[baddecision]

Hi Everyone
I have been reading these boards, and am officially addicted to tramadol. I am a mom of two young kids and got on this after I had my second baby and realized it gave me energy and made me feel great, everything seemed easier. Eventually, however i found that i couldnt' function with out the drug, mostly i couldn't sleep. I never took it during the day only at like 5 pm everyday- i know weird, i was taking 2 to 3 pills 150mg total per day. I weaned myself to 100mg per day and now I have not had any tramadol for 5 days. I have however had 1 or 2 vicodin instead just to help me function as my husband was gone and I need to be a mom. I am proud to say i have been getting through the day though i have SEVERE anxiety, I told my husband last night about it and he is on board with getting me off the meds. I have had pretty much every withdrawal symptoms accept the restless leg and I have been taking the 1 or 2 vicodin to help with that. SO, I want to stop taking the vicodin tonight, do you think that the withdrawals with get worse? I have been on it without real breaks for about 6 months maybe more. If anyone can give me just a few words of support, advice, prayers I would appreciate it. I feel more guilty than anything and I am so mad at myself, I just want to feeel normal again. WIll this happen?
Thank you so much

[MaisieC]

Originally Posted by Robert_325

Hi Maisie ..... glad to see you back. Just wanted to say hello and welcome you back. I know this last week hasn't been fun for you at all. God bless.

Thank you soooo much, Robert! I really appreciate all the support and care you and Melinda have shown me. I hope you guys are doing well.

[MaisieC]

Originally Posted by baddecision

Hi Everyone
I have been reading these boards, and am officially addicted to tramadol. I am a mom of two young kids and got on this after I had my second baby and realized it gave me energy and made me feel great, everything seemed easier. Eventually, however i found that i couldnt' function with out the drug, mostly i couldn't sleep. I never took it during the day only at like 5 pm everyday- i know weird, i was taking 2 to 3 pills 150mg total per day. I weaned myself to 100mg per day and now I have not had any tramadol for 5 days. I have however had 1 or 2 vicodin instead just to help me function as my husband was gone and I need to be a mom. I am proud to say i have been getting through the day though i have SEVERE anxiety, I told my husband last night about it and he is on board with getting me off the meds. I have had pretty much every withdrawal symptoms accept the restless leg and I have been taking the 1 or 2 vicodin to help with that. SO, I want to stop taking the vicodin tonight, do you think that the withdrawals with get worse? I have been on it without real breaks for about 6 months maybe more. If anyone can give me just a few words of support, advice, prayers I would appreciate it. I feel more guilty than anything and I am so mad at myself, I just want to feeel normal again. WIll this happen?
Thank you so much

Hi baddecision,

First, YES, you will feel normal again! I can't tell you exactly when, but you're going in the right direction, and good for you!

So, just so I understand, you've been taking one or two vicodins per day for the past five days? Is it one or two? You'll be OK, please just give us more information. I'll check back tomorrow.

Hang in there, and take good care,
Maisie

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by MaisieC

Thank you soooo much, Robert! I really appreciate all the support and care you and Melinda have shown me. I hope you guys are doing well.

That's what friends are for. We have become good friends during the time we've worked and struggled together here. I know you would be there too if the tables were reversed. I pray your family is doing well. God bless.

[mitchwfsu]

I've been prescribed tram for only about 4 months. My dose started at 100mg/day, not long after it would take at least 200mg/day to help the pain. This tolerance ultimately had me taking up to 500mg/day on some days. My doctor prescribed it to my for bursitis in my hip, telling me that it was not addictive and not like other stronger pain pills. I was comfortable with that, until about a month ago i let my bottle run out and just decided to stop taking it. The day i stopped (a friday), i left the office around 12:00 because of flu symptoms, went home and slept until 5-6 that evening. When i woke up, i felt horrible. I had just been on an airplane up and back the same day, and i often get a cold after flying. The next day (saturday, after not being able to sleep until 3-4am) i woke up w/ flu symptoms plus shakes, dizziness... it was bad. I wanted tramadol... and then i knew what must had been happening to me. I Googled tramadol addiction/withdrawal and it all became clear. I got my Dr. to call in a refill that afternoon, got to the pharmacy and took about 3-4 pills in the parking lot. Needless to say, i felt 100% better within a few hours.

I want off of this completely. I've tapered down my dose to 4 50mg pills a day. I take all 4 right when i get out of bed 6:30am each morning, and i'm good throughout the day until the next morning. I'm planning on going down to 3/day sometime next week, and continue this until i can totally eliminate it. So far everything's going OK. The mornings kinda suck until about an hour after i take my dose. The weirdest thing is a random tingle in my fingers. (anybody else get that???).

I think i'm lucky that i figured this out early on (thanks to the people at this and other sites). I've only been on tramadol for about 4 months... and I feel that the longer i stretch out the taper down plan, the harder it will be to finally quit. I need this... as i can NOT have something like this have SO MUCH control over my life.

Thanks for all the posts, it's comforting to know i'm not alone in this.

-Mitch

[Vessel]

I've been taking around 20- 25 50mg talets per day for years. Just stopping is not an option. I'm looking for any advice as to how to do it- reduce dose by what increment and how quickly (or slowly)
I can handle some discomfort, but not much.My concern is not the physical, but the emotional partof it. I understand that my production of neurotransmitters is totally whacked- how long until I might feel "normal" again? Has anyone gotten on SSIs to get through the hard part?
Ugh. I'm so sick of these pills and the routine I have to go through to get them.
Thanks for any help

[MaisieC]

Hi,

Here's a link to a taper schedule that people can adapt for their own dosage:

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/725

It's wise to take it slowly with this drug, but if you keep steadily tapering you will get there!

