Aa
Trying to quit Tramadol
Hello
I've been on Tramadol for about a year, taking about ten 50 mg pills per day, so 500 mg. I didn't really keep track, though, it may have been more for a while. As I've been making my mind up to quit, though, I've maintained 10 a day for a while.
I'm wanting to quit, and looking for input about my plan as well as just plain 'ol support.
I originally took them for legit pain issues but honestly I don't know if I even have pain anymore. And I took more than I should have. I read how addictive they were and did not even attempt to stop. I knew it would be a big deal once I did. I didn't like how they made me feel at first, and can't say I ever really did. I just didn't know when it would be a good time to stop.
I'm a busy, divorced, working mom of two little kids.
Some people, apparently, are real go-getters on Tramadol. Not me. And I have grown very weary of the zoned-out feeling I get on Tramadol. I feel dumb on it and I feel like a zombie. I feel self-conscious, like it's obvious. And I feel awful because my kids deserve a present mom. My boyfriend deserves a present girlfriend.
So, despite reading NUMEROUS horror stories about withdrawal from Tramadol, I started dreaming of stopping. Since I won't be able to take time off mommy-ing and working, I dug into lots of posts and noted what people said helped -- everything from herbal supplements to Benadryl to oxcarbazepine.
I believe that I've read that besides its opioid component, that Tramadol causes Serotonin release in the brain (not a true SSRI, though, I think?) and is an SNRI too, I believe.
From previous prescriptions I am presently armed with probably 20 hydrocodone, a month's supply of Zoloft (an SSRI) and Wellbutrin (acts on norepinepherine and dopamine, I believe). I'm probably not thinking very clearly and I'm just piecing together a bunch of crap I've read. But my thought with the hydro and antidepressants is that perhaps I can taper over to a very minimal amount of hydro long enough to get the antidepressant element of the Tramadol out of my system (should take 24-36 hours Tram-free, that's what I read) , after which I can take some amount of the antidepressants while I continue to taper off the hydro until I'm at zero for opiates. Then when I'm ready I can take a Prozac and be done with the antidepressant withdrawal component. Kind of a "divide and conquer" mentality :) Reading people's reports of coming off this drug, I think the antidepressant part has got to be the worst part to come clear of.
By the way, In case the Prozac part (above) didn't make sense, some people find that it's very very hard to come off an SSRI antidepressant, and I have found this to be the case when I came off the Zoloft a few years ago (I didn't like the way it made me feel and quit after 3 months). When I stopped taking it, my feet tingled and felt "intense" (kind of a restless-legs-syndrome feeling). I felt weird and disoriented. I tried a few times to taper off the Zoloft, taking less and less each day until finally my dose was simply nipping the very edge of a pill! Even so, when I finally stopped altogether, I suffered the discontinuation syndrome and it just made me feel horrid, so I went back on! Well, finally I read that the trick to coming off an antidepressant such as Zoloft (which has a medium-range half life) is to take a SINGLE dose of Prozac. Because Prozac has an long half life, it tapers itself down, beautifully. It worked. So for what it's worth that's my plan this time, when I'm jumping off the SSRI.
So here's what's happened this week, just kind of playing this by ear. I didn't intend to do a fast taper but I found to my surprise that it was possible to go a few days in a row at least on a much lower dose than I'd taken before. Based on my experience coming off an SSRI (where tapering quickly didn't really effect me too badly but that last jumping off point was like going through the rabbit hole), I thought maybe Tramadol might be similar. So far it is.
Sunday, I took 8 Trams (400 mg). Less than half my dose of the previous week. I took a Unisom gel at night (the same stuff that's in Benadryl) and it put me out hard.
Monday, I took 5 Trams (I took 2 at 7am and coasted as long as I could. I took 1 after lunch, and then pushed it until 5pm, when I took 2). I just wanted to see if I could do it. I wasn't going for any particular number. I took a Unisom gel at night.
Tuesday I took 4, I think. Maybe I took half a hydro? Not sure when I started feathering in the hydro. I took a Unisom gel at night and I believe it was hard to sleep.
Wednesday (yesterday), I think I took 3 Trams (one at 7am, 1 late morning when I started to feel wonky, and I think I took 1/2 at bedtime, but not until AFTER it was obvious I wasn't going to sleep otherwise. I took half a hyrdro at bed, too, and two Unisom gels. Even with all that, it was a challenge to fall asleep.
