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Coming off Tramadol

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fizzysoap
fizzysoap

Hello all,

I am after some friendly advice. 12 Jan I had a riding accident, hurt my shoulder. It was previously injured (dislocation/fracture of humerus) and it's been weak ever since. Doc put me on cocodamol as of 14th, and then on the 17th I was back at docs because they were making me sick. He put me on tramadol. 2x 50mg tablets three times a day.

I wasn't warned about any possible side effects, other than they may cause drowsiness.

11 weeks later, I can't kick it. I no longer require the tramadol for pain. They tried a weaning programme. I was given Tramadol SR tablets. I cut from 300mg a day to 200mg. One tablet morning, one tablet evening for a week. The week after I was cut down to 100mg tablet in the morning, then nothing.

I lasted a day before I used some left over regular tramadol.

The effects were horrific when I initially changed the dosage, but I thought it would be okay with cutting down and then coming off completely. I was ready for some side effects, but not what happened in reality.

Headaches, nosebleeds, sickness, sweats, freezing cold, aggressiveness, exhaustion, tearful, restless, insomnia.

I had some very very dark thoughts that I haven't had in years. I took the tramadol and felt ten times better.

I have a doctor's appointment today, but they tend to be as much use as a chocolate teapot. Any recommendations or information you think will be helpful to take with me is greatfully appreciated.

A nurse over the phone expressed she thought that the time frame for coming off them was too short, and the leap from 100mg to none was too much.

Please help.

I know I have a problem, but I'm scared to come off them and become the horrid, nasty person I was at the weekend. My rational thoughts tell me once I stop for good I'll be back to normal, but I don't have those rational thoughts when I try and come off them. I need them to cope with the most simple of tasks.

18 likes, 387 replies

387 Replies

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  • colleen42120
    colleen42120 fizzysoap

    Posted

    Iam pleased I started to look this up, I've been on 100mg three

    times daily sometimes four I take with another tablet, told doc the other day that I wanted to come of my meds and go down.the herble route, said I needed to be weaned of my other tablet but could just stop Tramdol, anybody with half a brain cell knows you cant just stop something you have been taken for years were do they get these doctors from? Good luck to the

    other suffers.

  • susan86741
    susan86741 fizzysoap

    Posted

    I've responded to you b5 I don't know if you received my answer
  • TNelz
    TNelz fizzysoap

    Posted

    Well, this discussion has officially scared the heck out of me.  I've been on Tramadol for around 18 months or so.  I only take 100-150mg a day, but consistently, every day.  Supply is limited, I have my own business and a wife, otherwise I'm afraid I might be tempted to take a lot more.

    A couple weeks ago I started taking Escitalopram for some ongoing depression, and after a while I started getting tight muscles and tremor-like feelings, mostly in my neck and head but hands too.  I think (and my doctor agreed) that this is most likely a symptom of serotonin syndrome.  The same thing happened when I tried Citalopram last year, and I stopped because of tremors. I knew even before this that I shouldn't be taking Tramadol all the time, but this seems to be the motivation I need because my mental health and happiness is a lot more important to me than the comfort of Tramadol. Besides, even though it can feel good it tends to make me tired especially after the 2nd dose of the day. Also, I figure it might be good timing now that I'm ramping up on an SSRI, which I'm hoping will ease the pain of withdrawal a litle.

    I'm going to taper down but I know its not going to be easy because I've noticed that if I try to go more than a day without a pill I start to get flu-like symptoms, whether it be spine aches, chills, upset stomach, etc. Then after I take the pill everything returns to normal.

    This is just the beginning, today I'm only taking 75mg, but I'm already depressed that I have to go through this and I won't have something that I've come to enjoy and depend on day after day for so long. If I could muster up the motivation to excercize it might help take my mind off it but the chronic pain I've had (left glute) has been discouraging and depressing enough, then combined with the subduing effects of Tramadol, makes it very hard to want to do much at all. I started physical therapy a few weeks ago and will be going 2x a week now, so I hope that helps kick the bad spot I'm in and get me active again.  I'm too young and relatively healthy otherwise for all of this. I deserve better and its time to start acting like it.

    I will try to report back on my success, or failures, in a while. But thank you to all who have contributed their stories, even if they do sound more like nightmares.

  • patricknudist
    patricknudist fizzysoap

    Posted

    Explain very clearly to your GP how you feel when you come off Trams, it is so important. Every individual person is unique and should receive unique treatments & respect. I really do hope things work out for you.

    I am on 8 tramadol every day, I know for a fact I cannot reduce or come off.

