Is it safe to continue taking Tramadol before surgery?

Thank you for your question.  The best advice you can receive on this matter is from your anesthesiologist, your pain doctor, and your surgeon.  It should be safe to continue taking your Tramadol up to the day of surgery, and into the post-op period.  You and your physicians should also be aware that you may have an increased tolerance to the narcotic pain medicines given for anesthesia and for post-op pain, and modify treatment accordingly.

Chronic pain is a common problem in our society, and many
patients are on pain medications on a regular basis in order to manage their
baseline discomfort. This poses a concern for pain control in patients
considering an elective procedure.It
does not mean that you can’t have surgery, but the post-operative pain may be a
little more difficult to control.Being
on an opioid pain medicine like Tramadol regularly can “desensitize” you
somewhat to its effects, and it may take more of the medicine or a change to a
different pain medicine in order to control the surgical pain.In that situation it is important to discuss
your medicines and pain with your doctor BEFORE surgery so that you can come up
with a plan or strategy of how to handle your pain, and a realistic expectation
of how much pain you may experience.Sometimes it is even helpful to see a pain specialist (these are usually
anesthesiologists who specialize in pain control) beforehand to avoid a crisis
or subject you to too much pain after surgery. If the Tramadol is something you could do
without obviously stopping it before surgery would be preferred, but do not
substitute Motrin/Ibuprofen or any other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory as they
will increase the risk of bleeding with surgery.Most importantly make a plan for pain
management with your surgeon and you will have a safer, better surgical
experience.

Thanks for your question.  You did the right thing advising your surgeon and anesthesiologist about all of your medications prior to surgery.  It is not uncommon to administer an anesthetic to a patient taking chronic narcotic pain meds.  The anesthesiologist can adjust the medications required while you are asleep accordingly.