Tramadol weird half awake half asleep state

Posted , 5 users are following.

Hi guys

So I take tramadol as needed for back pain. Usually just take it after working 13 hours in the hospital on my feet. I take 2 50mg pills and then take an additional one 2 hours after the first dose if I'm still in severe pain. Normally it doesn't bother me too much but sometimes I get the typical tramadol itch which I can deal with. The other thing that weirdshe me out is I fall into this half awake half asleep state. Like I can hear the TV on when I'm asleep or wake up like I nevery fell asleep at all. I only sleep for 2 hours at a time max when this happens and yet I don't feel like I need more sleep. I become almost an insomniac. Sometimes I wake up and very quickly I might hallucinate a person but they disappear very fast. Now I know that they aren't really so I'm aware of that. It's this weird in between state i fall into that I'm not sure what to think of. I'm a registered nurse and I work in the ER so I usually can figure these things out but I'm at a loss here so any info would be awesome. Thanks so much everyone.

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi

    I just got off the tabs. I have posted my 7 days of hell, so maybe you can look at it, might help. Tramadol has a lot of side  effects & are only meant for short term use, according to my Doc. The also affect people differently, so be aware of this. I could take 3 & feel fine, but 1 tab can make other people fly.  My advice, like many would get off them. Read a lot of the discussions &  you will see all the things they cause. Good luck.

  • Posted

    You mentioned "the itch". In my case, it is different from the codeine itch. Much less intense. It contributes to the insomnia syndrome by itching just enough demand attention when I would otherwise be dropping off. That's frustrating. (And yet I can sleep just fine on codeine type drugs.) Getting past that, any sleep is very light. And yet you still get to the dream state. Then, because you are barely asleep to begin with, the dreams start to invade your waking state. It can get very...... interesting. As you state, you feel as if you've had enough sleep after just a couple of hours.... until later, long after it has worn off.

    It was because of all these side effects that I avoided tramadol, to some extent, for years. I would take it, but only as a last option. Eventually the side effects lessened, but just a bit. It also seems to wear off much faster now (it used to seem to take forever). Thinking back on it, the "insomnia" and "waking dream-state" would usually happen during that extended "wearing off" period.

    Maybe it has something to do with its SSRI properties..

  • Posted

    Hey stormy

    What ur experiencing is just the effects of the trams. I'm the same I can't sleep at night but when I do sleep even for an hour I still have energy to get up. That's due to the tramodol. It tricks ur brain to thinking ur OK pain free and have energy. The itching is also very common I get it quite a lot. Specially my nose! When I'm Watching TV I kind of go into a weird sleep 2 and my eyes like jiggle again ur body wanting to sleep but the trams fight. U would be best to get off them. I've wrote all my info up on my story. I'm telling my doctor that I'm addicted and going to hopefully try and weaning programme. Soon enough like myself when u go to work or do anything in life you'll need tramodol to function. If I have none in 12 hours the pains I get are horrific and I'm so tired and drained. Soon as I take a tramodol I'm normal again. So i need to take them to work ect. Get off them asap if u can. Good luck.

  • Posted

    Stormy, I dont care how many you take. Some of our conditions warrant taking certain meds. especially back problems.

    If you dont need tram anymore then I suggest you get ready for the battle to freedom. It is tough but you can do it.

    Tram. controlled me for 15 years. I mean, I lived by the pill and did not realize unrtil my relationship almost ended with the love of my life.

    It took me three months of feeling pretty bad and some help from a cancelor, but I made it. Two years later I am alive again. We travel the world and life is better. Yes, I had to make changes with my daily routine to avoid the pain, but it was worth the pain.

    Now you have to make a decission with yourself if it is worth it. The hardest part is the fight with yourself! Your call my frien friend. God speed.

  • Posted

    Thanks for the info everyone. I appreciate it. For those saying that I shouldn't be taking them i appreciate your pointerest if view but I'm not taking them every day. I only take them as needed sometimes i go days without taking then so I don't every have withdrawal problems because I'm not taking good on consistent basis like every 8 hours.

    Unfortunately with my back problems and the job just do i am going to have to acrept that I will need to have surgery to fix it. I hate that idea as I know back surgery doesn't always work but I do not want to be in severe pain the reSt of my life. I'm only 28. Last year I bent over time pick up a remote and my back snapped. It literally snapped. I collapsed on the floor. I was able to get back on the bed hut that made it worse. I cried all night lying on the floor. I'm stubborn and a nurse so of course I didn't want to go the hospital. Well finally the next day after lying on the floor for 22 hours without being able to sit up or move my legs without excruciating pain my mom who is a nurse and my brother a firefighter came to help me and called an ambulance. It's a good thing they did. I spent 8 days in the hospital. PrI or to this has had had 4 herniated disc in NJ you l spine and turns out I have degenerative disk disease. I'm very young to have it and it's an anomaly but they believe it goes along with another condition I have. Anyway I did pt and only had to take meds for about 2 months the first time it happened and I little break throughs but wasn't on meds. Anyway when I snapped my back is managed to reherniated 3 discsentences and they compressed my spinal cord. I essentially had to learnot how to walk again. Since then the pain has been worse. I take vicodin sometimeso after work because it hurts so much a few it's the only way I can sleep with the pain. The tramadol was given to me so I can take it during the day but I never take it if I have to do things because it makes me feel like this. So anyway I don't take them every day and I'm lucky that I never have had to or go through withdrawals because I can only imagine how hard it is since I know the chemical things it does to your brain.

    Good luck to all of you. If you're trying to get off them i wish you luck and make sure you do it with help and proper monitoring as we all know it can be dangerous. Thanks for the info and letting me know that I'm not a weirdo for feeling this odd state. I appreciate it a lot. I sadly am just going to have to accept that I need the surgery. Thankfully a friend of mine just had similar back surgery so if she does well I have a possible surgeon to go to.

    Best of luck to you all. Happy hump day!!!! And thanks again. It's nice to be able to speak to others who experience similar things without any judgement.

    • Posted

      If you can keep getting it, take the hydrocodone instead. If used responsibly, it is not as dangerous as most people think. Just stay with the lowest effective dose.

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