"i&#039;ve been using ultram/tramadol for the past 15  years for lower back pain. without a doubt they are a life saver for me i&#039;ve tried several different pain relievers... vicoden, percocet, otc and termal patches and they don&#039;t provide the relief that ultram does. the side effects i&#039;ve noticed is sweating and sometimes decline in appetite... but the benefits outweigh these minor effects. with that said i must also say that if i have some other sort of pain in different parts of my body i can&#039;t honestly say they help. "