"i have been taking this medication for 9 weeks now. i injured my lower back and will require a spinal fusion of l5-s1 and l4-l5. i will be waiting for this surgery to get approved for a long time. this medication help quite a bit with all the pain associated with my back, except the nerve pain. thank god the nerve pain is intermittent. i have noticed that the longer i take it, the less amount of relief time i get. that is to say, when i started taking it i would get about 6 hours of relief. that time started shortening rather quickly down to 2 hours now. my doctor put me on tramadol at the same time now. i alternate taking 2 of each every 3-4 hours and the relief is amazing. i get about 75% pain relief with that combo, versus about 50%."