new to this- need help!

[so_it_goes]

Hi all those out there in cyber land!  

My name is Jenny and I'm new to any of this computer forum stuff.  But I decided to give it a try because I need help.  To be blunt, I'm a drug addict.  I've been fascinated by drugs since I was 13- first started smoking cigs and pot, then slowly it escalated to taking my dad percs.  I chilled out somewhat in college, but afterwards, all hell just broke loose.  I did about a 6month binge on coke, got drunk every night for about a year.  With the help of my current boyfriend though, I managed to pull my life together after that.  I quit drinking for good (haven't touched the stuff in 2 years) and stopped the coke.  Then I found tramadol.

I thought tramadol was a wonder drug.  I'm in the medical profession, so I can get it whenever I want.  It made me happy, gave me energy.  But now it's ot of control and I want out of this.  I've been off and on trams for the past year.  I've made 3 successful attempts to quit (well, they were successful at the time).  I started with them again at the very end of July, and I've been up to about 5 pills a day.  I'm scared!  I've never taken this much before!  This might not sound like a lot, but I'm a very tiny person who's about 90lbs on a good day- it doesn't take much to screw me up.  I want to quit for good.  I think I want to taper, because I can't deal with the wds from ct.  I've never tapered before- any advice?

Oh, I know this is getting long but there's one more thing.  My boyfriend (who's well aware of my pill problem and wants me to quit for good), caught me taking them the other day and made me promise I would quit ct.  I feel terrible but I lied to him :-(  I don't want to quit cold turkey (I have tons of exams and work this month- including a surgery practical), I wanted to taper.  I hate lying to him- should I tell him the truth?  I don't think I want to because he won't let me taper.  He told me he thinks thats an  excuse just to take more pills.  He's never been into drugs like this and he thinks w/d doesn't really happen.

Oh lord, how did I get into this?

Hope you are all well and I look forward to your imput!
-Jenny

[Mustang01]

I know this sounds crazy but  a couple of months ago I started taking Chantix to help me quit smoking, I quit taking it and then had restarted it and it happened to be at the same time I was runing out of my pain meds, I did not go into full W/D synptoms. I am on the Chantix now along with the Clonidine, but I did take the Chantix before without the Clonidine and it did help with the W/D symptoms..I wonder if this could be an off lable use for Chantix at some point if the knowladge gets to PCPs.

[Mustang01]

I am glad to see you are willing to stop the Ultram, that is the first step. I also know you can't change other people or the way thet think so, don't worry about them, you have to worry about yourself, and do what is wright for YOU!. Once you take care of yourself everything else will follow. I also know it is hard to stay away from opiates in general, you will have that nagging little part in your brain that says, just 1 little pill and I will feel better, But no, don't do it, when your old self comes back you will look back and say to yourself, how in the world did I do that to myself, almost like looking back and saying, How in the world did I get though school full time while working, studing, taking care of a home, 3 kids, after school activities, cooking, laundry ..etc...
The mind game it plays with you is the hardest part of detoxing and can go on for months, Hold on and hold tight, take it one day at a time and don't worry about tomorrow, today has enough troubles of it's own.

[so_it_goes]

Good for you for flushing this sh*t!  I can't wait until the day I can say I did that.  I was actually doing pretty good @ quitting- I quit c/t the end of may and was sober until the end of july- the longest I've ever gone.  Then I left the country for work and I was in a country where you could by trams OTC dirt cheaper.  and I messed up.  Ugh.

[Mustang01]

Iam on Avinza 60 mg QD and 6 - 15 mg Oxy tabs QD, and in 3 days with the help of the Clonidine, I am down to just the Avinza and 1 oxy a day, when I tried to taper the oxy below 4-5/day I would feel the W/D but this Clonidine is a merical for me, I have to go back to work tomorrow after the 3 day holiday, I was scared I would not be able to function at work but today I feel great since using the Clonidine, I did't think anything would take theW/D out that fast. I use to be on the Ultram and thought if I was to ever get off it I would never go back due to the W/D from it, No one can understand it/the med if they have never taken it, I was on up to 6/day of the Ultram and would take 2 at a time. Yes, sezures are very commom with CT detox off a large amount for a long time, I have seen this where I worked at the hospital. I still have butt loads of the Ultram here at home, I don't know why I never flushed it away, I think I will do just that right now!

