Weaning off tramadol and feel ill
Posted , 3 users are following.
i have been on tramadol full strength for some year due to chronic neck pain. my gp has halved the dose last week and the day after i had a flare up or am now wondering if it is a flare up
started feeling freezing, very thirsty, poor cognitive function cant think straight, palpatations , anxious. craving stodgy food.
now all these can occur when i have a flare up but usually by day 7 they ease off . i cant function at work so come home, has anyone else had these symptoms coming off tramadol or is it coincidental
0 likes, 4 replies
jowalsh nichola99319
Posted
Hello, it is hardly surprising that you feel so ill.
You have been taking a highly addictive opioid for many years, and withdrawal effects can be very unpleasant.
I find it rather concerning that your Doctor has in one fell swoop 'halved' the dosage? This cannot be right? As with any drug, withdrawal ought to be managed and reduced gradually, and safely.
You really ought to go back to your GP and ask these questions, sooner rather than later.
And in the longer term, however, although you make no mention of the 'neck pain' you suffered:
Take a look at YouTube: Dr. Chattergee, who believes in reducing drugs - opioids and their ilk - to manage pain. He is fabulous.
He did a TV series only last year, whereby, he went to live with drug dependent patients, and the results of his pilot series were astounding!
Perhaps this isn't for you right now, but in the medium to long term you are going to need help if the pain persists or returns.
Anything that helps us to manage pain without such drugs can only be a good thing!
Good Luck.
Jo
nichola99319 jowalsh
Posted
thanks for replying, i spoke to GP today and he said try to take an extra tramadol to see if the symptoms improve, as he wasnt sure if it was tramadol causing symptoms or somthing else. However the tramadol is slow release so would it have an effect so quickly?? i feel worse today than i did 2 days ago, really anxious too, cant concentrate at all, feel dizzy, spaced out, cold hands, and weak arms. am going to book an appointment tomorrow with doctor, but cant cope with feeling like this. i actually feel worse after the tramadol to be honest.
Beverley_01 nichola99319
Posted
Hi Nichola,
I think it is hard to know which bit is affecting things and maybe it is a mixture of everything? as your other posts point out you also did too much exercise recently and so I guess it is difficult to tease out which affect the tramadol withdrawal is having. I can only imagine how frustrating it is to not know. I hope you can take it easy for a few days while things hopefully settle back down.
Beverley
miller.jones nichola99319
Posted
As already said you are an addict basically and withdrawal is happening this can be very hard to deal with but its worth it in the end.
Has GP given you another pain medication to try as well?
Halving is not that bad as stated modified release ones that is how it needs to be done unless switching person to having to take multi ones throughout the day which can be confusing but an option.
At a guess DR thinks you don't need these anymore and you have become to dependent so is removing them (opioids should really only be short term)
It sounds like you have anxiety as well which is other reason you are getting flare ups