Trying to get off Tramadol

[doonthegallowgate]

I have been taking tramadol now for about 8 months for quite severe pain in my back following a serious accident. I had tried other painkillers but tramadol was the only one that gave me some relief. I had been taking it for about 2 months when i was going on a stag party with my friends and as i would be drinking, i didn't take any of them with me. That is when i knew something was seriously wrong, I felt terrible. A strange tiredness and heavy feeling came over me, i was sweating, my skin was crawling, i kept getting a weird feeling in my back which made me tense up constantly and sleeping was impossible. My girlfriend had to travel over 100 miles to pick me up to give me the tramadol again, after a while i felt fine. Since that time i have been scared to death of ever running out of tramadol or my doctor stopping them. The withdrawls are so bad. It is starting to run my life to an extent, If ever i am going anywhere, i have to always make sure i don't forget my tramadol, if i do, i have to turn back. I am on 500mg per day and i know i will have to come off these at some point but i am dreading it. The other thing is that i still get pain in my back at work and i will end up having to substitute it with something else when i stop to be able to work, so i can't win. It also effects my libido. I am a young man and as otherwise normal before but now my desire for that is much less than before. My doctor didn't warn me what could happen when taking these pills and i am so angry for that, i would never have started. When reading all these comments, i don't know if it makes me more scared of what i know i am going to have to go through or makes me feel better that there are other people who understand. i have tried coming off them a couple of times recently but it's just too hard, i can't go longer than about 10 hours then it gets too rough. I can handle the tiredness and the sweating, even the heavy head feeling but it's the not being able to sleep and the tensing in my back that really distresses me, It's hard to explain but it drives me crazy. I also get very adgitated when coming off them and can't eat. Wish i hadn't started on them but i know the time will come when i have to go through these withdrawls and i'm not looking forward to it atall. I dread the day my doctor wants to take me off these. What i want to know is, if i do manage to stop these. What else can i do for the back pain i experience during work? i honestly think that i will just end up finishing one addictive painkiller and starting on another. The Doctors can't seem to get to the root of what is causing my back pain. My accident was over a year and a half ago but since then i have had a crippling pain in my back when working and without pain relief it affects my work and ability to do my job, not to mention it grinds me down. So for now i just continue to take 10 50mg tramadol pills a day (2 more a day than prescribed) and dreading the day my doc suggests coming off them. Never ever thought i'd ever be addicted to any drugs, let alone a drug which was supposed to help me.

[madtram]

In response to your earlier post, you can split the 50 mg caps into smaller doses by using empty gel caps so it's actually possible to taper as slowly as you need to.

No-one else can experience your pain so replacement pain relief may be a challenge if you have tried many other painkillers unsuccessfully.  I can only repeat that many of us found our pain improved after stopping tramadol & also find their pain manageable with non opioid meds; physical therapy & accupuncture etc.

It's often a trade-off at the beginning though.  It was easy for me because once I knew that tramadol was poisoning me, I couldn't bear to ingest another pill.  If you are more ambivalent about continuing to take tramadol, the alternatives will probably seem less attractive.

Best wishes.

[pharma9]

You are describing all the classic symptoms of tramadol withdrawal.Tramadol is a sneaky drug that posesses both opiate stimulant and antidepressant properties,It is a cousin to effexor and is as difficult to stop as that antidepressant.It also causes tolerance rather quickly and causes a rebound pain that is worse than the original pain.It is not treated like a narcotic but it really is and is just as addicting if not more.There is a forum called Emily Posts Tramadol and ultram Recovery #22 site.Come on over there and there are many people with exactly the same problem as you and we will be happy to advise and help you along.