[Daisy85]

I just read through this whole thread and it made me feel MUCH better about what I'm currently going through. I've been on tramadol for only a few months for pain from a knee injury. At first it was great - helped a lot with my pain and gave me a little extra energy. I got a LOT of things checked off on my to-do list! I thought this was the perfect medication, as I'd been told by my doc that it was non-habit forming. Riiiiiight. The first problem I noticed was the constipation...it was excrutiating. Then I noticed that I would sweat profusely with the tiniest amount of physical exertion. I would be dripping sweat from 15 minutes of light gardening. Not good. Then I slowly began to notice that I felt like complete ******** in the morning until I took my tramadol. I was only taking 250 mgs a day, which was much lower than the prescribed amount, and still I could tell in the mornings that I was becoming physically dependant upon it. I read about the taper method and the risks of going cold turkey, but I decided 3 days ago to do cold turkey anyway because I really didn't want to drag this out and I wasn't on a very high dose for very long anyway, so I figured the risk was low. I told my doctor I was stopping it because I didn't like how it made me sleep later in the mornings and how bad I felt after waking up before taking it. He hasn't been very supportive, to say the least, and pretty much insists that the tramadol could not be causing a dependency. So far, the worst part of the past three days is the joint achiness and the insomnia. I think I've slept a total of 6 hours the last couple nights...but when I wake up in the morning I actually feel BETTER than I did when I was on the tramadol, so I'm sticking with it! The only time I tempted to take a pill is when I'm lying in bed staring at the ceiling at 3 am and flipping all around trying to get comfortable. Oh, and I've read that a lot of people have restless leg syndrome during wd but for me, my ARMS have been far more creepy-crawling and restless than my legs. That's a very unpleasant side effect as well!

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for this thread and good luck to everyone getting off and staying off tramadol. I hope we're all back to "normal" soon!!

[melinda7.5]

Hi Daisy
I glad you were able to get off the tramadol...I know it wasn't easy...
Many happy days to you...
Have a great day, Melinda

[SRising]

I dont know who is it out there that will read my words!. Some of you might be helped with my words, some of you might help me.

I have been on and off Tramadol. Am tired of this, i dont have any illness or phsyical problems. I just started taking these pills to get away from depresssion and stress.

I am in kuwait. this stuff is not easy to get around here. i pay " ALOT" to get it. I am newly married , i want to pay attention to my wife. and am scared that i am not the person i used to be when she used to love me before we get married!. to be more presise ( am afraid i am not ME anymore ) even when i get out of this. I want to finally be out of this ******** forever.

This is the first day, i am at work. i stopped yesterday taking 30 pills a day for the past 3 months.

Am expecting too much main as always. i have quit before, also cold turkey style. I wish this time is the last, I need this. i need it badly. I want to step up to myself. and gain back my confidence and style and character.

I am not taking any pills to quit. I dont sleep this is the first day not sleeping and again 4 5 days from now. i might start sleeping again. but the Leg Restlessness and the body ackes . it hurts so bad . Depression and hot and cold in the same time!.

I also need to know what helps me the most in my case :

1) Red Bull.
2) Coffiee ( Turkish Coffie ).
3)Green Tea.

?

I hope its my last time to get myself into this. i had enough.

[SRising]

Thank you for this msg. it is helping me alot in my cold turkey attempt. THough this is the first day for me. i know whats coming to me. but i will take it, i will fight for my life. i will fight for ME being normal and healthy again !.

Nour.

[dxb]

im glade to hear from u guys i live in dubai and like Srising said it is hard to get tramadol around in this aea because it is not legale im trying to stop using tramadol because i feel that it is ruining my life i want to become normal like i i use to be im 21 yrs old and i started using tramadol about 6 month ago take 2 dose or 1 1/2 dose a day were it is avalible here with 100mg only and have to pay alot of money to get it anyways i red about your experiences and hope it works for me to and as for Srising i want to know how can u take 30pills/day this is sucide

[MaisieC]

Hi Nour, hi dxb,

I'm glad you guys are here and have decided to get this drug out of your lives! It's a bad habit at any dose and can be very dangerous. Nour, you're coming very fast off a high dose. Can you try to taper down instead? Going cold turkey off tramadol can sometimes cause seizures, so I'm a little worried about your going so fast. Are you able to taper down slowly?