  • TNelz
    TNelz fizzysoap

    Posted

    My GP said I'm too young to be taking something for pain every day.  While I agree with her in general, what am I supposed to do, just suck it up and deal with it?  Honestly I think that now that it's a controlled medication she (and a lot of other doctors) don't want the responsbility of prescribing Tramadol to their patients on a regular basis.  She mentioned referring me to a pain specialist (to get me off her hands?) but I said I want to give the physical therapy a couple months of hard work and see if it helps.
  • TNelz
    TNelz fizzysoap

    Posted

    I'm tapering off more slowly and sporadically than I had planned, but I'm making progress. Keep in mind I have only been on it for less than two years and at a dose of 100mg a day on average, a little more lately, maybe 150mg or so. But I've tried going a day without and when I get to just over 24 hours I start getting an upset stomach, and then really violent cramps, cold sweats, etc.

    There's one thing I've found to be helpful with withdrawals so far and that is loperamide, common ingredient in Imodium. Makes your stomach think its getting an opioid and eases the symptoms. There's some good info on the web about it and I would recommend it to anyone facing withdrawals. Yesterday I only took 25mg and again today 25mg and will try to cut it to zero tomorrow with loperamide as needed.

    • thebird55
      thebird55 TNelz

      Posted

      That makes sense. I have a theory that many withdrawal symptoms are due to the sympathetic and/or parasympathetic nervous system(s) becoming overactive. Loperamide might have an effect on that, and help with any other problems that may be due to smooth muscle activity.
    • amber5748
      amber5748 TNelz

      Posted

      I have successfully come off Tramadol on 2 previous occasions with very minimal withdawal symptoms and I am now on my 3rd occasion having been on 2 x 50mg capsules ofTramadol 4 times a day for 7 years this time.

      I tried cutting down very slowly the first time as many people have commented on doing on here, but it didnt work for me, as the restlessness, anxiety and insomnia were horrible.

      So I decided to go and speak to my local Pharmacist and she recommended, that in her opinion, the easiest way was to speak to my my GP, tell her what the pharmacist recommended and ask for 30mg Codeine Phosphate tablets instead of Tramadol (yes I know it's another Opiate but it's apparently weaker than Tramadol and available in lower strengths) then to swop the Tramadol straight off for 2 tablets of the 30mg Codeine Phoshate 4 times a day (there is a 60mg of Codeine phosphate strength available, but 30mg was fine for me) 

      Stay on that level for 7-10 days, then cut out one tablet at a time every 7-10 days from each dose ....making the night time dose the last one to cut any out from. Then cut it down to 1 x 30mg tablet 3 times a day again for 7-10 days.

      I was then prescribed 15mg Codeine phosphate tablets instead of the 30mg and swopped from the 1 x 30mg tablet 3 times a day for 2 x 15mg tablets 3 times a day, so the same dose.

      Then as before I cut out 1 tablet every 7-10 days until I managed to stop altogether.

      This time I am now on day 3 of this 'cutting Tramadol out' regime with only very mild restlessness the first night and slightly interupted sleep......but at least I did get a fair amount of sleep.

      I find its best to keep mobile when cutting Tramadol out this way, as then any slight restlessness you might get won't be so noticeable, walking realy helps if you feel restless.

      I hope this regime that I have successfully followed helps somebody else manage to get off Tramadol. I don't have the fear many people do of ever having to go back on it at any time, as I have been successful in cutting it out with minimal withdrawal symptoms twice before, so know if I have done it this way before then I can do it again :-)

      Good luck to all of you.

       

  • TNelz
    TNelz fizzysoap

    Posted

    48 hours now without any Tram!  I feel good except tired and not super with it. And I think I took too much Loperamide, if you know what I mean.  But overall I'm pretty happy I made it to 2 days without getting really sick.
    • amber5748
      amber5748 TNelz

      Posted

      Well done TNetz keep at it.

      I didnt have a great night last night (yesterday was day 3 of cutting out Tram and moving onto Codeine Phosphate). I was restless and a bit anxious with a muzzy head, but managed 5 hours sleep in stages eventually.

      Today I feel fine, although a bit tired, in fact my heads clear and I have no other symptoms of withdrawal at all. I hope that tonight is better than last night, it has been on the last 2 occasions I came off Tram this way. 

      The first 3 days are usually the hardest when following this regime but still nothing like you normally get with withdrawal symptoms coming off Tram. 

    • TNelz
      TNelz amber5748

      Posted

      Nice job!  I guess I should have mentioned that I took Xanax to help me sleep as well.  I try not to take that often because I know its not good for long term use, plus I don't really like it anyway.

