Active withdrawal - can anybody advise quickly???

Treatment and medication
1

common story - I think. Dr. Gave me Rx for Tramadol stating "not a narcotic, may or may not be "habit forming" - no mention of addictive. Rx says take 2 50 mg tablets 3 times a day. Been doing that about 3 years. Don't have the need anymore so I began to wean myself. Started not about a week a ago decreasing dosage by half. Then every day would try to go an hour longer between two pills. I have 7 50 mg tabs left - but I have refills. I DO NOT want to refill. I took one @ 7:30 am after no sleep so that I could take a benzo to get much needed sleep. It's now 10:30 pm. Feeling aweful. Symptoms like I'm reading others have had - insomnia, aches - RLS, uncontrollable sneezing & runny nose, can't keep still, crying one minute, want to rip the heads off my four teenaged kids & husband (verbally) the next etc. feel like crud - big time. I REALLY want to take one of those pills so my night isn't horrible - having a pity party as I write this with tears coming down my cheeks. Do I take the pill & try to go longer tomorrow, or do I go "Johnny Cash" style (as they say in the US, which means I just suck it up and keep myself away from others & roll around in bed & on the toilet for days??? Am I prolonging the enevitable or making it harder on myself??

i have never taken more than the prescribed dosage, but I've taken it regularly for a long time. 300 mg a day. Pretty much like clockwork.

ive been on 100 mg (50 in am & 50 late night for four days & it just keeps getting worse.) im a mess. Anybody???

2

Some people have had good results with taking another SSRI (like Paxil or Prozac, for example) while fighting the opiate type withdrawal. The other side of that would be to take regular opioids while adjusting to change in seratonin levels. Think of it as fighting one demon at a time.

I hesitate to say this, but if you have access to those kinds of medications and want to try one of those methods, it might be okay to go ahead and take tramadol so you can rest. I don't like to recommend taking a step backwards, but sometimes it can help you go forward. 

3

hi, you have dropped the dose WAY to Quickly- you need to use those refills to taper off this drug- this drug is horendous to get off- you need to get back up to 200mg a day for a few days- when you are stable on that dose drop by 50mg a WEEK - you have to do this slowly- idealy you should get medical advice from a doctor with experience in addiction - most doctors are clueless as regards the WD's regarding tramadol as it is sold as non-addictive- it is synthetic opiod - its WD's have been described as been similar to heroin- if you try and drop the last 100mg too quickly you are heading for a world of pain-

 20+ days ago i came off 20 50mg tramadol and 12 solpodol a day- it nearly killed me- i have done WD's from alcohol and opiods before it was nothing like as bad as this- the mental effects were the worst i have ever known- so please be careful this drug aint for messing with- do not use other opiods to lessen the effects- they are counter indicated- unless done under medical supervision - this is not something you want to mess with either. you really do not want to be trying DIY solutions when coming off this drug its to serious- i wish you the best of luck it, just be careful - get medical advice-they put you on it - let them get you off it safely- 

 

4

I am sorry for your pain...we all here have the same issue and you are NOT alone! Truth be told, Tramadol is a nightmare no matter how you get off them BUT you can get off of them. Don't beat yourself up..take one day at a time and realize you are making the effort to quit. Develop a plan and stick to it, even if it takes you 2 years! The most important thing is you!!! I am taking 1-50mg tablet at night for sciatica, have been for a couple yrs now, never "upped" the dosage. Currently down to 1/2 of a 50mg tablet and day 12...still having WD's (because I did this too quickly!). The mental part of this WD is the worst! I think if that wasn't the case, I could have stopped a long time ago..regular WD's are RLS (from the pit!), body aches in places I never had pain before, severe mood swings. leg cramping, diarrhea, nausea (both which go away quickly). This forum is the best so far..you have come to the right place! Keep in touch and don't give up! Life is precious and short smile YOU can do this!

5

Thank you. My goal was to try not to take that pill last night - nodded off for about 1 hour with a hot water bottle between my legs & feet. I woke up at 12:30 am (17 hours from last 50 mg dose) & took it. 

Little background... Both myself & my husband are in the medical field - he is a Dr., but not one with experience with addiction. We do have Zoloft available in the house that I could take, but would it help me now as I know that when taken for their intended purpose, they can take up to weeks to have the desired affect. I have the benzodiazepines because I already suffer from intermittent insomnia & have read that some have found relief from the mood swings & agitation.

thank you.

6

Thank you. My goal was to try not to take that pill last night - nodded off for about 1 hour with a hot water bottle between my legs & feet. I woke up at 12:30 am (17 hours from last 50 mg dose) & took it. 

Little background... Both myself & my husband are in the medical field - he is a Dr., but not one with experience with addiction. We do have Zoloft available in the house that I could take, but would it help me now as I know that when taken for their intended purpose, they can take up to weeks to have the desired affect. I have the benzodiazepines because I already suffer from intermittent insomnia & have read that some have found relief from the mood swings & agitation.

thank you.

