Tramadol *****,

[badshadow]

I was prescribed Tramadol early this year for "Chronic Pain."  The  Dr. and the Pharmacist said that it was not addictive.

I have not abused the Medication.  I take 100mg 2 times a day.

I have also been doing exercise and physical therapy for my pain.  I decided to cut back and get off the Tramadol a couple of weeks ago because I'm not having bad pain, and it has been aliving Hell.  Just cutting down 50mg at a time gave me extreme anxiety.  so I thought I would just quit altogether and try to go "Cold Turkey."  If I thought I was in Hell before, I really was in Hell then.

The Anxiety was so bad  I couldn't stand it.  I only went a day and a half and today I took my regular dose again.

The Anxiety is greatly diminished and I don't feel so sick, but I am super-scared as to how I will get off this medication.

I have an appointment with my Dr. tomorrow to discuss it, but I don't really know what the Dr. can do for me.

I'm thinking I'll just have to do a really slow taper, just a quarter tablet at a time.

[badshadow]

I'm down to 3 5/500 4 times a day.  I started at 4, 4 times a day.  Last night I had my dose at 9p.m. then after I fell asleep, I woke up at 9, so I went 12 hours.  I feel a little sick today, but I will not go back up or take any more than how I've scheduled my taper.

I'm getting some sleep at night, which is good, I don't feel like I'm losing my mind right now.

I'll stay at this dose for 2 days, and then I'll make another drop.

Has anyone else been on Trazodone for sleep?

[badshadow]

Today I start tapering off the Vicodin.  I'm going to taper 1 pill a day, and I should be off it in 7-10 days.

I did get some sleep last night with the help of Trazodone, GABA, and Dramamine.  I feel groggy today, but the Anxiety is not as bad as with the Tramadol.  I'm not taking enough Vicodin to get "high," but just to take the edge off.

I'm also continuing to take my supplements and am keeping things quiet so I don't get more stressed out.

I know that in a month the worst should be over, and I will start feeling better.

[badshadow]

I am going to be very careful with it, and your right, I don't know if it will make it any easier, but I've never had so much anxiety as I've had with this Tramadol.

The night is the worst because I start getting really anxious about whether I'm going to be able to get any sleep.  If I could overcome that anxiety and just put it in the perspective of "well if I don't sleep, it won't kill me.  I may feel uncomfortable and tired, but I'll be alright" I think half my battle would be won right there.

But I've had a Sleeping Disorder all my life, and don't sleep that well even when things are not overly stressful in my life.  So something like this really gets the anxiety going.

I start "What-Ifing," "what if I can't sleep," "what if I never sleep again," "what if I go crazy from not sleeping," my mind just goes in circles.  I've taken Behavioral Modifcation Classes for my Anxiety Disorder, and it does help some, but almost always, when night starts to fall I get this tightness and tension in my gut.  I try to do "Relaxation Breathing," "no sugar or caffeine," "nothing stimulating before bed," etc. but it's still always that "knot in my stomach" about whether or not I'll be able to sleep.

I'm afraid to travel because I don't sleep well away from home, I don't do alot of things because of this fear.

I know I can take Ambien or other sleep aids, but I don't want to become dependent on those either, so I just do the best I can.

I was actually doing o.k. with my sleep and my taper until I decided to try going off the Tramadol "Cold Turkey."  Even though I went back on at the dose I was prescribed, I haven't been able to sleep for several nights now.  Just doze off for a little bit and then I wake up feeling like electricity is shooting through my body and my brain.

I talked to my Dr. again today, and he is suggesting I go on "Seroquel," but I'm afraid of going on any different kind of medication now because of side effects, and then if it doesn't help, I'll feel worse then I already do.

I know I can knock myself out if I take enough Valium and Ambien but I'm afraid of that too.

I belong to Kaiser and they have a Chemical Dependency program, but you still have to go off the Medication Cold Turkey, and then sit in classes all day while your detoxing.  If I'm not sleeping, I would not be safe on the road to drive.

Fear of what is happening to me is my biggest enemy.  If I could just conquer that fear, I know that would be half the battle.

I'm trying to give myself alot of positive re-inforcement, that I will get through this, I may not sleep for awhile, but I will be alright, and I will get through it.  Obviously many other people have, as I've seen and read here on this forum.

