Just wanted to add a couple of my thoughts here.
I have musculoskeletal chronic lower back pain, with no accompanying spinal problem.
Tramadol, hydrocodone, and codeine have all been helpful for me; however muscle relaxers have been critically helpful.
I tried cyclobenzaprine, but it gave me groggy "hangovers" and KO'd me for 10-12 hours. Switched to Carisoprodol and that has been much more helpful for me and does not KO me. You shouldn't use it every day though, as it is habit forming. I use it 1-2 days per week.
Sometimes when I get a bad spasm, I need both PK and muscle relaxer. I've done some research and found that Tramadol is not good to mix with other prescription drugs in many cases. Based on what I've read, I choose to use Codeine with carisoprodol when I have this situation. It works well for me; you need to be very conservative with mixing them though as carisoprodol potentiates many opiates. Start with very low doses.
Hope this info is helpful to someone!
EDIT: I forgot to mention exercise, even if it is just walking, makes a huge difference in my back pain levels as well, as long as I am not experiencing a severe spasm.
ALSO! I start each morning with 30 minutes on an electric heating pad, placed under my pain epicenter. This has been very helpful too!
I have musculoskeletal chronic lower back pain, with no accompanying spinal problem.
Tramadol, hydrocodone, and codeine have all been helpful for me; however muscle relaxers have been critically helpful.
I tried cyclobenzaprine, but it gave me groggy "hangovers" and KO'd me for 10-12 hours. Switched to Carisoprodol and that has been much more helpful for me and does not KO me. You shouldn't use it every day though, as it is habit forming. I use it 1-2 days per week.
Sometimes when I get a bad spasm, I need both PK and muscle relaxer. I've done some research and found that Tramadol is not good to mix with other prescription drugs in many cases. Based on what I've read, I choose to use Codeine with carisoprodol when I have this situation. It works well for me; you need to be very conservative with mixing them though as carisoprodol potentiates many opiates. Start with very low doses.
Hope this info is helpful to someone!
EDIT: I forgot to mention exercise, even if it is just walking, makes a huge difference in my back pain levels as well, as long as I am not experiencing a severe spasm.
ALSO! I start each morning with 30 minutes on an electric heating pad, placed under my pain epicenter. This has been very helpful too!