Aa
Tapering Tramadol
Hi, I've been reading all ur posts for a month and hadn't had the courage to post myself but I need some help... I am tapering dow from Tramadol. I got tramadol from my Dr 8yrs ago and I enjoyed the energy it gave me so after my back pain was gone from my car accindent I just kept taking it for the energy. My Dr told me that it was not addicting and I could continue using it for minor pain... I was taking 12-50mg pills a day. I have been tapering down and I am at 2-50mg a day... My question is, If I stopped now will I have real bad withdraws? I can't take off any days from work and I just need this to be over... My friend told me that because its not a strong norc I should be fine but I heard that it can be bad even if I taper even lower because of the amount of time I was taking them. Is that true? Tapering down has been hard for me but I've stuck to it. I'm afraid to feel worst and have my employees notice something is wrong with me??? I also heard that after your down to 100mg a day it just gets worst so I'm freeking out... Please , any info you can give me on this??? Thank you all... All ur post have kept me strong with my tapering down and I thank God for finding you guys...
Hi there,
I work with Ausanil and your inspiring story was recently brought to our attention. We’re thrilled it offered you some relief and would love to share your story with others like you who might be looking for an all natural non-prescription way to rapidly relive their severe headaches or migraines. Would you be open to sharing a testimonial with us that we could use on our website and social media? Please let me know whenever you have a moment.
Thanks,
Julia
I work with Ausanil and your inspiring story was recently brought to our attention. We’re thrilled it offered you some relief and would love to share your story with others like you who might be looking for an all natural non-prescription way to rapidly relive their severe headaches or migraines. Would you be open to sharing a testimonial with us that we could use on our website and social media? Please let me know whenever you have a moment.
Thanks,
Julia
I'd like to share my TRAMADOL addiction story here. There just does not appear to be many successful stories of people getting off the addiction so I thought I'd share some of the things I did to help myself get out of the nightmare. I hope this quick story and info may inspire you.
I once tried cold turkey without having any real knowledge. What a huge mistake that was and I'm sure set me back many years. No one, unless he has a Big S on his chest could possibly survive that type of undertaking -- it's not an easy feat and can be deadly! I was ready to die on the third day until I caved and started right back on the drug!
I had been taking approximately 150mg daily for the last few years, even up to 400mg when I was reaching for more to feel normal at odd times. My body was addicted to some kind of pain med for several years due to migraines, stress, poor diet and primarily MOH (rebound headache!) For years I contemplated my addiction and believed that this was simply my destiny and a way of life for all eternity until one day I just decided no more.
I am now 52 and I dropped estrogen entirely from my medications. I knew that fluctuations in estrogen caused headaches and triggered migraines. I knew that the side affect of Topamax which curbed my appetite (and gave me significant weight loss!) affected my blood levels so I needed to eat more and regularly.
With the above information I decided to arm myself and slowly and very carefully begin to reduce my Tramadol intake about 1/4 tab every few days and only after I'd acclimate to a new dose and felt okay. I wanted to feel good about going to the next level.
I continued to eat regular meals even if I wasn't hungry and most importantly stay hydrated. I never drank a lot of water and I forced myself to drink, drink, drink. I put bottled water everywhere I went. I even bought hydration drinks like EcoDrink. Dehydration is a trigger to my chronic yuckiness and headaches wherein I would reach for a Tramadol, and I especially wanted to avoid any and all yucky feelings during my tapering process. Staying actively hydrated has truly helped during this process. Eating foods I really enjoy has also stimulated my appetite and I've gained a few pounds and this has also helped alleviate triggers to headaches for low blood sugar levels. I could stand the weight gain so it didn't matter what foods I ate but I've always ate sensibly and chose very desirable delicious foods. I really treated myself and made an effort to cook special meals which included protein which I lacked in my daily diet. Lamb chops, rib eyes, kale and spinach pasta, turkey lunch meat snacks, Fage yogurt and protein fruit shakes. I also included plenty of fresh fruits like strawberries and took Vitamin C and Calcium supplements as well. I never really went hungry and I pee'd a lot!
The tapering surprisingly has not been very difficult. I've had a bit of RLS (restless leg syndrome) at the initial states but that seemed to subside as I acclimated to new dosage and as I tapered down it just disappeared. I smoked a bit of medical grade marijuana for pain only one night and that helped me sleep.
And interestingly I never really felt any withdrawal headache. I even purchased the new Ausanil for migraines from Amazon to have.... just in case. I used it only three times when I first cut back too much and felt headache withdrawal in the PM and then adjusted my taper to 1/4 tab. I've not had to use it since then but I have it and it's a new miracle homeopathic drug for migraine and MOH pain.
I have had upset bowels and sneezing. I've used an allergy med to help with the sneezing. The loose stools are not terribly difficult.