Of the drinks you listed, I would say that green tea might be the best for you. Withdrawal from tramadol can cause insomnia, so I'm not sure the coffee is the best thing. Can you get Gatorade where you are? It can be very helpful if you have nausea. Also try taking vitamins and drinking water.

Tramadol is VERY easy to get and quite cheap in the States, and that is a curse in my opinion.

Good luck and God bless both of you. Please let us know how you are doing.

[dxb]

thank you maisiec for your concern i hope to get off tramadol soon because it is like a nightmare to me i did get off it once cold turkey it was like hell days to me but i did it and i dont know why i got into it again but this time im going to get off it for ever but im so scared to start gettting of it cold turkey because it is so horrible can you please advise me what to do known that i take 1 or 2 tablets a day which is 100 mg can u help me in getting of it by reducing the doese and how to start

thank you hope to hear from you

[dxb]

hi everyone hope you guys are doing well i wanted to tell you that today i tried a new medicine and it really made me feel better it is called neuortine i really think that it crures the side effects of the tramadol because it does to me does any one out there have an opinion about this drug

[MaisieC]

Originally Posted by dxb

hi everyone hope you guys are doing well i wanted to tell you that today i tried a new medicine and it really made me feel better it is called neuortine i really think that it crures the side effects of the tramadol because it does to me does any one out there have an opinion about this drug

Hi,

I think you should avoid neurontin. You are on a small dose of tramadol, and I think you should be able to get off it without turning to any other medications. If you are taking 2 pills a day, I suggest cutting them in half and taking 1.5 pills a day for four days, then .5 twice a day for four days, then .25 twice a day for four days, then stop. And be sure that you throw away whatever extra pills you have. It can be hard to get off tramadol even at a low dose, but at a certain point you just have to do it.

Good luck!

[dxb]

thanks for the advice maisic ill go by your advice

[dxb]

hi everyone im posting today to thank maisiec for her support and tell you that im almost 95% recovered from tramadol and i feel so healthy and fine thank you maisiec for ur preciouse advise and hope that everybody recover soon

[melinda7.5]

Hi dxb
Im glad your doing better...and your right Maisie does a great job here...
Talk to you later, Melinda

[dxb]

hello everyone im suffering from a restless legs its killing me it makes me feel like cutting my legs off i havent slept since yesterday its been 3 days now and now im facing the restless legs i cant take it i took 1/2 of neuorntine but it didnt work i dont want to use tramadol becoz i feel that my body is almost free of it wat can i do to stop my legs from moving pleasr hellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllp

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by dxb

hello everyone im suffering from a restless legs its killing me it makes me feel like cutting my legs off i havent slept since yesterday its been 3 days now and now im facing the restless legs i cant take it i took 1/2 of neuorntine but it didnt work i dont want to use tramadol becoz i feel that my body is almost free of it wat can i do to stop my legs from moving pleasr hellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllp

Considering the amount of tramadol you've been taking I think you should refrain from taking neurontin. That shouldn't be necessary at all. And I don't think it will help your situation regardless. You're spinning your wheels by adding more medication to your problem.

You've got three days of clean time now. You should start an exercise regimen and that will help the RLS. You don't have to run five miles but if you will walk around the block briskly a couple times, enough to push yourself, you'll feel better. I would do it early evening, then follow it up with a long, HOT shower or bath. The exercise will also help with your natural endorphine production which helps you overall feeling of well-being.

