is this a wd symptom

[takingmylifeback]

ok i am not sure who to address this to but ill tell you whats going on and see if you can help i am a 12 year user of stackers (a otc diet drug that gives extreme energy) and i have used pain meds for about 7 years of and on but when i say that i mean i might have to go 2 or 3 days at the most to find some but that rarely happened i used all kinds of them hydros, percocete,oxycodone,the most i took was 10 10mg hydros in one day i was supermom had a clean house and unlike most i was not hateful with my family i was happy go get lucky i loved being miss suzie homemaker  both my kids were in sports i mean i would just go go go i absolutely loved it. ok that being said i got mine off the street as  no doctor would prescribe it i was in a car wreck and they prescribe me tramadol with the law cracking down on narcotics i got tired of going without for periods of time i am 14 days clean i am still taking my stackers and i am taking the tramadol like the doc prescribed i take 2 50mg 4x a day i did not know till reading on here that this was a bad thing  my question is i feel fine and have for about a week even to the point of cleaning house just going about everyday life but starting yesterday i have uncontrolable yawning i am wide awake though i just yawn every few min does anyone know if this is a wd symptom

[ImDONENoMore]

Hey, I'm no Dr.  You should do what feels right for you.  I only want to see you succeed so like I said, just something for you to think about.  I think once you feel strong enough after you've gotten through this withdrawal then you should be ready to take on anything right?  That was one of the surprises for me after I quit.  It really does make you a stronger person.  Stronger than you ever thought you could be.  Kind of mind-boggling really.  :)

[takingmylifeback]

yes part of me wishes i had done it together and just got it all over with at one time id say it will be a little while because these are really intense headaches i almost think they are worse than a migraine so i want to be sure i will not give into temptation

[takingmylifeback]

they are mostly herbs and somethin to do with shell fish and yes they give you alot of energy (at first) my honest advice is dont ever start taking them i dont want to imagine how much energy they would give you if you took them like you are susposed to i think its 3 times a day or somethin i take 1 sometimes 2 and in the morning and it is still hard for me to go bed sometimes they used to contain ephedrine and it gave you an insane amount of energy i had an infant at the time that is how i got hooked 12 years ago 12 years is a long time that is why when people ask me about them i tell them dont ever try them

[ImDONENoMore]

Believe me, I totally understand wanting to quit one drug at a time.  I quit xanax (had to cause Dr. cut me off) and tramadol (my choice) at the same time.  I'm not sure I would have jumped off both at the same time if I had a choice.  But that's neither here nor there, what's done is done!  Baby steps.  And I think you're doing great and I happen to think you're pretty strong too so hang in there.  One thing at a time right?

Keep going - it gets a little better, than a little worse, than a little better (lol) but in the end getting off the drugs is the best decision I ever made (maybe corny but true)!  I'm cheering you on!  :)

[happypill]

good idea, dont quit both at the same time..... and the stackers, as you may know have tons of caffeine in them, so if you stop abruptly you will get a kiler headache, go slow....do they really give you that much energy?

[takingmylifeback]

yes quiting the diet pills is on my list but it gives me a horrible rebound headache and i am so tired i dont wanna lift my head off the pillow i decided to wait till i was stronger because i knew the headaches would be just the excuse i needed to take a narcotic and i dont think i could take comming off both at the same time i am strong but i dont know if im that strong

[takingmylifeback]

wow that is weird i had actually thought it was the tramadol making me yawn but i thought no it couldnt be but i noticed that i wouldnt really do it until after i took my tramadol i thought it was just a coincidence

[ImDONENoMore]

I guess tramadol is considered a fairly new drug (developed in the early 80's I believe).  And it was touted then as the alternative to standard pain meds (opiates).  Many believed that because it was a "synthetic" opiate that it was somehow a better pain medication.  WRONG.  And I think the Dr.'s are finally starting to catch up - I've been reading horror stories about people's experience with tramadol since 2007 and I believe the perception of this drug has finally started to change, if even slowly.  At least that seems to be the case. I hope.

