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any advice much appreciated on Tramadol withdrawal

Posted , 8 users are following.

em206
em206

After a horse riding accident when I was 14, I was eventually put onto Tramadol as nothing else worked . I have been on it for nearly 5 years and yesterday was my first day in well over a year of not taking any.

I was taking 800mg a day of Tramadol and back in September (2014) was given Amitriptyline 10mg too. As of yesterday I am now on 20mg Amitriptyline and a high dose of co-codamol.

I am now suffering of head aches, ear aches, stomach cramps, chest pains, anxiety, cold sweats, nausea, all over aching and being irritable. 

The frustrating this is is that tramadol has caused this but just one tablet will make me feel better. How can I cope?!?!?!?

Any advice is very much appreciated smile 

2 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • lynn09556
    lynn09556 em206

    Posted

    you poor thing. I was on Tramadol for 9 years taking anywhere from 250mg to 300 mg per day. I stopped cold turkey when I ran out this past mid September and went through HELL for the first couple weeks. All the same issues as you state plus not being able to sleep. Had to go to work and just deal with it. I did take about 4 Advil or something similar several times a day and anything over the counter to sleep for the first week. Still felt horrible that first few weeks but am happy to say if you stick with it you eventually do get better. I still have a horrible cough however, which I read is part of the symptoms. There IS LIFE after Tramadol believe me !!!
    • em206
      em206 lynn09556

      Posted

      Thank you very much to your reply. In the past when I tried to come off them I couldn't sleep and couldn't keep my legs still but luckily my amitriptyline sends me to sleep so don't suffer of that this time round. Its good that it hasn't taken you long to come off them. Do you use anything to substitute Tramadol? 
    • lynn09556
      lynn09556 em206

      Posted

      Yes my sleeping was horrible for the first 2 weeks and my legs I wanted to just cut off....but that went away after the 2 weeks slowly. I only take Advil or Ibufrofin now. I took Tramadol for an ARM /Neck issue that gives me pain but I just put heat on it at night and deal with it. That pain is much less than the withdraws. I plan on not taking anything else if I can ever help it. I am so against drug use and kept telling myself and everyone around me it was for my Neck and that it was not a narcotic until I stopped and then started reading everything I could on the drug. WOW....my error for not checking into it much earlier but I just trusted my Dr. as he said they ar very mild and no addictive. Until ealrier this year he wanted me off them so I kept pushing it off until September. Just plan on 2 weeks of feeling horrible and if you can stand that you are good. Just tell yourself this is a small price to pay for getting off. Trust me if I had a tramadol in front of me I just may have taken it during those 2 weeks.....glad I did not smile
  • Denizen
    Denizen em206

    Posted

    Above all else, what helped me get through early withdrawl was reminding myself that it's temporary, very temporary. Whatever your feeling will pass in a few days to a couple of weeks and you'll walk out the other side feeling better than you have in years. 

    Focus on the positives and remind yourself that any negative thoughts are a side effect and, again, very temporary.

    Personally I tink you're doing it the right way. Just stopping, gritting your teeth and toughing out the bads for a week or two is, in my opinion, far preferable to a gradual cut back over several months and experiencing varying levels of 'Tramadrawal' and depression.

    I wish you the best of luck in your journey.

  • thebird55
    thebird55 em206

    Posted

    What is your co-codamol dosage? The fact that you are taking that makes me believe that all your symptoms may be due to the SSRI withdrawal, even though some of them do sound like opoid withdrawal.

    Amitriptyline isn't an SSRI. Ask your doctor about taking an SSRI instead.

    • thebird55
      thebird55

      Posted

      Also, the seditive effects of amitriptyline will soon wear off as your body adjusts.
    • em206
      em206 thebird55

      Posted

      I'm not entirely sure without looking. The idea was to get me on Amitriptyline then gradually get myself off tramadol, however that didn't work and that's why now I'm on co-codamol as a substitute for tramadol 
    • thebird55
      thebird55 em206

      Posted

      SSRIs like sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), or fluoxetine (Prozac) would work better than amitriptyline, with or without the co-codamol treatment.. You would stiil have to face SSRI withdrawal, but at least you could first put the opoid withdrawal behind you. One problem with this approach is that you really have no idea how long it will take the SSRI to take effect, so you have to guess as to when to stop the opoids.

