re posting regarding Xanax, Vicodin and Tramadol withdrawal symptoms

[Bob641]

Hi, here it is again, a re post of my conditions, medications, drugs abuse and withdrawal effects.
I'm 50 years old and suffer from depression, anxiety and schizoid personality. Also from diabetes type II, arrhythmia and migraines.
For my conditions I take Imitrex 100mg,Depakote ER 500 mg,Digoxin 0.25mg,Seroquel 100 mg, Fortamet 500 mg and Wellbutrin 150 mg. I also use Ambien 12.5 mg to sleep.
Now, I have been using and abusing Xanax 2 mg for the anxiety, Tramadol 50 mg and Vicodin 5/500 mg for the migraine pains.
I used the Xanax in an amount of 8 to 10 mg a day, mostly during the night for about 2 years and 55 days ago I started weaning it off, at first to 8 mg, and reducing the amount by 0.25 mg every 4 weeks and I just started today at 6.50 mg a day. My approach is to not rush it to avoid seizures or really unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.
The Vicodin and the Tramadol, I quit them cold turkey 19 days ago, but I relapsed and took one of each one about four days after stopping, they did not help with my pain and I haven't touched them since then.
I know that any withdrawal process from addictive medications, specially opiates and benzos are difficult to some degree, some more than others and that no one will have a pain free way out during withdrawal. However my concern is that I have been weaning off the Xanax slowly and steady for about 55 days, and the Tramadol and Vicodin I practically didn't use them since 19 days ago but I'm having since the first week and have become more intense now muscle cramps, at first they were on some points arount my scapula bones in my back, there were formed some "knots" painful and constant, very painful to the touch and frequent migraines. Progressively those "knots" develop in entire muscles cramps all over my back and since a week ago more or less all over my back, specially upper back, shoulders, neck(back and front), the back of my head and to some degree to my chest and forearms.The entire muscles feel tense with a sensation of mild burning, painful-very-specially in my upper back and the migraines are daily. The muscles, I don't know how to describe it, feels like very tense, I can't relax them, kind of they twitch as nervous a bit and the pain is constant. I tried hot baths, heating pad, not to avail. Also tried Methocarbamol 500 mg, Flexerill 10 mg Celebrex 200 mg and Lydoderm patches without positive results.
This is driving me insane and even if I can sleep quite well the pain and the migraine wake me up in the middle of the night and I have to take Tylenol PM to go back to sleep, waking up in the morning with the migraine and the muscle cramps again, they won't go away.
Could it be a withdrawal effect of the Vicodin/Tramadol or it is from the Xanax?
Please, I need some information, some help. I'm at the end of my wits with this!!! Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Oh, I forgot to mention I also use Tylenol,Tylenol PM, aspirin or Excedrin Migraine to combat the migraines, sometimes it make them bearable.Also that my blood pressure normally is normal to a bit low but recently it is a bit high and also have tachycardia.
Oh, I read your post avisg about Tramadol and seizures, I freaked out, I guess I was lucky cause I use Depakote intended for me to prevent migraines, but it is mainly used to prevent seizures.

[sailing1]

Glad to hear you had a better day Bob.  And I really hope you find a medical practitioner who will REALLY look into the interactions of all your meds, and any underlying medical condition that may be present.

I started a consulting business in Arizona that was basically a home-health practice, but I focussed on what I called "nursing investigations."  People who had multiple problems and who were on numerous meds from numerous doctors would use me to research their current medical conditions and all their treatments.  Often, a problem would arise with having doc#1 unaware of the treatments of doc#2 and  #3 and so on.  This happens sooooo frequently.  I would research the drug interactions first and then symptom to symptom.  You wouldn't believe how often drug interactions or discontinuations would cause major symptoms such as your own.  Food interactions (with meds) and allergies were another popular culprit that frequently went undiagnosed.

I suggest looking in your area for someone, (Doc, Nurse Practitioner, even naturopaths and alternative medicine practitioners,) that can help you really assess your medical needs.  Best of luck!

