I presently take 5 x 50mg tablets four times a day for sciatic nerve problems and also take
3 x 300mg of Gabapentin three times a day as well as ibuprofen.
I`m still in alot of pain and my doctor seems to be void of ideas so was wondering what other people take for thier pain and does it work for them !
Hello
Two suggestions only talk to GP, ask regards TENS machines and Pain management, this is just a suggestion your GP is the one to help you.
Hi sharpy, I totally agree with borderriever, you are already on quite a high dose of medication each day . I go to pain management and use my T.E.N.S machine and it has helped me to cut down on my medication so I am more alert and I don't feel drugged up half the day.Ask your doctor to swop your gabapentin to pregabalin for a while to see if that makes a difference. BUT do not use medication other than prescribed by a doctor. Best of luck to you sharpy. Tricia
Hi trica thanks for your reply and have in the past tried a TENS machine but with no effect but will certainly give it another go as desperate to do something to help .
Take care Andy x
Would surgery be an option?
Are you actually prescribed that amount of tramadol? That is an incredibly high daily amount, and seems to be way over the recommended maximum (total of 400mg a day, which is usually 2 x 50 mg four times a day).
If your GP doesn't have any other ideas, then insist on being referred to a Pain Clinic, where they have a lot more expertise in dealing with chronic pain.
I just want to check, are you sure you are taking 250mg of tramadol 4 times a day?
If so I have a couple of questions;
1st, how aren't you knocked flat on your back by it and second, don't the GP's question the fact you get through it so fast? It's such a dangerous and damaging drug you really shouldn't be taking that much of it. It maks me worry about the damage it is , or will do to your body. Plus you have to think long term. When you stop tramadol you will be in a big pile of dodo! It is so addictive it will take a very long time to come off it.
So if I was you I would be kicking and screaming at my GP until I got to see someone who can help.
I wish you all the luck in the world!
Jonny.
I agree with everyone who says get your doctor to send you to pain clinic where they can better manage your pain. I take a cocktail of different painkillers throughout the day but it took trial and error to find the right combination for me personally. I hope you find some relief soon and that you find a solution that allows you to have a life and not be zombified by pain meds. I must admit I find oxycontin effective with my pain.
nutty
Hi, i take durogesic patch(fentanyl)1x 75mcg/hr 2 pregabalin am and 2 pm. also tramadol as required up to 8x50 also paracetamol up to 8 per day and i am still in pain 24hrs, i would suggest that the patch would help you, good luck
Hi sharpy,I have fibromyalgia but Iam also suffering with sciatica as well ATM.I also take maximum daily amount of tramadol and paracetamol and pregabalin three times a day and still have nerve pain.I find my electric heat pad and wheat bags quite soothing as it seems like nothing really helps much with this pain.Sorry to hear that you are in so much pain,sorry I can't help much but thought that it may help a little knowing that there is someone else going through it as well xxx
Hello
TRAMADOL comes in two sizes 50mg or 100mg
Also comes in 200s but only for 2 times daily, tramadol is a slow release drug and should therefor only be taken every 12 hours. I used Kapake 4x2 daily plus gabapentin. I dont believe there is any pain killers strong enough to allow me to live pain free . I have OA from my toes to my spine and bursitis neck and shoulders. The only pain relief I get is the steriod injections in my neck by way of ultrasound. Any stronger pain relief would be so strong it would leave me like a zombie. I wear splints on my wrists at night which relieves the pain in my hands . You have my sympathy x Ann
Hello
Sadly I feel the same on occasions, generally I take anything from 2x50mg to eight tablet daily, the higher dose 200mg most probably only used in hospital environment I have never seen that dose.
BOB
I have been on pain clinic supervised dose of Tramodol 100mg 4 times daily. How can that be slow release? Slow release is dosing 12 hours or more apart. For sciatica type pain (which I have ) I've found the only relief in Pulsed Radio Frequency Injections into trigger points and facet joint approximately every 9 months. It works brilliantly and I can sleep again! Biofreeze gel (from Amazon) gives temporary relief.
Hi Andy
I fully appreciate why you might be on these levels of medication but I hope you have mistyped that dosage of Tramadol, 5*50*4 seems rather a lot. IF these are your volumes then why are you given 50mg and not 100mg sizes?
I have a long history of chronic pain with sciatica, years and years of it, and in that time have worked through various cocktails for pain relief. Eventually the effectiveness would wear off and we started more trials to strike a balance.
At times TENS made little difference, on other occasions it was fantastic so please don't give up on it. The biggest gain form it is that it can be switched on as often as need be with no cost to your system. IF it is working for you then it's a major help in reducing medication.
I was referred to the Pain Management programme and it changed my life completely. I urge you to seek that route via your GP and do not take no for an answer unless it is from the CPM team when they assess you.
CPM teaches you so many ways to help organise yourself, help you make the right demands of people when needed, helps you reduce your pain levels naturally and it will introduce you to relaxation and Mindfulness. The latter can make such a monumental difference to your pain and to your life.
Good luck.