Thank you Bear for talking to me and listening.  I know your going through the same kind of thing.

I really appreciate anyone who responds to me here and gives me encouragement for what I'm trying to do.

[PromisedLand]

great news...be careful with that vicodin...I tried kicking tram by taking a percocet once a day several months ago..for me it didn't work..I'm glad it's working for you but I'm not sure there's a gurantee that this will make it any easier for you.  Your body is still getting the opiate/drug it's screaming for and one day it will be gone and your body will still be screaming...I hope I'm wrong and hope someone will correct me if I am

Best of luck to you badshadow..


Jim

[badshadow]

Well, I don't know why it's helping, but it's helping.

Taking some Vicoden every 6 hours along with Dramamine and  GABA has helped reduce the anxiety greatly and I was able to take a Nap and wake up without feeling like there was electricity running through my body.

I didn't think I would use an Opiate to try to get off this Tramadol, but it seems to be making it easier.  I will start tapering tomorrow and keep tapering down over the next week to 10 days.  Hopefully then when I stop the Vicodin, I'll keep up the Dramamine and GABA and the Withdraw won't be as hellish as it's been trying just to taper off the Tramadol.

My heart goes out to everyone here who is trying to get off these awful addictivie medications.

[badshadow]

Thanks.  I took another dose of the Vicodin at 8:30 this morning along with the Dramanine and I don't feel too bad right now.

My plan is to take 3, 4 times a day for 2 days, 2 4 times a day for 2 days, 1 1/2 4 times a day for 2 days, 1, 4 times a day for 2 days, then 1/2, etc., along with the Dramaine.  That gives me a 10-11 day taper, and then I'll stop.

In the meantime I will be exercising and taking my supplements to help boost my system for when I stop.

I'm just so amazed that the Dr. and the Pharmicist think this medication has no withdrawal effects, and here I've been suffering with Withdrawals going on 2 weeks just trying to taper.

I will not ever take any medication prescribed by a Dr. without researching it thoroughly first.

I had a similar incident 20 years ago after my Mother died.  It was a very Stressful time, and I was having alot of anxiety.  The Dr. I was seeing then prescribed Xanax for me, but never said it was addictive and that I should not stop taking it all at once.

After 2 months of being on this medication I was feeling alot better, and again, I never took more than prescribed, so I decided I didn't need it anymore and just stopped taking it.

I went through horrible withdrawals in the first 48 hours, had a seizure, and the Dr. put me back on it, telling me "then" that this was a highly addictive drug, and that you should never just "stop" taking it without tapering down.  However, going back on the the dose I had been on was not effective, and I didn't sleep at all for six weeks.  I found a Psych Dr. that specialized in getting people off Xanax, and she switched me to Klonopin and convinced me to try taking Trazodone.

After not sleeping for six weeks, I really was desperate, so I started taking the Trazodone and Klonopin I was able to start getting 2 or 3 hours of sleep at night, but it took 3 months to taper off the Klonopin, and I felt sick  the whole time, and another few months after I stopped taking the Klonopin to start feeling "Normal" again.

Even though I wasn't sleeping, I couldn't stand just sitting on the couch all day feeling crazy, so I started exercising alot, and my house was cleaner than it has ever been before or since.  I used to walk around town feeling like a "crazy person."  I even begged her to put me into a Psychiatric Facility, several times, but she encouraged me to stay at home.  She was a very good Dr. and was available for me during the several times I felt so weird and awful I just wanted to kill myself.

I never thought I'd find myself going through something like this again, and being older doesn't make it any easier.  I also have a Husband and a 13 year old daughter, and instead of spending the summer doing the things that I wanted to do with her, I'm struggling to get off this med.

I do try to do the best I can, and I have explained to her that I'm on a medication that is making me sick, but that I will get better.  Fortunately, at 13, she has a good friend network, and is involved with alot of her own projects, still I feel guilty that I'm not there for her as I'd like to be.  My Husband is being understanding, and I'm not working right now, so I can concentrate on taking care of myself.  I'm just telling myself over and over again that I went through something like this before and got better, and I will get through this and get better.

I don't know why, but the Dramamine seems to be more helpful for the Anxiety than the Valium.  Also, I need to try and keep myself as busy as  I can doing physical things, since I can't seem to concentrate on anything.