Tramadol advice

[girlgerms]

Have you tried to taper down? Going from 800 mg to nothing is no good. I' ve seen some posts on here from people who are really good on giving advice of how to do a safe taper., mwybe search around for that. Good luck to you, I have never had a seizure on tramadol and I have exceeded 800 mg several times, a good friend of mine had a major siezure his first time using it. Strange drug for sure

[billstu]

Thanks, will look about, in the end will come down to will power

[EIT]

@billstu they are really hard to get off. I, like you, would take well over the recommended 400 mg max dose at the hieght of my addition. If you do decide to stop there is only one thing that I have found that almost completely alleviates the withdrawl symptons but, I cannot mention here (but, it is not a synthetic med.). After about 4 days you will feel much better. You will go through a period of time where you are so glad you gave it up. Try to resist the urge to take them again by telling yourself you can handle it and it will only be for x amount of time, or I will not take more than y.

Maybe just tell yourself you need a break from the stuff and take it from there

It is really hard. I still think about taking them again. But, I havn't.

[Good Apollo]

@EIT I think you are ok mentioning something like "I used Vicodin to get get off tramadol" or something as this is a general discussion related to medication and not related in any way to sourcing- but better safe than sorry- I appreciate your discretion though. You can always pm a mod and ask too btw.

So for me, I had to get a script for Vicodin to get off tramadol. Only way couldn't get down below 50 mg a day felt like death- if you were referring to an illegal drug though then yeah probly keep it shhh lol. But this section is "all about pain" meds and fighting pain etc...

[EIT]

@nopizza the helpfull drug I am reffering to is illegal unless you live in a state (e.g., CA) that allows you to get a prescription for medical use.

I figure it is better to be discrete than break a rule. Thanks for the advice, still learning the ropes

[Good Apollo]

Medical marijuana is acceptable to discuss in as far as you are referring to MJ prescribed by a doc weed pot ganj herb look I said it all now you don't have to feel uncomfortable @EIT lol

[salizander]

Withdrawing from tramadol is a bitch no matter how you approach it or how you taper. If it were just physical withdrawls, then yes, you will feel better after a week or so. But tramadol is also an SNRI, so the mental withdrawl will last far longer. I'm not trying to be harsh, but want you to be certain of the facts...

[EIT]

@salizander I absolutely agree.

I was prescribed Wellbutrin (NDRI) after detox to help (did not want side effects associated with SNRI). I took Wellbutrin for three months and I believe it really helped.

[alumni]

There is a growing understanding among professionals who work in addiction recovery that prescribing an antidepressant shortly after detox can help many people with the symptoms of Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome.
This period of time can be critical because, even though the acute withdrawal symptoms have abated, the potentially soul crushing depression and general lassitude caused by stopping opioids may last for several months.
In my experience, this time of post acute withdrawal is when most relapses occur. It's like, damn, I thought I was over this nightmare but apparently I'm not so screw it.
It doesn't always work obviously but it's worth discussing with your doctor if you need help quitting.

[Kept]

I was on 50mg 3x per day for about 6 years. Now that I've been off that drug for about a year I can see that not only was i addicted to it, it was also doing next to nothing for my pain. I usually took my 1st dose at 7am (I got up at 5:30ish but always tried to wait a little so I didn't have to go as long during the day to space out my 3 doses.). In the event I would forget to bring my second dose to work with me, I was a wreck by 12. I was always in pain for the most part and since the pain was worse when I didn't take it with in a few hours, I figured it was helping. But I think it was the withdrawal that made my pain worse. I'm on Norco 10/325 3x per day as needed and the first few months I had a really hard time stretching it out until the refill was due. -I really think those first few months I was going through major withdrawals even though I was on the Norco. Now, not only is my pain tolerable more than half the time, I still have quite a bit when that 30 day refill time comes and has been like that for about 5 months now.

If I forget to take the Norco, I just forget. A lot of times on good days I'll half the dose. Obviously I'll feel a little something if I go for like 12 or so hours with out anything but it was nothing like what tramadol.

My grandma has been taking 25mg 2x per day for a few years now too and she got sick once and the dr rx'ed antibiotics because a cat scratched her arm or something. She did t think you could just "mix" Rx Meds like that so she stopped the tramadol and got really sick and no one could figure out why. Sure enough as soon as she took her tramadol she was fine. Now she knows and she notices how awful she feels when she doesn't take it. Maybe it's a family thing with us...who knows. Good luck and be careful!

Withdrawing from tramadol is a bitch no matter how you approach it or how you taper. If it were just physical withdrawls, then yes, you will feel better after a week or so. But tramadol is also an SNRI, so the mental withdrawl will last far longer. I'm not trying to be harsh, but want you to be certain of the facts...

-no wonder it was so bad. Thanks for the info salizander! I wish I'd known that years ago.

