What is the medicine tramadol?
Tramadol is an atypical opioid (but non-narcotic) pain killer used to treat moderate to severe pain. Although stopping tramadol abruptly will still produce symptoms of withdrawal, it is supposed to have a lower risk of causing physical dependence compared with other opioids. It also has a few other interesting actions – it has mild anti-anxiety effects due to inhibiting re-uptake of serotonin and is believed to have some activity as an NMDA receptor antagonist, making it more effective against neuropathtic pain.