I'm not sure about using SSRIs to get off tramadol. I definitely had a lot of emotional symptoms as I was coming off, and it can take a while to get your brain working properly again. Vessel, you're at a high dose right now, and I would not even think about starting SSRIs until you get down to a much lower dose. Do you have a doctor you can talk to about your detox process?

Please keep posting, everyone, and let us know how you're doing.

Take good care,
Maisie

[dstkdj]

I had upper back pain for months. After suffering and taking OTC medications, I couldn't take it anymore. I was prescribed flexeril, lodine (advil). The only thing that truly worked was hydrocodone for about a month and I took that only when I needed it. After I finished that, I started w/ the tramadol.

50 mg. helped, but 100 mg helped me tremendously. I was pain free and HAPPY. At the same time, I started Physical Therapy. I discovered my problems came from excessive weight lifting, PMS, horrible posture, and a pinched nerve. After 2 weeks of Physical therapy, I started feeling better. I figured I could stop taking the tramadol (I was up to 300 mg. per day). Since my pain was going away, I decided to stop taking the medication. Was I in for a surprise! I had only been on the stuff for 2 weeks. I started sweating and could not sleep. I had klonopin and sonota. I took the klonopin, but still had a restless sleep. The next day I was irratable and had a bad case of anxiety. I tried to sleep, but couldn't. I searched the interent and discovered I was going through withdrawl. I only had about 10 tramadols left.

I have to be honest, I enjoyed the well being, but didn't realize it had consequences. I thought I could stop like I did the hydrocodone or advil. THAT WAS NOT the case. I was addicted after 2 weeks.

I gave the pills to my husband and asked him to help me wean off, but 10 tramadols would not do it. I had to order more. I ordered 90 pills and gave them to him when they arrived. He wanted to give me half of what I was taking (1 pill every 8 hours). I told him that wouldn't work. I couldn't stand the withdrawls. So, we did the tapering. I decreased my dosage by 25% every 4-5 days. WE started off w/ 75 mg. (1 1/2 pills) 3 times a day for 4-5 days. Then we took it down to to 67.5 mg (1 1/4 pills).

I missed the "high", but couldn't stand the thought of taking these pills all the time. I am now down to 3/4 of a pill and I normally skip my night dosage. I have to admit that I've saved the night dosage for the morning.

I must admit, I did try cheating. Since the dosages were getting smaller, I figured I'd get a boost by combining 2 dosages at one time. What a mistake! I had withdrawl symptoms again when I woke up in the morning. By waiting so long, the "extra dose" didn't even help.

Today I decided to go to a drug store that specializes in vitamin suplements. I was honest with the pharmasist. I told him what i had taken and how I felt. DEPRESSED and ANXIOUS. He advised me to continue to taper down and suggested:

l-theanine supplement 3 times a day with meals
Magnesium Gkycinate (200 mg) 3 times a day

I could tell the difference and even forgot to take my afternoon dosage. However, I did take it because I had problems sleeping when I missed the afternoon dosages, but not the evening one.

The supplements helped the anxiety AND my depression. I was relaxed, but not sleepy.

I'm still weaning off, but I believe the supplements gave me the psychological confidence and desire to stop taking the tramadol. I don't have the same cravings I did a few days ago. AT this point, I know most of my problems are psychological. I'm currently taking 3/4 of a pill 2-3 times a day. That's less than 125 mg per day.

Tomorrow will be the .25 mg 3 times per day. With lots of prayers, I believe I'll be tramadol free withiin one week.

For those who are weaning, a few things that helped were:

Listening to music
Having my husband administer the medicine
Keeping busy
Reading posts about withdrawl
Putting off major decisions and obligations that could wait.

I hope this helps someone. I know 2 weeks sounds minimal, but there are those who do fall into the same "trap". I did several seaches, but didn't find much when looking for those who took the medicationf or sucha short time. Everyone is different. My neighbor took them, but she stated that they did nothing for her. Hopefully, most individuals wil have the same experience as my neighbor.

[superj3bill]

i had a airplane crash in 1979. lots of broken bones and in hospital 4 mos.
in 1990 after putting up with lots of pain i met a doc. that gave me oxicodone
i used oxi for almost 10 years and got up to 120 mg a day. in 2000 i asked a dr. to help me get off oxi. He gave me tramadol in place of oxi. now almost 10 years later i am trying to get off of tramadol i take 100mg 3 times a day to avoid withdrawal. i am about 40hrs into cold turky, light headed and can't sleep. i have dierra and mussel pain. i can rardly think to type.
how long will i be like this? i have read the other posts and that gives me hope to pull this off.

[mrfurhley]

Hi - thought I'd share my experience in case it is helpful. I have been through hell and back with this medication. My spouse is a physician, and between the two of us and my personal physician and a psychologist, we have broken this problem down and may (cross my fingers) have found a solution that was at least viable for me.

The core problem is that tramadol acts as an anti-depressant in addition to a mild opiate. If you take it for long periods of time (let's say more than 4 weeks), you will experience mild acute opiate withdrawal (1-2 days) followed by anti-depressant withdrawal lasting 3 to 7 weeks depending how long you were on the medication. As an anti-depresant, it seems to be most similar to Wellbutrin.

