What Tramadol Treats

Tramadol is a man-made pain reliever. The way it works is not completely known, but it acts in a similar manner to morphine. Like morphine, Tramadol binds to receptors in the brain (opioid receptors) that transmit the sensation of pain throughout the body to the brain. It is used in the management of moderate to severe pain.

Tramadol is an analgesic used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain. Similar to codeine, it is used in most cases of Neuralgia and Trigeminal Neuralgia, which is a type of pain in one or more nerves without pain receptor cells being stimulated. There are several different types of Neuralgia. Tramadol is used to help relieve the pain and discomfort from this disorder as well as other problems that cause pain.

Tramadol is also effective for treating disorders such as depression, anxiety and types of phobias because of the way it functions on noradrenergic serotonergic systems. Although the drug suggests its use, doctors and health professionals do not necessarily endorse the drug for those symptoms unless it is a last resort treatment as other treatments have failed. Health professionals also require that it be used under the supervision of a psychiatrist.

Forms of Tramadol

Extended-release tablets are the most common form, used for moderate to severe chronic pain in adults who require continuous treatment for an extended period. This way the patient only has to take one pill a day rather than having to take multiple pills throughout their use of the medication. It may also be given post-surgery to relieve pain until the healing process has finished.

Other catalyst of Tramadol include:

• Regular capsules
• Tablets (low-residue, extended release, chewable, regular)
• Suppositories
• Effervescent powders and tablets
• Ampoules of sterile solution for SC, IM and IV injection
• Preservative-free solution for injections by way of spinal route (epidural, intrathecal, caudal and more)
• Powders for compounding
• Liquids with and without alcohol for oral and sub-lingual administration available in regular phials and bottles, dropper bottles, bottles with a pump similar to those used with liquid soap and phials with droppers built into the cap
• Tablets and capsules containing acetaminophen, aspirin and other agents

Tramadol Dependency

Tramadol is a highly dependent drug. Often, Tramadol abuse addictions happen accidentally by patients unknowingly abusing their prescribed medication. When taken for a prolonged amount of time, little as three months, the body becomes used to the amount of drugs administered. When this happens, the user has to take more to receive the initial effects. This is a dangerous thing to do because when a user does not take the medication, physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms will occur. When taking this drug, the patient needs to do exactly as the doctor says to stay clear of addiction. It is important to talk to your doctor before getting off Tramadol to ensure that withdrawal symptoms do not occur.

Tramadol Facts

Tramadol is in a group of drugs called opiate agonists. It is used to treat moderate to severe pain by changing the way the body senses pain. Tramadol can either be taken as a normal tablet or an extended-release (long-acting) tablet to be taken through the mouth. The regular tablet can be taken with or without food every four to six hours or as needed. The extended-release tablet should only be taken once a day around the same time every day.

When using extended-release the patient either needs to always take it with food or always take it without food. The extended-release tablets should only be taken whole. It is dangerous to split, chew, crush, snort or inject the dissolved form of the tablet. It is important to only take the medication as the doctor prescribes because it is a highly dependent drug.

Tramadol Addiction Help

If you or a loved one is addicted to Tramadol, it is important to seek help. Tramadol is a highly dependent drug that can damage the body both physically and psychologically. Once addicted, the effects are devastating.

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Tramadol is one of the most commonly prescribed analgesics in the US and there are several good reasons for this. First of all, Tramadol effectively eliminates virtually any type of pain regardless of its cause. Tramadol is also safe to take and usually doesn't cause drowsiness, lack of concentration or other unpleasant side effects common with other potent painkillers. It is used for managing moderate to severe acute pain, but it also may be used for chronic pain relief in its extended release form.