And I too think - how sneaky to put that anti-depressant in there.  I can only say that over the years, from past surgeries or dental procedures, I was given your standard opiate (vicoden, percodan, etc.) and it was a cake walk to stop those in comparison to tramadol.  The anti-depressant really screws with your head after you quit.  The mental anguish I experienced in that withdrawal is something I will never ever forget.

And please think about stopping the diet pills - I believe they can be really hard on the heart, so please be careful and please give it some serious thought.  You deserve a happy clean and clear life because we all do!  :)

[WantToBeNormalAgain]

Hey there, welcome :) Like ImDone said, this forum is wonderful for advice and understanding and venting and so on! You'll find comfort in knowing you're not alone and lots of people give amazing advice here. I have been given tramadol/ultram a few times. For me, it always upset my stomach so I never really took more than one or two doses before going on to something else. I didnt' know til I came here that it was highly addictive and has opiate effects on the brain and body. I had no clue..like you, I was almost pushed onto it by nearly every doctor, especially when they know my history of abusing opiates..crazy! But had to comment here to let you know that when I've actually taken one or two ultram/tramadol at a time, I'd yawn almost uncontrollably..thought it was just me! So maybe you're getting a weird side effect or it could be wds. Just thought I'd share :) Well good luck, and congrats for making the decision to quit! You'll find lots of support and good people here, keep posting and reading as it really does help a lot. Don't know what I'd do without this forum!

[takingmylifeback]

wow have they just not done research on this drug my doctor said that is why they put ppl on it was because it was non addicting vs the narcotic pain meds that were addictive that makes me mad that they r hurting you instead of helping you and you only took them for 2 weeks and went through that that is where i am now 14 days

[nomorepills66]

I too did alot of tramadol for about 2 weeks, Im talking 15 pills a day and not knowing it would cause withdrawals it caused the worst I have ever had for a week. It was more mental and hot and cold sweats but it was awful. When I went to my doc to get off hydro's this time last year she tried to put me on tramadol because it is not addictive and so on. I told her she was wrong and I'm thinking most Docs are about tramadol. Please get off it now while you can and have your doc taper your dose if possible. Good Luck , we all need it :)

[takingmylifeback]

what kept me on them for so long was the house cleanin git was always well i am going to get my house clean then quit only i have 2 kids my house is never clean although it was a good excuse to keep taking and as for stackers i know they r not good like i said i have takin them for 12 years you can buy them at most gas stations i take 1 or 2 a day and through withdrawls or drug use i have never waivered from that i figured since the pain meds were worse i would start there then when i feel i can come off the stackers there is a mental connection with the pain meds that is not the case with the stackers as far as the tramadol i had no idea the doctors act like it is the best thing in the world and i really dont understand why they would put an antidepressent in it i was told it was a nonnarcotic pain reliever

[ImDONENoMore]

Yes, I read yawning has been reported as a withdrawal symptom - another weird one like excessive sneezing (not sure if you've had that yet?).  But I've heard that so that's probably what it is.

I too thought I could do everything and anything while high on pills.  My husband tells me now all the time that I was like a zombie before I quit - never really present or in the moment, ya know?  Just a blank look behind my eyes and not really seeing anything clearly.  And when I look back I never really did a "good" job at anything (work, housework, whatever), never really had a sincere laugh, I was just going through the motions, smiling the whole time thinking everything was great, when it was anything but.  So strange and surreal now when I look back.  It's really hard for me to recognize that person today, seems life a different lifetime.  Whew.

This place has been such a big influence on me - the people are amazing and there's a lot of great advice here - and it really works.  Just wanted to say I'm happy for you for quitting the pain pills but I have to tell you the tramadol was worse for me - worse than any opiate I ever took (I'm clean off tramadol and xanax over 160 days now).  It has an anti-depressant in it that makes withdrawal all that more agonizing, so my advice would be to stop taking it, and by taper if you think you can handle that.  And I'm sorry but I can't offer any advice on the stackers - never heard of it.  Only I have heard diet pills in general are a very bad idea so have you thought about stopping those too?  I would hate to see you trade addictions or end up still addicted to something after you did all this hard work quitting pain pills you know what I mean?

Well, again - welcome.  Keep posting - having a place to vent is so helpful and there's always someone around to help.  :)