IS THERE HOPE????

[kbworkman]

Hey everyone. I am needing some help and FAST!!!! I am sooooo tired of being addicted to pain meds. My newest addiction is Tramadol. I have been taking it for a while now and I have been up to 7 pills a day. today I decided I was not going to take any more and by 5pm I was in sooo much pain (my back and legs were hurting so bad I could barely stand Is that normal???) I caved and took 4 of them. I am a wife and a mother of 3 very hyper boys. I work full time and am in college. I NEED HELP!!! I want to get off of them for good. Is it better to quit cold turkey or wean off of them??? Please HELP ME!!!!!!

[avisg]

tapering down is always the safest way with tramadol..7 a day right now you should be able do go down pretty quickly would start at 5 pills a day then every five days drop down a pill .This will be long enough to give your body a little time between each drop when you get under 3 you may have to slow down a bit good thing is that you did not wait until you were on a huge dose before you stopped but you do still want to taper .Let us know how you are doing .

[dominosarah]

Tramadol can cause seizures so that is why it is so important to wean yourself down just as traycee said.  Have you given any thought to some sort of aftercare?     sara

[TrayCee]

its VE R Y dangerous to stop this med cold turkey!!!!!!

You MUST wean slowly off Tramadol.

Good Luck!!

[Amaryllis1974]

Hey, and welcome.
There are so many people on here MUCH more qualified to answer your questions...I have been trying to taper for about a month now, and am finally down to 8 per day from 40. It IS possible to taper, but you will need a really good support system. Each person is different. Cold turkey is painful (especially off of tramadol- I have done it!!!), but quick. You can be through the worst part in a week or less.
I am a mother too, so I do understand the fear of having to function. I would recommend tapering if you can. I could not do it without help of my boyfriend who hides them and dispenses them to me accordingly. I pick the amount, so that i am truly accountable, and he leaves them for me in the morning. It is up to me how often I take them and how many at a time, but at the end of the day if I have taken my daily supply- OH WELL.
I try to stay at least at every 4 hours.
Use vitamins, water, and pray (if that's your thing). It is working for me so far.
I wish you much luck, and be patient because it's the holidays so this site is not as active as usual.
Amy