This core problem makes it tricky to treat using the standard opiate detox method. Often this is suboxone which for me did nothing but take the edge off. It did zero for the massive loss of energy and low-grade depression. In fact, my withdrawal has been worse 2 weeks after quitting tramadol than with the first 2 days.

For me, the 1-2 days of "acute" withdrawal was a piece of cake. My first "not cold turkey" try to get off tramadol was in a detox center. The nurses kept measuring my blood pressure and other withdrawal symptoms throughout the day, telling me I was not withdrawing "by their definition". Evidently I was supposed to have diarrhea, vomitting, chills, etc. I had none of that. So they held off the suboxone for about 40 hours. At hour 40 (this was about 3 AM), I finally convinced them I was very uncomfortable and they gave me a 2 mg tablet. This put me to sleep. The suboxone took away some of the RLS and "cravings" but did not do anything for my energy which was low. I could not move. 2 days into detox, the doctor discharged me. I was not the "normal" detox patient according to him. By the way, i found the entire detox experience horrifying and embarassing and never did it again.

About 2 weeks later, I was still experiencing "malaise". No energy, no ability to focus, tired all the time, not excited about anything. I believe this would be a "mild depression" Went back on the tramadol (my wife was not pleased) and everything was solved.

For a year or so, I continued on the tramadol. I tried tapering with no success. My intake was between 10 and 20 tables per day depending. I seemed to take more in the winter, less in summer. More when I was not exercising, less when I was.

At one point, I tried an experiment. I ran out of tramadol because I forgot to re-order and it was a holiday weekend. I had some suboxone left. I took a suboxone about 8 hours after taking tramadol. No problems - no precipitated withdrawal (suboxone is supposed to knock other opiates off the receptors putting you into instant withdrawal). This did not happen. On Tuesday when I got my tramadol, I had taken a suboxone that morning. I took a tramadol, thinking I would feel nothing. Sure enough, my energy returned instantly and I had renewed focus. I also felt like I had to ******** my pants. Point is, whatever is in tramadol the suboxone did not block.

By the way, the reason I am trying to kick this stuff is that it rules my life. My wife is worried about my health. I am worried about my health. Other than that, there are very few physical or psychological impacts. I have not had a "low point" per se and no seizures and not lost any relationships or lost my job. But the risk of taking it long term is unknown and I would prefer not to be on it when I am 80 years old.

Finally about 3 months ago I got hooked up with an addiction specialist who went to medical school with my wife. He is my age (I am 37), and seemed willing to work with me to find a solution. I have 3 kids, so we made a plan to get some extra child care. I started the process a few weeks later. The first thing we did was put me on a very low dose of suboxone - 0.5 to 1mg (you have to cut the tablets). I took my last tramadol at about 8 PM and suboxone at 10 AM the next morning (no problems..smooth transition).

At the same time, i started on a course of Wellbutrin. 150 mg tablet to start (once daily). This was actually a great week. My energy was maintained and I had no withdrawal. I felt little "different" but nothing major. In fact I seemed to laugh more often that week. I had a heightened sense of awareness..as if a cloud was removed from my frontal cortex. I also wanted to have sex like a rabbit. I was like a 16 year old boy, walking around the office with a book in front of my pants.

I stayed on this course of medication for 1 month...the iea being to "stabilize" and enjoy being away from the "I need to focus so take a bunch of tramadol" behavior. It was a good month!

I talked to a psychologist once a week. having never done this before, I assumed he was going to dig into my past to find the "root cause" of which I did not (and still do not) believe there was any. I believe the simple root cause was that I liked feeling energetic and focus and accidentally found myself on a high dose of anti-depressants which I may have needed in the frist place. Turns out, after asking a bunch of questions for a couple weeks, the psychologist just worked with me to find a set of things I can do when I feel an "urge" to take tramadol. For example, if I am sitting at work and have 2 hours to get something done for a deadline, we defined 5 things I can go do instead of taking tramadol (my usually M.O. was to pop a few of these pills and power through it). One was go outside for coffee with someone. Another was call a friend/spouse/etc. Another was exercise. And so on. His idea was that most urges pass within 20 minutes, and that if you can get through 20 minutes, you are statistically less likely to give in to the urge. I had some occasional urges, but not many. When they happened, I would usually go to the gym for 30 minutes which often did the trick - giving me the 'runners high" which was very similar to the effect of tramadol.

Fast forward a month, and started to ween off the suboxone. it was tricky to ween off 1/2 mg tablet (you have to basically crumble a 2mg tablet into pieces and suck on the pieces - suboxone is taken sublingually). Suboxone weening was relatively easy. It's very long acting, so you don't start to withdraw for a day or two. It was not a big deal. I felt a bit agitated and restless.

Now I am just on the Wellbutrin. I have not increased my dose past the 150 mg (I tried, but it was too much). Generally speaking, I walk around with the same consistent level of energy as I had on tramadol. I do not get a "rush" of energy or focus like before, but overall I'm comfortable and the cravings are minimal. I honestly believe I have found the answer (finally)

I will mention one more thing. My psychologist thought I have symptoms of adult ADHD. Some of the effects of tramadol were very similar to the effects of ridalin, a drug used for ADHD. Had the Wellbutrin not worked, we were going to try a very low dose (long acting via a patch) of ridalin. I am glad we did not have to do this, as ridalin has an extremely high potential for abuse and I did not want to get hooked on it. I knew people that snorted ridailn in college which worried me.

