[confusedvette]

...last week for pain. I am taking 50-100mg a day. What is the addiction danger?


Thanks.

[MaisieC]

The addiction danger is as high as for vicodin or oxycontin or any opiate medication. Your doctor has been told by tramadol's manufacturer that the addiction risk is very low. Community practice shows otherwise. There are dozens of people on this board who have terrible addictions, and there are law suits currently in progress against the manufacturer for allegedly misrepresenting the risks.

That being said, if you can take it at the prescribed dosage you may be OK. Bear in mind that you will develop a tolerance to it, as with any opioid, and may need higher doses to get the same effect over time.

Good luck, and take care.

[MidnightDevil]

Yeap, very true, you can browse around the forum and check all the other Tramadol threads related.

Have a look by yourself, be carefull with it, hope you get better

[confusedvette]

I have taken vicodin and did not get addicted to it....hopefully that is a good sign.....

[confusedvette]

My dr only give sme 21 tramadol's at a time....how can you take that for years as some people have said in this community? My dr would not continue the refills.

[MaisieC]

Originally Posted by confusedvette

My dr only give sme 21 tramadol's at a time....how can you take that for years as some people have said in this community? My dr would not continue the refills.

Obviously the people who have taken it for years have more than 21 pills.

[confusedvette]

Originally Posted by MaisieC

Obviously the people who have taken it for years have more than 21 pills.

right...my point is that my dr would not refill them for a year or longer....

[MaisieC]

Originally Posted by confusedvette

right...my point is that my dr would not refill them for a year or longer....

It sounds like your doctor is well informed about the potential risks of the drug. Unfortunately, most doctors are not, though that is changing somewhat. This drug was marketed as a non-narcotic with a very low risk of addiction, and lots of doctors believed the hype. I have even heard of doctors scoffing at patients who come back addicted and asking for help: "you can't get addicted to tramadol; don't be ridiculous." When in fact lots of people are getting addicted. Some countries (Sweden) and states (Kentucky) are beginning to impose restrictions now. But you can still buy the stuff over the Internet very easily.

It's a massive scandal, and I hope someone blows it wide open. Speaking as someone who has abused a lot of opiates, I'm here to say that tramadol is no different from percocet or vicodin or any of the other controlled substances. I hope that more doctors will become as enlightened as yours is.

[ainteasy]

Hey Maisie, been about a week or so since I last posted. I got to day 15 and then gave in and took ONE methadone pill 10mg that a friend gave me. I barely felt it but that was it.. now it's like day 7 since I took that and I feel fine. It didn't cauz me to relapse back into my normal routine of vicodin but here is where I think i'm in trouble. The reason I took that pill is because I was feeling a LOT better and it's all I could think about.. Does that damn craving EVER go away???? I'm sitting here right now as i'm typing and my mind WANTS VICODIN!! I feel like i'm in big trouble here bcause how are you supposed to stay clean when it's nagging at you night and day? I'll prolly wake up tomorrow and start getting myself busy, then start to think who I could get just a few from.

Can someone please tell me if the cravings fade? I know i'm going to have to deal w this for the rest of my life BUT what i'm wondering is how long do I have to go without taking anything for these cravings to fade? I feel like I can't watch a movie or any of my programs unless I have a few pills.. I mean don't get me wrong, i'm doing WAY better than I was 3 weeks ago that's for sure but my cravings have gotten alot stronger in the last few days.. why is that? This is horrible.. I feel like i'm never going to beat this

Can someone please tell me if the cravings go away?

3 weeks ago, i was posting like crazy on this forum asking people how long it would take for the depression to lift.. Well, the depression has lifted a lot but now i'm dealing w the cravings and depression is starting to set in over that because I feel like they'll never go away

Help!

thanks
John

[confusedvette]

Originally Posted by ainteasy

Hey Maisie, been about a week or so since I last posted. I got to day 15 and then gave in and took ONE methadone pill 10mg that a friend gave me. I barely felt it but that was it.. now it's like day 7 since I took that and I feel fine. It didn't cauz me to relapse back into my normal routine of vicodin but here is where I think i'm in trouble. The reason I took that pill is because I was feeling a LOT better and it's all I could think about.. Does that damn craving EVER go away???? I'm sitting here right now as i'm typing and my mind WANTS VICODIN!! I feel like i'm in big trouble here bcause how are you supposed to stay clean when it's nagging at you night and day? I'll prolly wake up tomorrow and start getting myself busy, then start to think who I could get just a few from.