Availability and usage

Tramadol is classified as a central nervous system drug usually marketed as the hydrochloride salt (tramadol hydrochloride); the tartrate is seen on rare occasions, and rarely (in the US at least) tramadol is available for both injection (intravenous and/or intramuscular) and oral administration. The most well known dosing unit is the 50 mg generic tablet made by several manufacturers. It is also commonly available in conjunction with APAP (paracetamol, acetaminophen) as Ultracet, in the form of a smaller dose of 37.5 mg tramadol and 325 mg of APAP. The solutions suitable for injection are used in patient-controlled analgesia pumps under some circumstances, either as the sole agent or along with another agent such as morphine.
Tramadol comes in many forms, including:
capsules (regular and extended release)
tablets (regular, extended release, chewable, low-residue and/or uncoated tablets that can be taken by the sublingual and buccal routes)
suppositories
effervescent tablets and powders
ampules of sterile solution for SC, IM, and IV injection
preservative-free solutions for injection by the various spinal routes (epidural, intrathecal, caudal, and others)
powders for compounding
liquids both with and without alcohol for oral and sub-lingual administration, available in regular phials and bottles, dropper bottles, bottles with a pump similar to those used with liquid soap and phials with droppers built into the cap
tablets and capsules containing (acetaminophen/APAP), aspirin and other agents.
Tramadol has been regularly used in the form of an ingredient in multi-agent topical gels, creams, and solutions for nerve pain, rectal foam, concentrated retention enema, and a skin plaster (transdermal patch) quite similar to those used with lidocaine.
Tramadol has a characteristic and unpleasant taste which is mildly bitter but much less so than morphine and codeine. Oral and sublingual drops and liquid preparations come with and without added flavoring. Its relative effectiveness via transmucosal routes (i.e. sublingual, buccal, rectal) is similar to that of codeine, and, like codeine, it is also metabolized in the liver to stronger metabolites (see below).
The maximum dosage per day is 400 mg for oral use and 600 mg for parenteral use. Certain manufacturers or formulations have lower maximum doses. For example, Ultracet (37.5 mg/325 mg tramadol/APAP tablets) is capped at 8 tablets per day (300 mg/day) due to its acetaminophen content. Ultram ER is available in 100, 200, and 300 mg/day doses and is explicitly capped at 300 mg/day as well.
Patients taking SSRIs (Prozac, Zoloft, etc.), SNRIs (Effexor, etc.), TCAs, MAOIs, or other strong opioids (oxycodone, methadone, fentanyl, morphine), as well as the elderly (> 75 years old), pediatric (< 18 years old), and those with severely reduced renal (kidney) or hepatic (liver) function should consult their doctor regarding adjusted dosing or whether to use Tramadol at all.

Medical uses

Tramadol is used similarly to codeine, to treat moderate to moderately severe pain. Tramadol is somewhat pharmacologically similar to levorphanol (albeit with much lower μ-agonism), as both opioids are also NMDA-antagonists which also have SNRI activity (other such opioids to do the same are dextropropoxyphene (Darvon) & M1-like molecule tapentadol (Nucynta, a new synthetic atypical opioid made to mimic the agonistic properties of tramadol's metabolite, M1(O-Desmethyltramadol). Tramadol is also molecularly similar to venlafaxine (Effexor) and has similar SNRI effects, with antinociceptive effects also observed. It has been suggested that tramadol could be effective for alleviating symptoms of depression, anxiety, and phobias because of its action on the noradrenergic and serotonergic systems, such as its "atypical" opioid activity.However, health professionals have not endorsed its use for these disorders, claiming it may be used as a unique treatment (only when other treatments failed), and must be used under the control of a psychiatrist.
In May 2009, the United States Food and Drug Administration issued a Warning Letter to Johnson & Johnson, alleging that a promotional website commissioned by the manufacturer had "overstated the efficacy" of the drug, and "minimized the serious risks". The company which produced it, the German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal GmbH, were alleged to be guilty of "minimizing" the addictive nature and proposed efficacy of the drug, although it showed little abuse liability in preliminary tests. The 2010 Physicians Desk Reference contains several warnings from the manufacturer, which were not present in prior years. The warnings include more compelling language regarding the addictive potential of tramadol, the possibility of difficulty breathing while on the medication, a new list of more serious side effects, and a notice that tramadol is not to be used in place of opiate medications for addicts. Tramadol is also not to be used in efforts to wean addict patients from opiate drugs, nor to be used to manage long-term opiate addiction.

What is tramadol?

Tramadol hydrochloride (Ultram, Tramal) is a centrally acting synthetic opioid analgesic used in treating severe pain. The drug has a wide range of applications, including treatment for restless legs syndrome and fibromyalgia. It was developed by the pharmaceutical company Grünenthal GmbH in the late 1970s.
Tramadol possesses weak agonist actions at the μ-opioid receptor, releases serotonin, and inhibits the reuptake of norepinephrine.

While its action is not like that of other opioids, Tramadol is a synthetic analog of the phenanthrene alkaloid codeine. Tramadol is converted to O-desmethyltramadol, a significantly more potent μ-opioid agonist. Opioids are chemical compounds which act upon one or more of the human opiate receptors. The euphoria and respiratory depression of opioids are mainly caused by the μ1 and μ2 receptors; the addictive nature of tramadol, as well as other opioids, is due to these effects, but tramadol's serotonergic and noradrenergic effects may contribute to possible dependence as well.[citation needed] The opioid agonistic effect of tramadol and its major metabolite(s) are almost exclusively mediated by the substance's action at the μ-opioid receptor. This characteristic distinguishes tramadol from many other substances (including morphine) of the opioid drug class, which generally do not possess tramadol's degree of subtype selectivity.