detoxing/tapering from tramadol!

[jenyc]

Hi all.. I have been reading posts on this forum for the last two days and decided tonight that I should join and post! I am going to skip the part where I explain why I'm taking painkillers (at least for now). Off and on from 2007 through 2009, I took vicoden/vicoprofen for pain management.. never more than two 5 mg pills a day, but usually only 1. For the first year, I took only half... and somehow, even when I became addicted, I still only needed half per day to feel that nice 'high.' I've always been sensitive to drugs. When stopping the drugs after a period of months, I never experienced much in the way of withdrawals. At the beginning of this year, at the suggestion of a doctor, I decided to give tramadol a try. So for the past seven months, I have been taking 1 or 2 50mg pills per day. This drug is crazy! I realize now why it feels so great.. the narcotic effect combined with the antidepressent. Strangely, after taking 2 pills per day instead of 1 for a short period of time, and then trying to cut back to 1, my body punished me for it. It's almost like my body is encouraging me to take more of this stuff.. like I could get withdrawals for not increasing the dosage! And when I wake up in the morning, I usually feel really weird in my head, like maybe I'm getting those 'brain zaps' I've heard some people describe(not sure if that's from the drugs or from not taking them for several hours). Anyway, now for the last couple of months I've been taking two per day. When I cut back to 1 a couple of nights ago, I had a headache and restlessness, crawling skin, anxiety.. you all know how it feels. This is day 3 of taking only 1 pill. I actually slept well last night but maybe that's because I'm taking the one pill at night. Anyway, right now I have a headache and am headed to bed very soon for night 3 of tapering. I decided to start tapering from this drug and getting rid of it for good because I am sick of feeling like it has control of me! I have a blessed life.. and my husband and I are about to go on our annual vacation for the next month. We’re leaving in 9 days! This is not going to be a relaxing vacation (they never are).. we will be around the world seeing sites, busy every day. So this leads to my questions! Does anyone have experience tapering from the same dosage as me (does the amount even determine withdrawals?)? Any idea how long it will take me to not feel the physical effects of withdrawal (I’m hoping nine days or less!)? Has anyone ever tried alternative/natural treatments for withdrawal? I will be getting light therapy from my alternative health practitioner and really hope it will work. Also, I am at the beginning of my ten day master cleanse, which I’ve done in the past for health reasons unrelated to drug detox. I’ve heard that it’s great for drug withdrawal because it pulls toxins, chemicals, etc, from every cell in the body and therefore facilitates a faster withdrawal process (however I am NOT recommending it to anyone!).  I know that the chemicals in many processed foods and sugars can actually make withdrawals worse. Does anyone have experience with any type of cleanse during drug detox? Okay.. I guess that’s it for now. I hope this isn’t too long.. Or nonsensical.. I’m a little out of it tonight. And tired! Namaste.

[madtram]

Ok on the tapering, there is no exact science & it becomes a very individual thing when you are already on a low dose & for a relatively short period of time.

Some have had virtually no withdrawals from tapering down very very slowly & by this I mean say 1/4  of 50mgs a week.  This would mean that you would still be tapering on your trip but may mean a softer ride.

If you are working on a 9 day schedule to get off completely, you could try 1/2 tablet for the next 4 or 5 days then stop which would allow 4 days before your trip to gauge the extent of withdrawals.  All going well, you will be good to go but if necessary, you could just maintain the taper into your trip, as necessary.

[madtram]

Hi Jen, it's good news that you are already down to 1 pill & are motivated to quit after only 7 months.  Tramadol is indeed a crazy drug & your experience of withdrawals when dropping back from 2 pills to 1 is very common. For some tramadol users, the tolerance factor lead them to get up to 30 pills a day.

I was on a low dose but for 5 years & both dose & length of time will effect the time it takes for your neurotransmitters to reset, so your prospects are good.  Unfortunately, you will probably have some withdrawals, given that your body is already protesting somewhat.

Everyone's biochemistry is different but it's not uncommon to have four or five pretty tough days/nights after your final dose, following which things should improve daily.

The most common medium term withdrawal symptoms with tramadol seem to be anxiety/ depression; insomnia & restless legs.

Can't say that I have tried light therapy or master cleansing, (although I have always had a healthy sugar free diet), but anything that contributes to a positive mindset will be your biggest aid in this process.

Tramadol has metabolites which are stored in fat cells which may account partially for the prolonged withdrawal, so any process which assists cellular functioning is worth a try.

You will find the Thomas recipe link at the bottom RH of this page.  It has a good range of things to try for the various withdrawal symptoms common to opiate withdrawal.

I found that the l-tyrosine in the recipe made me shaky & hyper but the b vitamin inositol, (not in the recipe), (6 grams 2x per day) mostly controlled any anxiety for me.

Sleep remedies include valerian; melatonin; antihistamines & 5htp.

So 9 days will be a challenge but IMO, any day is a very good day to quit tramadol.  Best of luck.

[jenyc]

Oh.. and.. can anyone recommend a good tapering schedule? Thanks so much in advance for any responses I get to this post!