Coming off tramadol
Posted , 7 users are following.
I have been on tramadol for 3 years
I had a fall in my flat and smashed my elbow joint to bits
I was admitted to hospital and had a 6 hour operation to rebuild my elbow it's been fixed with metal. That's why I am on tramadol
I have tried many times to come off them I get so ill. I am now on antidepressants sertraline as my doctor thinks they will help me
They don't seem to be helping at all
I am 8 tramadol a day I have cut the dosage down to 6 a day but I am so ill it's driving me mad
I am having hot flushes headaches feeling really sick
Uncontrollable shakes
I feel as though I am loosing my mind
But I have to come off these tablets as I am getting more and. More depressed
I can't afford a rehab
I don't know what else to do
I need help badly
0 likes, 17 replies
rob53972 lorraine_35877
Posted
I was on the same dose as you even more when I self medicated for 8 years.
My advice is take vitamins and one pill at a time ... I'm totally off them now but took me 6 mnths ... not easy probably the hardest thing I've done... when you take the pills not for the pain just to feel normal it can't c
Go on.. these tremadol bite back and instead of making you feel normal it turns into depression and not feeling whole.. you can do it the less you take the better you feel but it's very hard .. its like you have to learn how to feel normal again.... keep positive and think I can do this and I will be back to myself... because it feels now you can't ... but you can... I've been where you are and thought I can't do it .. it is possible
Good luck
lorraine_35877 rob53972
Posted
Thank you very much for your reply
I am going to try my hardest to come off them
I think the reason I feel so ill
I have cut out 2 tablets instead of one and it's the night dosage I have stopped so I feel so ill at the moment
I am not going to give up as I want my life back to normal before I ever took a tramadol
Thanks for your kind words
rob53972 lorraine_35877
Posted
Night one is probably the worse one to cut as lack of sleep makes it worse. Try one a time maybe. I even ended up opening the caps and taking some to slowly taper them off. All easier said then done. Focus and stay strong . Can't keep going on with them it's an evil drug..
lorraine_35877 rob53972
Posted
I know it's the worst thing ever
I wish I had known how bad I would become and never of took them
I can't give up I want to be normal again
I know it's going to be hard
This is one thing I have to do
Thank you for reply
sm1970 lorraine_35877
Posted
Hi, Lorraine. I've been on Tramadol for about 2 years after a botched knee surgery, then several surgeries later having to have a total knee replacement at the age of 42. I still have pain in that knee, but like you, I want off. I was taking 250-300mg/day & I just decided to, one day, do a "super taper" to 75mg/day. That was about 4 weeks ago. It was completely miserable. Now it's so much better except for some mild anxiety sometimes. I went to my primary care doc & told him what was going on. He was actually very understanding & helpful. He put me back on Lyrica (I had been on it & went off cold turkey about 2 months prior) & wrote a prescription for Xanax. Xanax is a totally different story & also hard to come off of so I take it only in dire need & I take the least dosage available. My doc said that they have been using Lyrica/Gabapentin to help with opiate w/d's. And it has helped to a certain degree. It's also helped with the pain. I still haven't tapered down again because I want to be completely comfortable on this dosage before I drop that 1/2 pill to just 1 pill of 50mg. It's a very long process & I've actually been able to stick with it. I have not craved them at all (like the literature says), nor have I taken anymore than my allotted dosage during these past 4 weeks. I've just decided that enough is enough. Also, when I was searching & reading different forums about others coming off of Tramadol, I read that once you stop taking the pain meds, you'll find that you're not in as much pain as you thought you were. I don't know if it was just engraved into my head that I believe it, or the Lyrica, or a combo of both, but it's been true for me. It will probably take me another 3-4 months to get off this stuff but that's ok. It's not been easy at all but I'm doing it. And you can do it, too! We have each other for support.
lorraine_35877 sm1970
Posted
Thank you for your kind words
And I know you know exactly what I am going through
I will achieve my goal to be tramadol free at some point
I am finding it so hard at the moment
It's so nice to be able to talk to someone that understands what I am going through
My family doesn't understand
I think they think I am imagining it
That I can't be that ill
But every time I have tried to come off them I get so ill
I have to start taking them again
Thank you for your support
It means a lot to me
Lorraine x
rob53972 lorraine_35877
Posted
It's an opiate and highly addictive.
