My tramadol problem advise?

A very difficult question, I found that each minor reduction in MST took about 3 weeks to recover from (same nasty Opiate stuff). I was faced with what looked like 6 months off work doing detox but managed to find Lofexidine/Britoflex/Clonidine - stopped taking MST immediately and took it for 3 weeks, job done. It took away all the withdrawal symptoms and allowed me get back to work really quickly. It's not an Opiate so there is no risk of further addiction. It made me a little sleepy but in comparison to withdrawal symptoms that was not a bother. I sourced it through my local drugs services team. The only down side was having to get my blood pressure checked by them every day.

Hi Simon,

Tramadol is pretty addictive. It can even be more addictive than vicodin in some cases. Its the nature of the drug and the effects on the SSRI's. It relieves pain but also has a mood enhancing part, which is probably why you don't feel well physically or mentally. I would either take the advice below or take 1 fewer pill per day until you are down to taking 0 per day. With addiction its hard because even though you might desire to only take a few, you will be tempted to take more. Also its a slippery slope with doctors. Do you tell them you are physically addicted? If you do, then in the future they may not prescribe any type of narcotics for you when you really need them. 

I hope this helps. 

I have read that the 4th day is the hardest, and that it probably will get easier from there, but everybody is different. Look up "Thomas's Recipe" online. It gives a list of very helpful tips as well as a list of supplements you can take to feel better. Good luck!

Hi Simon , i quit Tramadol last september, cold turkey- i was taking a huge amount- like you the first couple of days were ok then it really hit day 4,5,6, - everyone is different but i certainly began to feel better after day 6, the physical symptoms lessened every day, the mental WD's were far worse, but going to work helped to take my mind of them and by focusing on what i was doing at work was easier than when i was doing nothing in the evenings - easy for me to say, but i would stick at it, beat it now once and for all- the amount of people that try tapering off this drug and fail convinced me to do it the hard way - drink loads of water- take vitamins, if you can talk to your DR about your addiction- get him to prescribe 5 days worth of librium you take them on a sliding scale over the 5 days- really good for the mental WD's - i only found this out late in my WD's but it still helped- they are addictive, but if you stick to the 5 day course- the gains out weigh the risks- best of luck - let us know how you get on-

Hi Simon,

Librium sucks! I've had it before for alcohol withdrawal. It made me feel worse than ever but everyone is different. I would definitely ask for either Diazepam or Ativan in a very low dose for acute anxiety, nervousness, agitation, and sleep disturbance. Diazepam will also help loosen your muscle tightness. Librium didn't help me with any of that. And yes, librium is not addictive, but neither would a small amount of 2.5 to 5 mg of diazepam or ativan per day. Ativan is good at .5 mg about 2 to 3 times per day because it helps clear anything from your system and helps you relax. This is coming from a chronic pain sufferrer since 2006 who just got relief from surgery. (Therefore the alcohol problem I had before. I no longer drink.) And I have mental problems so I know the anxiety that can come from quitting a medication. Benzo's are not bad drugs if you take them as prescribed Good luck. At any rate I would either ween yourself off or ask for valium. At this point you are probably feeling pretty uncomfortable. I've been down that road and I feel for you. I sure hope you feel better soon. I'm not trying to say trade one addiction for another but for me Librium was a drug that made me feel completely numb. I couldn't get anything done. At least with a small amount of benzo you can get relief and continue to live your life. Also for the skeptics, there is a difference between physical addiction and mental addiction. Obviously yours is physical. Someone also mentioned the "Thomas Recipe". If you are already feeling sick I'm not sure I recommend it. I tried it once myself and you have to take a lot of different vitamins which will affect your stomach. Also depending on what other medications you are on, the vitamins may not go well with your meds. I once tried Kratom to wd from opiates. Its good for about 2 days for opiate wd if you can find a head shop with Powder Maang Da and mix a small amount with an orange Jamba Juice with a C booster, but it is not intended for use beyond a few days. Made me feel great the first few days. After that, it was downhill. I say go with the safer route. If you are experiencing sickness you could also ask for Promethazine. As I said before....if you mention to your doctor any kind of addiction they will put it into your chart and you can never get any kind of narcotic again. If that's what you want go for it, but what about if you get a chonic pain illness in the future? Tell them you want off of the Tramadol and you are anxious, nervous, and feel sick after not taking it for however many days. Ask for what you need. The doctors should do their job and not judge you. 

Hi again everyone. Firstly I apologise for not giving an individual reply to each of your comments. Please don't think me ignorant, I am just having a lot of trouble talking or even writing to people at the moment, but please know I have read all comments, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your kind words and advise. 

I'm ashamed to say that I eventually gave in to this battle, and began taking tramadol again at a low dose with the intent of weaning off them. I'm now taking 3 a day when working, and 2 when I have days off work. I plan to cut down on that weekly, but something unexpected has happened. Despite taking the tablets, I am still experiencing many flu symptoms and I now think that I genuinely have a virus at the same time as the withdrawals. Obviously I assumed it was just the tablets, but I am still ill after taking them. So looking back , I was probably over the worst of the withdrawals after 6 days.

for those who asked , I was NOT prescribed these by the doctors (not sure if I'm allowed to say this) however they were aware of my previous problems  with the pill. Last year when I quit them, They couldn't prescribe me anything to help because of that fact. So it came to my suprise that they gave me codeine this year, aware of my history with painkillers. Of course I can't pass the blame, the fault is mine alone, but I am wandering if maybe they CAN help me this time because they prescribed me codeine which slowly led me back to tramadol (again, I can't pass the blame but if I just pretend I blame them, maybe they could help). 

Again I thank you all, it has really opened my eyes to humanity making me realise there are good people in the world, when complete strangers will give you their time of day to try and help/advise random people. I really appreciate it