       

  • luis28539
    luis28539 em206

    Posted

      HI I am exacle the seme but what I don'tunderstand token about tramadol is if they helpe me with the pain what is the poit of stop them to take other pain kilas wich they dont take pain away and you dont fill well I think all tablet have seze efect and if I take other tablet they dont take the pain away and I fel bad eny way I dont see the point of worrying about it this is my opinion?
    • em206
      em206 luis28539

      Posted

      Because I've been on tramadol that long it wasn't helping with the pain anymore 
  • jen75534
    jen75534 em206

    Posted

    Today makes makes day 11  with no trammies!!!! Thanks u jesus! Doctor but me on Tylenol 3 with Codeine I slowly we tapered off them. Though I did suffer withdrawal from the team still. Sleeping was awful....restless legs. Ugh bathroom issues....try u best to stay side tracked. As hard as it will be. Don't just lay around. Small amounts of exercise.  Lots of water and electrolytes. Fruits and veggies.  Some thing to help with bathroom issues. Warm bathes with soothing bath salts. I felt like I was freezing all the time...still kinda do actually.  A strong multi vitamin.. I also read that iron can help with restless legs. Advil will help. If u have trouble sleeping benadryl may help. Or just get up and move.  Sleep when u can. If u have someone u can reach out to u should so someone knows what is going on. Trust me when I say the pain is worth it I finally feel human again.....kinda weird to feel things again... u can do this. This Forum will help. If u need anyone to talk to please feel free to reach out 
    • christina07790
      christina07790 jen75534

      Posted

      Hi.  I am not sure if this thread is too old to comment on but.... I will be off tramadol for good tomorrow after a high daily dose, /cold Turkey.  And I have never been more scared in my life.  Can someone who has been through this please tell me the withdrawal will pass???  I have heard all the horror stories and I don't know if I can do it....
  • pmcg21
    pmcg21 em206

    Posted

    hi em206, sorry you are suffering- it is classical opiod WDs - am now 20+ days off tramadol and solpodol- i was taking 1000-1200 mgs tramadol and 20  solpodol a day- the co-cod will help lessen the effect of the wd's- - the problem with tramadol is that it is synthetic opiod and its pharmacology is not like other opiods- it was originaly marketed as being non addictive which has been proved to be total b......s

     the WD's are therefore unpredictable and not well researched as of yet. 

       You have to remember that it will pass - it took me 14-16 days to feel anyway normal- but i was taking quite alot - you should notice a reduction in the physical symptoms after a week or so - drink as much as you can take magnesium and iron supplements- if you are in trouble discuss with your doctor taking a short course 3-5 days- of librium- it is tried and tested for de-tox but may be counter-indicated with the other medication your on- the doc will know- ibuprofen is also useful for any pains or aches- keep in close toutch with your doc- it is important, as some of the mental side effects can be pretty daunting and frightenening- its important to remember no matter how you are feeling the cause of these feelings is the drug draining out of your system and your body and mind screaming for more- you may have to tough out a couple of long nites and days- but it will pass - best of luck - hang in there - keep reaching out 

  • Chester_Field
    Chester_Field em206

    Posted

    Coming off of Tramadol is extremely tough.  The withdrawals are horrible, and they last for weeks.  But it is possible to stop taking it for good.  I was dumb enough to do it twice.  The only way to come off of Tramadol is to slowly taper off a little at a time.  If you have withdrawals, coming off cold turkey feels nearly impossible.  One of the worst withdrawals is the extreme restlessness, making it nearly impossible to sleep for weeks.  Tramadol stays in your system for a long time.  You will need to taper off slowly until you are down to a half a pill a day.  Then you may need to take that 1/2 pill for over a week until you are albe to come off it 100% and not have bad withdrawal symtems.  Or you can see how long you can eventually go without taking a pill, and then only take a 1/2 pill when you feel the withdrawal systems coming back.  Again, tramadol stays in your system a long time.  This is not a quick process, but I promise, it's doable! 
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