I'm now proud to say I'm taking 1/8th of a 50mg tab. That's 6.25mg down from 150mg of my original addiction, and it's taken me just over 2 months of tapering to come to this point. My little blue pill splitter has done its duty and I may even split the 1/8th tab in half one more time before I completely jump off altogether. Coffee in the AM has also helped me to get moving and alleviate any lingering yuckiness from a first day taper.
I've really learned to trust myself through this process and to know that this goal IS achievable. With every little taper, I've done it, and that's empowered me to easily go to the next level. I've done it safely and have prepared myself with good food and plenty of water and the correct frame of mind. I've never pushed myself too fast and only tapered down when I felt I was ready to go to next level. I've listened to my intuition and done what I've felt is right for me. I know my body and I feel this is now achievable.
I can't say for certain my experience would be the same for you but I can you this. I didn't let much of the negativity that one reads in many of the blogs bog me down or discourage me. My first cold turkey did, however, scare me and that was about five years ago. It's taken me that long to get to this point.
I sincerely hope you don't have to go as many as five years as I did or even longer to realize that getting off Tramadol IS doable and is not as difficult as some people would have us believe. The drug companies would love to have us continue our addictions, wouldn't they --- so just who are all the people contributing to the blogs, really? Let's hear some more success stories, please!
I did the necessary research for a proper taper and prepared and set realistic expectations. It was not the easiest thing to do, but it wasn't nearly as difficult as I was led to believe through blogs and thus conjured in my mind.
I hope my experience as it relates to you may help you and will inspire you to get off this awful drug. I now see the real light at the end of the tunnel. This was a beautiful gift to myself and I truly wish you all the best and good health.
Best wishes,
luckygal50
I once tried cold turkey without having any real knowledge. What a huge mistake that was and I'm sure set me back many years. No one, unless he has a Big S on his chest could possibly survive that type of undertaking -- it's not an easy feat and can be deadly! I was ready to die on the third day until I caved and started right back on the drug!
I had been taking approximately 150mg daily for the last few years, even up to 400mg when I was reaching for more to feel normal at odd times. My body was addicted to some kind of pain med for several years due to migraines, stress, poor diet and primarily MOH (rebound headache!) For years I contemplated my addiction and believed that this was simply my destiny and a way of life for all eternity until one day I just decided no more.
I am now 52 and I dropped estrogen entirely from my medications. I knew that fluctuations in estrogen caused headaches and triggered migraines. I knew that the side affect of Topamax which curbed my appetite (and gave me significant weight loss!) affected my blood levels so I needed to eat more and regularly.
With the above information I decided to arm myself and slowly and very carefully begin to reduce my Tramadol intake about 1/4 tab every few days and only after I'd acclimate to a new dose and felt okay. I wanted to feel good about going to the next level.
I continued to eat regular meals even if I wasn't hungry and most importantly stay hydrated. I never drank a lot of water and I forced myself to drink, drink, drink. I put bottled water everywhere I went. I even bought hydration drinks like EcoDrink. Dehydration is a trigger to my chronic yuckiness and headaches wherein I would reach for a Tramadol, and I especially wanted to avoid any and all yucky feelings during my tapering process. Staying actively hydrated has truly helped during this process. Eating foods I really enjoy has also stimulated my appetite and I've gained a few pounds and this has also helped alleviate triggers to headaches for low blood sugar levels. I could stand the weight gain so it didn't matter what foods I ate but I've always ate sensibly and chose very desirable delicious foods. I really treated myself and made an effort to cook special meals which included protein which I lacked in my daily diet. Lamb chops, rib eyes, kale and spinach pasta, turkey lunch meat snacks, Fage yogurt and protein fruit shakes. I also included plenty of fresh fruits like strawberries and took Vitamin C and Calcium supplements as well. I never really went hungry and I pee'd a lot!
The tapering surprisingly has not been very difficult. I've had a bit of RLS (restless leg syndrome) at the initial states but that seemed to subside as I acclimated to new dosage and as I tapered down it just disappeared. I smoked a bit of medical grade marijuana for pain only one night and that helped me sleep.
And interestingly I never really felt any withdrawal headache. I even purchased the new Ausanil for migraines from Amazon to have.... just in case. I used it only three times when I first cut back too much and felt headache withdrawal in the PM and then adjusted my taper to 1/4 tab. I've not had to use it since then but I have it and it's a new miracle homeopathic drug for migraine and MOH pain.
I have had upset bowels and sneezing. I've used an allergy med to help with the sneezing. The loose stools are not terribly difficult.
I'm now proud to say I'm taking 1/8th of a 50mg tab. That's 6.25mg down from 150mg of my original addiction, and it's taken me just over 2 months of tapering to come to this point. My little blue pill splitter has done its duty and I may even split the 1/8th tab in half one more time before I completely jump off altogether. Coffee in the AM has also helped me to get moving and alleviate any lingering yuckiness from a first day taper.
