Tramadol Withdrawal

[EmilyPost]

Hi Everyone;

Question is; What can I do to make the Tramadol Withdrawal faster and less painful?

I'm so grateful to find this place. I had a severe car accident in 2000 and at the time refused to take any pain meds. However, I injured two lower back discs and ended up with neuropathy into S1, basically my right leg goes numb down to my foot. I mean, it's always numb. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it loses strength.  I massively changed my lifestyle, losing alot of weight, from a size 16 to a size 4. I eat well. But eventually the pain was too hard for me to stand and after the Doctors got afraid to give me any codiene (which was working, and I was taking a total of one a day) they told me about the wonderful new drug called drum roll ... Tramadol. Flash forward about; four years? So I think it's been about 4 years of use. I started with one, moved to two and as I fell into a depression, it stopped "working" and my dosage was upped to 6 a day. It still wasn't working and I had this moment of clarity where I thought; "This drug is freakin poisoning me." And I allowed myself a taper (that was about 2 weeks?) and then I went into cold turkey withdrawal.

Even during the taper, I did not realize I was in withdrawal. I thought I had the flu.

So the last 8 days, (during whihc I have had Zero drugs except klonopin for anxiety)  it goes back and forth from very very very bad to "oh wow, I remember feeling GOOD!!" and it does so fairly rapidly and I have to be frank, it's scary. I feel very alone, though my Family and certain friends know what I am going thru. What I find amaing is that the back pain I was treating with tramadol (and there were also Somas involved, which I also allowed to run out) is not at all as severe as I remember. Which makes me feel that the Tramadol was making my pain worse, instead of better.

I also am now (after resaerching) discovering that tramadol is also an anti-depressant. So, the only mental problem I have is straiight up anxiety! So obviously putting a person on an anti-Depressant who has anxiety will make them really depressed after some tme.

Today is my first day back at work. I feel like CRYING all of the time. I'm physically weakomach. Neither eating or drinking anything sounds like a good idea. I have a very upset stomach.

My Doc told me this was a non opiate no addictive basically perfect drug. But I think I was lied to and I'm really angry. I like feeling angry better than feeling depressed or numb as I did on the tramadol. Anyhow. If there are any other Tramadol Cold Turkey or Tapers out there can you please share your experience? It would help alot to know I am NOT alone.

I am using this natural system called The Thomas Method to detox. By now of course, I have no insurance, I'm all scrambled in the brains and my body feels like I am five years old. I feel that weak and I am not a weak person physically in any way.

Thanks so much for reading this.

White Light, Hugs and Prayers to all,

May your pain vanish and never return!

Emily

[EmilyPost]

Churchill wasn't it? Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself?

I'm not defeated just getting sicker and more pain as the night goes on. It's worst in the morning and then at night. Right now I have a huge migraine like headache. But see, that's just the poison leaving my body. Pain is just weakeness leaving the body.

And oh yes, I'm never ever taking tramadol again and will be a strong proponent against its use. No one should be told a drug is so safe and then have to get sick on it. It's disgusting to me that MD's now this, but keep dolling it out.

I'm not winning this battle at the moment, as in, I have more pain than I can stand, and it has me down in the bed wrapped around the computer looking for people who say they survived this awful tramadol nightmare. BUT I WILL WIN THE WAR!

Mark my words worried878!  

Earlier I was in a panic about how as I going to do this or that and now ... all I am thinking about is .. "So what if I can't do __________? My only job right now is to get thru the night. The next ten minutes. Do you know what I mean? I just feel like Scarlet O'Hara shaking my fist atthe sky, "I won't let them beat me!!!"

Hugs!
Emily

I hope you are well Worried878, and that you don't have a headache the size of texas!

[worried878]

I do believe that u r only defeated when u admit defeat....i really believe that ur mental attitude is almost 100% of addiction...if u dont feel like u can do it...then u probably wont...wanting to do it is a big step......believing in ur self is Almost the rest of the battle...u sound positive and that is good

[EmilyPost]

You know, I have to say that my back pain is actually improved massively since I started to taper the tramadol and I'm not amazed at all. I had a gut feeling it was doing nothing but making me SICK there at the end. Tramadol should be taken off the market.  But I suppose they have plenty of Docs still preaching to the poor hurting people that it is safe just because of the war on drugs. So annoyed!!!