Today is Thursday at 9:40PM and I have not taken any Tramadol yet. I took 1 hydro in the morning and 1/2 a hydro this afternoon. I also took 2 30 mg pseudophedrine (decongestant--the kind you have to sign for) in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. I saw them in my medicine cabinet and I have to say I think they helped me fight the lack of energy I am definitely starting to feel. My skin is crawling a bit but my mind just wants to sleep. I ate a good dinner, though. I am not sure what I'll end up needing to take tonight to sleep. I guess I'm hoping not to need a Tramadol because 36 hours without is coming up fast, and after that I can start taking the Zoloft and see if that's going to make me feel better. I may introduce the Wellbutrin, too.
To others who have quit Tramadol or even attempted it--my full respect.
- Zoey
I've been on Tramadol for about a year, taking about ten 50 mg pills per day, so 500 mg. I didn't really keep track, though, it may have been more for a while. As I've been making my mind up to quit, though, I've maintained 10 a day for a while.
I'm wanting to quit, and looking for input about my plan as well as just plain 'ol support.
I originally took them for legit pain issues but honestly I don't know if I even have pain anymore. And I took more than I should have. I read how addictive they were and did not even attempt to stop. I knew it would be a big deal once I did. I didn't like how they made me feel at first, and can't say I ever really did. I just didn't know when it would be a good time to stop.
I'm a busy, divorced, working mom of two little kids.
Some people, apparently, are real go-getters on Tramadol. Not me. And I have grown very weary of the zoned-out feeling I get on Tramadol. I feel dumb on it and I feel like a zombie. I feel self-conscious, like it's obvious. And I feel awful because my kids deserve a present mom. My boyfriend deserves a present girlfriend.
So, despite reading NUMEROUS horror stories about withdrawal from Tramadol, I started dreaming of stopping. Since I won't be able to take time off mommy-ing and working, I dug into lots of posts and noted what people said helped -- everything from herbal supplements to Benadryl to oxcarbazepine.
I believe that I've read that besides its opioid component, that Tramadol causes Serotonin release in the brain (not a true SSRI, though, I think?) and is an SNRI too, I believe.
From previous prescriptions I am presently armed with probably 20 hydrocodone, a month's supply of Zoloft (an SSRI) and Wellbutrin (acts on norepinepherine and dopamine, I believe). I'm probably not thinking very clearly and I'm just piecing together a bunch of crap I've read. But my thought with the hydro and antidepressants is that perhaps I can taper over to a very minimal amount of hydro long enough to get the antidepressant element of the Tramadol out of my system (should take 24-36 hours Tram-free, that's what I read) , after which I can take some amount of the antidepressants while I continue to taper off the hydro until I'm at zero for opiates. Then when I'm ready I can take a Prozac and be done with the antidepressant withdrawal component. Kind of a "divide and conquer" mentality :) Reading people's reports of coming off this drug, I think the antidepressant part has got to be the worst part to come clear of.
By the way, In case the Prozac part (above) didn't make sense, some people find that it's very very hard to come off an SSRI antidepressant, and I have found this to be the case when I came off the Zoloft a few years ago (I didn't like the way it made me feel and quit after 3 months). When I stopped taking it, my feet tingled and felt "intense" (kind of a restless-legs-syndrome feeling). I felt weird and disoriented. I tried a few times to taper off the Zoloft, taking less and less each day until finally my dose was simply nipping the very edge of a pill! Even so, when I finally stopped altogether, I suffered the discontinuation syndrome and it just made me feel horrid, so I went back on! Well, finally I read that the trick to coming off an antidepressant such as Zoloft (which has a medium-range half life) is to take a SINGLE dose of Prozac. Because Prozac has an long half life, it tapers itself down, beautifully. It worked. So for what it's worth that's my plan this time, when I'm jumping off the SSRI.
So here's what's happened this week, just kind of playing this by ear. I didn't intend to do a fast taper but I found to my surprise that it was possible to go a few days in a row at least on a much lower dose than I'd taken before. Based on my experience coming off an SSRI (where tapering quickly didn't really effect me too badly but that last jumping off point was like going through the rabbit hole), I thought maybe Tramadol might be similar. So far it is.
Sunday, I took 8 Trams (400 mg). Less than half my dose of the previous week. I took a Unisom gel at night (the same stuff that's in Benadryl) and it put me out hard.
Monday, I took 5 Trams (I took 2 at 7am and coasted as long as I could. I took 1 after lunch, and then pushed it until 5pm, when I took 2). I just wanted to see if I could do it. I wasn't going for any particular number. I took a Unisom gel at night.
Tuesday I took 4, I think. Maybe I took half a hydro? Not sure when I started feathering in the hydro. I took a Unisom gel at night and I believe it was hard to sleep.
Wednesday (yesterday), I think I took 3 Trams (one at 7am, 1 late morning when I started to feel wonky, and I think I took 1/2 at bedtime, but not until AFTER it was obvious I wasn't going to sleep otherwise. I took half a hyrdro at bed, too, and two Unisom gels. Even with all that, it was a challenge to fall asleep.