I've really learned to trust myself through this process and to know that this goal IS achievable. With every little taper, I've done it, and that's empowered me to easily go to the next level. I've done it safely and have prepared myself with good food and plenty of water and the correct frame of mind. I've never pushed myself too fast and only tapered down when I felt I was ready to go to next level. I've listened to my intuition and done what I've felt is right for me. I know my body and I feel this is now achievable.
I can't say for certain my experience would be the same for you but I can you this. I didn't let much of the negativity that one reads in many of the blogs bog me down or discourage me. My first cold turkey did, however, scare me and that was about five years ago. It's taken me that long to get to this point.
I sincerely hope you don't have to go as many as five years as I did or even longer to realize that getting off Tramadol IS doable and is not as difficult as some people would have us believe. The drug companies would love to have us continue our addictions, wouldn't they --- so just who are all the people contributing to the blogs, really? Let's hear some more success stories, please!
I did the necessary research for a proper taper and prepared and set realistic expectations. It was not the easiest thing to do, but it wasn't nearly as difficult as I was led to believe through blogs and thus conjured in my mind.
I hope my experience as it relates to you may help you and will inspire you to get off this awful drug. I now see the real light at the end of the tunnel. This was a beautiful gift to myself and I truly wish you all the best and good health.
Best wishes,
luckygal50
Hello - just read your post and wanted to let you know that (unfortunately) what you are feeling is completely normal. I am about 88 days clean from a horrible Tramadol habit (14+ years @ VERRY high daily doses). The sneezing and runny nose drove me CRAZY. If you are 5 days out the worst of the physical stuff should start to drastically decrease in the coming few days. You will still have symptoms off and on for awhile; possible several months. But they become really more emotional than physical. Due to Tramadol's anti-depressant features you may go through some ups and downs emotionally as well as some anxiety. There are many natural remedies that can help with this if you find them to be bothersome. You can check around this forum for ideas and help. One really big thing for me was exercise. I mean as soon as you feel good enough, even a short walk (outside in the fresh air if you are lucky enough to be somewhere warm), or on a treadmill (that's what I did). Exercise will increase your energy and improve your attitude (in addition to other obvious benefits!). Eat healthy foods as much as possible, get lots of liquids (water even), or try Vitamin Water "Revive" - this has great stuff that your body needs now. You mentioned a therapist - so you do have some kind of aftercare in place? This is absolutely crucial for your success to become clean and stay that way. There will be challenges every day but you will find them easier and easier to conquer. I still have moments (coming up on 100 days!), but even now, at worst, they are no where nearly as bad as any day strung out in a fog, broke and miserable on Tramadol. Congratulations on your choice to get off the tram train and your 5 days clean! Good luck and keep posting your progress :))
Julie
Julie
I am almost off these but the damn sneezing and coughing is killing me. Even after 5 days of not taking any. I just want want to feel better soon. I still get the whish whish sound in my head and the pins in needs in my fingers. My counselor said with research he has done Tramadol is one of the worst to detox from and can take several weeks to feel better. Glad there are people out there who have been thru it.
I think I will call the pharmacy tomorrow and ask... I would hope my Dr or the pharmacy would have told me not to take them together if I was at risk of having a seizure but I am def going to ask tomorrow just to make sure... Thank you...
Whew..........she is absolutely right. Don't ever take an AD with tramadol. Especially the amount we were all on. WOW! That is a seizure waiting on a place to happen.
What you can expect is the leg cramps to get considerable. Buy and take several of Hyland's Leg Cramps. It's OTC near the vitamins. It saved me. Mine hurt so bad that I cried from it. AND.........I do not cry! LOL Also, since that is one of the worst symptoms of tramadol wd, get some Epsom Salts to put in the bath if you aren't already. Here is what else I got and what I took it for........
Mag/Cal/Zinc supplement-taken for everything, mainly for leg pain and restlessness.
Imodium-Taken for the obvious, but it helps more than that. You can google to read, but it helps lots of the symptoms.
Advil/Tylenol-Aches and any low grade fever that might come up.
Potassium supplement-because bananas just didn't do it!
Apple Juice and Gatorade-All the above. Drank it for dehydration, leg cramps, it's full of good stuff that you need. You can dehydrate quick!
Also, you'll be freezing and sweating at the same time and too low energy to wash all your comfy clothes to keep changing, so do that now. Wash ALL comfy clothes, pjs, towels etc. You'll be using quite a bit of them!
My advice, which I didn't follow but wish I'd done it. Stay busy. Go to work. Make yourself. Do SOMETHING! If you try to stay still, you'll be all the more miserable. I tried, and I flopped all over the bed from side to side and top to bottom, like a fish out of water! That doesn't help anyone. For real......
