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Written by Susan | 05 February 2010
Posted in Treatments and Medications

I went to Vanderbilt yesterday to see the only Fibromyalgia specialist int he state of TN and he told me that Tramadol has been proven to be an effective treatment for Fibro and is actually recomended. So I did a little research and here is what I found. Doctors who specialize in Fibromyalgia, advise the use of Ultram (Tramadol) to treat the pain associated with this fibromyalgia. Ultram is a mild non narcotic pain reliever. While it is a non narcotic, the brain responds the same way to Ultram as it would to a narcotic pain reliever. There are a number of positive benefits that have been verified by patients. You may benefit from better sleep, If you are not in pain, you sleep better. It also works on the brain to serve as a calming agent, you just "feel better". One of the active ingredients in Ultram acts as a mild antidepressant.

FDA approved indications

• management of moderate to moderately severe pain in adults

Tramadol is used to treat the following types of pain:

• dental pain
• osteoarthritis pain
• neuropathic pain
• posttraumatic pain
• postoperative pain
• acute musculosketetal pain
• labour pain, obstetrical analgesia
• renal colic pain
• diabetic neuropathy pain
• postherpetic neuralgia
• low back pain
• chronic pancreatitis pain
• rheumatoid arthritis pain

Off-label & Investigational uses>

• premature ejaculation
• diabetic neuropathy
• postherpetic neuralgia
• fibromyalgia
• restless legs syndrome
• acute myocardial infarct >
• opiate withdrawal management
• migraine headache

Tramadol for osteoarthritis

Tramadol may be a useful alternative in patients with osteoarthritis who have not responded to first-line treatment with acetaminophen and in whom nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are contraindicated, ineffective, or poorly tolerated. It appears to be relatively well tolerated for an opioid compound.

Tramadol for restless legs syndrome

Compared with other treatments for RLS, tramadol seems to be superior in some cases, possibly because of its unique pharmacodynamic profile. In clinical study 12 patients with RLS (some of them treatment resistant or prone to side effects of previous medications) were treated with 50 to 150 mg of tramadol per day. The follow-up lasted from 15 to 24 months. 10 patients reported clear amelioration and 1 reported slight amelioration of their symptoms, while 1 reported no effect. Tramadol was described to be the most effective treatment and free of side effects when compared with several other treatments

Tramadol for fibromyalgia

Tramadol is effective in patients with mild to moderately severe pain. It should be titrated to avoid nausea and dizziness associated with high initial doses. A tramadol/acetaminophen (Ultracet) (37.5/325 mg) combination has been shown to be effective for fibromyalgia pain without any serious adverse effects

Tramadol "pros" and "cons"

Advantages:

• generally well tolerated
• proven efficacy in a broad range of painful conditions
• respiratory depressionis less common and less pronounced than with other opioids
• lesser constipation effect than with other opioids
• withdrawal not considered to be as severe as that produced by other opioids
• low abuse and dependence potential
• more effective than NSAIDs for controlling post operative pain
• antidepressant-like (mood improving) activity
• local anesthetic activity
• low interaction potential
• devoid of immunosuppressive activity
• reasonably priced - available generic formulation

Disadvantages:

• risk of seizures
• risk of abuse, dependence and tolerance
• relatively high incidence of nausea and vomiting
• withdrawal symptoms following abrupt discontinuation
• short half-life necessitates dosing of immediate-release formulation every 4 to 6 hours