Sharpy, I must say that if you have the correct dosage of tramadol you are taking. I would go to your GP as soon as possible, I am taking i x 50mg tramadol and 2x 50mg if the pain is extremely bad, I also take 2 x 4 x 30-50 mg of Solpodol per day, and I must confess they have strange effects on me, sickness, headaches, drowsyness , sleeping for long periods. When I asked my GP for tramadol or something stronger than Solpodol, he refused, saying the tramadol was very addictive, and it was only after I was given a date for an operation he gave me them and saying only take one a day, so Sharpy, please go to your Gp and ask him to check if you are taking the correct doses of your medication. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Best wishes
Jamie
Hi Sharpy. Just to clear up any confusion. The 200mg of tramadol is the SR (slow release) version and the 50mg or 100mg are the normal ones. Kapake is a brand make of cocodamol and at one point I was on full dose tramadol and full dose cocodamol. You should obviously speak to your doctor, but I have been told by 3 pain specialists the tramadol works better if you take paracetamol too( but don't take this if they decide to give you cocodamol as this already has paracetamol. There is much more that pain specialists can do - with me they prescribed slow release morphine 3 times a day (normally it's only twice daily for slow release drugs but pain consultants can authorise it to be used every 8 hours. Another very common one is adding in a tricyclic anti depressant such as amytriptiline which can compliment the gabapentin. I really would be concerned if you were taking the stated amount of tramadol ( perhaps it's been a misunderstanding on out part. In the grand scheme of thins tramadol and cocodamol are not very high up on the pain management spectrum of drugs, there are many more and if needed much stronger medication. Wishing you all the best.
I would agree with everyone who has queried your Tramadol dosage. After my back operations I found it very helpful, but managed to get off it pretty soon after that. I now only use it if I'm having a particularly bad day or have had a fall... I sometimes have to top up with Paracetamol if I'm going out somewhere in the evening. The dosage of Gabapentin you mention (3x 300mg) seems quite a moderate one however. I recently saw the neurosurgeon at the hospital I was operated on, and he seemed to think my dose of Gabapentin (2x400mg plus 1x600mg at night) was still way under what I could take if I needed to. It sounds like a revue of your medications might be due. I'll be interested to hear what your GP or whoever, suggests. Good luck, Dammy
I have sciatic nerve problem (Left thigh/leg) alongside fibromyalgia, chronic tiredness, chronic lower back pain, stress, anxiety and panic disorder! I am against taking any med's myself, because you can get hooked on them (especially painkillers), I am suprised your Dr is prescribing so many painkillers as the body will just get used to them in the end, and need more and more. All med's do it to mask the pain & won't get rid of the reasons for it. I have always done a lot of stretches, morning & night, to keep supple and listen to a relaxation CD each night. It doesn't stop the pain but it can dim it a bit. I also had good relief from a Chiropractor as each vertabrae in the spine relates to what is wrong in the body, & when a scan was done, the results were spot on with my symptoms.I saw a pain management Dr but all they say is to do bits and pieces, 10 mins at a time, which is no good for me as I live on my own & things have to be done. I have just carried on regardless. By the time I saw an actual pain Dr, he said the pain managment wasn't much good in my case! I have always just gone round and round in circles anyway! with little help from the medic's, unfortunately. We have to do all we can to help ourselves, another unfortunate fact! good luck & I do sympathize with your prob's
Wow thank you all so much for your comments and yes i do take 5 tablets of 50mg four times a day !
I`m am always tired but don`t feel to bad on them to be fair.
I have just booked a MRI scan privately for tomorrow morning and have a appointment next Friday at Southampton hospital for a second opinion on if they can do anything for me.
Looking at the response i`ve had on here i`m also going to change my GP and try and cut down my tramadol intake.
Thank god i`m on a prepaid prescription !!
Anyone in Somerset ?
Hi Sharpy, don't know how you are still standing. I am psychotic if on tramadol and am down to only 2 300 gaba. would rather stand the pain. My GP told me that side affects of gaba give ME symptons - have had ME for 20 years -
hi in answer to you i take tramadol 2x4daily 50mg paracetomol in between i also take ammatriptaline 2x2 50mg with the tramadol i still have pain from time to time but i hate the fact of being addictedbut unfortunatly i am. elsie
Try not to go down the route of increasing your medication unless you really have too.This is what happened to me and I now take 24 x 20mg Oxycodone capsules and 10 x 5mg Methadone tablets a day, and I'm still in pain.
When I had sciatic pain an orthopedic dr did trigger point injection not epidural and it took 3 days to work neurotin didn't help me and I was allergic to tramadol had bad reaction wish you luck get help before it gets worse
I take 40 mgs of nortriptiline at night for my nerve pain. Gabapentin did not work for me at all. I've had a significant reduction in pain with the nortriptiline. I take tramadol only for severe flare ups. I also take a muscle relaxer called flexaril, 5 mg. Xanax,anti anxiety, magnesium supplement also made an improvement. Plenty of water,healthy diet, stretching.
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