There are a few points I want to make with this long story.
1. Everyone reacts to tramadol differently. Some people take it and feel nothing (my wife is this way). I take it and I feel energized and focused.
2. It acts as two medications - a mild opiate and an "activating" anti-depressant
3. If you have been on it long enough, you need to treat both the opiate and anti-depressant withdrawal.
4. You need to get help from an addiction specialize who is willing to work with you and a psychologist to help you deal with cravings
5. It will get better.

Important point: you should not take Wellbutrin and Tramadol concurrently as they both lower the seizure threshold and can have a compounding effect.

[sheslowlystops]

I started taking Trams back in March. Loved them when I only needed 1 or 2 to get what I considered anti-depressant relief. I thought I had found my miracle drug and naively thought I could just maintain like this forever, feeling taking a couple tramadol's was no worse than taking Wellbutrin or Effexor everyday.
Of course, this quickly changed and those 2 a day turned into 7 or 8, with negligible relief at best. Then it became a necessity to take them, just to stave off the withdrawals.
The physical w/d's are nothing compared to the absolute lethargy and depression I feel when I actually do go off of them. Everytime promising, THIS IS IT!!! No more refills, no more starting the cycle again. Until I do start the cycle again, just for those couple of days that they work just so-so. The rest of the time they make me sick, in truth I believe that after a certain amount in a day, you just plateau. At least I do. Dangerous, because who knows if and when they can trigger seizure problems.

For right now I am off of them. Really would like to stay that way! Good luck to all of us battling whatever it is we crave or need.

[Tids]

Following a first hip operation last Feb.2009, prescribed Tramadol 4x50mg per day.
Second gammy hip painful and long term problem caused increased use to 8x50mg per day. Doctor informed me not addictive!Secong hip operation August 2009, by now taking 8x50 topped up by Paracetomol 4x daily at 2 tabs each.
.....Then I tried coming off.Managed to wean myself off 4tabs, down to 4 per day but with strange aching sensations in my arms only. Thought :ODD! What is this? Ploughed on taking no notice and eventually got down to 2 tabs which I could NOT do without. I did realise that the aches only came on when I went to bed, no problem during the daytime.
Then....I decided to get off altogether if poss. I stopped taking anything suddenly! Big mistake! I had hell. Up and down from bed every hour, sometimes after only half an hour. During this time I wondered if it really was happening to me and if I was a private junky!
Having gone to my search engine online and typed in ADDICTION TO TRAMADOL to see if there were any sites I found this discussion.

It's important for you to realise at this point that I'm a practising Christian who takes daily all his problems to God who ALWAYS sorts them out.
Knowing He has never failed me I proceede to pray in the midst of my suffering. Each bout was followed by prayer and this brought relief but only in the short term. I began to pray more fervently and in a way I'd never experienced before....wrestling with God in prayer. Jacob had done this as told in The Bible and had won and had received an incredible blessing. He wrestled with God and won! Was I going to get a similar answer?
I wrestled and fought and wrestled in prayer, getting a blessing and thought Hey! I'm going to be fine now! Returned to bed and what do you know? Aches again later. Oh my! Try again. Prayer with wrestling...blessing...sleep...aches another time!
PERSEVERE!!!! This is what The Bible teaches and so on I went.....until....
God answered with total good night's sleep. One aching period right at the beginning of the night and then blissful sleep!
AH! I hear you say! So what?
I realised that I'd had my prayers answered in a marvellous way. I needed to be absolutely sure, however, and so prayer for God to confirm what I believed was the case, from The Bible, and He did!

Check out my progress daily on this website. I now know I'm healed. You can be too if you come to know God.

I'll be posting a daily update in brief each day and telling you how you too can know The Lord God yourself and also get free of Tramadol!!

All you do is invite Him into your life. Tell Him you want to know Him. He'll show you what else you need to do. And it's free!

May God bless you this night and help you greatly through this message with amazing hope through Him.

Trackbacks to site supplied tomorrow.

Tids

[Tids]

Following a first hip operation last Feb.2009, prescribed Tramadol 4x50mg per day.
Second gammy hip painful and long term problem caused increased use to 8x50mg per day. Doctor informed me not addictive!Secong hip operation August 2009, by now taking 8x50 topped up by Paracetomol 4x daily at 2 tabs each.
.....Then I tried coming off.Managed to wean myself off 4tabs, down to 4 per day but with strange aching sensations in my arms only. Thought :ODD! What is this? Ploughed on taking no notice and eventually got down to 2 tabs which I could NOT do without. I did realise that the aches only came on when I went to bed, no problem during the daytime.
Then....I decided to get off altogether if poss. I stopped taking anything suddenly! Big mistake! I had hell. Up and down from bed every hour, sometimes after only half an hour. During this time I wondered if it really was happening to me and if I was a private junky!
Having gone to my search engine online and typed in ADDICTION TO TRAMADOL to see if there were any sites I found this discussion.

It's important for you to realise at this point that I'm a practising Christian who takes daily all his problems to God who ALWAYS sorts them out.
Knowing He has never failed me I proceede to pray in the midst of my suffering. Each bout was followed by prayer and this brought relief but only in the short term. I began to pray more fervently and in a way I'd never experienced before....wrestling with God in prayer. Jacob had done this as told in The Bible and had won and had received an incredible blessing. He wrestled with God and won! Was I going to get a similar answer?
I wrestled and fought and wrestled in prayer, getting a blessing and thought Hey! I'm going to be fine now! Returned to bed and what do you know? Aches again later. Oh my! Try again. Prayer with wrestling...blessing...sleep...aches another time!
PERSEVERE!!!! This is what The Bible teaches and so on I went.....until....
God answered with total good night's sleep. One aching period right at the beginning of the night and then blissful sleep!
AH! I hear you say! So what?
I realised that I'd had my prayers answered in a marvellous way. I needed to be absolutely sure, however, and so prayer for God to confirm what I believed was the case, from The Bible, and He did!

