"tramadol has completely changed my life.  after my second child, i started experiencing significant lower back pain as well as strange &quot;floating&quot; pains in different joints of my body.  after a terrible bout with vicodin, i discovered tramadol on my own and began taking it.  to my surprise it dealt with my pain and also leveled my generalized depressive/anxiety disorder! i&#039;ve taken this medicine for two years now and i only take three to four, 50mg tabs a day, along with tylenol and or ibuprofen, to handle my pains. if you have a real pain problem, use this properly; it&#039;s too bad doctors don&#039;t always understand that."