      And another thing that's helped me not take Tramadol, well, actually impossible to, is that I asked my wife to put it all in a lock box where only she has the key and combo.  So when she's at work and I'm home working, as much as I want to take my normal dose of Tramadol, it's not even possible.  It makes me a little stir crazy, but in time the habitual craving should subside.

    • amber5748
      amber5748 TNelz

      Posted

      Tnelz how are you doing?

       I am now on day 11/12 and all I had over this change over period is a slight headache for 5 day, lack of motivation and difficulty sleeping, but now I feel really great and my head is clear. I have also cut down from 2 x 30mg Codeine Phosphate 4 times a day to 1 tablet 3 times a day plus 2 tablets at night, so 5 tablets a day as opposed to 8 tablets a day when I started 11/12 days go, with out any problems.

    • TNelz
      TNelz amber5748

      Posted

      Hey Amber, nice work!!  I wish I could say I was having equally great success, but it's going slow.  The problem I'm running into more than anything is the lethargy and lack of motivation.  And it's getting to be a real problem since I have a huge amount of work to get through in the next month.  

      I'm wondering if part of the problem is coming from taking Lexapro for the past 6-7 weeks.  So far I haven't noticed many positives from it, mostly negatives like lethargy, tinnitis, tremors, RLS, etc.  I think I might stop taking it.

      While I've cut back on Tramadol significantly, I still continue to take it.  It's a tough one since I constantly think about it and it's the only thing I can take that makes me feel somewhat normal again.

      So I think what I'm going to do is stop the Lexapro, and then continue tapering off Tramadol.  I realize that could just be my way of justifying Tramadol for now, but I still need to get work done and it's really hard to do anything when I feel this way.  Most of the time lately my prevailing attitude about everything has been sorta like "ahh F-it".  Well mostly with work, but I can't continue to do that or I'll be out of business!  

      But thank you for your update. I'm proud of you and it is encouraging. smile I'll try to give an update in a couple weeks.

  • philthefluter
    philthefluter fizzysoap

    Posted

    It is so hard to kick this drug, I have failed several times. What has helped is to change to tramulieve which is a slow release tramadol . You can only get it in the UK in 100 mg tabs. I have managed to reduce from 100 mg twice a day to 50 mg 3 times a day by cutting the tabs in half. The problem is if I take the tramping before bed I can't sleep. So I have to take last half tab about 8pm and them suffer the awaking anxiety in the morning but it is bearable till the first half tab morning tram kicks in. I shall now try shaving a little off each half tab and reduce this very very slowly.

    good luck all

     

  • SVGhighBP
    SVGhighBP fizzysoap

    Posted

    There is a solution.

    I took tramadol for over 2 years due to lingering rotator cuff and MCL injuries. My tramadol started at 50mg/day to the most recent tolerance/abuse of 700-800mg per day. Really sad to think about now.

    I have had to deal with "cold turkey" (will explain later) quitting of tramadol four times in the past 2 years, and I've found the absolute best way to conquer withdrawals.

    I educated myself after my first shocking withdrawal. I felt like I had the worst flu of my life, without the fever, for 3-4 days. Awful stomach cramps, cold sweats, depression, nervousness, diarrhea, INSOMNIA and mostly feeling like I had the worst flu of my life without a strong fever. The insomnia was the worst. My skin felt like it was going to catch fire while my body/mind couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep more than 2 hours at a time.

    Now I'll be honest, the only withdrawal sympton I've experienced the past 2 "cold turkey" quits was the insomnia. But that has become something I've embraced and used to make the withdrawal nonexistent.

    Don't hate me for this because I know every person is different, but this made quitting tramadol for good possible for me...

    WEIGHT-TRAINING, IN THE MORNING. READ ON PLEASE...

    I tried everything. Vitamins, scripts and therapeutic solutions...all failed bad. I've tried cardio, I've tried cardio+weight training and vice versa with awful results. GET TO A GYM THAT HAS FREE WEIGHTS. When taking and coming off of tramadol, profusive sweating is an awful side effect, but if I lifted weights for 45 minutes in the morning, I went the rest of the day without any withdrawal.

    Cardio raises your heart rate, which if you're coming off tramadol, is already sky-high. I tried running 3 miles, cardio then weights and then weights with cardio after...all awful. Keep your workout to high-resistance weight training only, and in the morning. 

    If you need a workout plan, let me know your weight/sex/experience level and I'll let you know. This has literally saved my life so I want to help you if possible. Hope this helps!

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