[Shadowlord]

Hey All:

I need help. I have been a fibromyalgia patient for 12 years. I have been put on all sorts of medication to help alleviate symptoms of my condition. Other than the medications I work out at least 4 times a week, eat healthy and take vitamin supplements. Thing is I have been on and off ultram for 4 years. It never seemed to really bother me when I came off before. But this time I was prescirbed it for a year and take one to two 50 mg tablets a day. I know that doesn't sound like much but my prescription is out and it has been two days and my body is in going though excrutiating withdrawal symptoms. I cannot focus, my body is aching all over, my legs are killing me and I am so tired all the time. I don't know if this completely the ultram or just the unmasked fibro symptoms or a combination of both. I have a feeling though that it is mostly the ultram. I am down, have the blues and am depressed. I feel so stupid. I thought this stuff was safe. The problem is that my fibromyalgia continues to worsen with age (I'm 40) instead of getting better even though I do everything the physicians ask. I can hardly function some days even with the medication and now I am back in college trying to get into a better career for me. What a time to be going through all this. I am afraid to tell anyone and don't know what to do. If I had some ultram right now, I would take it. Anything to alleviate my screaming body of the jitters, muscle cramps, and pain. Anyone have any suggestions. I need some input.

Shadow

Dee Beez

[sunset2]

100mg doesn't sound like much. ultram is habit forming and you can have withdrawl symtoms if you suddenly stop. with you having fibromyalgia, don't you suffer chronic pain everyday? maybe you should check with your doctor for a new pain management program.

i wrote in a few days ago asking for "detox advice" and not one single person answered. people that visit this site read a lot but don't share anything back to those in need. a do visit other addiction forums and through them i gathered a few things that may help with withdrawls:
-hot baths with epsom salt
-heating pad
-lots of water
-while laying in bed, tighten all your body muscles real hard for a few seconds holding your breath and slowly release. repeat 5 times then do one area of muscles the same way like both legs then both arms, etc.
-take Nyquil, valerian root, whatever so you can sleep as much as possible.
This is all i've been able to gather so far as what you can do while you're at home.
Good Luck [^]

[mpvt]

Get some immodium AD it is actually a opiate but it doesn't cross blood brain barrier.You might have to experiment as to how much to take but I would start out with 4 pills.Ultram withdrawl is the same withdrawl as opiate withdrawl and is no fun to be sure.So get your immodium ad,advil gel caps 2/4hrs,lots of fluids and try and eat.Hot baths do miracles so take as many as you can.You really should talk to your doctor about going on some sort of pain managment program.There are narcotic pain killers that you only need to take every 8 hours and some just once a day.It's just that if you have to take something that's addictive like Ultram then you might as well be on a good one like MS Contin (sustained release morphine).....Good luck....Dave

[niamh]

i am another ultram "addict", although i prefer the term "functionally dependent". because my intake got out of control for the first time in a year and a half, i went thru the hell and horror of withdrawls earlier this week. last time, i went to the Er after being reassured by an RN friend that i would receive treatment. Hah. i was prescribed ultram 10 years ago for migraines. it didn't help them, but i got hooked on it anyway. my former doctor would not give me early refills, but she was generous with Lortab so the w/d symptoms were not so bad. switched docs due to insurance changes - he cannot prescribe controlled substances, so no narcotic relief. also, he cut my scrip from 12 @day down to 6@day when he found out i went to the ER. this was jan04. since then, i have been doubling up, one scrip from my MD and one from a clinic. even with that, i ran out early. . .i'm rambling. in jan04, the ER doc immed sent for a shrink when i said i was in ultram w/d. the shrink was, if i may say, a ****. he claimed ultram is not prescribed for fibromyalgia, which i developed in 1997, and that i was a junkie, drug-seeking, and my only option was to check into rehab right then and there. no relief for the w/d. i went home and toughed it out, and swore "never again". well, never came this week. i ended up calling the paramedics, who took me to the ER. this time, a blessed angel doctor saw what was happening, and wrote a scrip on the spot for ultram, premised on my promise to wean myself off the drug. then i discovered that you can buy it online!!! the doc that can't prescribe controlled substances said, "you realize you will be on this drug for the rest of your life." as though there was something wrong with that. . i get bloodwork every six months, and it always comes back good. i was recently diagnosed with RA as well, and my dosage has increased even further to deal with that type of pain. is there anyone else out there who does not want to go off this drug, ever? i read a lot of posts by folks wanting to detox - i ain't one of them. any replies welcome. slainte, niamh

[zippysgoddess]

Why would the other doc not be able to write scrips for controlled substances? Is he already under investigation for writing them for patients he shouldn't have or over prescribing?

I do understand what you are talking about, you are not promoting addiction, you are just stating that sometimes, you have no choice but to continue with taking these drugs, even if you know you suffer withdrawals and stuff without them, because if you don't, you have no quality of life. And in that respect, it is considered dependence and not addiction. An addict takes pills when they don't need them, just because they want too, they enjoy them, they often keep taking more and more because they don't get the high anymore as their body adjusts to each dosage they are taking.

So there is a very big difference between the person who takes meds because they have to have some way to control their pain, and the person who takes them just because they are there. Yes, there are some instances where a person was prescribed them for a legitimate reason and then starts abusing them, but if you are not taking them for enjoyment, but rather to deal with pain from medical problems, then you do not fall into the addict category.

My doctor and I have freely discussed that fact that I will have to take some form of heavy narcotics for the rest of my life, and we will have to periodically increase dosages or change drugs as my body becomes too used to one dose or drug and it is no logner effective, I also have a condition that will degenerate further, so my pain will worsen with time, requiring changes. For some of us, this is how our lives are, and there is nothing we can do to change it. Just because you suffered withdrawal symptoms without, and you do not want to face your pain without the drug, does not mean you are the same type of addict as those who enjoy the high and abuse drugs.

verwon@gmail.com

My information is not guaranteed correct. I do not get them right all the time, but I do enjoy the hunt~

[062885love]

Hello,
I too have been given tremadol, ultram (hydrochloride), whatever you want to call it, for migraines. I would get Ocular migraines caused by stress. They would get to the point I would loose my vision and have to lay down for about a half hour at a time. Then a minor headache would follow sometimes for almost two days non stop. I have now been on this drug for about three months. I can go days taking none (but not usually) or days taking one, and other days taking 2 and sometimes but rarely maybe 3! I get the same "happy" easy going, non worrying, way less stressing out, relaxed feeling from one pill as the first day I ever took one! So I guess everyone is different. Just wanted to say this pill has done wonders for my life and I am thankful for it. (I have not had a headache or Ocular migraine since). Also, FYI - It allows me to focus better on work and just smile and nod easier through out life and the things that get thrown my way! I do not take it about 6-7 hours before I know I will be sleeping because, for me, I can not sleep on it. I just lay there happily and feel good, but cant sleep. Oh and another thing, I had a problem with alcohol and partying and getting into trouble. Now I don’t drink except maybe once a week and have no craving to even then. I am also perfectly content staying in on Fri and Sat nights when my friends call and want to go out. I would rather have them over here to just sit and talk or play video games etc...Its not like I am being anti-social. Oh and this drug also seems to help me do the house hold chores. I can clean like a mad man and be happy and have fun doing it. Seems like its a wonder drug huh? Well to me, it is! Thanks for listening - hope this helps someone and if anyone has any advise or precautions for me I am all ears. Thanks again,


Iryna's man~