[TysonRed]

Your boyfriend needs to be understanding that tapering is probably the most long term successful way off of ultram. Ive taken it on and off and never had problems, but for some it no different than an oxy addiction, some actually report they believe the w/d are even more intense. I find it a bit odd just because oxycontin has such a long half life, that in return you get longer withdrawl period, but never the less many here have struggled tooth and nail with tramadol. Going cold turkey off tramadol can also cause seizures, its somewhat uncommon but it does happen, so you need to be careful. Above post was right some clonidine could really help you with your withdrawl, regardless if your blood pressure goes up or not. Others Ive spoken to have recieved clonidine and a 2 week script for valium to help with sleep as well. Valium obviously you would need to use some caution with, but Ive talked to many that used both in conjunction with another and had excellent results. Im not really sure about how long tramadol w/d lasts, I believe avisg has a whole bunch of info that you could benefit from. You need to explain to your boyfriend that a taper is the safer way to help you, rather than quitting c/t just because he wants you to. There are potentially life threatening episodes that can occur upon abrubtly stopping, so please just be careful. Keep posting here, there are so many more that have a lot more info than I, but dont be pressured into the cold turkey, it isnt for everyone, and especially if you have things coming up that are important. Good luck with everything, if you have any questions feel free to send me message/note or just keep posting. All the best!

[broknbck]

Definately a good idea to taper and not cold turkey.
Even with a taper it is going to be uncomfortable and trying. it is probably not a good idea to do this with lots of things on your table due to the way it messes with your head.

Get with the doctor and come up with a plan together. and bring the boyfriend along so he is better educated on what is going on with you. he needs to understand this isn't like deciding to quit smoking ciggerettes. it is not that easy and can be dangerous.

[Mustang01]

The best way to detox is to taper, You can cut by 1/2 tab a week, you have to let your body get used to the new dose. Just cut 1/2 tab a week and take the suppliments mentioned above.(if able, Clonidine and xanax for a short while) You don't want to taper down to fast or you will feel the W/D. I have heard of some people and my self, that Ultram is hard to detox. I used to not even be able to get out of bed when I would wake up with out taking a dose, the sweats when I woke up were extremly bad, so I would have a dose out on my  bedside table with a glass of water for when I woke up and take ot before I got out of bed, then when it would kick in I could get up without the air hitting my cold/sweaty body.

[so_it_goes]

Does anyone know how fast/slow I can taper off tramadol?  How long should it take me to go from about 250-300mg a day (5-6 pills) to zero?

[Mustang01]

I tried that Thomas thing and it did nothing for the W/D. You will do good with takin Sam-E for mood, B-Complex and gensing for energy, Neuro-PS for memory, L-Tryptophan, Melatonin, GABA and passion flower for sleep, you can get most of them in a blend called "sleep Pretty in Pink". Of course you could take some Xanax but be carful it is deadly to come off of.  I am on day 3 tapering and I am feeling no W/D from the meds I am on, they were/are perscribed.

[Mustang01]

Clonidine is not a controlled med.It is used for HTN (hypertention) but it is also used for W/D symptoms fron PCP. It works really well if you taper and use the Clonidine. Clonidine is used for short term HTN to get a BP (blood pressure down) so if you note your BP going up due  to W/D you could ask for a short term use of Clonidine to bring your BP down, HTN is one of the W/D symptoms. This weekend was the first time I tried the Clonidine and I am really suprised on how well it works, at first it made me fell in a deep fog and very tired but today Iam feeling alot better, more awayk.

[K Todd]

Well you came to the right place!

If you click on the "Thomas Recipe" on the lower right hand corner, is very helfpful for tappering off these types of drugs.

God Bless,
Todd

[so_it_goes]

Thanks for your response mustang!  I've heard about Clonidine- how do you go about getting it?  I can't really go to the dr. and tell them I'm a drug addict- because I have to use the school dr.  Admiting to them something like that might make my life very difficult because I'm in a very small gossipy word.  I don't want everytime something goes missing from the controlled substance (which happens a LOT and it ain't me!) cabinet every one looks at me!

I'm determined to taper down to zero by October 3rd.  Is that too fast?  I have a 3 day weekend then and I figure it be a good time to go to zero.

[Mustang01]

Ultrim/Tramadol can sometimes be harder to stop than a med like oxy or Hydro, I used to be on the Ultrim and would suffer very bad sweats and bad muscle aches if I went longer then my next sched dose, they are very hard to come off of, the way I did it: I was perscribed Vicodin which helped but, the transition was a little hard, I still had to go through mild W/D from the Ultrim. Cold turkey is not the way to go with Ultrim, Taper is the best way, Clonidine helps with W/D symptoms a whole lot but, it will mak you very tired. I work in health care to and I was in a very bad MVA in 2003 which I continue to suffer from..