The WORTHLESS Painkiller Sitting in Your Medicine Cabinet (You Won’t Believe This…)
After 40 years of practicing medicine, I can tell you one thing about doctors…
We hate seeing our patients in pain.
But I can’t for the life of me understand why doctors keep handing out opioid painkillers like candy.
Countless deaths… millions of lives ruined… billions paid in legal settlements.
And we’re still doling out opioids for simple procedures like getting your wisdom teeth pulled.
But the bad news keeps piling up… and this latest development is a doozy.
Because research is showing that one of the most popular opioids around isn’t just dangerous… it actually doesn’t work.
And there’s a good chance that you or someone you love is taking this medication right now.
For years, tramadol was marketed as the “safer” opioid.
Like there’s any such thing.
Let’s get real. It’s still addictive. It can still kill you. And when it comes to pain, well, don’t expect much.
A massive new study published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine looked at 19 clinical trials on tramadol, involving more than 6,500 patients.
They found that tramadol was really good at increasing your risk of heart-related problems, like chest pain and heart failure. That was along with the standard side effects like nausea, dizziness, and sleepiness.
But guess what tramadol wasn’t particularly good at?
Relieving pain.
Researchers found that the pain relief delivered by tramadol wasn’t enough to be clinically relevant.
In other words, you probably wouldn’t notice.
But do you know what is clinically relevant? The people who die on the drug.
Back in 2019, a joint research team from China and America found that people who were prescribed tramadol for arthritis pain were up to 88% more likely to be dead in a year, compared to other pain relievers.
And this is the “safe” opioid, right?
When prescribing medications, doctors are supposed to look at risk and benefit. Tramadol fails at both.
If you’re taking tramadol, talk to your doctor about moving to a safer, non-opioid alternative. And consider getting a red light therapy device for your home.
I’ve sworn by red light therapy for years for pain relief. And unlike a lot of the pain medications out there these days, it’s both safe and effective.
View Sources
BMJ Group. (2025, December 25). This popular painkiller may do more harm than good. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 29, 2025, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251225080723.htm
Zeng, C., Dubreuil, M., LaRochelle, M. R., Lu, N., Wei, J., Choi, H. K., Lei, G., & Zhang, Y. (2019). Association of tramadol with all-cause mortality among patients with osteoarthritis. JAMA, 321(10), 969–982. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.1347
