What else is there for severe pain?

I don't know how that dual post happened. I was editing my post when there was some kind of computer glitch. The glitch apparently posted an early draft. The first draft didn't show on my screen until I posted the final draft.

Sorry, I had to lie in bed and try to sleep after my post. Don't worry about the double post! Well, one Dr. at the practice prescribed the tramadol when I had a sudden outbreak of pain last June. He said just take as necessary but didn't tell me about addiction/withdrawal. I read the leaflet and it didn't say much either, so I took 3 or 4x 50mg caps every day. I started to have a little less pain by September but carried on with the Tramadol. Then in December I had a much worse situation, couldn't get in or out of bed or get dressed due to back, hip, leg and foot pain. Saw a different doc who said 'well you can take up to 8 tramadol a day' so I did. It was very nice, I didn't have much pain and I could sleep anytime I wanted. I'd forgotten anything about needing to be cautious. Since then the pain has got gradually better but no-one told me to taper the Tramadol. When I decided to take less, because I didn't think I needed them, I got all the withdrawal symptoms. I didn't even realise what it was at first, only when I found this group and it described exactly how I was feeling. So I followed the advice here and gradually got down to 1/4 of a 100mg per day until two days ago when I stopped altogether. I'm pretty annoyed with both docs for not monitoring my dose or warning me.

I'm not sure what you will be able to get for pain in the UK. I would recommend hydrocodone, but I believe you can't get it there. Ask about some other kind of opiate. Yes, they are addictive. But if you are very careful, and keep the dosage to the minimum necessary for pain relief, you should be able to manage them. I asked those previous questions to determine if you had a propensity to escalate your dosage, and how careful you are with medications. You could have done a little better, but you didn't do too badly. And I believe you now know to use more caution. Just be sure to do your homework, and learn as much as you can about what to expect from whatever you are given.

Let's suppose you take the equivalent of 10 mg hydrocodone, twice a day, long enough to get addicted. So what? That amount will have negligible effects on your ability to function, and you would still have room to slowly escalate the dosage if it should become necessary. I took at least that much, sometimes more, for two years. I missed it when I stopped, but I had no physical withdrawal symptoms. Opiates can be managed.

Thanks for your advice. Yes, hydrocodone is totally banned in UK, sometimes they use a weaker version dihydrocodeine. But when I spoke to my doctor yesterday she said we could use Tramadol again if needed, if we were more careful this time. I really don't want to go through all this again so I will research UK opiates inadvance.

I don't know how much you've read here on this site, so I'll risk repeating myself.

What makes tramadol so hard to stop taking, for some people, is its SSRI activity. If that was the case with you, mention this to your doctor. But be warned; your doctor may not only be unaware of this activity, he/she may not believe you. Refer to the Wikipedia entry on tramadol.

 

Well, I've been on Sertraline for two years, and still take it.  I don't know what extra SSRI action does in that case. Does it help or make it worse?

Should I come off Sertraline too? I've taken various SSRI's for 20 years or so, with gaps of 2 or 3 years. Not really sure it helps any more.

While you probably weren't in any real danger, it isn't a good idea to take multiple SSRIs. You could, theoretically, end up with "serotonin syndrome". On a side note, the Sertraline may have actually made your tramadol withdrawal eaiser. (It's hard to say anything about SSRIs with any confidence.) If you think the Sertraline has helped you, keep taking it. The one thing that can be said with confidence is that either starting or stopping SSRIs will temporarily "unbalance" your chemistry. You can think about stopping the Sertraline later, after you get everything else sorted.

Thanks for you post. I did tell my doctor about the withdrawal symptoms, she ended up giving me 14 sleeping pills of which I used 2 or 3 each time I reduced my Tramadol. Didn't help much but I did sleep a bit each night eventually. She only gave me 14 because I was clear I didn't want any more addictions. What is Xanax? We call things by different names over here (UK).

Xanax is alprazolam, a benzodiazepine anti-anxiety medication. It's like Valium. Benzodiazepines are also used for sleep. Is that what you were given?

 

Thanks for the info. No, I had Zopiclone, a nonbenzoiazepine hypnotic agent. She offered me Valium but said that was more addictive. I just feel lucky that I've managed to get out of this trap, but worried about my next flare-up, whenever it comes.

To Wean offf of my 2 yr trial with Tramadol.

I was prescribed *Clonodine Generic Name: clonidine (oral) (KLOE ni deen)

Brand Names: Catapres, Kapvay, Kapvay Dose Pack

*The most commonly used medication, clonidine, primarily reduces anxiety, agitation, muscle aches, sweating, runny nose, and cramping. Buprenorphine (Subutex) has been shown to work better than other medications for treating withdrawal from opiates, and it can shorten the length of detoxification (detox)

*Pramipexole (Mirapex), for RLS (restless leg syndrome) from the withdrawal.

Dopamine agonists: These are most often the first medicines used to treat RLS. These drugs, including pramipexole (Mirapex), rotigotine (Neupro), and ropinirole (Requip), act like the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain.

*Xanax (alprazolam) is a benzodiazepine medication used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. Which is one of the symtoms I have due to withdrawal.

7:30 pm taken 2 hrs prior to bed Pramipexole (Mirapex)

9:00 pm taken prior to bed Clondine

Xanax 0.5mg taken x3 a day

All these medications to Ease the Withdrawal hell from Tramadol.

I was also prescribed Zoloft. I only lasted 4 days of THAT HELL. No thank you.

My last chapter of all this Weaning hell will be to get off of Xanax 0.5mg which I've been taking for 8 weeks. Low dosage, but I'm sensitive to these drugs.  I can feel that my body is dependent on it, as NOW I start to Withdrawal..anxious, sweaty etc from the Xanax so I know it's time to take another one. I keep a long and set alarms on my Note 4 phone to remind me which medication to take...

I have this anoying cough now. Like Asthma. Which I never had before. I suspect Zoloft is the blame for this? I read side effects and lung issues was one of them. I was on it for 4 days. 4 days of pure hell 24/7 that is. I might buy an inhaler prior to seeing my doctor. I can't speak long before coughing again. I feel it in my lungs not throat.

 

It should have read. I keep a "log" and set alarms on my phone.