Coming off Tramadol
Posted , 127 users are following.
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
nicole_18987 fizzysoap
Posted
Hello my name is Nicole.
I'm currently on tramadol for chronic abdominal pain from Crohns Disease. I use it for sciatica as well. I usually run out of the medication way too early because I keep doubling even triple the dose. My tolerance for tramadol is extremely high so if I take the directed dose of 2 pills every 8 hours, it won't help anymore than generic Tylenol would. I go through the same withdrawal as you. I get nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, body aches, chills, hot flashes, lack of appetite, depression and extreme irritability. I keep telling myself that THIS is the month where I will take less and save them to get me to my next appt with my pain Dr. I pray that everything is ok with you and that you find something that works for you without these nasty withdraw symptoms.
tim45167 nicole_18987
Posted
sHi Nicole, i am sorry this is what is happening, with chronic pain situations the tramadol meds used to last 3 weeks if i was lucky let alone the 4 weeks they were meant to cover. In the end i just rationed myself on the last 10 days to avoid the dilema, right down to just one tab per 24 hours and that way sleep was still just possible in the later part of the early morning. Otherwise it was no sleep at all at night and a terribly sore abdomen during the day. With the next tramadol (and codiene) supply it was normal sleep again virtually straight away and no more distended aching guts during the day, and of course some specific targetted pain relief, but less and less 'happy effect' as the time wore on.
?Now, in hindsight i would go back to my doctor and ask for a change of medication. THC (sativex) is now legal here (NZ) and pethidene is a short term possibility while coming off the dreaded tramadol, so that you still get sleep and have zippo pain. Anyway i hope you can get your doctor to provide you with an alternative as just increasing the tramadol dose and frequency is a tightening spiral to not a good outcome. The darned stuff just stops working no matter how much you take of it in the end. It is not a good drug for more than just a short time of a few weeks really, at least in my experience.
?Very best wishes : )
carla02653 nicole_18987
Posted
Hi all, I have been on tramadol 400mg daily (200mg x2 each morning) for over 12 years. I was diagnosed with poly cystic kidney disease at the age of 17 and had frequent kidney infections so was prescribed tramadol at age 21 to help with pain. I am now 33 and have just cold turkey to come off them. This is the second time I have tried to come off them. First time I tapered second time I just stopped taking them. Although I was only prescribed 400mg daily I was also buying extra. At my highest I was taking about 2000mg a day sometimes more. The more I took the more I needed just to feel ok. Not one person really knew how much I was taking. They knew I was taking more than I should. Amyway I ended up having a full blown seizure in a supermarket on my 33rd birthday. After many tests and scans the docs were convinced that the tramadol had caused it so at Christmas I knew that for my families sake I had to come off them. So I tried taking les but I just felt so bad and my doc said it wouldn't get any better. So 4 weeks ago I said that's it and just stopped taking them. First 14 days were utter hell with all the symptoms possible making an appearance. Now four weeks on the only thing that's still not changed is sleep. Not insomnia like most people but tiredness. ALL THE TIME! It's driving me mad. Sleep all day up have something to eat then sleep all night. I'm lucky to have a husband that lets me do this but now I just want to sleep less! Anyone got any suggestions on how to naturally boost my energy levels? I'm taking a multivitamin at the moment but not really seeing any benefits yet. My heart goes out to all of you who are still battling with this and I hope that one day you get off the horrible drug and feel better xxx
ynotrhyme carla02653
Posted
Exercise really helps even if it's just walking. 30 minutes should be good.
carla02653 ynotrhyme
Posted
Yes I did think that but it's getting the motivation to do it! Was out in the garden for a while yesterday, just kicking a ball about with the dog and it did make a difference so will just have to push myself. I think I'm just feeling sorry for myself now and have to keep reminding myself that the worst part is over and it can only get easier from now.
larkinwalk99 nicole_18987
Posted
I was on Tramadol for two years, prescribed for TMJ pain. I took it daily, between 100 - 150 mg a day. That was one 50 mg Tram about every 6 hours, taking only two on the better days. I found out I was addictedI r when the TMJ pain resolved and I tried to stop the Tram cold turkey. It was hell and I went back on the Tramadol. Recently I researched online how to handle Tramadol withdrawal so you can get through it. I read that Clonidine (a blood pressure pill) and diazepam (generic valium) are a big help. I've cut down to one 50 mg Tramadol a day now, and tomorrow will cut my 50 mg pill in half and be down to 25 mg a day. Then I'll do 25 mg every other day, and then every 3rd day, etc., until I'm off them. I've been taking one Clonidine in the morning and one at night, and also taking 5 mg of Diazepam 3 times a day. These have made the withdrawal easy to deal with. I know when I'm off the Tramadol I will have to wean off the diazepam and the clonidine. I'm not too worried: I weaned off diazepam before in my life, and it wasn;t all that hard. I realize I'm lucky I never used high doses of Tramadol during the 2 years using it. 100-150 mg a day isn't all that much, after reading the posts here. That may be why my withdrawal is easily handleable with the clonidine and the diazepam.
