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Quitting Tramadol (Support Group)
I'm just trying to bring together some people interested in quitting Tramadol. I have made up my mind 100% and am going to quit. So I'm tapering down 1 pill per week or two. I was at 15 per day a couple months ago. Now I'm at 11 per day. I had an excellent support group when I had to quit taking Methadone back in 2004 Aug. and it helped me a lot. So if anyone would like to join me, come on in.
Oh--and best of luck to anyone stopping Tramadol. Don't let the horror stories scare you, just do your homework and research but know that you may find yourself astonished at how relatively easy it was, once you put your plan in effect.
If you are a female who gets a monthly cycle, I can say that I feel that it is worked for me to quit both the Tramadol and the hydro some time other than PMS. Right after my period worked best for me--I was the most chipper and had more in my emotional reserves. We don't always get to choose our timing but if you can, you may consider this.
If you are a female who gets a monthly cycle, I can say that I feel that it is worked for me to quit both the Tramadol and the hydro some time other than PMS. Right after my period worked best for me--I was the most chipper and had more in my emotional reserves. We don't always get to choose our timing but if you can, you may consider this.
Hello!
I so feel for you. There is hope--you can get off the nasty Tramadol. There is a lot of support on medhelp, but it looks like this room gets visited less frequently, and slows down on the weekends. If you have not done so, you may also want to post in the Addiction: Substance Abuse forum.
I posted above you a few weeks ago that I was stopping using hydrocodone, and what my general philosophy of quitting was. I wanted to update my quitting experience in case it helps anyone. I have not taken a Tramadol since Jan. 9 (thought it was the 10th but I see above it must have been the 9th). I used a small amount of hydrocodone (Vicodin) daily for 16 days after quitting the Tramadol, then when the timing felt right I successfully quit the hydrocodone without tapering. I tried to take as little as possible of the hydro, just to keep the worst of the WDs at bay so I could function. I'm a working single parent of two little children. I can't drop any balls. Otherwise I would have tried just tapering off the Tramadol and stopping it. I read enough nightmares about doing that that I was terrified to do it. I'm glad I didn't do it that way, but for some, it works, and the horrid WDs probably help keep them away from the Tramadol forever. I wasn't particularly fond of the way it made me feel...just ended up having trouble stopping it. So I'm not worried I'll go back to it, no matter how easy it is to quit. I just wanted OFF.
By the way, I too was nudged by the change in laws in 2013 that made it harder to order Tramadol online. I am thankful for this--beyond thankful. I HATE Tramadol and the hold it had on me and have been wanting to quit for a long time. My plan was to wait until I could take a week off and the kids would be with their dad's family...half a year away. Now it's done and I'm so grateful.
Anyway, the hydro thing worked for me, and I've also heard of people using Kratom, the plant derivatives of which can be ordered online. It acts kind of like an opiate but isn't really one. It is, however, supposedly mildly addictive in its own right, so neither of these quitting aids should be taken any longer than necessary.
For me, I felt like during the 16 days I was off Tramadol but still taking hydro, I suffered the worst of the withdrawals. I was well aware that although I was taking on average 10 mg of hydrocodone a day, it was only keeping the WORST at bay. That made me feel good, as I knew I was working toward something, not just swapping evils. On this small amount of hydro I could function really well during the day, it was only nights that were hard. And they were. I'm not going to candy coat it. BUT I never went a full night without sleep. Eventually I dropped off.
The worst, I agree, are the chills and sweats. Man...I soaked the bed every night before sun-up. I had to make up thyroid stuff to blame it on. My poor boyfriend never had a clue what I was (am kind of still) going through. Last night I had a moment when I thought I should just tell him, especially now when I can claim triumph. But it's really embarrassing for me. Still, maybe I will...I am still rather flat emotionally and still trying to wake up my brain. The poor thing is just plum out of dopamine and serotonin. Oh--I gave up taking those antidepressants I mentioned...I thought it premature and found I could do without them. I DO take Rhodiola rosea (a natural supplement said to do all kinds of cool things for your brain and body) and Sam-E.
I have also relied heavily on the OTC products recommended in the Thomas Recipe for Detox. If you Google it and find the one that suggests Benzos, just mentally swap Melotonin, Valerian root, or Unisom for the Benzos. They won't knock you out as well but Benzos are very, very addicting and problematic/dangerous to stop. Since Tramadol withdrawals last long enough for that to become its own problem, it is wise to avoid those. It's also wise to avoid hydros or Kratom, but for some, those things may be the kindler, gentler (and ultimately effective) way. I was able to use the hydros because I had them left over from before...but of course not everyone can go that route.