Check out my progress daily on this website. I now know I'm healed. You can be too if you come to know God.

I'll be posting a daily update in brief each day and telling you how you too can know The Lord God yourself and also get free of Tramadol!!

All you do is invite Him into your life. Tell Him you want to know Him. He'll show you what else you need to do. And it's free!

May God bless you this night and help you greatly through this message with amazing hope through Him.

Trackbacks to site supplied tomorrow.

Tids

[tngal1986]

Tramadol was prescribed to me about 6 months ago for occasional migraines. It worked wonders and was the only drug able to do so...

Time goes on...I noticed the "happy" effects of the drug immediately (no pain, high energy, no depression, etc.). It never really occured to me to take the medicine for any reaosn other than what it was prescribed for until recently.

I suffer from depression...gradually, my depression has gotten worse...I ahve ried several anti-depressants and they simply don't work. When I take 100mg of Tramadol, my depression disappears, my pain is gone, and I am able to feel like I use too.

I pretty much take 100mg most everyday (two 50mg tablets) in the morning.
After the in-depth researching I have done, I have trouble finding a reason to stop. I have no desire to go over the 100mg dosage, it gets ride of my almost daily headaches (which is what is was prescribed for), does away with my depression, and gives me the energy level I once had.

I guess one might say I am addicted and maybe I am; however, my research indicated that are no long-term effects from taking Tramadol as long as it is not excessive. Of coure my guilt comes from the fact that if I went to my family physician and told him that, he would no longer prescribe them. I take the ones he prescribes, but order more on the internet (which is not illegal because you consult with a dr. first who writes the prescription...a good idea? probably not...illegal? nope...I have a prescription).

To those who are taking 15-20+ tables everyday, I would be concerned; however, I just feel 2 a day isn't really all that bad.

I'd love to hear responsive comments and/or advise (positive & negative) to my post.

Thanks to everyone else who has posted. Your stories have been enlightening.

~dannie

[anonaddict123]

Hello all! This is going to be the first time that I am truthfully telling my story to someone. About a year and a half ago a friend of mine got into a bad car accident and had some Percocet and wanted to share with me. When I took the pills I was the happiest person alive, and battling depression this was a great feeling. After the experimentation I injured myself and was diagnosed with a coccyx fracture and was prescribed Percocet. I became very addicted taking about 18 5mg tablets a day. Once it became almost impossible to have enough pills to last throughout the month I started purchasing pills by street value, and spending a lot of money that I didn't have. Then, I ran out of money and pills and was tired of "doctor seeking" and traveling to numerous different emergency rooms to try and get pills. I then told my doctor that I wanted to get off of the percocet, but I still needed something for pain as I have another chronic problem causing severe pain. The doctor then prescribed me Tramadol. The Tramadol helped significantly with the withdrawal symptoms of the Percocet, and I thought I was going to be ok because I was told that Tramadol was not a narcotic and was non-addictive. Then I became dependent on the Tramadol and started to abuse the amount that I was supposed to take. I am now taking 15-18 50 mg. pills daily. I ran out of pills 2 days ago, and the withdrawal was absolutely HORRIBLE. I would not wish that feeling on my worst enemy. I was having hot and cold sweats, vomiting, diarrhea, severe depression etc. I was so depressed and anxious that I was honestly contemplating taking my own life. I know that this is not the person I am, but these pills have completely taken over my life. I was able to get my doctor to call me in some pills to get me through until my next appointment, but the amount that he called in is only going to last me about 5 days and I have 10 days before I see the doctor. I don't know what to do anymore. I am a professional woman, with an important job. I live by myself and do not have family close to me. I am pretty much by myself fighting this horrible addiction. I cannot deal with withdrawal symptoms because I need to go to work everyday in order to survive and the withdrawal symptoms prevent me from doing so. It is to the point where I plan my daily, weekly even monthly schedules around whether or not I am going to have enough pills.

I am looking for any feedback and advice that I can get. I am a young woman and I have a long life ahead of me and I do not want to live my life like this anymore. HELP!!!

[MaisieC]