If you can at all, just go to work, buy the above things as you will be needing them. Keep posting on here with any questions. We can help you! The rest you have to just stick out. It's perfectly doable if you have your mind truly made up! : )
What you can expect is the leg cramps to get considerable. Buy and take several of Hyland's Leg Cramps. It's OTC near the vitamins. It saved me. Mine hurt so bad that I cried from it. AND.........I do not cry! LOL Also, since that is one of the worst symptoms of tramadol wd, get some Epsom Salts to put in the bath if you aren't already. Here is what else I got and what I took it for........
Mag/Cal/Zinc supplement-taken for everything, mainly for leg pain and restlessness.
Imodium-Taken for the obvious, but it helps more than that. You can google to read, but it helps lots of the symptoms.
Advil/Tylenol-Aches and any low grade fever that might come up.
Potassium supplement-because bananas just didn't do it!
Apple Juice and Gatorade-All the above. Drank it for dehydration, leg cramps, it's full of good stuff that you need. You can dehydrate quick!
Also, you'll be freezing and sweating at the same time and too low energy to wash all your comfy clothes to keep changing, so do that now. Wash ALL comfy clothes, pjs, towels etc. You'll be using quite a bit of them!
My advice, which I didn't follow but wish I'd done it. Stay busy. Go to work. Make yourself. Do SOMETHING! If you try to stay still, you'll be all the more miserable. I tried, and I flopped all over the bed from side to side and top to bottom, like a fish out of water! That doesn't help anyone. For real......
If you can at all, just go to work, buy the above things as you will be needing them. Keep posting on here with any questions. We can help you! The rest you have to just stick out. It's perfectly doable if you have your mind truly made up! : )
Well depending on what they are you shouldnt be taking them with trams! Your Dr should know that. Taking them together can cause seizures. Im glad you didnt take them yet. Do your research about the antidepressant you were given and if its safe to take with trams. Most are not! Just be careful...
My Dr gave me some anti depressants but I'm scared to get addicted to them so I haven't been taking them so far... Should I start taking them before lowering my next pill or when I just stop taking tramadol.
Well you can expect all the same w/d symptoms as an opiate but you may also have some more noticable depression due to coming off the Antidepressant aspect of it too. So, night sweats, RLS, fatigue, Yawning, sneezing, diarrhea, lack of energy, some people have nausea. Basically you will feel like you have the flu. Check out the Thomas recipe because it gives great tips on how to help with some of these symptoms. If you dont get any of it, Immodium is a must! Also, get started on vitamins. Magnesium, Potassium, Multivitamin, and B12. The B12 will help with energy (i recommend sublingual tabs) Also take hot baths to help with the RLS and muscle aches.
The worst of it will last about 5 days or so and then after that you should start to see improvement. Just post here often because this place is great for support and to get answers to questions.
You can beat this!
The worst of it will last about 5 days or so and then after that you should start to see improvement. Just post here often because this place is great for support and to get answers to questions.
You can beat this!
Thank you so much for ur post. I guess I'm wondering if its going to be real bad withdraws now that I tapered to a lowe dose? I'm going to start meeting next week but I've just been so tired that after work all I do is come home and take hot baths because my legs hurt real bad... I don't have any more back pain so that's a blessing... What can I expect when I drop my las two pills?
LeaAnn is right!, Trams are no fun to kick but is definitely doable and many have. I tried to stop c/t myself from about 15-20 a day but I wished I had tapered. I think since you are down to 2 a day your going to feel much better than from what you were taking. Your going to still have withdrawls and Im sure you are already experiencing them at some level with the taper, but it will be slightly better. \
I strongly recommend aftercare because once you beat the physical part of this, the mental part can be tough! Just post here and ask questions! Many here to help you.
I strongly recommend aftercare because once you beat the physical part of this, the mental part can be tough! Just post here and ask questions! Many here to help you.
Hi! I stopped tramadol in March of 2010. It's not easy. You can still do it. I stopped cold turkey at 15 a day. One of the scariest and hardest things of my life, and I've been on a PDR's worth of meds over the years. Tramadol has an anti depressant effect....that accounts for the energy it gave you. There are symptoms you'll have and things you can do to treat them. I'm not normally a "vitamin girl" but I learned to be. I was desperate, so I took the advice I was given, and just held on as tight as I could to my friends here on Medhelp and at home. You have to have some kind of support. Trying to do this "without anyone knowing" isn't going to probably be possible. You'll need something like counseling or NA meetings or some sort of aftercare of your choice. First, you just have to get through each day and not use, just like with any other drug you would try to stop. Tramadol is just pretty harsh! : (
Can I help you somehow, specifically? I'm happy to help.
Can I help you somehow, specifically? I'm happy to help.
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