How many mg of tramadol is equal to 5 mg me hydrocodone?

Not Medical Advice: Using a Equianalgesic dosage conversion calculator, a 5 mg Hydrocodone PO ((24 hr) opioid dose) is equivalent to 50 mg Tablet (IR) Tramadol PO (33.33 to 62.5 mg). But with 25% reduction, it is equivalent to 37.5 mg (25 to 46.88 mg).

Please note that the equianalgesic conversions used in the calculator are based on the American Pain Society guidelines and critical review papers regarding equianalgesic dosing. But there is an overall lack of data regarding most equianalgesic conversions, and there is a significant degree of interpatient variability.

So for this reason, reasonable clinical judgment, breakthrough (rescue) opioid regimens, and dose titration are of paramount importance.

When switching between opioids, equianalgesic conversions may overrate or overestimate the potency of the new opioid due to incomplete cross-tolerance (can occur due to variability in opioid binding).

There is no evidence-based recommendation for an appropriate reduction, but most pain experts recommend a dose reduction between 25-50% when converting between different opioids, with a consideration for little or no cross-tolerance reduction in patients with poorly controlled pain.

Tramadol is a narcotic-like pain reliever used to treat moderate to severe pain. It provides inferior analgesia to hydrocodone-acetaminophen in patients with acute musculoskeletal pain. And compared with opioid analgesics, Tramadol does not induce significant respiratory depression, cardiac side effects, constipation, or have significant abuse potential.

The more you know about any medication you use, the better you can be sure you're using it properly. Check out some medication safety tips at WebMD.