Tramadol

[Dekko]

Hi. I have been taking 200mg of tramadol everyday for a year for back pain, and I was wondering is this a lot? And how bad will the withdrawal be on this dosage? Thanks for ur time!!

[MYBURDEN]

I ended up with a whiplash injury from a car wreck at age 25. I started taking Tylenol 3 with codeine for about 3 years. Then I switched to tramadol, which worked great at first. I started with 50 to 100 mg a day, which really reduced my spinal pain. After about 3 years I was taking 150 mgs per day, with the occasional Tylenol 3 with codeine thrown in. Fast forward to age 32, I was taking approximately 4 lorcet 10 mgs(hydrocodone) per day, with approximately 150 to 200 mgs of tramadol daily. Then I went for one and a half years with no lorcets, but only the tramadol that I ordered online as I had lost my job because my injury had worsened. I also lost and sold my home. That was a miserable time with pain, only having the tramadol!  After I sold my home, I went back to a doctor and they put me back on 4 lorcets daily, 10mg hydrocodone, plus they put me on 6 50mg tramadols daily. It worked great for two years, until my body got used to the lorcets. So my doctor put me on 4 percocets daily, 10 mg of oxycodone, with 8 tramadol daily, 50 mgs. It worked very good on my pain for the most part. Then I was upped to 8 percocets daily, plus 6 tramadol daily. Fast forward to age 42, my money has finally run out again, so I can no longer afford a doctor or have surgery. I have been taking tramadol daily for 17 years, been on several opiods, the last several months being 4 percocets daily at 10 mg per pill, and 3 tramadol (150 mg total) daily. Sixteen days ago I stopped my percocets, cold turkey. Two days later I went cold turkey with the tramadol. (Note: I have detoxed off opiods before ct, with never any symptoms). This time was different, and it was the tramadol. Remember, I have been on them every day for 17 years. The second night I had electrical shock sensations going through my spine and through my right arm. It would come and go. The lethargy was incredible. I felt half dead, like I had the flu. At night, if I slept for 45 minutes to and hour or so, I was doing good. I would wake up, and beat the bed with my fists out of frustration. The 4 th day, I forced myself to walk 2.5 miles and sweat in the sun. I also forced large amounts of water through my system. The dreams are very vivid, and at times frightening from the tramadol withdrawal. Thank God I have not had any depression(unless you call waking up after 45 minutes of restless sleep beating the bed depression, lol.) It is now 15 days after the tramadol cold turkey, and I have better energy(finally), but I still sneeze like crazy, have the runny nose at certain times, and lethargy will hit me out of the blue. I still have to deal with my spinal injury, my original pain, so it makes the withdrawals tough, as I know I have 85 percocets in a lock box. But so far I have held off. I don't know how many of you believe in God, but I did a lot of praying the first couple of weeks, asking God to help me get through.....and I believe he has, and will. I don't know how much longer the sneezing, runny nose, (and every two or three days I still get a slight electrical sensation in my left arm), and lethargy will last, but it is getting better. After the first 7 or 8 days, I started sleeping 3 hours at night, then I would take a bendryl and sleep 3 more. At around the 12th day I was sleeping 6 to 7 hours per night straight through. If you tough it out, it will get better. And if you don't have a medical condition, you will be thankful that you did. If you still have an injury like I do, then you just have a cross to bear the rest of your life. I hope this helps someone who may be scared or worried what it is like to get over withdrawals.....its tough at first, but remember, the human spirit is tougher! And you will see life more clearly once you get through it. God bless everyone one of us!

[hampstead]

You seem to know a lot about tapering down i wonder if you can help me i was taking 4 a day of hydrocodon 10/325 for 4 years  i started tapering down about abot 4 weeks ago the last two days i have been on 2 and a half a day i get bad with drawalls in the morning is it better to take a little though the day i take it 2 times a day then at night i take lunesta to sleep what do you think thanks  

[Fireby29]

Tramadol is terrible stuff, and ought to be banned like Darvocet.  Far to many people get tricked into thinking it is somehow safer and not a narcotic.  Phooey.

Having said that, you can get off of it, and should.  This is where you need your doctor though.  Because tramadol also alters mood in a different way then standard narcs, you can have issues just going cold turkey.  And when it's bad, like another poster said, you can have seizures.  Get on a taper with your docs and friend/family help.  Let's us know how your doing, good luck.

Bryan

[maria920]

no not at all.. if i took it like i was supposed to it was about 3 or 4 but when i wasnt able to get heroin i was very scared of wd ( before i stopped using) sometimes id take 8-9 at a time and i kno tht its VERY VERY dangerous but i was scared to wd. when i was using it for detox i had mayb 7 a day for 2 days then taper down from there. now im on suboxone and im not allowed to take tramadol bc of the program which is ok.

[pitbullmom]

i was on 1500 mgsof tramadol  a day for yrs along with  150 mgs of perc/oxy/vic im now on sub if i were u i would taper down cuz u can have seizures from w/d of tram

[GarbageAddict360]

Long-term use of high doses of Tramadol may be associated with physical dependence and a withdrawal syndrome.Tramadol causes typical opiate-like withdrawal symptoms as well as atypical withdrawal symptoms including seizures. The atypical withdrawal symptoms are probably related to tramadol's effect on serotonin and norepinephrine re-uptake.

Symptoms may include those of SSRI discontinuation syndrome, such as anxiety, depression, anguish, severe mood swings, aggressiveness, brain "zaps", electric-shock-like sensations throughout the body, paresthesias, sweating, palpitations, restless legs syndrome, sneezing, insomnia, vivid dreams or nightmares, micropsia and/or macropsia, tremors, and headache among others.

In most cases, tramadol withdrawal will set in 12–20 hours after the last dose, but this can vary. Tramadol withdrawal lasts longer than that of other opioids; seven days or more of acute withdrawal symptoms can occur as opposed to typically three or four days for other codeine analogues.

It is recommended that patients who would like to discontinue their tramadol, to do so gradually over a period of time that will vary according to the individual patient and dose and length of time on the drug.  Talk to your doctor! They can help you do it properly.

[Dekko]

Ok cheers thanks for the advice. Do ya mind telling me how many u took per day?

[072410]

I was on them for migraines and i was on 50mg for about 11 months and the wd was pretty bad!  It lasted about 4-10 days i recommended u speaking to ur dr to taper down.