Hello everyone,my name is tony and I would like to share my expieriences with trying to come off of the horrible drug called tramadol.About 3 years ago my doctor prescribed me tramadol for some back problems,during the same time I had been trying many different medications for very very bad depression,not normal depression but crippling depression(unable to sleep,leave my home,panic attacks,dillusions,intense paranoia,my world was a living hell and I came close to killing myself a few times)I have taken just about every drug out there at one time or another so I'm well versed on their effects and what they do.Well as I was saying,I was prescribed tramadol for some back problems and EUREEKA!!!!!! every problem I ever had was gone in an hour,I don't know whats in this stuff but it makes me feel like I'm a teenager again,all of a sudden all my interest's have returned,and the real biggie.......I'm actually able to talk to people,if you don't know what it's like to be scared to death with talking to a person I hope and pray to god you never have to find out.Tramadol is the only drug,and I mean the ONLY drug that has ever helped me,it made my life livable again but it came with a hefty price tag both in financial and mental conditions,I take around 50-60,50mg tramadols a day everyday,I spend over $200 a week on it and have about 10 scripts for it,maybe more because I lost track.I feel like I have sold my soul to the devil for tramadol,if I miss just one dose I start having very frightening side effects,I know what opiate addiction and withdrawals are like because I"ve been thru them(perc's,morphine and oxycontin to name a few)but tramadol is a whole other ball game,if I miss a day I become a danger to myself and others around me,I start having intense vivid hallucinations,If I do manage to fall asleep I have woken up from dreams but still seeing the dreams with my s open,I always think that I have the lights on but I'm sitting in the dark,I am not making any exagerations about this,tramadol is EVIL,it does somthing to your brain that no other drug does,apart from horrible hallucinations I get these brain zaps that feel like seizures,they are very painful and have thrown me to the ground more than once,it feels like some sort of seizure.I am scared to death to miss a dose of this stuff,I am afraid I might hurt myself by accident or hurt some one else because I really don't know what the hell I'm doing,I have tried to taper off this stuff and have gotten down to almost none at all(this was 2 years ago)but that depression I told you about?it comes back with gail force intensity,it seems no matter what way I go I'm in some sort of nightmare,damned if I do damned if I don't,by the way tramadol never did do anything to relieve pain at least not for me but boy can it take away your depression,it is so hard when you are feeling like you want to die and the whole world has turned into darkness but you know if you just take a handful of tramadol it all goes away,it feels like the sun has risen on you,it's relief is intense to say the least.I want to stop taking this stuff so bad,it totally rules me,I can't do anything at all without it,I can't stress enough how evil tramadol is,it is not like coming off of opiates or alcohol or anything else,if some one wanted to control peoples minds they could do it with this drug,I am a slave and want some one to help me so bad,I've gone to the doctor but he didn't do anything for me,he just said taper off of them,I've talked to addictions counselers and they don't even know what this stuff is more less the horrible effects it causes when you stop taking it,hell the company that makes it admits THEY don't even know the full effects it has on the brain!!!!,I have been admitted to the emergency room 3 times because of tramadol related episodes but still I can not get off this stuff.I guess my question is this-has anyone who has had an addiction to tramadol(taking it for depression)found another depression medicine that works like tramadol does but without the pet monkey on your back?,another thing I forgot to mention is I used to drink a lot almost everyday and also smoked pot everyday and occasionally did some coke,but when I started taking tramadol 3 years ago it all stopped and I mean within a few days,I have not drank or smoked pot in the 3 years I've been on tramadol because I don't feel that urge to do it anymore,tramadol helps in so many ways but it just cause's greater problems that are much harder to tackle,SO PLEASE ANYONE OUT THERE,IF YOU HAVE FOUND A MEDICINE FOR DEPRESSION THAT WORKS LIKE TRAMADOL PLEASE SHARE YOUR FINDINGS ON THIS FORUM,YOU WILL BE SAVING A MANS LIFE,GOD BLESS-TONY