Tramadol WIthdrawal, How long does it take?

[ReneR2004]

Hello, I'm a 55 year old on tramadol for severe degenerative arthritis. I had gotten my Rx from a cheeper pharmacy to try and save money, and found it wasn't working as well as the higher price brand. So I started taking three pills instead of the prescribed 2 pills 3 times a day.  I did this straight for about 2 months then just this past Wednesday I starting feeling funny, shallow breathing, clammy skin and then it hit me about the tramadol and I looked it up and then realizied that I had unknowingly overdosed myself!! I stopped taking the pills Saturday.
I'm feeling much better, just a few withdrawal systems.
What I would like to know is does anyone have any idea how long it takes for the tramadol to get out of your system?

[ReneR2004]

You know I think you're right. And you want to know the strange thing,  when I was taking the pills I was still in pain.  now I haven't taken a pill since last Saturday and I have not yet had any pain!!!
Now that I can't understand.

[madtram]

There is another possibility with tramadol that is worth considering.  Many of us found that even on the same brand, at a certain point we developed tolerance to the effects of tramadol & would find it necessary to increase our dose to get the same effect or avoid going into withdrawals.

I stuck with the prescribed dose but found myself regularly suffering withdrawal symptoms of insomnia, extreme fatigue & rebound pain.  There are a significant number of posters who now believe that tramadol is highly unsuitable for long term pain management.  If you are seeing your doctor, this may also be worth discussing.

I'm glad you are feeling better now.

[ReneR2004]

Hey, thanks. I think you're right about telling my Dr.  
My son is visiting this Friday and it will be the first time since July that he's come to visit (he lives in Ohio and I'm in Va) and I wasn't in the hospital. So when he's gone I think I'll go ahead next week and "confess" to my Dr

thanks again, you made me feel a little better.

[sortingitout]

Hi dont beat yourself up...you have pain and you need pain relief but you have concerns about the side effects and potential for addiction. You have nothing to be ashamed at by going back to your doc and discussing your concerns. Its not like you have been seriously overdosing on purpose, you just felt the product you had was inferior....I bet your doc would rather you spoke to them now than leave it to run on and on taking a product that isnt working as well as you had hoped....good luck x

[ReneR2004]

The dosage was 50mg tablets. I'm really afraid to tell my Dr...she'd kill me. I feel so stupid!!!  I'm also a former nurse. I'm on disability now due to several medical problems.
I wasn't getting them from an online pharm, it was just that the pharmacy I  was getting them at was cheaper, but they didn't seem to be as strong as the ones I had been getting from a pharmacy that costed a really lot more......I guess that just proves, you get what you pay for.

[leeisgettingclean]

tramadol should not be cold turkeyed. You might want to invovle your doctor. Were you ordering from a online pharm?

[sortingitout]

Forgot to say there are pages here giving info on tramadol you could try looking there for lots more info and peoples personal experience of tramadol x

[sortingitout]

Hi not sure what dose your pills were...i,ve read that upwards of 300mg is a no no, guess it might be different if you have co existing medical problems. I had a terrible time with them and wouldnt ever, ever advise suddenly stopping them but i seriously abused them taking around a 1gram some days so its hardy surprising i suffered. i found day 3 to be the worst for me. I,m glad to hear you're not suffering big time but i would advise you go speak to the doc who prescribed them. Tramadol can be sooo addictive and the w/d can be really awful, if you could maybe discuss your pain control and find an alternative, one that you dont feel you are getting nasty side effects from and dont risk getting physically or emotionally dependant on. I think if you have got this far and feel things are improving then the worst of the physical stuff is passing, i felt ok after about a week. I,m not a doc or anything, just someone who has had a problem with Tramadol over the years and is very suspicious of it. But i am a addict and have abused whatever i could. Good luck with your pain control and hope you continue to feel better x