadol intake should be initiated by 25 mg in a day and once you get used to this dosage you might increase it after every 3 days.
Later, you can even increase the dosage up to 100 to 200 mg in a day as per the severity of the condition and the intensity of the pains. Tramadol tablets should be taken after every 4 to 6 hours.
Although, these dosage instructions are normal and may provide you benefit it is still recommended to consult your doctor and increase the dosage of this medicine because more than 400 mg of this tablet can be extremely dangerous for you.
What are the side effects of tramadol?
Like every medicine, tramadol also has some side effects. Some common side effects of this medicine include difficulty in breathing, itching, dizziness, seizures, red skin, fainting, wheezing, a confused state of mind, and restlessness. If you feel any of these symptoms, you should contact a doctor right away.
Some other symptoms include constipation, headache, nausea, vomiting, and drowsiness which need to be consulted straight away by a doctor.
People having a history of seizures, metabolic disorders, and head injuries are more prone to experience the side effects of tramadol. People who are already taking medicines for nausea, depression, for muscle pain relief can also experience seizures when tramadol medicine is taken.
When should tramadol not be taken?
Tramadol medicine should be avoided by those patients who have had a drug or alcohol history. Apart from that, tramadol should be avoided by those patients having a history of heart diseases, liver diseases, depression, stomach diseases, mental illnesses, and those who have tried suicide in the past.
If you have any of these histories, your doctor might recommend a special kind of medicine or ask you to get some tests.
However, those who have been regularly intaking tramadol should not discontinue it all of a sudden but try to discontinue it slowly and gradually if they wish to prevent themselves from the withdrawal symptoms of tramadol.
Precautions and considerations you must take while using tramadol
Tramadol must not be taken without the consultation of your doctor. It should be only taken when your doctor has prescribed it for you.
Your doctor will go through proper assessment and analyze you well enough after which he or she will conclude whether tramadol is the right option for you or not.
A good doctor will let you know the side effects and possible implications which this tablet might have upon you. Your doctor will let you know the risks which this tablet contains as well. Your doctor will also assess the possible risk factors involved in taking tramadol.
What will your doctor assess before prescribing you tramadol?
Your doctor will assess the following before prescribing you to take tramadol. Some of the risk factors involved include:
Allergies: Certain tablets have this property of rousing up allergies, so your doctor might want to find out if you have been allergic to anything specific in the past and tramadol is a medicine that can cause many complications and allergies so it is important to find out about allergies.
Medical history: Some of the diseases are passed from family members such as seizures, brain, and nervous system disorders, Parkinson’s disease, head injuries, and tumors.
Patients having a history of breathing, mental disorders, intestinal disorders, gallbladder problems, migraines, hormonal problems, are also prohibited to take tramadol.
Age: patients who are older than 65 years of age are more likely to suffer from the side effects of tramadol and can experience drowsiness, confusion, dizziness, fainting, constipation, upset stomach, heart problems, and breathing issues.
Dosage for people aged 65 or above will be prescribed very carefully and even monitored. For children, aged younger than 16 should avoid the use of tramadol totally and your doctor might prescribe this medicine with caution.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding mothers: Doctors will assess that if a woman is pregnant or breastfeeding her child, he might not give tramadol. The doctor will explain all the risks linked to taking tramadol.
The doctor must disclose all the pros and cons of taking tramadol, especially during the first trimester. The doctor will only recommend tramadol if it outweighs all the possible risk factors.
Tramadol might be avoided to give to pregnant ladies because it involves risk and there is a possible chance of birth defects to the developing fetus during the first 2 months of pregnancy. High doses of tramadol can also result in a dead baby being born.
A newborn baby can experience serious issues like irritability, unexplained crying, diarrhea, motions, crying, vomiting, feeding difficulties, and breathing problems.
Even if a woman requests dosage for this medicine and the doctor gives it the dosage for tramadol will strictly be monitored. The dosage will be monitored closely when the baby is on the mother’s feed. The ingredients from tramadol may pass from the mothers’ milk and to the baby and they can affect a newborn baby’s sleep, breathing and cause problems in his feed.