Try the exercise followed up with the hot shower/bath and see if that doesn't help. Exercise is the BEST medicine there is for opiate detox. Again try to stay away from adding additional drugs to the picture. Detox sucks, that's the bottom line. We get to pay the price for our lack of good judgement concerning our drug abuse. Hang in there. God bless.

[dxb]

thanks robert i think ill just do what u advised me to do ill just try excersise and a hot shower
hope it works

thanks

[auroramoonbeam]

I've only been takin tramadol for a week n I already feel the need for it in my body...the first day (around 9pm ish) I took 2 pills n I must admit I felt nothing so maybe 2 hours later I popped another one within the space of 6 hours I took like 5 pills (50mg) FOOLISH yes but at least im still here to talk about it lol that whole next day I was vomiting (7 times) every time I tried to even take a sip of water id puke 5 mins later it was a bad experience but I can't blame the drug as much as I blame myself lol so I didn't take anymore for a day or 2....since then I've sumwut religiously taken 2 50mg tabs a day (b4 bedtime) as far as the insomnia is concerned I'm not sure whether to blame it on the tramadol bc I've always had sleeping problems n general...the biggest side effect I notice is that sumtimes it makes me queasy and vomit other than that id say it helps my mood bc I can be cranky n then I take it n however long it takes for the tramadol to kick in I become I don't wanna say happy but its like nothing affects me....things that would make me mad or agitate me normally hav no affect on me wen I'm on tramadol. All in all id say its an ok drug not my fav. As far as the nausea and insomnia side affects r concerned fortunately for me living in the state of California I have obtained a Medical Marijuana License so I just go to the dispensary n pick out a nice Indica or Sativa n I'm alrite. Marijuana seems to curb all queasiness n sleeplessness for me n I will never again take 250 mg of tramadol n the space of 6 hours so that takes care of that. As far as pain relief is concerned its a so so pain reliever. A step up from motrin but a step down from oxycodone. 4 yrs ago wen I had my wisdom teeth pulled the dentist prescribed me oxycodone. To this day I must admit that was the best feeling I've had n my life (not the wisdom teeth surgery lmao but a couple weeks after wen the pain subsided n I had a couple pills leftover Unfortunately I haven't been able to have oxycodone since (well maybe that's a good thing cuz I know my arse would be addicted lmao) so now I'm content with my medical marijuana license n the dispensary is my candy shop ;o)

[lostandhopeles]

I have been on Tramadol for 9 weeks now following an O.A.T.s procedure to my left knee. I was put on Tramadol for pain at the hospital (4) days. i was sent home with a prescription for 150 pills. I took 2 pills 3 to 4 times days a week for the first week. Since then I have Taken two in the morning before therpy (3) days a week. 1 before bed. I have tried to stop the pills a couple weeks ago. bad idea nightmares I woke uo thinking I was going to die. and thought it must be pain wakeing me up. I started taking the pills again before bed. I slept pretty good again. 48 hours ago I Quit all pills. I went right back to not sleeping thru the night. I would fall asleep for mabey an hour after laying there for a couple hours. Had there been a warning on the bottle about withdrawls like this there is no way I would have taken the pills. To say this is a non narcotic non Habit forming Medication is an outright lie. the feelings I have had since tring to quit are worse than any pain I would have had to put up with. I have been non weight bearing since surgery but dont think this has any bearing on not sleeping. As I do move/hop around as much as possible with a walker.

[cantsleep78]

Ok, so about a month ago I was diagnosed with shingles and had severe pain in the left side of my body. Felt like my skin was on fire. The doc prescribed Tramadol and gave me a prescription for 90. She told me I could take 2 at a time if the pain was bad, up to 3 times a day. But I should not depend on them, I should use regular tylenol and only the tramadol when I absolutely have to.

Well, after taking 1 pill twice a day for the 1st 3 days I swear I felt like Superman or some sh!t. I had sooooooooooo much freakin' energy it's crazy. I could clean my whole house from top to bottom plus spend hours playing with my toddler daughter and I never got worn out or exhausted! It was AWESOME!!