Originally Posted by anonaddict123

Hello all! This is going to be the first time that I am truthfully telling my story to someone. About a year and a half ago a friend of mine got into a bad car accident and had some Percocet and wanted to share with me. When I took the pills I was the happiest person alive, and battling depression this was a great feeling. After the experimentation I injured myself and was diagnosed with a coccyx fracture and was prescribed Percocet. I became very addicted taking about 18 5mg tablets a day. Once it became almost impossible to have enough pills to last throughout the month I started purchasing pills by street value, and spending a lot of money that I didn't have. Then, I ran out of money and pills and was tired of "doctor seeking" and traveling to numerous different emergency rooms to try and get pills. I then told my doctor that I wanted to get off of the percocet, but I still needed something for pain as I have another chronic problem causing severe pain. The doctor then prescribed me Tramadol. The Tramadol helped significantly with the withdrawal symptoms of the Percocet, and I thought I was going to be ok because I was told that Tramadol was not a narcotic and was non-addictive. Then I became dependent on the Tramadol and started to abuse the amount that I was supposed to take. I am now taking 15-18 50 mg. pills daily. I ran out of pills 2 days ago, and the withdrawal was absolutely HORRIBLE. I would not wish that feeling on my worst enemy. I was having hot and cold sweats, vomiting, diarrhea, severe depression etc. I was so depressed and anxious that I was honestly contemplating taking my own life. I know that this is not the person I am, but these pills have completely taken over my life. I was able to get my doctor to call me in some pills to get me through until my next appointment, but the amount that he called in is only going to last me about 5 days and I have 10 days before I see the doctor. I don't know what to do anymore. I am a professional woman, with an important job. I live by myself and do not have family close to me. I am pretty much by myself fighting this horrible addiction. I cannot deal with withdrawal symptoms because I need to go to work everyday in order to survive and the withdrawal symptoms prevent me from doing so. It is to the point where I plan my daily, weekly even monthly schedules around whether or not I am going to have enough pills.

I am looking for any feedback and advice that I can get. I am a young woman and I have a long life ahead of me and I do not want to live my life like this anymore. HELP!!!

Hi anon,

Don't worry; you're not alone. A lot of us here have gone through the misery of tramadol addiction. It's an outrage how doctors continue to tell people that it's not addictive, and I'm sorry you got caught up with it. I'll do whatever I can to help you.

One of the best places to get support is at a local NA meeting. If you can't find an NA meeting, try AA. Addiction is addiction. You'll meet people there who understand what you're going through and can give you support and advice without judging you. Meetings are posting online. These groups can help you in so many ways.

So to address the physical problem: you say you have enough pills for 5 days? What exactly does that mean? Five days at your current dose? You probably know that your current dose is way too high. You're putting yourself at risk for seizures at that dose, so your top priority should be to taper down. It's generally suggested that people taper off this drug rather than going cold turkey, because of the risk of seizure.

If you tell me how many pills you have left, I can help you make a taper program. Let me ask you...the doctor who gave you the most recent prescription: is that the same doctor you're seeing again in 10 days? Or do you have different doctors supplying you? I'm not asking to be judgmental; I'm just trying to understand your situation so that we can figure out how to taper you off with as little discomfort as possible.

Please give me a little more information, and we'll see what we can figure out.

Take care,
Maisie

[mulkygap]

I am an avid runner and tore my Achilles tendon in a running accident-I tripped over my own feet. My Doc prescribed Tramadol. It was GREAT. In addition to knocking out the pain I had renewed energy, was in a great mood and started loosing a little excess weight that a 48 year old tends to struggle with. I ran out of my script after 2 mos and decided to take the situation into my own hands because this drug was GREAT.....mistake.

It took 3 years and doses of up to 400-600mg a day to figure out I needed to stop. No problem, just taper and quit. Wrong! I tapered and it was painful. No sleep, fatigue, aches, pains all over, runny nose, horrible stomach problems-the process was horrible..plus I was (and still am) a complete @-hole because of mood swings etc..I tapered to 25 mg per day then stopped. It was still terrible. I have been off the drug for 2 weeks and am starting to feel MORE normal. I have slept a full 8 hrs the past 2 night (first time in months) and am not running to the bathroom every 1/2 hr plus my wife says I'm much nicer-"what has changed to make you happy."

Bottom line is this drug is highly addictive, affects your body in terrible ways and is horrible to get off of. I am an addict. I drank for 25 years and have been sober for 3, smoked for 20 years and have been smoke free for almost 17 years, kicked a bad cocaine habit in the 80's...and all of that was a walk in the park and done cold turkey.

If you are offered this drug by your doc JUST SAY NO. If you are taking it and like it-stop, find an alternative. If you abuse it stop. It is not worth it. I joined this group to share my experience in hopes to convince anyone who is on this drug to get off and never abuse it.

Good luck-

PS I read my post and it sounded more like a rant than a way to help...bottom line is you can kick the drug but it is not comfortable, try to taper, eat well, exercise a lot(it really helped) and realize that the mood swings and crummy feelings will go away. I prayed A LOT and asked God for help dealing with the pain....and I am convinced that I could not have done this without his intervention. I anticipate a few more weeks of problems but feel like I am out of the woods. If I can do it anyone can. I chose to tackle this on my own but you may need professional help with this nasty drug.

[scottf6904]

Originally Posted by donnaf484

Hello,
I have been taking tramadol for 10 months. I started using because I had 3 operations on my arm due to a compound fracture. I am now addicted. I cannot get off of it although I have tried. I am up to 18 pills of 50mg. tablets a day. Nine in the moring and nine at noon. When I tried to stop I have brain zaps and sleeping are out of the question. Even while on it my ears constantly ring very loudly. I am frightened because I know I am in a bad situation. I cannot stand the thought of running out. I would greatly appreciate any advice.Thank you,
Donna

Donna Forman

Donna ,I had neck surgery that went very badly.i ended up having 5 more neck surgerys and 3 back surgerys. i was on oxycotin for years. i had the same feelings that yor having now. one day i realized i could not take anymore.I took it very slowly .each week i would take 1 pill less. when i was down so far my doctor switched me to methadone. it helped with the pain yet i could cut back even more. i am down to taking less pain meds than i have taken in 10 years. i hpoe this will help you. i know what its like. good luck scott

[mulkygap]

Originally Posted by scottf6904

Donna ,I had neck surgery that went very badly.i ended up having 5 more neck surgerys and 3 back surgerys. i was on oxycotin for years. i had the same feelings that yor having now. one day i realized i could not take anymore.I took it very slowly .each week i would take 1 pill less. when i was down so far my doctor switched me to methadone. it helped with the pain yet i could cut back even more. i am down to taking less pain meds than i have taken in 10 years. i hpoe this will help you. i know what its like. good luck scott

Donna-when I tapered I reduced by 50 mg per week. When I got to 50 mg I split the pills and took 25 mg for 2 weeks. Then I stopped. I still had the brain zaps and felt uncomfortable. I took Imodium, Ibuprofen, vitamins and excercised and started feeling better after a week-and that was after tapering to 25 mg. Take it slow and you can do it.

