Tramadol: A Mother's Story

It does not matter what my real name is and what is my age exactly. What I am about to tell is one of the most extreme experiences I had ever gone thorough and it represents indeed an important lesson others should pay attention to. After being happily married for three years, my husband and I decided we should try and have a baby. Almost at the same time when we took that decision, I started to feel a strong pain in the cervical region and found out I suffered from spondylitis, a condition given by vertebral joint inflammation and usually manifested through pain and local stiffness. The doctor recommended I followed a treatment plan with Tramadol, a synthetic opioid pain reliever, and do plenty of exercise.

At exactly one year after I started taking Tramadol, I remained pregnant and was extremely happy, both me and my husband. The only problem was that I could not stop taking Tramadol and I was worried about the effects it would have on my baby. I went online and searched for Tramadol effects on unborn babies. Medical articles spoke of malformations, severe withdrawal symptoms at birth and other terrible things. While reading all this information, I kept on asking myself: what am I to do? How will I live through the pain? I am going to put my baby in danger knowingly?

Tramadol had worked its magic and pain was unknown to me. The dosage varied between 50 and 100 mg/day but I never felt the need to take more. Sometimes I would feel a little bit tired, anxious and dizzy but these were the only side-effects I experienced while taking the drug. I went to an OB specialist and discussed about the potential harm Tramadol could have on my baby. We agreed that the best thing to do was to slowly decrease the dose of Tramadol but do it as soon as possible, before the embryo develops and enters the fetal state. No matter how glad I was about my baby growing inside of me, I was terrified about quitting Tramadol. I refused to think about the intense pains I was having before.

The first days when the dose of Tramadol was lower than my body was used to were terrible. I could not concentrate and I had a hard time doing anything. The only thought that kept me going was that I am doing this for my baby and that there is nothing more important than giving birth to a healthy newborn. I could not sleep and on top of that I was dealing with usual pregnancy symptoms, including morning sickness and vomiting. When I thought that things could not go worse, the doctor told me I stood a chance of losing the pregnancy if I did not reduce the level of stress perceived by the body. He talked about spontaneous abortion, scaring the hell out of me and recommended that I spend a period of time in bed, relaxed and without too much agitation. And yes, he lowered the dose of Tramadol even lower, making it very difficult for me to support the pain.

The last day I took Tramadol was also the day when I heard my baby's heart beating for the first time. In the meantime, my body developed a natural resistance to the pain and I was able to go through the day without too much effort. I constantly thought about giving my baby all the chances in the world and it was this strong will that got me so far. Tramadol was useful when I needed it but it was no longer necessary, especially with the baby on the way. You can never expect less from a mother. They all want their best for their child and they do everything in their powers to make sure nothing goes wrong. A closing argument for Tramadol? Take it but not if you are planning on having a bay, not if you are pregnant or nursing. The teratogenic effects of Tramadol are almost bewildering, not to mention of the effects that Tramadol can have when passed in the mother's milk. Give your child a fair chance to life!