It has been compared to giving up heroine to a point. Unless you have been in our shoes I don't think you could understand. But you will doit the first step is done by you recognising the harm this does..
lorraine_35877 rob53972
Posted
Like many others are going through the same thing
I must be strong and make sure I achieve what I set out to do
Be tramadol free
sm1970 lorraine_35877
Posted
Lorraine, coming off is a mindset. You know it's going to be hard at 1st but it will pass. Don't go cold turkey though. Make an appointment with your doc & explain what's going on. They will help you. Docs don't even want to prescribe pain meds anymore, not even after surgery. They're really starting to cut down due to the high amount of addictions these days. I don't know if you can send a private email through this forum, but if so, I will be happy to give you my phone number. It's going to be a slow process. But once you start & get past the first week, you can pull through as long as you don't "cheat" & take just 1 pill. I'm bound & determined & that's what getting me through this. Slow & easy... 1 day at a time.
lorraine_35877 sm1970
Posted
Thank you for reply
It's extremely hard for me at the moment
As I feel like to stop me feeling ill I should up my dosage
But I am not going to
Has you said one step at a time
I have cut down for nearly a week
But I feel dreadful the hot flushes I am now getting are constant
I wake up feeling really sick and ill
Like I could just stay in bed all day
But I don't I get up and get on with my day
I won't go back to 8 tablets a day again
I just have to take things slowly
Right at this moment in time I feel like I am loosing my mind
But thankyou for your reply
It was very kind of
swmoore53 lorraine_35877
Posted
Your doctor should help u ween off tramadol. I quit cold turkey when I started to take more than prescribed. Every thing ur feeling is what u feel when ur coming off Tramadol.. it was horrible. I have Fibromyalgia and the normal pain and fatigue i usually had from fibromyalgia doubled when i stopped taking trams. I went off trams for a year. I couldn't take the pain & fatigue of fibro so I went back on trams. I take it as prescribed this time. But, at some point the doctor may want to take me off and I'm not looking forward to it. My sons friend used Kratom for withdrawls, but that is banned in some states in the U.S. and some countries. But talk to ur doctor to ween u off slowly. Withdrawaling from trams is HORRI BLE/
lorraine_35877 swmoore53
Posted
Hi thank you for your message
I feel like I am loosing my mind at the moment
I have cut out 2 tablets I am taking 6 a day instead of 8 tablets
I feel dreadful at the moment
I have a doctors appointment next week so hopefully I will get some help
I just feel like I want to give up
And go back to 8 tablets so I don't feel so ill
I am not going to but I am finding it so hard
I wish I could go back in time and be warned about them
That's going to happen
I feel as though I have been ill for such a long time
Hopefully I will be able to get the old me back
From where she has disappeared to
Kind regards
Lorraine
sm1970 lorraine_35877
Posted
Hi again, Lorraine. Sorry I've been away from this forum. I'm here to help. Keep up the great work. Please don't cave in & take that 1 pill. I promise this will pass. I'm in my 4th week of my super taper & I'm feeling so much better. I'm actually thinking about dropping that 1/2 pill this weekend so I know what to expect. And others say it's not as hard this way. Keep at it & just take everyday as it comes. And once you feel better stay on that dosage for a few more days before tapering down. If you can, taper down just 1/2 pill instead a whole pill. Here's a suggestion, reward yourself once you start feeling better each time. Give yourself something to look forward to, something other than getting off these crazy pills. It will be ok in the long run. I have to say that I'm actually feeling a lot more clear headed these days. I know I still have some hard days ahead of me. I'm leaving for the beach in about 3 weeks so if I do another wean this weekend, I'm hoping I'll feel better by then. But then again, the beach (Outer Banks) is my happy place & I'm at my most relaxed there. I really wish there was a way to get a hold of you other than through this forum. I guess I could give you my email address & we can go from there. It's: . Please, please contact me & we can help each other out. Have a wonderful day.
Moderator comment: I have removed the link(s) directing to site(s) unsuitable for inclusion in the forums. If users want this information please use the Private Message service to request the details.
http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398316-adding-links-to-posts
http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398331-private-messages
lorraine_35877 sm1970
Posted
Kind regards
Lorraine
sm1970 lorraine_35877
Posted
Apparently, you can send private messages through this forum but I can't figure how to. I would like to contact you privately. Email addresses aren't allowed; however, if you gave Instagram, use my screen name & friend me there.