Tramadol's better than nothing, but most people can't metabolize enough
O-Desmethyltramadol from tramadol due to CYP2D6 deficiencies, making it a useless opioid prodrug. Others have regular amount of 2D6 liver enzyme alleles, so tramadol is simply a weak prodrug for them.
On the other hand, a small minority have so many copies of the 2D6 enzyme alleles, like me, so tramadol is a much more powerful prodrug. In my case, 50mg of tramadol is stronger than 12.5mg of hydrocodone once the O-DT starts kicking in 2-3 hours after tramadol ingestion.
I would pick em up for really cheap from him if I were you, since they're unscheduled and readily prescribed. Remember to
never take more than 150-200mg at a time, and
never more than 250mg in a day. If you want to cut down on the stimulant effect from the tramadol, and just want the opioid effects from the O-DT metabolite, then take a 100mg starting dose, and dose 25mg (half a tab) every 20 minutes until you reach 200-250mg/day.