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Ever used Tramadol or Codeine for pain? Curious about people’s honest take

J

Jtim91

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Joined
May 22, 2025
Messages
5
Location
USA
Hey all, just curious if anyone here has had experience using either Tramadol or Codeine for pain (short-term or chronic).
I’ve used both at different times, and noticed they affect people differently. Some say Tramadol 50 mg is enough, others find it useless.
What was your experience like? Did it help with pain or just take the edge off?
Let’s hear the honest takes - no fluff.
 
Don't know about Tramadol, but if one is opioid-naive codeine works OK for mild to moderate short-term pain.
One caveat: some people do not tolerate codeine well. My best friend can't take it because it causes extreme itching all over his body.
 
Especially, If you are an ultra rapid metabolizer, codeine can be very powerful for pain! Then on the other hand, it doesn't work for some people who are slow metabolizers.

Tramadol can be good for certain types of pain, because of the serotonine & noradrenaline side of it.
 
I haven't taken codeine in years ( other than the over the counter 8 mg ones legal in Ireland, which are too weak to count for much). However I always thought that Tylenol 3 worked great, Tylenol 4 even better Likewise, a swig of codeine cough syrup felt strong for me. Euphoric as well as pain killing.
Tramadol worked pretty well, too, but I never took it much.
 
Tramadol is one of those drugs that you can physically feel how dirty it is. Ok for pain, but disgustingly addictive for such a shitty feeling. Codeine is much better. Tramadol is only about 80% as strong gram for gram. They're both active metabolites of other drugs and don't have much opioid activity themselves. If you have the choice, take the codeine every time.
 
Anyone who is opioid naïve both Tramadol and Codeine should work OK. However you need to be aware of the fact that Tramadol has SNRI activity which can lower your seizure threshold and it makes it feel "dirty". Your much better off using Codeine because it's a true opiate and imo it's probably slightly stronger too.
 
Both of those are good for people with a low or no tolerance (like me). I must be a good metabolizer because I like Codeine better than Hydrocodone for recreational purposes. Hydro has zero legs for me.
As far as for pain relief, Tramadol is useful as hell for me. I'm retired but when I was working my back would give me a fair amount of pain at times. I would "throw out my back" and be to the point of sciatica all the way down to my foot. I'm one of the lucky ones who responds well to the steroid injections. They would fix me up for a year or more.
Anyway, when I was having a lot of pain and still had to work, I would get through to lunch with large amounts of Ibuprofen and then hit the Tramadol. The SNRI would coast me through the afternoon and the opiate effect would be hitting at the end of the day. Hydrocodone on the way home and after supper. Rinse repeat. I also love Tramadols legs when used recreationally.

TLDR: Both those drugs work rather well for opiate naive people with moderate pain. Codeine has a significant individual variance and Tramadol can give a nice, long effect after the SNRI effects wear off.
 
I got given codeine for bad coughs as a child (only when I was coughing so much I couldn't sleep). Worked a treat for that. Then later was given it again for a toothache to keep me going until my dentist's appointment. Again worked great, with the plus that the dose got me high and I discovered I had a taste for that feeling.

Tramadol I was only given much later as part of a painkiller cocktail after major surgery, and I HATED that stuff. It did zip for the pain but made me incredibly nauseous and just overall feeling awful. I had to ask them to leave it out when dosing me up again, and when they did I felt much better and got better pain relief.
 
Jtim91 said:
Hey all, just curious if anyone here has had experience using either Tramadol or Codeine for pain (short-term or chronic).
I’ve used both at different times, and noticed they affect people differently. Some say Tramadol 50 mg is enough, others find it useless.
What was your experience like? Did it help with pain or just take the edge off?
Let’s hear the honest takes - no fluff.
Click to expand...
Tramadol at 50 mg for someone susceptible is ime too much.
Did cover the pain, btw they were a gift of someone else its prescription.
Dental = endure the pain over here, so APAP and/ or Ibuprofen.

Kinda like Physical = endure pain, except when your dying.

So at 50 mg, the smallest dose i got nauseous. So face flat on the bed.
Did cover the pain, probably Codeine would be the better of the 2.
Its just never prescribed neither OTC over here. Strange ?
 
If you don’t have much tolerance I would go with the codeine for pain. Tramadol didn’t do much for me when I tried it years ago. And my tolerance was at basically nothing. Gotta love some good ole codeine hehe 🙃
 
Those are good starts to step therapy. Good to place to determine how a patient responds to entering narcotic therapy.
 
daturetard said:
Tramadol is one of those drugs that you can physically feel how dirty it is. Ok for pain, but disgustingly addictive for such a shitty feeling. Codeine is much better. Tramadol is only about 80% as strong gram for gram. They're both active metabolites of other drugs and don't have much opioid activity themselves. If you have the choice, take the codeine every time.
Click to expand...
Well that is how some (or most I suppose) people experience tramadol.

Personally Tramadol was my favorite opioid. It's such a euphoric and energizing high (for a good while atleast...) that no other opioid ever really matched for me. Although things like Morphine, Dihydrocodeine or Oxycodone are all very pleasurable too, nothing gave me that same lust for life as Tramadol did back when I was still an active Opioid user/addict.

Probably has to do with the fact that it's also a serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, some people enjoy those effects and for others it feels dirty or uncomfortable.
 
They are both mild Opioids of a similar potency. Depending upon genetics and other variables, either one of these drugs can vary in potency from person to person. I'm not going to get into that right now though. If you have mild pain, then these are likely going to do the trick in relieving it. However, if you are self-medicating, it's typically going to cause more problems than it is going to bring solutions. If you're going to use these painkillers, I advise you to use them as sparingly as possible, ideally only when the pain is preventing you from working or completing commitments. The idea of round-the-clock relief by using Opioids is not usually realistic.
 
Keif' Richards said:
The idea of round-the-clock relief by using Opioids is not usually realistic
Click to expand...
Yes indeed. "Leaving room to grow" and "Less is more" are the two most important rules of opioid therapy. Only cancer pain, hospice, and assisted nursing homes allow no limits to opioid/opiate prescribing. Establishing a therapeutic baseline most times requires step therapy and sitting on a daily dosage as long as humanly possible before increasing dosages.

From my experience and witnessing other's experiences, the brain will not function properly if it becomes lazy. People will forget how to walk if they are carried all the time.
 
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