Some things you might consider asking your doctor about:
I've heard of using Neurontin, and there's a study that shows promise using the anti-convulsant drug Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal). I've read anecdotal reports by people who were coincidentally put on either of those at the time of stopping, who were very surprised to find their Tramadol withdrawals mild or nonexistent.
Clonodine is the ol' faithful of opiate withdrawal, and I believe it can help Tramadol WDs, too.
I so feel for you. There is hope--you can get off the nasty Tramadol. There is a lot of support on medhelp, but it looks like this room gets visited less frequently, and slows down on the weekends. If you have not done so, you may also want to post in the Addiction: Substance Abuse forum.
I posted above you a few weeks ago that I was stopping using hydrocodone, and what my general philosophy of quitting was. I wanted to update my quitting experience in case it helps anyone. I have not taken a Tramadol since Jan. 9 (thought it was the 10th but I see above it must have been the 9th). I used a small amount of hydrocodone (Vicodin) daily for 16 days after quitting the Tramadol, then when the timing felt right I successfully quit the hydrocodone without tapering. I tried to take as little as possible of the hydro, just to keep the worst of the WDs at bay so I could function. I'm a working single parent of two little children. I can't drop any balls. Otherwise I would have tried just tapering off the Tramadol and stopping it. I read enough nightmares about doing that that I was terrified to do it. I'm glad I didn't do it that way, but for some, it works, and the horrid WDs probably help keep them away from the Tramadol forever. I wasn't particularly fond of the way it made me feel...just ended up having trouble stopping it. So I'm not worried I'll go back to it, no matter how easy it is to quit. I just wanted OFF.
By the way, I too was nudged by the change in laws in 2013 that made it harder to order Tramadol online. I am thankful for this--beyond thankful. I HATE Tramadol and the hold it had on me and have been wanting to quit for a long time. My plan was to wait until I could take a week off and the kids would be with their dad's family...half a year away. Now it's done and I'm so grateful.
Anyway, the hydro thing worked for me, and I've also heard of people using Kratom, the plant derivatives of which can be ordered online. It acts kind of like an opiate but isn't really one. It is, however, supposedly mildly addictive in its own right, so neither of these quitting aids should be taken any longer than necessary.
For me, I felt like during the 16 days I was off Tramadol but still taking hydro, I suffered the worst of the withdrawals. I was well aware that although I was taking on average 10 mg of hydrocodone a day, it was only keeping the WORST at bay. That made me feel good, as I knew I was working toward something, not just swapping evils. On this small amount of hydro I could function really well during the day, it was only nights that were hard. And they were. I'm not going to candy coat it. BUT I never went a full night without sleep. Eventually I dropped off.
The worst, I agree, are the chills and sweats. Man...I soaked the bed every night before sun-up. I had to make up thyroid stuff to blame it on. My poor boyfriend never had a clue what I was (am kind of still) going through. Last night I had a moment when I thought I should just tell him, especially now when I can claim triumph. But it's really embarrassing for me. Still, maybe I will...I am still rather flat emotionally and still trying to wake up my brain. The poor thing is just plum out of dopamine and serotonin. Oh--I gave up taking those antidepressants I mentioned...I thought it premature and found I could do without them. I DO take Rhodiola rosea (a natural supplement said to do all kinds of cool things for your brain and body) and Sam-E.
I have also relied heavily on the OTC products recommended in the Thomas Recipe for Detox. If you Google it and find the one that suggests Benzos, just mentally swap Melotonin, Valerian root, or Unisom for the Benzos. They won't knock you out as well but Benzos are very, very addicting and problematic/dangerous to stop. Since Tramadol withdrawals last long enough for that to become its own problem, it is wise to avoid those. It's also wise to avoid hydros or Kratom, but for some, those things may be the kindler, gentler (and ultimately effective) way. I was able to use the hydros because I had them left over from before...but of course not everyone can go that route.
Some things you might consider asking your doctor about:
I've heard of using Neurontin, and there's a study that shows promise using the anti-convulsant drug Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal). I've read anecdotal reports by people who were coincidentally put on either of those at the time of stopping, who were very surprised to find their Tramadol withdrawals mild or nonexistent.
