Tramadol (The Banned Drug) : Its Abuse and ill-effects

One drug whose continuous abuse has led to it getting banned is Tramadol. Originally prescribed as a pain medication, this drug was abused by people for various other non-medical purposes. It has been noticed that most youngsters used this medication to increase their energy level. They abused this drug as it provides them with stamina to work for longer hours without getting tired. Most young adults also abused this drug to enhance their sexual stamina.

Why abused?

Tramadol is an opioid medication which has narcotic-like effects. It works in the user’s brain and changes how the person responds or reacts to the pain. Its analgesic effect is considered to be one-tenth of that of morphine.

The tolerance to this drug starts to increase with the increase of the dosage. The body needs more of the medication to feel the same effects. This leads to dependence of people on this drug both physically and mentally. Such a dependency makes a person feel and function normally only when they consume such large amounts of the drug. This is one reason why people abused this medication.

It is also seen that those who abused this drug are mostly people with a history of substance use disorder. People who have been drug addicts before or had a prior addiction to alcohol are the abusers of this drug. Though, abuse of this drug was also done by people with no substance use disorder.

Adverse reactions to Tramadol

A dependence on Tramadol can make a person feel like they cannot survive without this drug. And when a person abruptly discontinues taking this drug, they might suffer from its withdrawal symptoms that include hallucinations, paranoia, extreme anxiety, panic attacks, confusion, and numbness, tingling in the limbs, seizures, restlessness, muscle cramps, serotonin syndrome, sweating, trouble sleeping, dysphoria etc.

For how long the effect of withdrawal symptoms last can differ from person to person. It can last for about 24 hours after the last time a person took this medication. However, the symptoms can be intense and last for even longer in case of people who have developed a dependence on this drug.

If you are someone suffering from the withdrawal symptoms of Tramadol, note that medical supervision is essential to recover from such symptoms.

You may be asked to slowly and gradually reduce the intake of Tramadol and taper off tramadol while also supporting symptomatic reactions to Tramadol withdrawal. Be careful with the prescription medications and the over-the-counter medications that are used to help with withdrawal symptoms and that they do not have any dangerous interactions with the drug. Avoid the use of alcohol in the process. Slow tapering helps to remove restlessness and anxiety.

Instead of using such medications that have severe effects, it is preferable to opt for mild pain medications like Soma Pill. Yet, it is not recommended to switch over to any medication without consulting a doctor first.

Addiction to drugs makes people want it even more as if they cannot exist without it.  It is easy to misuse a product or consume huge amounts of it to get the desired effect but what’s harder is to get out of that situation. You should never misuse any product. Use them according to your doctor’s instructions and use it for whatever purpose it is prescribed to you.