I am also one of those folks that Tramadol actually works for. I think for anything muscle spasm related, it is one of the best meds out there. It actually works on the issue, not the surrounding problems. Anything pain med just dulls it, anything muscle relaxant requires so much to stop it that you might as well be in a bathtub for 8 hours. That said, the side effects are awful and woefully misunderstood. It makes me incredibly irritable and the pain relief duration is maybe an hour or two. Not a big help in a 12-15 hour day normally. Tramadol for me was a replacement for Darvocet when it was outlawed. My doc swore darvocet did absolutely nothing more than Tylenol would do and yet it was the difference between normalcy and excruciating pain for me. When it went, Tramadol was the replacement. After struggling with it, I finally got my doc to put me on Talwin and while it isn't as effective as the Darvocet was, the somewhat normalcy returned. The duration was 3-4 hours and that meant no roller coaster of suffering and relief like with Tramadol and also no mood shifts. 3 times a day. That said, withdrawal is a bitch as well. Take tramadol wd and stab yourself with a pencil. That's how bad it is. And still, just a decent premium Maeng Da works much better on the Talwin withdrawal than the Tramadol. Part of the relief trigger from MD is the opoid portion and flicking that bean receptor in the back of your head. Tramadol doesn't hit there directly, it's my understanding that the same stuff that triggers mood changes are what cascades to the opoid receptors which is why it isn't as strong as a reaction between Tramadol and say 5mg Hydrocodone, so even satisfying the opoid receptors, the brain without Tramadol is still starving at the core level and not just the euphoria portion. The MD will need to basically mask the symptoms of Tramadol withdrawal in that core portion and not just the receptors. So, even though it is less addictive and less powerful, I have had a really hard time finding anything or any strain that works for Tramadol withdrawals, which is another reason I have been more successful with Talwin as opposed to Tramadol. Anyway. Hope it helps, and good luck in your quest.