Hi all,
I currently take 3 x 1 tramadol tablet from 6pm till 11pm and find it does the job of stopping RLS. I feel very tired most days, I have other health issues but not sure if it’s the tramadol causing the tiredness. Anyone else experienced this, thanks!
I believe tiredness is a side effect of most opioids. (I know it’s listed as a side effect of OxyContin which I take.)
Are you managing to sleep at night on the tramadol or do you still get RLS?
Hi Joolsg, yes I sleep very well with no RLS, tramadol has worked for me for years now to control it, to be honest I don’t really suffer at all! I have been feeling more tired than usual but I have quite serious health issues for last two years, probably that and the tramadol combined causing the e tremendous tiredness! Thanks for your reply! Keep well!
Sorry if it seems that I am just following this thread, but unfortunately, (for some unknown reason to me .... and also apparently to admin), I am unable to post in the regular format. My apologies again for cutting it on your post, but they are kind of related.
RLS AND TRAMADOL
I have noticed several posts on this site, regarding the medication that is taken to help alleviate the onset of augmentation. One of the common threads is the use of the pain killer, Tramadol. I need to have surgery on my shoulder, (complete reconstruction), but due to some horrific hospital experiences in the past, I have refused said surgery for the time being. To help alleviate the pain, my Dr has prescribed the pain killer Tramadol. And luckily for me it is working. But what I have noticed, is, if for whatever reason, I neglect to take the Tramadol in the evening ... (I've run out, I get distracted and forget, yeah, I know ... idiot), I find I am awoken in the morning by RLS symptoms. It now appears that there are 3 mandatory
medications that are essential for me to take to control this horrendous disease. Madopar, Sifrol and now Tramadol. And now I worry as to what is left for me to take, when the inevitable, dreaded augmentation eventually hits.
NOT HAPPY JAN!
Hi TEAH35, I had taken tramadol for another problem and noticed it stopped my RLS so have been on it for years, it works for me without any other meds! Good luck!
Hi Teah,
If you are on Sifrol AND Madopar- that is 2 Dopamine agonist type drugs.
Tramadol is used to help the withdrawal symptoms when reducing Sifrol and Madopar.
What dose of the 3 meds are you currently taking?
You may already be suffering augmentation but do not worry- many of us have managed to get off the DAs and are taking other meds which control RLS. Gabapentin and pregabalin are the most common meds used for RLS after withdrawal and they work well for the vast majority.
Tramadol also helps many BUT it can also cause Augmentation so perhaps in your situation Gabapentin or pregabalin would be better.
Have a discussion with your GP because you shouldn’t consider withdrawal if you’re going to have the shoulder surgery- withdrawal would cause constant jerking movements which wouldn’t help your shoulder!
You have heard of augmentation and I suggest you read the pinned post ( top right).
The higher the dose of DAs and the longer you’ve been on them- the greater the risk of Augmentation.
If you cannot make separate posts, maybe join again using different email? Have you messaged Kaarina, the administrator to see if she can help?
I was prescribed Tramadol, and then later Pregabalin as well, when I was suffering from severe sciatica caused by spinal stenosis, for which I subsequently had surgery.
I’ve suffered from RLS my entire life, although had never thought it bad enough to seek medication, only being troubled by it for a few days a month. Like you, I noticed that my RLS symptoms completely disappeared. However, I also noticed that if I didn’t keep taking it my symptoms went through the roof!
For this reason I stayed on Tramadol and Pregabalin for 3 years before finally asking for my GP’s assistance to slowly wean myself off them. I did this last year, and although it was awful I managed to be free of both drugs by the end of last June. Unfortunately, however, my RLS is now massively worse than it used to be, in that I suffer every night, and now I also get it in my left arm, neck and the base of my spine. My sleeping, as a consequence, is bad.
I’ve been hoping that, given long enough, my RLS would go back to how it used to be, but 7 months down the line there’s been no change.
I so wanted to be drug free, but am getting to the point where I know I’m going to have to go back to the doctor for help, cos I can’t go on like this. I just wish I’d known, before I took Tramadol, that it was used in the treatment of RLS and that it could cause this horrendous permanent escalation in my symptoms if I tried to stop taking it.
Never really thought it helped pain much either, if I’m being honest.
I too am on Tramadol, I take 2x50mg at 8.00pm plus 2x400mg Gabapentin. Having used almost everything else I wouldn’t know where to go if the Tramadol stopped working but have managed to reduce the Gabapentin.
I get a tiredness in the afternoon and evening and fall asleep if I sit down and relax. This sleep is vile and I awake feeling absolutely awful so I keep busy and do anything to avoid nodding off. Within half an hour of taking my Tramadol I am alert again and stay that way till early afternoon on the next day but I will put up with this side effect as I am currently getting a full night’s sleep.
I have found adjusting the time of taking medication to be a big help on occasions, for example I have changed my Gabapentin from 2pm and 6pm to as late as 10pm and found an improvement. Just making a change like that seems to convince my brain that something is new and triggers a response!
Good luck
John
Hi john, my experiences are very much like yours, I get sleepy in the afternoon about 4pm and if I sit down I will sleep! I don’t take anything other than tramadol which does the job so will stick with it! I’ve been feeling extreme tiredness lately and I was trying to figure out if it was my other health issue causing it or just a build up of tramadol over time! I may try a lesser dose to see if that helps me not feel so tired! Thanks for your reply, keep well!
I’ve been taking Tramadol (200mg) for years and it helps the RLS but does not make me sleepy. In fact I take melatonin to help me sleep.
I’ve put a longer post about my experience with Tramadol below, but in answer to your question, no, I didn’t find Tramadol made me sleepy, nor did it keep me awake at night, which some people report.
I take Tramadol and cairns nightly. It has kept the lid on the legs for the most part but now I am experiencing evening . episodes of RLS. I’m not on any AP drugs so I’m worried Bout augmenting from TramAdol. And yes I’m very tired and sleepy during the day and evening . I’m attributing that to the opiods, but my GP says the drugs should not be doing that as they have reached their half life . One step forward and two back it seems .
That should read codeine nightly .
I take it occasionally in the evening and I have the same results. Fortunately I take Adderall for AADD. It still makes me tired as yours does!
Does Tramadol cause rls
Is it Primary RLS or Idiopathic Tramadol-induced RLS?
Anyone tried tramadol for RLS??
Tramadol and oxycodone
