Tramadol experience report

Note: This report details experiences in the past. I am not using tramadol anymore and I do not use any drugs, legal or otherwise now.

I have been using tramadol hydrochloride on a daily basis for several months now and I feel that my experience with this substance is sufficient for a detailed report. Tramadol requires a prescription in most countries, but it is OTC in Malaysia. This makes it perfectly legal to possess and use. It's considered a weak opiate agonist but it has strange serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor effects. In other words, theoretically, it calms you down, makes you happy and gives you some energy. I usually buy Tramadolor, which is manufactured in Germany.

I get five boxes for RM 300, which comes to RM 6 per blister pack. There are 10 blister packs in a box and each blister pack contains 10 capsules of 50 mg of tramadol hydrochloride, so that makes 500 mg in total. The standard retail price is usually around the RM 13 - RM 15 per blister pack, but a pharmacy in Sibu sells it to me for RM 6 per blister pack when I buy a minimum of five boxes. Tramadol is fast acting, personally, it hits in about 10 minutes or less and peaks at T+ 4:00 before slowly returning to baseline.

There are a lot of people who doesn't have a high regard for tramadol, condemning it as a useless substance. I have a lot of experience with both illicit substances and pharmaceuticals so I'm speaking from my personal experience. Clinical trials seem to indicate that a lot of people can't "get off" on tramadol. However, there is a small percentage of people that can get something out of tramadol. Off the top of my head, it's about 7% of the subjects in the clinical trial.

I use tramadol to boost my mood. It works very well, so I consider it "recreational". The effects I feel is a serotonin release (the neurotransmitter that makes you "happy", to make things simple) and also an increase in energy. The best way to describe the psychoactive experience is that tramadol makes me happy. It makes me very happy. :)

However, tolerance builds up very quickly with tramadol. I use it on a daily basis, so this is an issue to consider. Basically, you won't be able to get off on tramadol unless you increase the dose if you're using it daily. Personally, I increase the dose every other day, so it bring me through the whole working week.

My personal policy is to start with 200 mg of tramadol on Monday, and that gives me a nice boost to start off the week. The dose is repeated on Tuesday, but with the tolerance, the effects aren't as strong as Monday. I take it on an empty stomach early in the morning with lots of caffeine.

I escalate the dose by 50 mg increments, so on Wednesday, I take 250 mg, and the same goes for Thursdays. I go up to 300 mg on Friday and Saturday and Sunday is a "rest day" so I can get off on 200 mg on Monday the following week. This works well for me, it makes me happy throughout the work week.

There's something that should be noted here - do NOT take tramadol after taking any pure opiate agonists like codeine, DHC, heroin etc. The mixed opiate agonist/antagonist nature of tramadol will make you dope sick if you don't put at least a full 24 hour rest day in between. If you do take tramadol earlier than that, you'll be very sorry you did. ;)

I know there are a lot of people out there who does not get the effects of tramadol. Tough. There are some that do, and for these lucky few, tramadol IS recreational. I find it useful to get me through the work week and be productive in my work. :)

Disclaimer: This post was written a long time ago, and is not reflective of events now. It should be noted that tramadol can be dangerous if the dose exceeds 400 mg and it also decreases the seizure threshold. Tramadol can lead to dependency in some individuals.