A baby who has been born with these symptoms may need medical assistance immediately and might require treatment that will continue for several weeks. If these symptoms persist, it can be life-threatening for the baby.
What is Cymbalta and what is it used for?
Cymbalta is an anti-depressant medicine that contains duloxetine which is the most active ingredient in it. Cymbalta is used to treat major depressive order in adults.
It is also known to treat issues related to anxiety which are known to last for 6 months. Cymbalta is also known to treat fibromyalgia, nerve damages, chronic muscle pains, and bone pains.
Cymbalta tablets are available in doses of 20 mg, 30 mg, and 60 mg. Cymbalta was originally manufactured by the Lilly drug company and it was first introduced in the year 2004.
How do Cymbalta and tramadol work together in the body?
By using Cymbalta and tramadol together you can experience some very adverse conditions in your body. This condition is known as serotonin syndrome whose symptoms include seizure, confusion, changes in blood pressure, hallucination, fever, blurry vision, excessive sweating, muscle stiffness, nausea, vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea.
There have been severe cases reported as well, which have to lead to coma and even death. If you experience any of these symptoms you should immediately call your doctor and seek medical help.
Using the Cymbalta and tramadol together in the body can increase the risk of seizures as well and this condition is more common in people who are aged 65 and above.
It is common among those patients as well who have had a history of seizures or patients who have a history of brain-related problems and tumors. If you are using these medications, it is suggested to limit the intake of drugs and alcohol to avoid getting into serious problems.
Side effects of tramadol and Cymbalta
Some common side effects of tramadol and Cymbalta include:
- Nausea
- Headache
- Dry mouth
- Fatigue
- Lethargy
- Constipation
- Anorexia
- Insomnia
- Restlessness
- Somnolence
- Anxiety
- Emotional liability
- Vomiting
- Vertigo
These are the possible side effects of Cymbalta and tramadol. It is not necessary that anyone who makes use of these medications might necessarily face these problems but an increase of these medications might mean that one would suffer these side effects so it is better to be cautious.
Cymbalta or tramadol, which one is better?
Cymbalta is an antidepressant, antianxiety, and pain reliever medicine while tramadol is a strong pain reliever medicine known for both pain relief and nerve relief pain. Tramadol can make its user dependent on it and might be quick to cause the side effects such as nausea and sedation.
Cymbalta is prescribed for anxiety, back pain, fibromyalgia, depression, diabetes, osteoarthritis while tramadol is prescribed for back pain, chronic pain, and severe pain.
Cymbalta can be used frequently and can be used for purposes other than what is mentioned in the medication while tramadol can be used for anxiety, depression, vulvodynia, legs syndrome, fibromyalgia, syringomyelia, and depression.
Important things to note when taking tramadol
Some things should be taken into consideration when taking tramadol.
Tramadol is a controlled medication by law, therefore it should be only taken by the referral of an experienced medical practitioner who has a license who sets the number of refills per prescription.
Normally, a single prescription can be refilled 5 times in six months after which a new prescription has to be issued.
Many medical authorities cover the medical insurance of their patients and cover the cost of their treatments. It is advised that you should check in with your authorized medical company before you commence with your treatment.
Tramadol, an overview. The good or the bad
Although tramadol is used to solve many problems and is known to relieve many pains in the body excessive use of any medication can be harmful in the long term so one must first consult with their doctor before starting the intake of tramadol.
Whenever you feel the need for this tablet, you must consider your doctor. Only your doctor will allow you to use it after assessing your case by himself.
A pregnant and breastfeeding woman should avoid taking this medication as mentioned above as should those people who are aged 65 and above. An increase in tramadol might lead to dangerous situations sometimes even coma or death.
One should not solely depend upon these medications as these might not be good in the long run and can be extremely harmful to your body. These can cause serious side effects as mentioned above some of which are extremely dangerous and even life-threatening.
Tramadol is good medicine and if you use it properly with the support and advice of your doctor it will work for you.