So, I started taking 3 pills at one time in the morning, then I would take 2 more in the afternoon, so thats 5 pills a day.

I ran out of them 2 days ago and OH MY GOD I FEEL LIKE SH!T !!! I can't sleep, I woke up this morning at 3:30am freezing one minute, burning up the next. My legs wouldnt stop shaking and moving, I kept tossing and turning, I had crazy weird fVcked up dreams for the couple hours I did sleep last night.

I dont understand why it says this drug isnt addictive. I do not want to ever take this medication again, these withdrawls are too horrible!!!

I felt like ******** yesterday too, very moody, no energy. I found that taking a couple Benedryl makes the nervousness fade some.

The thing that made me like Tramadols so much was the fact they gave me so much energy. Before taking the Tramadols I had never been prescribed any kind of pain meds before. I know now not to ever take anything other than a Tylenol for pain unless my freakin' leg gets cut off or something. NOT WORTH IT!!!!!!


My advice to anyone out there who has just been prescribed Tramadol is to NOT TAKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!! DEAL WITH THE FREAKIN' PAIN CAUSE THE WITHDRAWLS ARE TOO BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[asylumlake]

I've been taking tramadol for about three year. steadily for two. my doctor gave me the wrong amount on my last script. Usually I get 180 tablets a month but this time only 120. so, as you can imagine, I figured it out too late on friday to do anything about it. its tuesday morning. I havent had any tramadol for almost four days.I've been taking 100 mg tabs 6 to 8 times a day for 2 years, and have had everyone of those withdrawl symtoms. I could have got some more today but trying to kick habit, I've gone this far. my doctor said it was non narcotic, which to me meant none habit forming. 3 years ago I was addicted to vicodine, so I figured I would be ok if ever I was without it. wrong. I cant sleep, hot, cold, hot, cold. this is worse than dropping vicodin. I'm still trying to keep away from going to get more. how long do these symptoms last? I just want to sleep.If I cold sleep for more than an hour I would be so happy. I've been lucky to have typed this much, as my attention span right now is very short.

[Robert_325]

asylumlake .... I'm not so sure that the side effects of your tramadol dose isn't causing WORSE symptoms than a hydrocodone w/d.

Taking 800mg per day of tramadol like you describe about yourself is dangerous and should be putting off some serious symptoms on you. Defenitely dangers of seizure and other problems. You have not decided to detox off the tramadol any too soon.

The subs just add to the deal but are actually making the entire thing with the tramadol a little better. The tramadol works on the same brain receptors as other opiates so you're getting benefits from the subs. They've GOT TO be used properly though or you'll have a total mess for yourself.

It's late tonite, but talk to me about this tomorrow. I'm about to crash tonite but I'm here every day. We need to help you get a good gameplan and I'll do that if you want me to. We do this every day. Let me know if you want my help. God bless.

[nesbitt]

Hi,I am new and have a question.My pain doc just added ultram to my norco for breakthrough pain,I took 2 per day for one month.He now has increased them to 3 per day.After reading on here I am not sure if I should increase them.Do you think 3 per day will get me hooked on them?Any help would be appreciated.

[MaisieC]

Originally Posted by nesbitt

Hi,I am new and have a question.My pain doc just added ultram to my norco for breakthrough pain,I took 2 per day for one month.He now has increased them to 3 per day.After reading on here I am not sure if I should increase them.Do you think 3 per day will get me hooked on them?Any help would be appreciated.

I don't think 3 per day is more likely than 2 per day to create a dependency on ultram.

Good luck!