Gerrymoo larkinwalk99
Posted
larkinwalk99 Gerrymoo
Posted
Is it? I didn't realize that. I'm going to take 5 mg of Diazepam twice a day instead and see how that goes. It makes me want to sleep all the time, esp. combined with the Clonidine. I'm avoiding driving and get rides from friends when I need to go somewhere, I also am on 20 mg Citalopram and have been for 4 years.
larkinwalk99 Gerrymoo
Posted
melanie1973 carla02653
Posted
carla02653 melanie1973
Posted
Hi Melanie, i found tapering off just elongated the suffering so it was cold turkey for me. I couldn't work during cold turkey, i couldn't focus on anything not even tv. Just slept ate and showered for about 2 weeks. Hot and cold sweats were bad, as was the shakes. Ibuprofen and paracetamol helped a lot with that and the sore heads. Also drinking plenty of water as it help flush out the toxins. I'm now pretty much back to my old self now just take my blood pressure meds and my vitamin b complex. I hope you feel better soon. It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do but I'm so glad I managed and you can to. Good luck
melanie1973 carla02653
Posted
Hi ..just letting you know I am free off the tramadol now for just over a week now i feel all back to normal ...i do feel bit sluggish but can cope with that now .. I ended up splitting the pills measuring them out so when I got down to quarter of the tramadol I just thought that's it not going to take no more and what I had left I gave back to pharmacy ..i feel great because am tramadol free at last and back in control of my life
72795 fizzysoap
Posted
I have had chronic pain for as long as I can remember. It definitely became worse about six or seven years ago when I woke up with burning in my feet that accelerated over six months I had significant contractures of my toes necessitating surgeries. The left side turned out okay but my right foot was a disaster and 4 surgeries later I said forget any more surgery. I tried many things for pain control but ultimately ended up on TRAMADOLl after advice of a pain specialist. At first this drug seems like a great drug because it does not really cause any euphoria and people can work effectively. I am a medical doctor but over a couple of years taking this I have become frustrated with some of the longer-term side effects. Certainly this drug does affect your mood causes some sexual dysfunction. It also appears to distort memory at times. Additionally it causes a lot of G.I. disturbance especially constipation. I'm sure this is worse in people with irritable bowel like me. Approximately 30 hours ago I took my last dose as I write this note. I am a bit sweaty and my feet hurt like crazy but screw it I'm going to play tennis in hour and a half for a semi-competitive league. In fact this tramadol allows me to play tennis over the last three years quite effectively but now I'm just so frustrated with the side effects I'm willing to take the risk and stop cold turkey. This is probably not recommended for everyone but I am going to go all in on this and will keep people up to date on how I did/do.
72795
Posted
So the first night I slept because I stopped the tramadol at noon. The second night is another story. This is the same night that I decided to play tennis from 630 until approximately 8:30 PM
I did not sleep at all and had tremendous pain in both of my feet. I could not relax and I could not lie still. Fortunately I did not have any psychological symptoms but moreover I was just frustrated because I did not sleep the entire night. I had in my cache of drugs that I never use of immovane and that did nothing.
I have to work the next day so now it is 530 in the morning and I'm sitting here writing this.
I fortunately had some Tylenol number ones but they barely touch the pain after having taken a number of acetaminophen tablets and naproxen tablets.
This morning I will be going to work and fortunately I only have about a half day at work.
I am very interested to see if I can function the same without this medication on a long-term basis.
Right now I don't think anything counts as the early phases are not over
PS
I also used a combination of lidocaine gabapentin and ketamine cream on my feet but I think that only works for about 20 minutes or so.
Since I was only taking approximately 300 mg per day I think I will be much better off than the people who described taking 400+ milligrams a day.
tim45167 72795
Posted
How did you go for the third, fourth and fifth nights? It can take a week or even two to get the stuff right out of your system and have the brain chems normalised back and working properly under their own production again . . at least that was my experience (along with awful stomach and GI aching for most of that time). No sleeping at all and jerking lower legs and sweating is the norm for the second night on CT, followed by sneezing and a running nose, escalating GI pain, and a shocking sense of despair. Yes, it is a terrible drug.
?I managed to come right off it by CT earlier this year after two weeks of misery and then went and got myself a gigantic calf muscle tear 5 inches long which developed a massive rock hard blood clot at the base of the muscle. My entire lower leg swelled-up from ankle to knee like an about to burst sausage and was so agonisingly painful I had to be taken into the ED. The ED sent me home the next morning with 240 x 50mg tramadol caps, an equivalent quantity of 30mg codiene tabs, 500 paracetemol, and two big bottles of lactulose, with the advice that the next four weeks or so could be 'difficult'..
So that was on 13 April. The blood clot is virtually gone now at the end of July, thank goodness, however I am back on the tramadol treadmill and need to repeat the misery all over again.
?The easy option is to ask the GP for more of it for residual pain although I don't really need it for that now. It is just the thought of going through the CT again that is so hard. I found previously that slowly weaning off right down to one tab per night was just protracting the awful GI pain longer than CT does, so that is not a good option either.
The easy way is to stay on the stuff.
?aw darn.. : (
rob53972 tim45167
Posted
Hi
I was on 8x 50 mg trem for 7 years and over the last hardest 6mnths I'm now down to splitting half a capsule a day.. still very hard and far from easy ... but what I've done is think if I've done is this long it would be stupid to go back to a high dose. Yes I have pain .. but I can now function without these to a point.
I wish everyone luck with this it's so hard .
50.20Wisdom tim45167
Posted
Tim you don't do things in halves do you :-). I totally cringed Reading your experience especially part 2 with the blood clot, crikey, I can't imagine much worse, coming off the Tramadol as well then having to go right back on again. Wow, that's so awful, and how is your blood clot leg by the way ?I think you will nearly an advert for the operation game :-/.
You've got experience of coming off, is that good news or bad? Wow poor you. Good luck!