[MaisieC]

Guys,

Donna's post is from October of 2006. I think there are people who are on this thread now who might need our help.

Take care,
Maisie

[MCCJEF]

Hi everyone,
I am new to this support group and already feel better knowing that I am not alone in this struggle. I have been taking Tramadol now for 1 1/2. I began taking this drug for back pain and it really helped the pain better than some of the more potent drugs and my doctors told me that it was not addictive and was more like a glorified tylenol. This was so far from the truth. This drug gave me an abundance of energy and enhanced my mood significantly along with the pain releif. So I researched the drug and I found that it also has SSRI secondary effects, which was fine with me because I was also had mild depression and chronic fatigue which were probably related. Then I began to experience symptoms that were not so pleasant ie.. ( short term memory loss, Brain fog, difficulty with speech and severe irritaability and rage). It was then after about 6 months I tried to get off the med., that lasted about 24 hrs before I was back on the drug. The side effects were unbarable. I had severe restless leg syndrom, anxiety, depression, palpitations, panic attacks and insomnia. So I began taken it again for about another year which brings me to today. I currently am taking 100 mg every 4-6 hours while awake and I have decided enough is enough. i have made the decision that its time to reclaim myself from grasp of this drug. It has taken control of my life so today I will begin the weaning process. Just thinking about it makes me anxious. I have 5 days off work in a row and figured that would be a good time to start. My wife is also addicted to this drug, thanks to me, and her DR. gave her a drug called Neurontin to help with the weaning. I took some last week when I was out of tramadol and it seemed to help rather significantly with the side effects. So my plan is to drop down to 50 mg every 4 hours with neurontin every four hours in between tramadol. I will try to post daily to let everyone know how it is going. I would appreciate any advice and or encouragment and even more your prayers.
Thanks,
-Jeff

[MCCJEF]

Hi Anon, your situation is similar to mine. I also had the same horrible side effects, I couldnt bare it anylonger and went to a urgent care facility to get more meds. been on them now for 1 1/2. I just decided today that I was going to do what ever it takes to get off Tramadol. I recently ran out and took Neurontin for about 12-16 hours and it seemed to help a lot with the withdrawl symptoms. My wife is also addicted and was prescribed this to help with the wean process. I also am a professional and have recently been having undesirable effects from taking this med. I been having trouble with my short term memory and also difficulty with my speech. I struggle sometimes to say what I need to say. Sometimes it comes out wrong and I try to cover it up. Its really hard to explain the feeling , its like my brain feels cloudy and i cant think clearly. Sometimes I just feel so stupid and I know that its not me and its the medication causing it. On my way home this morning I faced the problem and finally admitted to myself that it was such. I will try to post daily as I go along the way. I already feel much better this morning from talking about it on this site. I want to also help anyone else struggeling with this addiction. keep in touch and we'll do it together, try talking to your dr. about Neurontin!!! I'll pray for you before I go to bed this morning....
-Jeff

[MaisieC]

Hi MCCJEF,

I'm so sorry this has happened to you and your wife. I cannot understand why doctors are still throwing these pills around like candy. But you're very wise to start getting off it now. In my experience, it has all kinds of little insidious effects and really messes you up.

So basically you're cutting your dose in half to start with, right? That might be a little ambitious, but I think you should try it and see how it goes. In general I think it's better to taper faster at the beginning and to slow it down toward the end, because going from a low dose to nothing can be kind of a challenge. So I'm rooting for you! By the way, here is a link to a taper plan from another site that you might find informative:

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/725

You know about the SSRI properties of the drug, so you know that withdrawal can include some emotional symptoms, too. For me, this was the hardest part. I didn't actually get depressed coming off trams (which is odd, since I have suffered from clinical depression), but I sometimes got these waves of feeling totally dismayed and scared and vulnerable. It really helps to recognize that these symptoms are just that: symptoms. And they will gradually go away. You just have to hang tough.

Good luck to you. You and your wife will be in my prayers. If you keep posting on this thread, I will too.