[Bob641]

hanks, finally someone that has gone trough the same pains I'm feeling. Today they seem to be a bit better, but that much.

Bob

[uggghh]

i got the knots when coming off of xanex..it was horrible, made me want a pain pill but no pain pill in the world would help, i tried, xanex was the only thing that would get rid of them so therefore....i had to just deal with it. good luck to you, i feel for ya and have been there if you ever need to talk.

[alagirl]

I have serious and long lasting migraines and recently stopped taking both demerol for them, and my 1 or 2 mg of xanax each day (that I used to sleep) as well.  I began lyrica at 300 mg per day.  Previously I had tried it with no success but at much lower levels.  This really does seem to be helping.  Also, some people have very good luck with topamax, it diminished my migraines for a year or two before they started to break through.

[PanSinoeis]

I'd be willing to bet all those medications are not interacting well with one another.  That seems to be a lot of medicine to be on.

[mtgoat911]

i will check in first thing tommorow, i just checked my fish tanks both are off, not good...need to tend to this for a while
i did need to tell you that ultram has an anti-depressant quality to it so patients who have mental issues can sometimes loose their stuff on this drug, so this maybe what is causing your sleep problems,, i dont know but we will figure that out

[Bob641]

Thank you, great!!! I'm sending you a private message with all my medications
Bob

[mtgoat911]

hey, i can actually relate to your situation
you are over medicated
sounds like you want help cutting out some of this ****!!
i would love to help, your situation is a little different but not unique
i am sure some people may stay away from this post because of your "outside issues/pre-existing conditions"
but unfortuantly for you this is my cup of tea
you have met the manic addict medic who has a touch of autism
you see, we have one disease that tells us to take too many drugs and another disease that tells us to quit taking our medication

a couple of things you can do tonight

1. do not take any more tylenol pm, the first thing that came to mind when i read your story was renal failure, so no more otc meds for you

2. right now there is a pharmacy swimming around in your belly, we need to get some of that out!!!!

3. send me all the drugs you are taking, and what time you usually take them

4. I will share personal information about my experience with psyc. meds and recovery (but not on a public forum) when dealing with duel diagnoses we all must be very carefull

5. After i review your meds, i will send you my thoughts if its something i have had experience with

6. then you can run it by your doctor

good luck!!! your situation is complicated but not hopeless

love you!!

fyi,, i agree with sailing on the masking issue!!! right on!!

its time to be restored to sanity, in a way that no medication could ever do.........

[Bob641]

Thanks sailing1. Yes, I'm seeing a doctor now and I have an appointment pending with a Pain Clinic. Tomorrow I have to see the doctor again, I'll go into much detail with him about the 3 medications I'm withdrawing from, yesterday I saw him and gave all the info, so far he is not concerned about my tapering, but neither went into more details about the why of those pains, let see tomorrow. In the other hand I discussed with my doctor my tapering and he says it is ok, but I have my doubts about his abilities, he was the one that put me in those 3 medications in the first place.Thanks
Bob

[sailing1]

Hi again Bob.  There are quite a few people on the addiction social forum right now, so your audience hre may be limited.  If I hadn't seen your note to me, I might not have found this recent post myself.  

Here is my question, and if you don't want to answer it here, you can PM me.  Are you seeing a doctor for this and/or doing self-diagnosis?  The reason I ask is, is it possible that you have masked an underlying, serious condition with the Tramadol, Vicodin, and Xanax that may now be rearing its ugly head in the form of these symptoms?

Bounce-back pain (I think they've called it here) is common when withdrawing from opiate pain-killers.  It can be more severe that the original pain for which the medications were used.  This could also be your problem.  Are you working with a medical practitioner on your tapering, or doing it alone?  I, personally, have been going it alone, and today I feel like my back is breaking, and that's not what I took Tramadol from in the first place...I took it for pain in my knees.

Get back to me one way or the other.  I don't think anyone here would call you boring or annoying by the way...hang in there!

[Bob641]

Nobody has an answer for me??? Am I becoming boring or annoying ??