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Pain Medications: the Way We Cope

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Pain Medications: The Way We Cope

All of us have lived with pain sometime in our lives. We would all like to have a magic pill to take all the pain away, but in modern medicine there isn’t anything like that. There are several different types of medication that can help. Depending on the pain severity, medications vary from your nonnarcotic analgesic drugs which include (salicylate analgesic drugs, nonsalicylate analgesic drugs, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and narcotic analgesic drugs. In the following paragraphs I am going to explain the pain medication I am on for my Rheumatoid Arthritis which is Tramadol. Another name for it is Ultram and it falls under the category of a nonsalicylate analgesic drug. When you are in pain, the one thing you want is the relief to be fast. Tramadol delivers. It has been on the market for years, offering fast relief to moderate to severe pain. How come it is so effective? It is because it is a synthetic form of the more powerful opiate drugs. This gives you most of the pain relief without the side effects. Tramadol works by having your body change the way it senses pain. It does this by inhibiting your neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin, while it also “activates narcotic receptors in the brain and spinal cord to relieve pain.” (Turley, 2010) Tramadol binds to opioid receptors in the brain, which are receptors that transmit the sensation of pain throughout the body. My Rheumatologist started me on 50mg of Tramadol about 4 months ago. The main thing I really like about Tramadol is it takes away my pain without the drowsiness and “high” feeling that other pain medications can bring. This alone is a pain medication I can take, and not worry about not being able to perform my job duties which include moving trailers around our warehouse lot. I am very pleased with the way Tramadol has helped me, and without any of its side effects.
This drug is available in capsules, tablets, extended-release tablets, suppositories, effervescent tablets and powders, and liquid for oral and sublingual administration. There are also tablets and caplets available with paracetamol (acetaminophen). Recommended dosages range from 50 mg to 300 mg daily. I take between 100mg – 200mg a day depending on how much pain I am in. It is also recommended not to stop Tramadol without your doctor’s help, due to the fact that patients who stop taking Tramadol can experience withdrawal symptoms that include anxiety, nausea, sweating, chills, tremors, diarrhea, hallucinations, trouble sleeping, and breathing problems. As with any medications there are side effects. The less serious problems are feelings of dizziness or drowsiness. You can feel weak and your stomach may be upset resulting in nausea and vomiting. Some find it more difficult to sleep normally. But for a few, there is real danger if your mood changes for the worse, you become confused or agitated. This can be accompanied by hallucinations. A few people taking Tramadol have committed suicide. In physical terms, you should go immediately to an Emergency Room if you have chest pain, you find it difficult to breathe and your heart is racing. I would like to sum this up by saying when pain is interrupting our normal functions much more can happen than just a slow day. Pain can have a cascading affect on our bodies causing mental, emotional, and physical damage. Pain disrupts cognitive abilities, alters the way we treat others, and causes actual physiological changes that can intensify the pain as well as create other sources of pain. Pain diminishes the quality of life. One way to combat this is to find a pain medication that works, without leaving you in a fog, or feeling constantly high. All I would like is live pain free, and enjoy life again. I am finding I am able to do this with the pain medication Tramadol. I guess that is why they call it the “unique pain medicine.”
References
Turley, S. (2010). Understanding pharmacology for health professionals. (4th ed., pp. 27-30). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Eustice, C. (2012, Septe 29). Tramadol - 10 things you should know. Retrieved from http://arthritis.about.com/od/ultram/a/tramadol.htm
Tramadol. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.drugs.com/tramadol.html
Tramadol: Medlineplus drug information. (2012, Novem 20). Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a695011.html

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