Posted by guttersnipe on March 29, 2004, at 2:00:41
In reply to Is Ultram ok for someone with an addiction?, posted by Mandybella on January 30, 2004, at 19:31:31
The upsides of Ultram (tramadol) are that it can alleviate pain, that it can get you high, and that it is not (last time I looked) a controlled substance.
The downside is that it is addictive, even if technically not classified as a narcotic. Other potential downsides (common, but not universal side effects): itchiness (not like the mild codeine itchies -- more like tied to an anthill-type itchies); inability to urinate (unpleasant when one feels like one really, really, must pee).
Mandybella, if you live in a medical marijuana state (or if you don't but you're willing to risk it), you might try the magical herb -- I've heard it can do wonders for fibromyalgia and helps with osetoarthritis too (there are three primry, but interbreedable, species of Cannabis: sativa, indica, and ruderalis. Forget about the ruderalis for any purpose; for pain relief, look for a very high THC-content sativa or perhaps better yet a 50-50 sativa indica hybrid). Also, I suggest that you forget about Tylenol -- that stuff will shred your liver apart. For arthritis, I would use Vioxx or Celebrex -- your doc should have a whole closetfull of samples to let you try it out.
poster:guttersnipe
thread:307492
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20040130/msgs/329717.html