tramadol withdrawal

[Birdie23]

I am in the process of getting off of tramadol. It was prescribed for me for ocassional use for mild to moderate pain like headache, muscle soreness, etc. I used it only ocassionally for several months. About 4 months ago, I became involved in a fairly intense project and was experiencing more discomfort. Without really thinking much about it, I started using tramadol every day and then increased this to 2-3 times each day. The dosage was 100mg, so I was taking 100-300mg daily (or 2-6, 50mg pills) for 3 months. After I finished the project in mid-may, I decided that I needed to stop using a drug to get through the day, so I tried to just stop taking it. WOW! Serious withdrawal symptoms including joint and muscle pain, stomch issues, fatigue, depression and a strange hollowness in my nerves ensued. I didn't feel I could just stop functioning for a week or two or whatever it would take, so I used some hydrocodone that I had to help me get my tramadol use down to 100mg per day over the course of a week. I would just take the hydro when I started feeling really bad in the afternoon to get me through the rest of the day. Then, I decided to just quit the tramadol altogether. The withdrawal was really difficult. I was worried about getting addicted to the hydro, so I got some concentrated kratom powder and was alternating use with the hydro every day or two so that neither of them was in my system daily. This got me through week 2 which was a reduced amount of muscle pain, but more fatigue, lethargy, depression. Now I am beginning my third week. I am out of hydro and I am still experiencing some muscle and joint stuff, but the big problem is the lethargy and depression. It's just kicking my butt. The kratom is very helpful in this and lifts the dark cloud that I seem to wake up with, but I'm worried about an addition to this as well. I am now taking about 1.5-2 grams in the early afternoon to get through the rest of the day. I am not using any other drugs or substances. I have never been addicted to anything before and wasn't abusing the tramadol. It didn't make me high or anything, but it did get rid of ALL of my aches and pains and let me do everything I needed to in the day. I don't have any major pain and I know I shouldn't have been so lazy about my health. Now, I am trying to be really careful without losing myself to laying on the couch all day. My questions are: How long will the tramadol withdrawal take to be completely over? and How long can I use a small amount of Kratom on a daily basis without just creating another addiction that I have to get over? Or can I just slowly reduce the kratom to avoid the withdrawal since it is a powder and very easy to measure out? Any thoughts on this would be helpful. I am reluctant to engage my physician in this too much. he knows I am having withdrawal fromt he tramadol, but I don't want to ask for any other drugs if I don't have to. I just feel like I've done something really studpid and I want to get through it without his help, if possible. Thanks!

[killerzoey]

Hi and welcome. The thread you posted on is very old. You might want to start a new thread with what you posted above, I feel for you in your situation. I started rationing doses while stuck between shipments and that is what gave me the impetus to start tapering and eventually quitting. It's horrible, being on the Tramadol train and being terrified that a shipment won't arrive in time. I did not take as much as you, I was at 10-12 per day for about a year. But I managed to quit and so can you. I did a fast taper (8 for a week, then 5, then 3, then jump, I think...can't exactly recall. But I feathered in some hydrocodone once I was at 5, and took them for 16 days after stopping the Tramadol, so that I could go through some of the Tramadol withdrawals with a buffer. Some people do this with Kratom, or both, as the original poster did. I can't say what you should do, it's a slippery slope when you introduce another addictive substance to quit the original one. That's why the Thomas Recipe for detox no longer recommends Valium  for sleep.

There is a wealth of information out there on what has helped others, from the Thomas Recipe (listed on this site somewhere) to individual experiences. My experience up to a point is on a thread called  "Trying to Quit Tramadol". You can see what I set out intending to do and how it morphed into something else, but I eventually got free. I'm 31 days off Tramadol, 15 days off the hydrocodone that I used to quit the Tramadol. I still have sleepless nights here and there but with the help of over-the-counter sleep aids, I get through ok. It's so much better on this side of things.

One other thing: I have found definite relief with a supplement called Rhodiola. It helps my energy level and resiliency under stress. I think it's worth a try for anyone in WDs, as it is an ancient herb, non-addicting, and it seems well tolerated by the masses. Astronauts and athletes use it, and if there's any group of people who are lost in space and enduring a triathlon, it is we who are in withdrawals!