[Noster]

Hello all, I am so glad I found this message board. I have been taking ultram for 2 years. I had back surgery about 16 months ago, and after that, still had some pain. The dr. advised that I continue the Ultram and drop the Vicodan. (I was taking both) I thought the Vicodan WD sucked. I had no idea.....
I ran out of Tramadol this past Saturday. I had actually unintentionally weened down my amount. For no other reason than just forgeting to take it. I was not having any side effects from lowering the dosage and was down to 2-3 pills a day from 6-7 pills just a month earlier. (50mg tablets)
Well, I ran out Saturday (took the last two that day), and was not really worried about any DT's. It is now Wednesday afternoon, and I have not slept since waking up Sunday morning. I am fine during the day (really tired, but that is all), but at night it is like a black cloud sets in. As soon as I lay down in bed the twitching starts. It does not hurt as much as it is just annoying enough to keep me awake. I must have done 500 push-ups since Sunday evening, usually between 2-6 am. I get these creepy feelings in my arms and legs like they are about to burst with energy, but the rest of my body is just dog tired.
By my calculations, I have now gone 98 hours without and tramadol.
My question is, how much longer will this last? I am not even considering taking any more tramadol. I did take two flexeril last night thinking since they are muscle relaxers, I would be able to calm down the muscle twitches. That along with 2 tylonal pm's did nothing to help. Any advice on something to purge this stuff from my body would be very helpfull.
So basically, does anyone know how long this will last, and is there anything I can do to help curb the sleeplessnes. I have gone through bouts of insomnia forever, way before I started tramadol, so I don't know how much is me or the drugs, but I have never not slept a wink in 4 days.
Thanks for the answers.

[MaisieC]

Hi Noster,

Well, that really stinks. It's a very difficult drug. The problem is not that there is still tramadol in your system; the problem is that you're in withdrawal, and your body needs to adjust.

You're doing all the right things, it sounds like. It does just take time. Lots of people find that benadryl really helps for sleep. If you can get your hands on a couple of Ambien or valium or something, that wouldn't be a bad idea. You can try potassium to help with the twitching...either through food sources or through supplements. Make sure you're hydrated. And hang in there. You should be starting to get back to normal in a day or so. But in my experience it can take a while before you sleep completely normally again. Please hang in there. You WILL get better.

Please take care and let us know how you're doing.

Maisie

[gootagethelp]

Hi - am new to this forum or any type of forum like this actually. Here is my story and i need some real help....

About a year ago a "friend" of mine gave me two tramadol tabs, 50 mg. each because i was very, very tired and stressed out..(i had 2 year old twins at the time). WOW! This stuff gave me energy...i could clean...play with the kids...get laundry done, etc...i thought it was THE wonder drug. SO...you know how the rest of this story goes...i found out that i could buy this ******** online and have been spending WAY too much money to do so. About $200 a month....i am/almost was taking 6-8 50 mg. tabs a day...NOW i work full time...am able to work very well...productive, very awake...able to be wonder woman at home..etc. I have HIDDEN this from everyone i mean EVERYONE but my husband. I actually have given him bottles to hide and try to wein me off of them by giving me 3 a day, 2 a day, etc...but he ends up giving in when i beg and cry, (my fault..not his) and giving me what i want.

Anyways...i have lost weight because of this horrible drug...i am already thin and am now SUPER thin. It is almost an appetite suppressant. i am ashamed at myself for getting addicted to something...god...i am super speedy all the time..family has actually asked me if i was taking something because i am always super chatty, etc....i cover it up by saying i drank too many Red Bulls. Work as NO clue what my true personality is being as i was like this when i was hired almost a year ago. i HAVE TO GET OFF THIS!! I have 12 tabs left. I gave my husband the credit cards and when i get my paycheck i used to cash it immediately..transfer money to a "secret" credit card and order online. I gave him that card too. However, it is so easy for me to obtain ANOTHER credit card..and do the same thing but i am bound and determined to get off this horrible stuff because i need to be a role model for my kids...i dont want to keep taking this stuff for the rest of my life but when i tried to get off this stuff..(which i did for 2 months actually)...it took over a week and a half to start feeling somewhat normal and i was a stay at home mom at the time...i remember hot and cold flashes, tingling, night sweats, shaking...but no nausea..just horrible diarrhea. however, all i wantd to do was sleep unlike most of you? I went cold turkey that time and i guess i am doing the same thing this time. Any advice..support..suggestions so appreciated. I felt very alone...and know i'm not now..i found this site and feel better but man..i need help. Going to rehab is OUT of the question...no way. i am afraid at how i will be at work. I work in the medical field and need to be super "SHARP" at all times....i do take clonezpam for anxiety but it didn't help last time at all. I just cried for a few days....and suffered it out. Please..anyone out there in the same boat or was out there in the same kinda thing? Feel like i am going to wind up on that show Intervention...which i do watch because it makes me feel better...sick, huh. I am just as bad as anyone else that is an addict.

