ULTRAM

[julesbee]

Ultram has ruined my life.  No one knows the extent of what I have been through the last four years, not even my husband.  I was started on it for Fibromyaligia pain when I was 40.  The first time I took it I felt like "super woman."  I was extremely energized, and pain free.  I could work and clean all day without a  problem.  There were a few side effects at first.  Sometimes nausea, itching, and sleepless night.  But to me it was worth it.  I started on 1 a day.  I did this for about a year until my pain started coming back.  They increased it to two a day, then 3, 4 and now I'm on 8 50 mg tablets.  The last two years have been HELL.  The side effects changed dramatically.  I started having horrible mood swings.  I would react to things I wouldn't normally.  I became very edgy, crabby and irritable.  My sex drive went to a zero.  Everytime I tried to taper off I would have horrible withdrawl symptoms and my pain level would be so high I couldn't even function.  Once I flushed them down the toilet but I was so tired, I got a refill to energize me.  I have been having major hot flashes and I'm always in a bad mood.  I get migraines and tension headaches almost daily.  Basically, I need help because I want to get pregnant but I don't know what to do and if I can manage the chronic fatigue once I'm off.  PLEASE HELP...

[avisg]

Sorry to hear about the seizures , People tend to not take that warning seriously , I alway scared the  **** out of me !!!    I got lucky and never had one , I however have seen somone have one on it and it scared me to death...  
Avis

[cherokee_gal]

Good morning, so sorry about the trouble you are having. I have another horror story about Ultram. It can cause seizures in certain individuals (like me). I now permanently take dilantin. I know now ( of course hindsight is 20/20)  that i would have much rather gone through the withdrawls than what I did with the seizures. I hear this side effect is not too common but know that it is there. And yes it is very addicting, i remember the first time i took it i thought i had taken a narcotic pain medication. Avisg is right, its right on the literature that if you have ever had any kind of opiate addiction that you shouldnt take ultram.
God bless and Take Care  

[avisg]

Yeah i cant figure out why the doctors are still so oblivious to ultram being addictive ,it says so right on the paperwork that they give you t the pharmacy. I always new when I took them they were addictive (after the first 30 ).

[avisg]

jules,  You can do this but first , How are you going to manage the fibro pain...  Just like last time the pain is going to seem even worse then it is ,(that's your body trying to tell you it wants the pills).
Then a slow taper is the way to go. Try one pill every five to seven days .If you need to go slower that's fine too ,but this is a good place to start.
  I have been in your shoes I know what you are going threw ,I got clean so can you. When your taper is down rally far like a pill or two then you might want to talk to the doctor about an antidepressant for a while most people that go off tram have depression it effects your serration levels.
Feel free to contact me all you want ...
Avis

[GA Guy]

Ultram is "supposedly" non addictive. I know that when I told my doctors that I used it as a bridge between times when I could get Oxy, they looked at me like I was nuts. I don't even know if a doctor would put you on suboxone for Ultram addiction. If I were you, I'd try a very slow taper. Maybe cutting a quarter pill per dose every 2 weeks. Ultram (tramadol is the generic name) has a very long half life, which seems to prolong withdrawals for people coming off of it. There's some information on my profile page that may be of some help. Just click on the blue GaGuy link to the left of this post.