Withdrawal from percocet - doctor gave me tramadol

[bobcat21]

Hi All,

I have been reading the posts on here for some time and decided that I would finally ask a question of my own because you all seem so helpful. I have been addicted to percocet for 3 years. I was given them for migraines and kidney stones and the doctor has kept me on them for my migraines. I told her that I want to come off of them and tought I could taper but realized I am not strong willed enough. She gave me 90 tramadol (50mg) and said that would relieve the withdrawal symptoms. I take anywhere from 60-100mg of percocet a day. Does any one have any experience with this? I get no high from tramadol so I thought of using it for several days and then taper off of it. I know the is not good to sub one drug for another but I cannot do cold turkey. No one knows about this and I have kids and a job that I cannot miss. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I also have Klonopin if that will help! Thanks!

[ladywithtime]

i have taken clonidine and i would recomend that instead of the trams. it really does help with the rls, hot/cold flashes, it can aid in helping you sleep (makes me tired). if your doctor is on board with clonidine then by all means take them instead of the trams. clonidine is non addictive whereas, trams are evil! the best to you.

[Devonlee]

Like someone else said I would leave the tramadol alone BUT if you do take it take the least amount as possible and no more than a week tops. It may or may not help... everyone is different. The Klonopin can help with anxiety and sleeplessness. Again can be addicting so use sparingly....you dont want to accidently swap one addiction for another. Good luck with it all!

[bobcat21]

One more question - my doctor has been very supportive of me wanting to get off of this medication. Will Clonodine help?? I know she would prescribe it. Has anyone taken it before?
Thanks!

[bobcat21]

Thank you so much for your help and advice. I should have mentioned that while yes I have been taking opiates for 3 years it was not always as bad as it was now. I used to take them much less, and just recently, since a major family trauma have I been taking as much as I am. I am just so scared and I don't know what to do. I have read a lot of sites that say that tramadol/ultram took away almost all of their withdrawal and made them functional and then I see some people say that it did not help much at all. I have used tramadol before for a few days when my doctor was out of town and I needed a refill and I maybe felt a little sluggish but no major withdrawal. the longest I have ever gone cold turkey is like 30 hours. How long should I expect the worst to last - especially if I am on the tramadol? I am so scared

[cleaninitup]

as mebroken and zeke said tramadol is also addictive and from what I have read on here is even harder to get off of.  I tapered off of 6-7 5/500 vics after 2 1/2 years and when I got to 2 a day went cold turkey. I did have some trams kicking around the house and ended up taking them during days 2-3 ( i think it might of been 4 all total) and it did help with the withdrawals but all they really did was put them on hold for those days and the wds came right back just as strong on day 4.I also never got a high from them but I would be weary of using them. H

[nikki361]

it can be dangerous to mix drugs with other ones but i dont think tramadol is going to hurt you because my mom also takes that along with various other drugs.

[mebroken]

have you ever detoxed before?
my drug of choice is different so i can't answer with certainty but i *think* that it is unrealistic to think that you can go to work and take care of kids and everything else too while detoxing from a 3 yr opiate addiction. yeah trams and klonopins will help a little with the symptoms (just do NOT take either for longer than a week or so- tramadol IS very addicting and has it's own nasty withdrawals) but they are not going to erase them totally by a long shot. calling in sick to work *might* have to happen and if you can enlist someone, anyone, to help with the kids do so.  detox is one of the hardest things you'll ever have to go through and asking for help is wise. i'm not trying to scare you- just prepare you for a realistic goal here. (like i always try to do everything i possibly can before starting a home detox, stock up so household will not run out of anything since i know i won't be able to go to store, pay bills,  have empty laundry basket, etc etc, ya know so that i do not have to try to do anything but detox while i'm detoxing. i know how incapacitated i get- maybe you are different....or maybe you've never gone through this before). anyways, i wish you the best of luck and an easy detox! :)

[zeke1982]

Just to let you know, I was prescribed tramadol 50mg twice a day for my suboxone withdrawal. I took it on day 6 (when I finally got it, I didnt see the doc right away) and it made me feel better when I was in acute withdrawal.

Being an opiate abuser as long as I have been this immediately set off an alarm. I was assured by the doctor and by the pharmacist that tramadol is not an opiate, WRONG. Tramadol is a synthetic opiate and an anti-depressant, 2 evils in 1 pill. I made a conscious choice to bite the bullet and get through this once and not substitute for another opiate, I flushed the tramadol down the toilet to make sure I would not be tempted and after lingering on this forum and reading I am very glad that I did!

Please dont let my personal experience deter you, things may be different for you, but I strongly recommend doing more research on tramadol.