I am going to keep moving forward. It's funny a huge envelope of tramadol just arrived and I gave it to DH and he said, "Don't take anymore ok?" And I had to laugh because I have zero psychological cravings. It's sheer dependence. No desire to poison myself ever again.

And I hear ya about your friend avoiding you when she is drugging or drinking. That is so sad. Tramadol is evl.

Thank you for your kind note!
Emily

[worried878]

My friend that quit hydros with me is now hooked on trams....she does not post on here tho...the other day she had tapered down from 10 to 4 in a matter of a few days and felt ok....she said when she ran out of them before and went a day without, she would feel a horrible depression that drove her to take more....she is addictve by nature...an alcoholic...was a tabber...abuses lyrica ambien and anything she gets...it is sad but she does try...i have not talked to her in a few days so i am not sure if she is till trying to quit...probably not as she avoids me when she is drugging or drinking...this can be done and many on here are clean...good 4 u...my back pain is no worse without narcotics than with them either....keep moving forward...

[avisg]

LOL your inbox is all the way at the top of the page on the right .Then you can PM away ... On the lower right hand side of the page  you will see where it say "health pages " There is some really good info in there as well. stick around there is tons of support.
avis

[EmilyPost]

Hi Avis,

Thank you so much for your kind reply. As a straight up Anxiety Patient, taking antidepressants makes me have suicidal thoughts. I did not know that Tramadol had an antidepressant component in it or I NEVER would have swallowed that first pill.

I will try the tyrosine and I am already taking the vitamins. I just took a lot of Lecithin (which mellows me out) and some valerian root and I am NOT feels as much panic. That could also just be having found someone who doesn't think I am insane for saying that Tramadol isn't a great drug and that in fact it IS an opiate and it's a cocktail that causes the WORST withdrawals I have ever experienced.  I never had problems stopping codeine or stopping Xanax or Vicodin. That was wedding cake compared to this! This is ... like having my brain shaken. If my brain had pain receptors that is!

It makes me very angry when I see some site that is still touting Tramadol as the end all be all safe drug for chronic pain. It makes me wonder who got bribed and how many other people are out there with true physical injuries on this drug unable to get off it.

I'll find the PM button soon I hope. LOL. I'm a little lost. BUT I cannot tell you how comforted I am to find ANYONE who has had these experiences with Tramadol. It's really lonely and yes, I CRY and freak out inside. It was worse, but then it gets better. And then it gets really bad. And then I feel normal. It is scary. I also have read that these are all normal symptoms of withdrawal. So that's good. But the dreams are scary. The night sweats are gross. The feeling that I have been poisoned is scary!

Thank you Avis, you are so comforting to me! Just knowing you made it thru is so good. Thank you again.

Hugs and Recovery,
Emily

[EmilyPost]

The Devil's Drug is a very accurate description. It's so dark and evil and scary. I've literally been in half sleeps that are like hallucinations and it's straight out of a horror film.

Wow. Free from Tramadol since January? That's amazing and wonderful to hear. I haven't been able to be lucid enough to find someone who also got dependant on tramadol. I have really really hard feeelings against the Doctors who assured me it wouldn't be a problem. In the end, I feel like it was making me have suicidal thoughts. Now after 8 days, those are leaving. There will be a flash every now and then, but it is in no way constant like it was 8 days ago. I really thought I was going insane.

I only have about two and a half hours left to work today. Thank goodness. Then I will go home and get in the hot shower and scrub off more of the ick. I read that tramadol leaves the system thru the urinary tract, so i am making myself drink water. But it *****. And I normally have such a level sense of thirst.

Thank you fro your reply! It really helps! Thank you!!

Hugs and much white light to you D,
Emily

[avisg]

Emily,
I also abused tram .I have been clean for almost 10 months so there is a better life out there.I know what you are going thru right now I have been there . If you are not taking any antidepressants there are some amnio acids and supplements that will getting you feeling better .Ltyrosine for energy,5hpt for mood, magnesium and calcium and vit b 6.
I also cryed all of the time the first few weeks I was off of it ..It is a very lonely feeling I promise you it will get better .If you ever need to talk PLZ PM me .....
avis

[desperate1111]

tramadol was my doc also. its the devil drug thats for sure. i've been free from tramadol since january. it will get better. i did the thomas recipe and still take the vitamins. i also take an antidepressant. the depression just about got the best of me. check out the health pages here. lots of support here too. pls stick around.
and welcome.