7

I just wanted to update... Not quite sure if I'm supposed to do that under the heading or replies...

i read each one about 3 times. Thank you very much. I didn't know if anybody would respond. What I heard from those replies is that SSRI's can be helpful, I'm doing this way to quickly & that the mental part of the WD's are the worst.

i mentioned in a post below that I made it 17 hours from 50 mg @ 7:30 am yesterday to 12:30 am today. That's still 100 mg (perhaps a tad less) per 24 hour period. I did call the Dr. That prescribed me the Tramadol - on his personal mobile phone @ 8:30 am & I'm still waiting now @ 4:00 pm for him to call back. He usually does.

a couple questions... With the SSRI's, do they help allieviate the WD's right away, or do they take the same 2-6 week period of time to "kick in"  when used for their intended purpose? 

Ive made arrangements, which is NOT easy, to battle this out in my bed at home for one week. My husband changed his work schedule, can take on our four kids, I changed my work.

ive read how some people have gotten off cold turkey, as they put it. I've looked at the lists of symptoms that is provided by the medical community in the US & read lots & lots of posts here and I'm experiencing just about every one except dizziness & vomiting - so far. (The uncontrollable sneezing & runny nose wasn't listed, but I see several on this forum have mentioned it. Being in medicine, that one really threw me for a loop.) after four days of sneezing, I couldn't believe I was going to have an allergy attack while going through this, but I now know.

i was hoping that either spreading out these last 6 devil pills (even cutting them in half) and just getting over it might be possible. Or not taking anymore at all and just suck it up & get it over with. It sounds like those that replied don't feel that is possible.  I really, really, don't want to increase my dosage. Staying on 200 for a week & cutting back having some WD's & waiting another week until they go away & my body acclimates only to do that again sounds aweful. 

Cant I just roll around, cry, sweat, & run to the bath room and finish this off? I've got 1 week to go through the really bad stuff without having to do anything but suffer. (That sounds lovely, doesn't it??) can't I do that?

im taking my Blood Pressure, so far, so good. Not very sunny, but trying to get outside as long as I can stand it, drinking water & eating - although food tastes gross. If I made it to 6:30 tonight (or even 7:30) that would be 18-19 hours apart. 

Please let me know what you think. Even when my Dr. Calls, I'm not sure how informed he is on getting off this stuff. He's an excellent physician, but this stuff is just getting "noticed" in the U.S. 

found an an electric blanket to wrap around my legs when I did sleep. That was much better than the hot water bottle - by a long shot! I cranked it up as high as it would go & that was better than without it.

any feedback would be very much appreciated. 

I know I'm an American on a UK medical forum, but if anyone can help I've got a pair of socks & a blanket with the Union Jack on it & I swear I'll use them through this whole thing! The U.S. doctors don't know dung about this subject. (I usually have a much stronger supply of wit, but I'm all out at present, so I'll just go put on my socks now...) 

thank you so much for the advice & support. There go the tears again. (I'm not a crying person, so that really freaked me out at first. I'm crying about every 1/2 a 1 hour & I know it's just how it has to be. 

 

8

I'm not sure about the timetable for the SSRIs to kick in, but I would think it could vary wildly.

I believe that many (if not most) doctors have no idea about tramadol's effects on seratonin. I was never addicted to it, as I find it very unpleasant to begin with. It was research into why it affects me the way it does that led me to the discovery of the SSRI connection. (I have problems with SSRIs, too.) That same research also led me here, to this forum. After reading just a few posts, it became apparent to me that the "SSRI effect" was a major part with the withdrawals.

I am also in the US. Here, we have the option of breaking tablets, in the tapering process. The UK doesn't have that luxury (capsules only).

9

Thanks,

called my MD again ( reached him this time) to tell him what I was doing & he told me to take devil pill # 6 tonight, take 50 mg Zoloft (we have that in the house - although he said Prozak is better) again tomorrow for four days with Zoloft & then wean the Zoloft @ 25 mg for two days & I should be good.

he said after pill #6 tonight, not to take the remaining 5. 

Pits kind of tough. We know, know of or work with nearly all local physicians & it's humiliating.

i really hope he's given me good advice., what scares me is reading how it takes 6 months - 2 years to get it out of your system?? That seems so, so long. 

I did ask him about cutting those pills in half, but in the end, he gave the above advice. I'm pretty steadfast, but I hope he's not setting me up for a stint of hell that I can't endure. I've read & read on this forum & got everything that has been suggested that I know won't hurt me.

a Recently, the physicians of the area I live in have talked about addictive drugs, how they're being sold etc. Tram was mentioned, but the other drugs were changed to place a higher restriction on them. I don't think most of them know the SSRI-like problems that occur with it. When I'm don't, if I'm brave enough & it doesn't humiliate me or my husband, I just might speak in front of them. 

Thats for a later date - I'm going back to thrashing around in bed now. 

Thank you so much. I've learned so much already. I had NO IDEA what I was in for. Please, let it be over soon!