Take care,
Maisie

[MCCJEF]

Hi Maisie,
Thank you for your support and encouragment, I will continue to post as much as I can because it has shown to be an effective resource to me already and I also want to provide a detailed journal of my circumstance. I would hope that someone else might benefit from my story.. So I woke up @ 5:30 pm yesterday to get ready for my last 12 hr nite job, 7p-7a. I took 1 25mg tramadol and 2 100mg caps of GABAPENTIN, a substitute for NEURONTIN @ 5:30 pm. I repeated this dose @ 10:30pm and again @ 03:30am. It is now 09:45 am and I still have not taken anything. I feel really good right now, no side effects at all and its been 6 hours. The Neurontin is really working, no restlessleg syn and only a slight bit of anxiety last night inbetween doses. I would recommend this for anyone trying to wean off of tram.. I was taking too high of doses in an attempt to attain that elation feeling and it was causing symptoms of Short term memory loss and brain fog. Last night I did not feel this , I believe it is a direct result of cutting my dose in half which is what is actually perscribed for..
My plan is to wean as tolerated, I go without until I begin to feel the slightest anxiety. I then take the predetermined dose {25mg Tramadol and 200mg NEURONTIN}. I plan to stretch that further and further til I get it to 8 hr intervals. Then I will go to 25mg TRam and 100mg Neur.. every 4-5hrs again and will continue along those lines.. I think the key will be to be flexible because there other a lot of other variables that factor in to your situation, ie..work stress, diet, my wife and kids.lol.
Well over all my first day was good, I feel confident I will kick this. I believe in goal setting so I am shooting for christmas to be TRAM free.... We'll see!!! I also decided to begin eating more healthy and joined the fitness center to start excercising, I heard both can help with WD symptoms, besides I want to get in shape. I also used to be a swimmer in high school and want to start swimming and since I live in sunny 80 degree South Florida now and not in cold Indiana, I will take advantage of the outdoor swimming pool at the club house and start doing laps; That was for all you [ U]northeners[/U].. lol..
SORRY FOR THE BOOK... future posts will be short and to the point. thanks again for your support!!!
-JEFF

[MaisieC]

Hi Jeff,

It sounds like you are focused and organized and have a plan! I can't advise you at all about the neurontin. (A junkie friend once told me you could take it in order to enhance the high from percocet, but he's dead now...that's the extent of my "knowledge" about it.) Just be sure--as I'm certain you are--that you're not exceeding recommended doses of anything and that you've researched potential drug interactions. Keep tapering, and you will get there! I look forward to reading about your progress!

Take care,
Maisie

[puff_puff_never_pass]

im addicted to every thing any kind of pain medacation any kind of street drug i have done it all dr percribe me what ever i want wnen i want i just cant stop my mom keeps telling me im going to od one day.i can get any pain killer any drug i want i take a lot my mom has to hide her pills because i am so addicted i keep telling my self i better get in rehab before its to late. but the sad thing is i like narcotics i like drugs i keep saying it wont happen to me i have sevear migraines and deep deprechion i started smoking weed then smoked meth did coke did extacy mushrooms drinking and i had a migraine bad one day after i drank and did a hole bole of meth. and 2 lines of coke and when i have a migrane i dont think i take any thing to stop the pain. and i took 2 perkaset 10 1 vicodin on top of meth and coke and hard liqure for thoes who have pain killer addiction i wish it was just pills i was addicted to any drug is hard to come off of i have seen dr about all of my addiction i told them every thing every drug i did i came clean because i have bad migrains and they did a mri and found a cyst on my brain caused from trama falling and hitting my head. the drs did not get me treatment did not offer me help ne i could get what i want when i want dident matter if i got it off the street did not matter if i could go in to a dr and every time i ask a dr for pain meds like lorazapam3 mg tramadol, trazadone , loratab 5 loratab7.5 specialy loraratad and lorazapam2 mg none of the dr said hay you have a problem here you need help none of that i cant seam to get help i have ask dr i have ask my family my mother knows and i dont think she knowes ho to help me. i mean i seen dr they dont help me so i keep taking them because i dont know how to get help i ask for it but no one will help me. i can tell a police officer he wont help me they never put me in jail. heck last christmas i took 4 lorazapam 2 mg i was sleep walking and took a bottle of ibeprofin and was gonna take a ******** load so my mom called the police they arested me took me to the er and the er pump me up 4 shots of morfine. either people want to help me with all of the addiction i have or they dont think i was ment to be here cause most people say they over come stuff like this it takes work but they over come it. anna nacole smith she died on lorazapam 2 mg mixed with other drugs. makes me think im gonna be the next anna nacole smith people i try to ask help dont care.

[cheekysod]

love the name puff puff.
if you really want to stop, there is help out there.
sounds like you are not sure right now, whether to keep on going, or stop.
its a long road if you keep going pal.
im in my 40's and i am just now trying to get clean again, off all the opiates.
it doesnt really matter what you have, an opiate is an opiate is an opiate, they just all have different names.
i hope you can get a clear enough head to go for it.
i wish you all the luck girl.
cheeky

[Mallai]

Please don't let these drugs take you out..Anna Nicole had major emotional problems on top of her drug use..YOU are not Anna Nicole nor am I..I've been through this tramadol/PK bull******** as much as anybody..It is very difficult but I promise you will come out stronger than ever before..This is not to take away from the W/D symptoms your going through but you have to dig really deep and get through it..I've been brought into the depths of despair recently, after going cold turkey from 800-1200 mg of tram daily..My doc said to me, "Well, your doing it the hard way..Good luck"..I'm not suggesting you do it cold turkey, but you have to realize you are alone in this..You can call and write anyone and everyone, but you have to do this on your own..You have to want to be off these meds, free and clean..You have to want to be ok with it..As my good friend and 5 yr. recovering addict friend said to me, "I'm ok with myself, I'm ok without any drugs in me"..It sunk in with me..With that said, and not to undermine anybodies suffering, please know there are people here and myself, to help you get through this..I'm here to listen, to read and hear your thoughts..Yes, you are alone and have to overcome alone, but I know your pain and KNOW you can get out of this..Stick it out, be brave and courageous like you never have been before...You can do this, I promise..