[MaisieC]

Hi,

I'm really sorry you're going through all this. You're making the right decision to get off the stuff now. Trust me, the time will come when it doesn't give you energy any more. It will sap you. You're lucky you haven't been on it that long and that you have a chance to get your life back.

The main thing is that you have to WANT to get off. No more playing games with credit cards and manipulating your husband. You know that this is your responsibility. You have to make the commitment to get clean and stay clean. I highly recommend finding an NA meeting near you to get some support.

Going cold turkey off tramadol is not recommended. The withdrawals are really bad, partly because of the anti-depressant effect of the drug. That's the source of all those terrible emotions you experienced. More seriously, you can get seizures from dropping off this drug too quickly. Twelve pills are not enough for you to do a taper that will prevent you being sick. If you can, you should get another order of pills and set up a taper schedule for yourself and stick to it. Here's a link to a taper schedule that's been successful for a lot of people. You can see how she does it and adapt it to your current dosage:

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

The thing is, you have to be prepared to deal with what comes. You're not going to have the same level of energy when you get off tramadol, because you're not going to be high. You have to find a way to function adequately at work without being high on drugs. Otherwise you're at risk of relapsing. Doing a slow taper will help your body adjust. If you can get some medication to help you sleep during the taper, you won't be so exhausted. Exercise also helps tremendously. Stay hydrated, and eat right, and just hang in there and fight the good fight.

Please let us know how you do.

Take good care,
Maisie

[21months]

I definitely agree with Maisie! I've tried going off this drug cold-turkey and using the weaning schedule she linked you to - failed miserably cold-turkey (the no-sleep thing broke me in about 3 days total after ALSO having 2-year-old twins at the same time and not willing to go through THAT again!! and the emotional repurcussions were pretty terrible too!) and then succeeded like it was a piece of cake when I tapered off slowly.

I think part of the reason it seemed so easy is because I had broken my psychological dependence at that point... because Tramadol had stopped giving me the euphoric high I used to get from it and so then I had no use for it! :P I'm wondering if it just "stops working" for others here, too? (I was only taking tramadol for about 6 months when it stopped affecting me the same way)

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck but do hope you'll consider letting yourself off the hook as far as this "suffering through it" withdrawal goes - I truly believe this really is one of those cases where continuing to take it but weaning off slowly really *will* help you. But whatever you decide to do - good luck and take it day by day!

[InsomniacJess]

I won't get into the long version of this story, so I will attempt to say the short version. I was mauled by a dog two and a half years ago losing half of each lip. I have had multiple reconstructive surgeries that have left my face looking relatively normal and most people do not notice it. Unfortunately the Trigeminal nerve - a major nerve going through the face - had been severed. Needless to say I am in excruciating pain and I haven't had a single pain free day since the accident. To be honest, I cannot fathom what it's like to live a day free from pain. I don't remember what it's like and there is no light at the end of this pain tunnel for me. I started seeing a pain doctor in May - so about 4 months ago.