 

10

I am a nurse in the US.  I have worked in mental health for 20 years. Your Dr is giving you the correct advice. Be careful about taking antidepressants also because they also are very difficult to get off of. Sometimes they are necessary but all I'm saying is be careful.

11

It is Horrible I know.  If you are afraid of ripping off heads you may want to lower your dosage down as much as possible before kicking them altogether.  Stopping abruptly off Tramadol can cause seizures.  

12

Thanks Gail. It's weird, I didn't feel too depressed until I started weaning. So I hope that aspect goes away. He said do 50 mg Zoloft for 4 days the two more days at 25 mg each. I'm hoping that doesn't "stick" & that I can just put it all down. (And not down the hatch, if you know what I mean!) 

pit's comforting to know that you have experience in mental health care. 

My experience gives me little to no help with it. Same as my husband. I carefully read about Tram before taking it and thought - oh that's great it's an analgesic - just a stronger Tylenol. Only possibly "habit forming" was what the PDR said. 

Thank you very much. I'll keep in touch. Fingers crossed.

13

thanks Nick,

i just wanted to say to say that when I said ripping their heads off I meant verbally - that I feel like I have a hair trigger. I don't feel violent at all. 

However, because none of them deserve for me to be scolding them or coming down on them harshly, we decided to tell them I'm suffering from a very bad flu. 

I don't want anyone to think I'd hurt myself or others. I'd admit it if if I felt that way, & thank goodness I don't. Fingers crossed on that too. That would be terrible.

14

i really hope that schedule works for you- i would still maitain that it is too quick- here they use librium 10's for WD's - usually start at 4x10's for 4 days and then 3x2 days 2x2 and then 1x2 - these are normaly dispensed on a daily perscription- i wish you the best of luck - stay strong

15

I admire your dedication, but I agree with others.  You are cutting back WAY too fast, fill the script you have.  You will probably need more beyond the one script.  If you can cut in half and do fine, that's fabulous, stay at that dose for a few weeks.  Then try maybe half a tablet less or one full tablet a day less and go awhile.  The key is SLOW or the withdrawls are HORRIBLE.

Good luck to you, I know it's tough but you can do it.  Cold turkey works too but it's horrible, it took over a week before I stopped being miserable and even then I felt kind of sick.  I wouldn't ever do that again. 

16

Were you also led to believe this was a safe alternative to Hydrocodone/Oxycodone?  Then it turns out it's just as bad if not worse?  I have been on hydro's and Oxy's several times in my life through back surgeries.  NEVER have I been addicted or went through withdrawls.  ONLY with this "safe" alternantive. (Tramadol)

17

I wish I'd had more information before going at it so hard. When I spoke to my Dr he said to take that last 50 mg tablet last night (which I did around 11:00 pm). It's almost 10:00 pm now. I've spent about a week with mild WD's while doing what I now understand was an expedited wean & an additional 5 days of pretty hellish WD's, but still taking about 50 mg. I realized I was calling today day 6, but really today probably isn't even day one because I'm not at 24 hours without the meds. I think taking the small dose of Zoloft helps. I've read so many posts & my nightstand looks like a pile from a pharmacy. Benadryl, Ibuprophin, Tylenol, iron, magnesium, vit C, Gatorade for electrolytes, 

i honestly hear when people are saying that I'm going to fast, but I'm really scared that all this was for nothing and that I'll be experiencing it again if I were to go back. The more I read, the more frightened I get. 

It feels like time has slowed to a crawl & that I can only do things in 10-15 minute increments. I've got an electric blanket on high on my legs - that & hot baths seem to help.

bear with me, I know my thoughts are jumping around... nevermind. I was going to write about how I have 4 kids that depend on me, but doesn't everyone have responsibilities? 

Is yawning without being able to sleep something anybody has experienced? I'm sneezing & yawning like crazy.

thank you all. I let you know how the real day one goes. Fingers crossed that it doesn't get too much worse. 😁

18

Hi conveluted..I didn't see any update from you and was just wandering how your detox went ? I take 150 to 209 mg a day for scoliosis and have taken for about 6 months.  I was led to believe these were a safe medication. ..until the day I decided not to take anymore!  Hell  is an understatment to how I felt then I quickly pUT it all together and realized I was withdrawaling. Boy did I ever feel like a loser.  I am a mother of two small children and to have to come to reality that I was withdrawaling from a pill made me feel like a drug addict or something.   I quickly continued my dose daily to avoid any symptoms and now I am just waiting a week and planning to come off cold turkey.  I know what I'm in for and completely dreading it but I have to go through it to get to a better place.  I was wandering how long it took you to feel better and "normal" again ..I am so scared!

19

I feel your pain quitting cold turkey off of tramadol i have found these method elivate the rls of the legs as i am battling it hard at night

I take 25 mg of zoloft

Prescribed to me takes about 5 hours for it to start to work

I then put a lidocain patch on my legs one patch cut into two pieaces

Then i either take 800 mg of ip profen or 2 tylabol pms

If like now i cant sleep i take a very hot bath