DUTCHESS GOLDEN TAPERING WITH TRAMADOL FOR PERCOCET

HELLO DUTCHESS GOLDEN
IVE POSTED A FEW TIMES AND A FEW MEMBERS HAVE REPLIED BACK, JEFF PROPABLY GAVE ME A GOOD AMOUNT OF ADVICE ALONG WITH OTHERS TOO. HERE IS THE REAL QUESTION. I TAKE 8-10 5MILLIGRAM PERCS A DAY FOR HERNIATED DISCS AND HIP PROBLEMS. HAVE BEEN FOR ABOUT 7 MONTHS. I SEE AN ORTHO SURGEON IN JULY. I TOLD MY DR. I WANTED TO WEAN OFF OF THE PERCS AND HE WAS VERY UNDERSTANDING. HE GAVE ME A PRESCRIPTION FOR TRAMADOL(ULTRAM) 50 MILLIGRAM TABLETS. 120 OF THEM WITH 5 REFILLS. HOW DO I GO ABOUT THE TAPER. IT SAYS NO MORE THAN 4 TABS A DAY OF TRAMADOL. I STILL HAVE PLENTY OF PERCS. I DONT ABUSE THEM AND AS SAID TAKE WHAT I STATED ABOVE. THAT DOESNT MEAN I KNOW IM NOT DEPENDENT ON THEM , IM SURE I AM. DO I REPLACE THE TRAMADOL FOR THE PERCS. DO I SUBSTITUTE BACK AND FORTH. IVE SEEN YOUR POSTS AND YOU SAID YOU TAPER PEOPLE OFF OF OPIATES WITH TRAMADOL. PLEASE TELL ME HOW SO I HAVE AN IDEA. WHEN I FIRST READ THE PAPER THAT CAME WITH THE TRAMADOL RX IT SAID IT MIGHT CAUSE WDS IF YOU ARE TAKING ANOTHER OPIATE. SORT OF SCARED ME. IVE HAD THEM FOR TWO DAYS NOW AND HAVENT TAKEN ANY BECAUSE I DONT KNOW HOW TO SUBSTITUTE THEM. MY DR. SAID IF IT DIDNT WORK WE WOULD CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN IT CAME. PLEASE TALK TO ME.                 ELVISTCB

[justlikeyou]

if you take a little less every week after many weeks you will be taking nothing.

do it 1 pill a week not 1 pill a day.

stick to your detox regime regardless of what happens.

throw the rest away.

[Angel47]

tramadol is used for break through pain. Your doctor gave them to you so you would not up your perc dose when it wears off.

[DutchessGolden]

I use tramadol to taper patients who abuse the meds for the high b/c tramadol won't give most people a high so there is no temptation to abuse. Did you try to taper with the percocet? Tramadol is an opioid but it is not scheduled as a narcotic like hydrocodone or morphine etc. because it has much less potential for abuse. The reason it says you might have withdrawals with ultram is because it is a mild opiate and if you are opiate tolerant and dependent, too much of a decrease in opiates too fast will cause withdrawal symptoms. Even though you do not abuse your percs. it still is not a bad idea to try the tramadol because it can be very effective for pain even though it is a mild or "weak" opiate. If he gave you 50mg pills, you probably want to take two to start. If you do not withdrawal then start your taper there and slowly decrease. Often you will have to adjust during taper as your body is not only learning how to produce its own endorphins again but also has to learn how to regulate them again- when to produce them, at which receptor sites and how much, that sort of thing. Usually patients on percocet will need anywhere from 100mg to 300mg of ultram per dose to start, but it is always best to start with the lowest possible dose and go from there. I can't remember if you said you had 50mg pills??? It says not to exceed 4 in a day mostly as a liability precaution and for people who are not opiate tolerant.

Has the percocet helped with the pain? Would you mind me asking why you want to stop the meds if you are not abusing them?

Ultram can be more effective for pain with some people because it does not just increase endorphins like all opiates do, but it also increases serotonin and norepinephrine which can make for a great pain management combination.

[elvistcb]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSES. I HAVE NOT TRIED TAPERING THE PERCOCETS AS OF YET. THE DR. AND I WANTED TO SEE IF THE ORTHO SURGEON WANTS TO DO SURGERY OR WHAT. I WANT TO GET OFF OF THEM BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT THE END RESULT IS GOING TO BE. AT SOME POINT YOU HAVE TO STOP TAKING THEM. I DREAD HAVING TO GO THROUGH THE WD PROCESS SO MANY TALK ABOUT. YES THEY DO FOR THE MOST PART TAKE AWAY THE PAIN. BUT THEN AGAIN SOMETIMES THEY PRODUCE THAT EUPHORIC FEELING, EVEN WHEN I AM TAKING THEM FOR THE PAIN. WE ALL KNOW HOW THAT FEELS. DAMN ITS A CATCH 22. DO I KNOW IF I HAVE THE WILLPOWER TO TAPER? ANOTHER GOOD QUESTION. GUESS I WONT KNOW UNTIL I START. SO YOURE SAYING STOP THE PERCS ALTOGETHER AND GO TO THE TRAMADOL AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS. IN SOME OF YOUR POSTS I GET A CHUCKLE BECAUSE I AM TAKING INDEPENDENT STUDY COURSES IN PSYCHOLOGY, AND SOCIOLOGY AND I ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE TECHNICAL WAY YOU PUT THINGS. THANK YOU ALL                             ELVISTCB

[DutchessGolden]

Well I don't have your medical chart but you can continue to take the percocet when you need it. If you want to stop taking them alltogether then you will probably need a little more tramadol so you won't withdrawal. If you are not sure that you have the willpower to taper the percs it might be a good idea to try the ultram. Like your doctor said, cross that bridge when we come to it. The fact is that you don't yet know how you will react to the tramadol. It might leave you in a lot of pain, it might work wonderfully. The best thing to do is to take one or two tramadol (50mg.) and monitor your pain and any withdrawal symptoms. If it helps the pain and no withdrawal symptoms then take the same dose again in the evening. After 24 hours you should have a pretty good idea where you need to begin your taper. And since you are seeing an ortho. next week, you should have a better idea of what your plan should be. You should stay at the same dose for about 5 days when you taper, so you shouldn't need to decrease your dose until it's time to see the ortho. Check this with your doc. and see what he says. LadySundown always checks my posts with her doc too and she agrees, Lady Sundown's doc is probably going to taper her with ultram at the end of her fentanyl patch weaning.

xoxo- D.

[Lotus55]

I just wanted to ask the group if they had experience with Ultram?  I have been on many medications.  Ultram made me VERY sick  to my stomach and I could not tolerate it.  Good luck to you!  I  hope it works for you!!!! Lotusflower

[elvistcb]

THANK YOU SO MUCH,    I WILL CONSIDER YOU AS MY SECOND DOCTOR IF THATS OK WITH YOU. HAVE A GREAT DAY   ELVISTCB

[tztlady]

I am on tramadol.  It basically made my wds from norco one tenth of what it was cold turkey.  All symptoms were lessened.  I take 2 50 mg in morning and at night and also was taking 2 at noon.  I am now taking one at noon so that I can begin my taper from the ultram.  It does nothing for me as far as a high so it isn't hard to taper off it.
It kind of made me a little sick to my stomach a couple of times but not enough to make me really ill.  It isn't helping much for back aches and pain but y back isn't too bad right now anyway, very manageable.