Clonodine is the ol' faithful of opiate withdrawal, and I believe it can help Tramadol WDs, too.
Iv been taking 12 tramadol for the past year every day and maybe more sum days wats te best way to detox and is there any medication I can take to ease the withdrawals please help
I have been taking tramadol for about 8 years now. I started taking it for lower back pain (arthritis). The way it started is that I would just take the prescribed dose- 4- 50mg/day but I liked the way it made me feel so started taking more and more gradually up to about 12 pills a day. Now it's getting harder to get it off the internet and the price is going up so I really want to stop taking this but am scared to death about the withdrawals. I am 55 years old and just finished up nursing school. I have not been able to find a job yet and this addiction could be why. My doctor told me that the withdrawals from this would not be anywhere near as bad as other drugs such as vicodin. I have no medical insurance so I can't just run to the doctor all the time. I go in once a year for a script but it is never enough.I need some serious help as to what to do.
So I am trying to quit tramadol iv been a addicted to it for over a year now. I don't know how it happened I started taking it for migraines and iv always had horrible depression and anxioty so when I take it it calms me down gives me peace and I had a rough childhood with my mother abandoning me at the age of 8 years old. I liked the way it numbed me to not feel any emotions. I am taking 8 pills a day and this is a big step for me because this is the first time iv ever admitted to having a problem iv tried to stop before but I have no support system no one nos about my addiction iv kept it hidden very well however I just started therepy today but have not told them about my addiction for fear of it going on my medical record. I don't want to be this dependent on something anymore. I withdrew once a few months ago and it was torture I only stayed clean about 2 weeks befor I relapsed. The worst part was the cold sweats by far followed by the chronic insomnia. Does anyone have any tips on the best way to tapper off this horrible drug so I don't have those? I really want to focas on getting my life back in control but since I have no support I was hoping I could get a little advice idk what to do I just want my life back.
Hi guys and gals I'm on day 3 without Trammies but I'm using hydros I had leftover from the past in order to ease withdrawals. It doesn't make logical sense to me but I've read this can be done and so I'm trying it. I can't afford to "get the flu" right now--single parent...job...little kids.
I had been taking 10+ per day for a year, I think. I managed to drop down to 8, then tried to do 5, found it possible, at least on that day. It was the next few days when I dropped down to very little that I started feathering in the hydro. It was a busy work week and I just took the bare minimum possible to function--not to feel good. Day one I took half a hydro and 1.5 Trams. The next day I tried taking no Trams and it worked...with 1.5 hydros (these are 5/500s, by the way. Now on that night I really couldn't sleep and I took way too many Unisoms (Benadryl) trying to do so. The following day I did the same during the day but at night I took a hydro to sleep. So that day was 2.5 hydros, no Trams. Today is Saturday and I've had a very lazy day and have gotten by with 1 hydro. I'll probably need one to sleep, though Ill try to get by with half.
One more thing: once I was 36 hours since the last T, I started Zoloft and Wellbutrin. I don't know if I really need to do this, though.
Basically my philosophy is this: I know how to get off antidepressants and hydros. To do both at once would royally suck, though. I'd like to quit the hydro first (and stay at the lowest dose possible) and then the ADs. Divide and conquer!
I had been taking 10+ per day for a year, I think. I managed to drop down to 8, then tried to do 5, found it possible, at least on that day. It was the next few days when I dropped down to very little that I started feathering in the hydro. It was a busy work week and I just took the bare minimum possible to function--not to feel good. Day one I took half a hydro and 1.5 Trams. The next day I tried taking no Trams and it worked...with 1.5 hydros (these are 5/500s, by the way. Now on that night I really couldn't sleep and I took way too many Unisoms (Benadryl) trying to do so. The following day I did the same during the day but at night I took a hydro to sleep. So that day was 2.5 hydros, no Trams. Today is Saturday and I've had a very lazy day and have gotten by with 1 hydro. I'll probably need one to sleep, though Ill try to get by with half.
One more thing: once I was 36 hours since the last T, I started Zoloft and Wellbutrin. I don't know if I really need to do this, though.
Basically my philosophy is this: I know how to get off antidepressants and hydros. To do both at once would royally suck, though. I'd like to quit the hydro first (and stay at the lowest dose possible) and then the ADs. Divide and conquer!
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