*This post was auto-merged. The following text was added 7 minutes after the last post:*
@salizander - How long do you think the mental withdraws can last? If I was on it for that many years, maybe that would help explain a few things. Stupid tramadol. I'm so mad right now for being so stupid all this time. Occasionally like maybe 2x/month (on average) on days where I was just really tired I took two tramadol in the am instead because I thought it would be less likely to make me even more tired than the norco would. I haven't done that in a few weeks, but I hope that isn't prolonging any of those nasty effects. I'm so never touching that stuff again. EVER!

[salizander]

@Kept Several years ago I tried to get off tramadol. I was off of it for six months, and let me tell ya, the mental withdrawls NEVER stopped. I am not saying that this will happen to you, but I have over 12 years of experience with this dug, and it is an absolute nightmare to try to get off of. I know I'm not sounding encouraging, but I just want you to understand the reality of this drug. The physical withdrawl was a walk in the park compared to the mental withdrawl...

[poocheroo]

Prescribed tramadol for back pain and trigeminal neuralgia and I hated the stuff. It did nothing for my pain, gave me horrible headaches and insomnia. Also just an all over off sort of feeling, like a little dizzy and queazy. Just was not for me.

[Jkirk2012]

Sounds like I will never try tramadol. It just seems too risky with all the seizures and withdrawals for a drug that may or may not work for me.

[Kelly15120]

I am tapering off now...asked my phychiatrist about it and she said not much experience....now to my GP....good guy.

To me it works better than hydrocodone and oxycodone but a complete loss of sex drive.

I am seeing the doc this week. There is a doctor that Titrates tramadol....so the amounts are extremly accurate....he also gets u on an ssri for a short time after and tapers that fronm the start!

[dingus66]

My wife is Thai, and when I recently went on a trip with her to Thailand before we left we stopped at a local pharmacy so she could pick up some birth control for her friend here in the states. While we were in there, I couldn't resist asking her to ask the pharmacist if they had any pills for pain (I was hoping for hydrocodone). Instead she showed me she had Tramadol which I had never heard of before. I only bought one pack of 10 because I didn't want to look like a pill head in front of my wife. I tried them and it seemed pretty good. I made the mistake of taking one before work and had a hard time talking to anyone that day. And do you want to want to know how much a pack of 10 Tram's cost in Thailand? 30 baht, which is roughly equivalent to $1. No prescription needed, just walk into a local pharmacy and say gimme.

[Syncopated]

I'm still surprised that Tramadol works for some. Goes to show how different people can be when it comes to chemistry.

I was on Tramadol for a brief period of time. It did nothing for me... until I stopped taking it. Then I got really sad for a day or two. It was -weird-.

Back then I was very naive about how all this pain stuff works, and have never liked anything about going to the doctor.... So, instead of going back and saying, "dude, what's the deal?", I just suffered.

[TenaciousE]

From what I have read you need to reach a steady state in your bloodstream for Tramadol to work and this takes three days.

Tramadol controlled my chronic headaches and spondylitis. In exchange it blunted my personality, killed my libido, blurred my vision, impaired my cognitive function, gave me constipation, as well a difficulty urinating, and caused insommnia. Because of its SNRI properities I got addicted/dependent on the calming effect and ability to concentrate that antidepressants can do. Withdrawing from it was hell on earth.

I would tread carefully with Tramadol. Give it a week to reach a steady state before determining if it kills your pain. But realize that if it works for your pain you are going to have to live with the side effects and risk the potential of physical and psychological dependency/addiction.

[tadpol]

For me Tramadol was good at first, managed pain, very mild high- very mild- mostly a sense of being content. It was playing with my seratonin I later learned. WD is every bit as hellish as described. I would rather detox from hydro for sure. It seemed to take forever to be done with (the dt's). It took MONTHS for my sleep to get back to where I could sleep even 4 hours and sleep deprivation can make you insane. I would strongly advise against getting on this ride if you don't have a serious medical reason and even if you do...still don't! If your need is legit get better meds from your doctor. You will be so much happier in the long run.

One of the biggest problems for many of us - looking to the future - will be the ability to even find a compassionate doctor to work with us. With the changes made all across the US this past year (changing Soma, etc) it's only a matter of time before the crack down has dried up all sources. It will be a horrible, horrible time for CP's everywhere.

[longdongsilver]

I used to sub Tramadol for my OC when I would run out. I would stock up on them when I went ******** because I could just buy them over the counter in either 50 or 100mg tabs. I really dont like them that much. I would usually have to take 300mg at one time just to take the edge off.

[motherfooker]

I was on Tramadol 37.5/Tylenol. Then 50mg and 100mg. I felt absolutely nothing from it. TBQH it was a waste. If it works for you great! But I would advise to STAY AWAY from it. Luckily I never got a seizure or bad withdrawal problems.