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Currently I take tramadol for a shoulder injury. If I stop taking it, I'd have to deal with unbearable tendonitis pain. I'm on a slow road to recovery here and I don't see myself not using Tramadol anytime soon. How will I know if I become addicted to it? ARe there any signs ? I will likely take it for several more months.
Thanks.
I have never used a potentially addictive medication for more than a few days at a time so I apologize in advance if this isn't helpful. After feeling the need to use a pain med for a longer period I wonder if you could start "testing" by planning to use a non-habitforming OTC med on an alternative basis. Maybe on days you know you'll need to irritate that joint less, try the alternative plus physical pain relief (ice etc)? You may hurt a bit more but it may be bearable. Fear of pain makes pain worse. We know what it's like from sad experience so we anticipate it...and want to avoid it. So, we talk ourselves into preventing/masking it a little more easily. What makes it hard is the fact that many pain meds are more effective if they are taken before pain ramps up...so we stick to the dosing schedule.
What else are you doing to heal this joint? Pain relief alone isn't healing it, its just masking symptoms. I assume you also use some sort of anti-inflammatory right? That should also play into pain relief.
As time goes on and your injury heals, you may notice that your "alternative" days become more and more bearable. Then your trust in yourself increases so you keep testing it and opting for the alternative more and more. On these "alternative" days pay attention to how you feel in other ways; irritable, anxious, other signs of withdrawal. That might tell you how dependent you've become.
Last edited by Parnassia; 01-29-2019 at 02:43 PM..
Currently I take tramadol for a shoulder injury. If I stop taking it, I'd have to deal with unbearable tendonitis pain. I'm on a slow road to recovery here and I don't see myself not using Tramadol anytime soon. How will I know if I become addicted to it? ARe there any signs ? I will likely take it for several more months.
Thanks.
This hysteria is getting out of control. First, relax.
Second, if you are taking your medication as prescribed, experiencing relief and not increasing your dosage, then you are not an addict.
Why should you experience "unbearable pain"? No one should.
You are fortunate to have an understanding doctor and to live in a state with sane and compassionate laws that permits your provider to prescribe the relief that you need.
If you need more medication to achieve the same results, consult with your doctor. Do not take more without their consent.
Otherwise, please do not obsess over addiction. Or quitting. You are taking a medication as prescribed. Focus on healing.
This hysteria is getting out of control. First, relax.
Second, if you are taking your medication as prescribed, experiencing relief and not increasing your dosage, then you are not an addict.
Why should you experience "unbearable pain"? No one should.
!
Excellent post.
By definition: to be addicting, a drug must (a) exhibit tachyphylaxis-- you need to increase doses periodically to achieve the same effect as the older dose, and (2) show withdrawal symptoms when the drug is withheld for a period of time.....The classic example is the "DTs" from alcohol withdrawal-- and even that doesn't start for a couple days after the last drink.
There's a difference between being dependent on a med (a diabetic is dependent on insulin) and being addicted to a drug....And when the drug is being taken for legitimate medical indications and not recreational use, sometimes you have to continue it despite addiction. The biggest problem in that case is that eventually the drug won't give the desired effects.
Even when using addicting drugs, it's unusual to become truly addicted (ie- show tachyphylaxis or withdrawal on discontinuation) if the drug is dosed on an intermittent schedule so blood levels fall to zero between doses. That's why many people use drugs like hydrocodone for years without developing problems.
By definition: to be addicting, a drug must (a) exhibit tachyphylaxis-- you need to increase doses periodically to achieve the same effect as the older dose, and (2) show withdrawal symptoms when the drug is withheld for a period of time.....The classic example is the "DTs" from alcohol withdrawal-- and even that doesn't start for a couple days after the last drink.
There's a difference between being dependent on a med (a diabetic is dependent on insulin) and being addicted to a drug....And when the drug is being taken for legitimate medical indications and not recreational use, sometimes you have to continue it despite addiction. The biggest problem in that case is that eventually the drug won't give the desired effects.
Even when using addicting drugs, it's unusual to become truly addicted (ie- show tachyphylaxis or withdrawal on discontinuation) if the drug is dosed on an intermittent schedule so blood levels fall to zero between doses. That's why many people use drugs like hydrocodone for years without developing problems.
Excellent post, and very educational. I hope people actually read it.
There is a difference between addiction, and the symptoms of tachyphyaxis and being dependent upon a medication for the relief that a medication was designed to deliver.
Most people CAN be on powerful medications for years, without becoming addicted.
I'm not concerned with being an addict now. I'm just concerned with down the line, considering the word "DANGER" is plastered all over the bottle and I've never had to take such medications before. This is my first true injury and I agree, I will take the medication so that I don't have unbearable pain. The pain is intense enough to interfere with daily activities and make my life pure hell. Tramadol allows me to reasonably go about my life. So, yes, I plan on taking it for as long as the doctor continues to prescribe it. I'm just concerned about the addiction factor and what to look for. My mom, for example, is anti drug and we've had arguments about me taking narcotic drugs. What she doesn't understand is that sometimes one doesn't have a choice.
Ibuprofen - i have nothing against that and use it but my aunt was hospitalized due to a bleeding ulcer. my doctor doesn't want me taking that more than two-three days in a row and definitely not long term, which is what I'd need with this injury.
Lucky, I am going to PT once a week and do the exercises daily, but it's a slow process to recovery. In the meantime, I have to manage pretty bad pain.
I am also on a controlled substance and was told the key way to know is if you’re craving the medication without needing it for the pain. If you have a low pain day can you go without it and not feel a craving for it? That was one of the key questions they said to ask myself if I ever questioned it. There are comprehensive quizzes online to see if you’re wondering or my PM doctor does one at routine intervals that is about 40 questions and combines that with the office visits and impressions to make a determination about each patient.
If you take it as prescribed for this injury you will probably be just fine.
I think just being aware of the potential for addiction is enough to make sure that will never happen. I was on Norco for 9 months. I only took at most 2 pills a day. I needed them to function. Whenever I saw my neurologist I would joke that I may have to check into the local rehab. She said that she doubted it. When I no longer needed them I slowly tapered off and that was it. And I told her that I no longer wanted them. She would have given me more I had asked.
As much as the media wants to tell us that pretty much everyone that takes an opioid is going to become an addict is simply not true.
You would know you were an addict if after you no longer needed the meds you craved them. And after your doctor stops prescribing them you look elsewhere to get them. THAT is an addict.
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