For 2 months she had me move from vicodin up to oxycontin. To be honest, this was a bit scary for me. I have family members who are heavily addicted to opiates. I have never had any problem, even being on percocet for one month following each surgery without trouble quitting, so I did not think this would be a problem. After about a month on oxycontin, I asked her if I could go back to percocet and lower my dose. I do not want to stay on this. She began quite rapidly increasing the drug neurontin, which has proven to be very helpful with trigeminal nerve pain (especially for sufferers of trigeminal neuralgia, which is somewhat similar to what I experience). As we increase neurontin, the goal is to decrease the percocet. I am up to 900 mg 3 x a day on neurontin - for a total of 2700mg a day. Two weeks ago when she decided to taper again, I was taking around 80mg (8x10 mgs) of percocet daily and was to go down to 45mg (6x7.5 mgs) daily. This is where the Ultram comes in.

Once the dose was this low, I really felt like I was suffering. I was hurting more and I am willing to finally be honest with myself and my husband, my body craves the stuff. I ran out early one day last month and the one day without it was SO awful, I promised myself that no matter how much my body craved it, I was going to get off of this drug for good. The taper was so hard that I started taking Ultram 3 weeks ago to help with the pain and the tapering of the Percocet. This is something that was originally prescribed to me, but the dr stopped it once she found out that I had some mental issues (who wouldn't after being mauled by a dog in the face) and it can be bad. Well, I still had it in my cabinet and figured, hey, why not. I started taking 8 a day immediately. I unfortunately am they type that automatically takes the max and never tries the lower dose, why am I like that? I hate pain. I am angry that I am forced to feel this constant pain and it wasn't my fault and so out of my control. Ah, I feel weepy now.

Anyway, I ran out of the ultram yesterday around noon, it is now almost midnight the following day, so it has been almost exactly 36 hours. I am physically shaken, it's hard to even type. It doesn't help that I have pneumonia and am incredibly sick right now. These withdrawals are awful. I did not expect that taking them for a few weeks would result in a withdrawal. They are supposed to be non-addictive - what gives!? Now I also feel like my pain is VERY bad, and my percocet has to last until I see my dr on Wed and a few times I had to take a little extra due to extreme pain in my mouth, so now I am at a point where I will have to take 3 a day until Wed, only 22.5mg. I am wide awake, I feel hotter than hell when it's not, it's cold, and I am sweating profusely and weepy. I went to my husband and he hugged me and I burst out into tears and I don't know what is going on. Are these all withdrawals? I have read these pages and see they can be, but why and how is this happening after only 3 weeks?

I know I had the strength to get through my dog bite and the surgeries and the horrifying way my face did look for many months before and I know I just have to find that strength again to fight the withdrawals and to force myself to get off of the percocet. I keep feeling this insane anxious fear when I think of not taking percocet anymore. Am I an addict? I never take it other than for pain, but my body seems to just think it has to have it. It makes me cry and feel like a bad person, like I do not want to be like my addict family who take it recreationally and I have seen it destroy their lives, land them in jail, lead them from oxy to taking crack/cocaine. I mean this literally 5 out of my 5 immediate family - parents and siblings - have all gone down that road. I have always been the good black sheep who graduated hs, then graduated college and made an amazing career and I am newly married to my hubby who I've been with nearly 8 years. My life has been quite good aside from this damn dog bite. Well, anyway, I shared more than I meant.

I guess I just want information about the ultram withdrawals (the shaking, the weeping, the sweating, insomina, sudden jerks in my body - from only 3 weeks of taking it??, and how long this will last, and even though unrelated, someone may know, how long will the craving for percocet last, even during taper, I crave more, I want more, knowing more will make my pain better and does this make me an addict in the sense my family was, or is it just a physical thing to be anticipated by anyone on narcotics for nearly 5 months straight?

