Is Tramadol Effective In The Treatment Of Lower Back Pain?

Hi, I understand that your question relates to the effectiveness of tramadol relative to your lower back pain and nerve pain in your foot. Tramadol is still classified as an opioid so technically you were not taken right off all opioids but a tapering schedule, I agree, would have been better on your body s ability to cope with the withdrawal of your Oxycontin. Tramadol is used for lower back pain and pain in general. It is not useful for neuropathic pain such as you have in your foot. Drugs such as gabapentin (Neurontin) that are specifically used to treat neuropathic pain may be more helpful in pain situations arising out of nerve damage. That is an option you can pursue. Also, to be fair to you in understanding the nature of the opioid crisis, doctors are being asked to attempt a withdrawal of opioids from all patients being treated on opioids or being treated on more than 90 morphine equivalents of opioids. Some states in the US are even threatening sanctions on doctors who go over a certain number of opioid pain prescriptions. However, they are not required by law to lower you to less than 90 Morphine equivalents if you are a chronic pain patient in need of long-term pain control, a withdrawal has been attempted and other options tried and failed, it is within the doctor s discretion as to the dosage of pain medication you are on. The state of reality is that most patients are being forced into pain management programs and into getting steroid injections and any other option available because doctor s do not want the liability or responsibility. There is no actual US law that states the doctor must take you off your Oxycontin if your pain is chronic and unresponsive to other therapy trials. There has been a great deal of misunderstanding around this issue at all levels. My advice to you is to stop taking this issue personally and continue to pursue finding an empathetic pain management specialist to tweak your medications so that you can once again regain the quality of life that medical misunderstandings seem to have taken from you. Try to remain cooperative and understanding of the pressures the doctors are under in the midst of this federal opioid crises and as I said earlier do not take it personally. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Kathy Shattler, Dietitian & Nutritionist