The prescription-only medication tramadol is used to relieve moderate to moderately severe pain. This opiate agonist changes the way the body senses pain, similar to the way some narcotics work. Tramadol is available as a regular tablet to take every four to six hours as needed and in an extended-release form to take once per day. A very small percentage of people lose weight while taking tramadol, which may be due to unpleasant side effects.
Considerations
Although the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration does not classify tramadol as a narcotic or a controlled substance as of 2011, the medication has effects similar to morphine, and thus has significant potential for abuse, according to eMedTV. It does not seem to be as addictive as other opiod medications, but still may not be advisable to take if you have a history of alcohol or other drug abuse.
Weight Loss
DailyMed, a website from the National Library of Medicine, lists percentages of tramadol users experiencing specific adverse effects. Fewer than 1 percent of people taking this drug in clinical trials and in post-marketing have reported weight loss as a side effect of tramadol.
Related Side Effects
Several side effects experienced by much larger percentages of tramadol users potentially could lead to weight loss. DailyMed provides the cumulative incidence rate of negative effects in 550 patients taking tramadol for chronic pain management. Depending on the length of time taken, 24 to 40 percent of the patients experienced nausea, 26 to 33 percent dizziness or vertigo, 9 to 17 percent vomiting, 5 to 13 percent indigestion and 5 to 10 percent reported diarrhea.
Other Side Effects
Many other side effects are associated with tramadol use, such as constipation, itching, sweating, weakness, drowsiness, insomnia, headaches and nervousness. Tramadol can be habit-forming, which may lead to a desire to take more of the drug than prescribed or more often than prescribed. Doing so can be dangerous and even fatal. If you decide to stop taking tramadol, do so gradually with your doctor's supervision. Discontinuing tramadol use too rapidly could cause serious withdrawal effects.
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