Thank you to anyone (though I doubt anyone did or will) for reading this and responding. I really have hope that maybe being on too many pain pills made my idea of pain out of whack - like made the smallest pain seem huge because I was constantly not feeling pain. I hope that once my body adjusts in a month or two to JUST the neurontin, that maybe there will be hope in my pain finally being under control! The scariest part is the doctor thinks once I am off of it I should keep some percocet for bad episodes, like a few a month, and I don't know how good it is for me. I am scared at the idea of even seeing a perc that I will just want more. I hate this. When hubby insisted I shouldn't go on these pills (he won't even take advil) I told him I would never get addicted, but I guess my body has decided otherwise

[MaisieC]

Hi,

I'm really sorry to hear about all you're going through. I can't imagine how difficult all of this must be for you.

I hope I can answer some of your questions. First ultram IS addictive. It's not addictive at as high a rate as some other drugs like oxycontin, but it is indeed addictive and some doctors don't know this. And three weeks is plenty of time to get hooked and end up going through withdrawals.

It sounds like your body is physically dependent on these meds. Dependency is not the same as addiction, which has more psychological components to it. I think it's a little bit hard to draw the line sometimes, and I think it's hard to tell in your case where the physical leaves off and the emotional begins (for obvious reasons).

Anyhow, the withdrawal symptoms you're having are all perfectly normal, if miserable. I'm sorry you're going through that. One thing you should know about the ultram is that it contains an anti-depressant in addition to the opioid pain reliever, so you're very likely to have some emotional symptoms as you come off it. I remember feeling just really upset for no apparent reason. It's rough. Hang in there. Just hang on. I think it helps to know that those emotions are the result of withdrawal, and they will gradually go away.

You were taking 8 a day when you quit altogether? That's a rather high dose to drop off of completely. Suddenly quitting ultram can cause seizures in some people, so detoxing off it cold turkey is not recommended. Is there ANY way you can get yourself more ultram and taper off it gently? Can you get some from your doctor? I would recommend doing that.

You're absolutely right that taking these pain medications can distort your perception of how bad the pain really is. A lot of chronic pain patients find this. Some people wean themselves off the pain meds and find that the "real" pain was not as bad as they had thought and that they are happier going on without the meds. I don't know if that would be the case with you.

You're really distressed right now, and I would focus on the immediate cause of distress before you try to make long-term decisions about your treatment. See if you can't get some ultram to relieve the withdrawal symptoms and then follow a program to taper off the ultram gradually. You'll be better able to consider your situation as a whole if you're not weeping and suffering insomnia. PLUS having to fight off pneumonia? It's too much for one person to do. I hope you can get some ultram and slow down this freight train!

I really am so sorry you're going through all this misery. I will check back here; please post again and let us know how you're doing.

Hang in there, and take care,
Maisie

[miserab]

I could not agree with you more. I believe that the makers should be sued for false advertising. It is fraud to tell a patient that the drug is safe and non-narcotic, and not addictive and then have them take it for even a short period of time only to have them go through the worst type of hell known. I took Ultram for chronic back pain and could not get off of it due to the horrific withdrawal symptoms. It was like being stuck on a treadmill. There was no secondary gain. I did not even get that much pain relief I just took it to keep from having chills, coughing, sneezing, yawning, exhaustion. I am lucky though. I have survived 16 days without the drug from hell. Everyone at work thinks I have pnuemonia or the swine flu. I certainly cannot tell them the truth. It can only get easier I keep telling myself. But now I find myself just getting angrier and angrier at the makers of this poison. They had to have known in the trials that this would be a problem for patients. Hence... keeping patients on it longer. But to advertise and market a product as "safe" -- safer than the real narcotics like vicodin or oxycontin. BULLCRAP. No, I won't die from this withdrawal but isn't it ridiculous so many people should suffer when doctors are out there to help people in pain and they are telling patients.. "Here take these.. they are not addictive." I actually went to my doctor and said I want off of this insane med he put me on Ultram ER instead. He did not want me to get off because then no one makes any money from me. Well, I am off. I might feel like ******** but I will never take another ultram ever again. It is my wish that they would quit making it. I would not want my ex-husband to go thru what I just endured. This forum has been extremely helpful and I pray that all of you get thru it quickly. Thanks for letting me rant.