Today is Thursday at 9:40PM and I have not taken any Tramadol yet. I took 1 hydro in the morning and 1/2 a hydro this afternoon. I also took 2 30 mg pseudophedrine (decongestant--the kind you have to sign for) in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. I saw them in my medicine cabinet and I have to say I think they helped me fight the lack of energy I am definitely starting to feel. My skin is crawling a bit but my mind just wants to sleep. I ate a good dinner, though. I am not sure what I'll end up needing to take tonight to sleep. I guess I'm hoping not to need a Tramadol because 36 hours without is coming up fast, and after that I can start taking the Zoloft and see if that's going to make me feel better. I may introduce the Wellbutrin, too.
To others who have quit Tramadol or even attempted it--my full respect.
- Zoey
I've been on Wellbutrin before, and had read that it can ease Tramadol withdrawals. When I took it yesterday I was already pretty anxious and I don't remember feeling any worse after taking it, but it did occur to me that I probably should consider taking it earlier in the day. Although of all nights, last night I slept like a (dry) baby! Agh. Again I'm reminded that haven't really had consistent results yet with...anything, sadly, other than hydro. atthebeach, I believe I took 1.5 yesterday, one when I start having trouble functioning during the day, another portion to sleep.
I'm thinking of trying to jump off Thursday. Part of me doesn't want to do it yet, as I'm so enjoying being there for my kids, and this will mean just another crappy weekend where Mom's not "up to" getting out. I'm so sick of being that person. One really sad thing I'm dealing with right now is facing the reality of just how checked out and tired I've been. I know it's a trap to use chemicals to be the "up" and "fun mom", and I don't want to stop here. I know I have to jump off at some point. I just so want to give my kids a couple of nice weekends before I have to drag us through that.
It doesn't help that I've been legitimately sick for most of December, too...terrible respiratory crap I've never seen the likes of before that had me on ordered bed rest for weeks. I am supposedly not in the clear yet, too...I have a follow up in two weeks to see if my lungs have cleared. I guess I should cut myself SOME slack that I've been legitimately unable to be the mom I want to be...for weeks. I just don't want to do this to them on the heels of that. The timing of this was partly spurred by the laws changing and delay in my Tramadol shipping, and I am completely 100% grateful for that. I had been planning on waiting until summer to quit. Another half a year wasted? No thank you! I already feel like I have so much of my life back. But I am aware that I'm on borrowed time, that I have farther to push.
Thanks again for all your kind words. It really helps to have a place to come and talk about the "big elephant in the room".
I'm thinking of trying to jump off Thursday. Part of me doesn't want to do it yet, as I'm so enjoying being there for my kids, and this will mean just another crappy weekend where Mom's not "up to" getting out. I'm so sick of being that person. One really sad thing I'm dealing with right now is facing the reality of just how checked out and tired I've been. I know it's a trap to use chemicals to be the "up" and "fun mom", and I don't want to stop here. I know I have to jump off at some point. I just so want to give my kids a couple of nice weekends before I have to drag us through that.
It doesn't help that I've been legitimately sick for most of December, too...terrible respiratory crap I've never seen the likes of before that had me on ordered bed rest for weeks. I am supposedly not in the clear yet, too...I have a follow up in two weeks to see if my lungs have cleared. I guess I should cut myself SOME slack that I've been legitimately unable to be the mom I want to be...for weeks. I just don't want to do this to them on the heels of that. The timing of this was partly spurred by the laws changing and delay in my Tramadol shipping, and I am completely 100% grateful for that. I had been planning on waiting until summer to quit. Another half a year wasted? No thank you! I already feel like I have so much of my life back. But I am aware that I'm on borrowed time, that I have farther to push.
Thanks again for all your kind words. It really helps to have a place to come and talk about the "big elephant in the room".
You have been on Wellbutrin before I see, it has a similar chemical composition as a diet pill, it may give you energy, but for most people anxiety, restlessness etc for first couple weeks.. And insomnia.
Maybe it's contributing to your nerves?
Good job! Get baby powder or cornstarch and drown your body and sheets in it for sweating too!
Maybe it's contributing to your nerves?
Good job! Get baby powder or cornstarch and drown your body and sheets in it for sweating too!
hey zoey,
yes the magnesium/potassium are for the rls. the melatonin definitely helps some people sleep. the immodium does help with the sweats.
how much hydro are you still taking? is 1/2 all you took the whole day?
glad you are feeling better. enjoy your time with your children.
keep on moving forward.
debbie
yes the magnesium/potassium are for the rls. the melatonin definitely helps some people sleep. the immodium does help with the sweats.
how much hydro are you still taking? is 1/2 all you took the whole day?
glad you are feeling better. enjoy your time with your children.
keep on moving forward.
debbie
Happy MLK Day!