[Jati26]

I am in the same boat. I have been taking 13-20 50mg a day. Recently I ran out due to a non shipment from the company I order from. So I was forced into this withdrawal. I have 4 pills left and I have been stretching them as far as I can. As soon as my shipment comes in, i am going to try my best to get off of this slowly. cold turkey is too hard. I don't know if I will have seizures or not. But I have the cold sweats, shakes, muscle and joint aches, migraines, and stomach issues. That is just the physical side. I'm very emotional, depressed, and all I want to do is sleep. I'm taking hydro codeine right now to help but it's not doing much.
I have been on tramadol for almost 10 years. It started when I injured my knee at work. The doctor prescribed me the tramadol and I was taking one 50 mg pill a day for a long time. Over the years I have become tolerant to the stuff so therefore I need to take more so I don't start feeling the withdrawals. I do not need this pain medication for pain anymore. I need it to function from day to day. I am so tired of worrying about ordering more and running out. Also the financial burden in has caused. I am at the end of my ropes with this stuff and I just don't have the will powler to stop. I want to more than anything in this world. I am married and have two little boys that keep me busy. When I am in withdraws, I am useless. I feel I need this medication to just do the every day tasks. Not to mention I am a housekeeper for a company and I work 5 days a week. Tramadol gives me the energy I need to get through my physically demanding job and life.
I hate this stuff. I would highly suggest NEVER take this medication. There's so many other things out there.
If anyone has any advice, I would appreciate it very much.

[FourJays]

Ah yes, the long lost friendships.  That is another one of those things that seems to be SO common here.  I had the greatest life, full of friends in my neighborhood, my daughters' friends moms and college friends.  I have started on the rebuilding process, but it is rough.  I know that some of them, while not necessarily knowing exactly why I drifted away, have kinda lost faith in me.  I guess I turned down one too many invites and just allowed myself to lose touch (because I'd much rather sit around at home stoned out on Tramadol).  But I am working on it and I know it is an important part of the recovery process.  Friends and family are SO important in our life and I intend on repairing (or at least attempting to repair) every relationship that I blew.  A good friend recently gave me this quote that I think is so appropriate here . . . "at any given moment you have the power to say this is NOT how the story is going to end" (author unknown).  My story WILL end how I want it to, full of life and friends and family all around me.  Hang in there girl, we will get through this!
Julie

[adexec181]

Thanks FourJays!  Couldn't have gotten through the long sleepless nights without the support and encouragement of people like you and this forum.  Kept reading through it in the middle of the night through the worst parts.  Still have to face the tedium of long time ahead with the lack of energy and malaise but with help from folks like you, I know what to expect and am armed!!!!!  I will see this through....baby steps, and you're right....HGTV!  Unfortunately, I will also have a lot of rebuilding of relationships after this too...I have not been myself for at least the past year or two and my friends and family noticed...so I, in my fog, shut most f them out.  That is going to be one of the hardest things to do, but better there than in the horrible fog of tramadol addiction.  I really appreciate your encouragement.  Lets both keep this up!!!

[FourJays]

hello - I read your post and want to offer you some support.  I too was on very high doses of Tramadol (up to 40 pills a day).  I started off over 14 years ago taking 2 or 4 per day for back pain and it just spiraled out of control.  My story is long w/lots of twists, but for now just want to say that I can totally relate to where you are.  I also did a cold turkey w/d on Dec. 1st.  I promise you - it will get a little better every day.  I am at about 2 months clean now and still have the energy/emotional issues that come and go.  I'm sure you have heard/read about PAWS, which we will have to deal with for some months ahead.  It is still WAY better than living a lie, in a fog, a slave to these pills.  Good luck, stick with it - it will be the best thing you ever do for yourself and anyone that loves/cares for you.  

And - love that Bravo too; don't know what I'd do without that and HGTV!!!

[adexec181]

Hey, totally agree with the timing...I think it's largely due to the amount and time you were taking.  Just for some encouragement to others, I have been on a really high dose for a long time (1000-1500mgs/day for 5 years), and in day 9 of my c/t WD.  Am following the Thomas Recipe except for the Valium, and have had the first glimpses today of real true clarity of thought...and have even seen glimpses of my old ambition and drive.  But just for small moments....the fatigue and malaise comes back.  Actually got out to shovel snow today for the first time, and made spaghetti...a real milestone to the otherwise days of lying on the couch watching Bravo TV reruns!  Gotta take each baby step forward as a huge milestone in the right direction.  I will not let this take any more if my life....I want me back!