Just continuing to post on this thread for posterity.
Last night around 7 I was already feeling sweaty and gross and hadn't even tried to bundle up and sleep yet. Skin was crawling. Kids are at Dad's, boyfriend away so I was trying to watch a movie.
I hadn't done much from the Thomas Recipe because I am not off opiates totally yet. But I am clearly withdrawing so I decided to try an experiment. I took, in turn:
1. L-Tyrosine, 2000 mg. No impact.
2. 6mg Immodium (all I had left) - No impact.
3. Magnesium (not sure the amount. Big pill - no impact.
4. Potassium - no impact.
5. Buproprion 150mg - perhaps felt a little better?
6. Finally, I went ahead and took 1/2 a hydro at bedtime, as I've been doing. Felt much better. Still irrationally cold to some extent, but not gross and sweaty.
But then I took a 10 mg Melatonin capsule (which I just bought yesterday) at bedtime, instead of my 2 Unisom I've taken, and still had restless legs.
I slept like a baby and didn't wake up all sweaty! Interesting. So there must have been something in what I had taken earlier that combatted the RL and sweat. Maybe I'll get some more Immodium today in case that was part of it. The magnesium and potassium may have really h elped, too. I hadn't touched it since I thought it was making me more antsy. Could have been unrelated. It seems like feelings come and go sometimes randomly.
I've woken up feeling underwater and groggy after taking Unisom, even though after I take it it still takes eons to kick in. The Melotonin made me feel fine in the morning, and it feels like I really slept, rather than checked out. I think I'd tried it years ago and discredited it, but I'm glad I gave it a second try.
I am planning some fun things with the kids this week, and have a very busy work week. In general I just feel so much more with it. Even though I'm a puddle of sweat and nerves sometimes, without the Tramadol haze I'm much more present with my kids. I'm also better at being consistent with them because I'm not paralyzed by that crap. Looking forward to being fully free.
Just continuing to post on this thread for posterity.
Last night around 7 I was already feeling sweaty and gross and hadn't even tried to bundle up and sleep yet. Skin was crawling. Kids are at Dad's, boyfriend away so I was trying to watch a movie.
I hadn't done much from the Thomas Recipe because I am not off opiates totally yet. But I am clearly withdrawing so I decided to try an experiment. I took, in turn:
1. L-Tyrosine, 2000 mg. No impact.
2. 6mg Immodium (all I had left) - No impact.
3. Magnesium (not sure the amount. Big pill - no impact.
4. Potassium - no impact.
5. Buproprion 150mg - perhaps felt a little better?
6. Finally, I went ahead and took 1/2 a hydro at bedtime, as I've been doing. Felt much better. Still irrationally cold to some extent, but not gross and sweaty.
But then I took a 10 mg Melatonin capsule (which I just bought yesterday) at bedtime, instead of my 2 Unisom I've taken, and still had restless legs.
I slept like a baby and didn't wake up all sweaty! Interesting. So there must have been something in what I had taken earlier that combatted the RL and sweat. Maybe I'll get some more Immodium today in case that was part of it. The magnesium and potassium may have really h elped, too. I hadn't touched it since I thought it was making me more antsy. Could have been unrelated. It seems like feelings come and go sometimes randomly.
I've woken up feeling underwater and groggy after taking Unisom, even though after I take it it still takes eons to kick in. The Melotonin made me feel fine in the morning, and it feels like I really slept, rather than checked out. I think I'd tried it years ago and discredited it, but I'm glad I gave it a second try.
I am planning some fun things with the kids this week, and have a very busy work week. In general I just feel so much more with it. Even though I'm a puddle of sweat and nerves sometimes, without the Tramadol haze I'm much more present with my kids. I'm also better at being consistent with them because I'm not paralyzed by that crap. Looking forward to being fully free.
Ugh. Woke up in a pile of sweat...but slept TEN hours? The first 5 or so were Unisom aided... Maybe I got some real sleep after that ? Weird. Still trucking Tramadol free...guess I'm waiting to feel normal before stopping the hydros. I suppose I'm going through Tramadol withdrawal.still, even with the help of a little hydro. I'm very very lazy. Bed and movies are my level of true motivation and zest for life these days, but I am able to fake it for periods of time.
Jordan, that's good advice about the insomnia. It feels very awkward when the other half doesn't know what I'm going through, though. I feel kind of trapped in bed, which makes it worse, of course!
Weird about the Immodium fever!
Weird about the Immodium fever!
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