Can someone please tell me if the cravings fade? I know i'm going to have to deal w this for the rest of my life BUT what i'm wondering is how long do I have to go without taking anything for these cravings to fade? I feel like I can't watch a movie or any of my programs unless I have a few pills.. I mean don't get me wrong, i'm doing WAY better than I was 3 weeks ago that's for sure but my cravings have gotten alot stronger in the last few days.. why is that? This is horrible.. I feel like i'm never going to beat this

Can someone please tell me if the cravings go away?

3 weeks ago, i was posting like crazy on this forum asking people how long it would take for the depression to lift.. Well, the depression has lifted a lot but now i'm dealing w the cravings and depression is starting to set in over that because I feel like they'll never go away

Help!

thanks
John

were you on antidepressants?

how long were you on vicodin?

thanks...

[MaisieC]

Originally Posted by ainteasy

Hey Maisie, been about a week or so since I last posted. I got to day 15 and then gave in and took ONE methadone pill 10mg that a friend gave me. I barely felt it but that was it.. now it's like day 7 since I took that and I feel fine. It didn't cauz me to relapse back into my normal routine of vicodin but here is where I think i'm in trouble. The reason I took that pill is because I was feeling a LOT better and it's all I could think about.. Does that damn craving EVER go away???? I'm sitting here right now as i'm typing and my mind WANTS VICODIN!! I feel like i'm in big trouble here bcause how are you supposed to stay clean when it's nagging at you night and day? I'll prolly wake up tomorrow and start getting myself busy, then start to think who I could get just a few from.

Can someone please tell me if the cravings fade? I know i'm going to have to deal w this for the rest of my life BUT what i'm wondering is how long do I have to go without taking anything for these cravings to fade? I feel like I can't watch a movie or any of my programs unless I have a few pills.. I mean don't get me wrong, i'm doing WAY better than I was 3 weeks ago that's for sure but my cravings have gotten alot stronger in the last few days.. why is that? This is horrible.. I feel like i'm never going to beat this

Can someone please tell me if the cravings go away?

3 weeks ago, i was posting like crazy on this forum asking people how long it would take for the depression to lift.. Well, the depression has lifted a lot but now i'm dealing w the cravings and depression is starting to set in over that because I feel like they'll never go away

Help!

thanks
John

Hi John,

Well, I typed out a long reply and THOUGHT I posted it, but it seems to have disappeared! Back for round 2....

First of all, it's great to hear from you and to hear that you are still clean! I'm sorry you're going through all this misery now. But I have to say I'm really thrilled that the depression has largely resolved itself. That is the best possible news!

So yeah, I know how you feel. The cravings do get better. But you're at the stage now where you have to reclaim your life and re-learn happiness. Very insidiously, we begin to wrap everything in our lives around drugs, and every bit of happiness becomes contingent on drugs, in our minds. I still have the thing of reaching for a pill when I go out to lunch with people. We all have our contingencies, and I don't think that will ever go away completely.

But you are in an acute phase, and it's putting you at risk. My best advice here is DO NOT rely on willpower alone at this stage. You are a very strong person, but please, be kind to yourself and let others help you. You really need to get into NA or AA at this point. You'll learn techniques and insights that can help keep you clean for the rest of your life. And you need the rest of your life clean, for the child you have on the way. You'll get phone numbers from people happy to talk to you. So when you get one of those cravings, you can just pick up the phone and say "this sucks" and someone will help you.

It's a combination of learning from NA/AA, growing personally as a result of the fellowship there, and simply reclaiming and recalibrating your own sense of what "happiness" and "life" are.

Want to check it out and report back to us?

Please take good care!

Maisie

[ainteasy]

Originally Posted by MaisieC

Hi John,

Well, I typed out a long reply and THOUGHT I posted it, but it seems to have disappeared! Back for round 2....

First of all, it's great to hear from you and to hear that you are still clean! I'm sorry you're going through all this misery now. But I have to say I'm really thrilled that the depression has largely resolved itself. That is the best possible news!

So yeah, I know how you feel. The cravings do get better. But you're at the stage now where you have to reclaim your life and re-learn happiness. Very insidiously, we begin to wrap everything in our lives around drugs, and every bit of happiness becomes contingent on drugs, in our minds. I still have the thing of reaching for a pill when I go out to lunch with people. We all have our contingencies, and I don't think that will ever go away completely.

But you are in an acute phase, and it's putting you at risk. My best advice here is DO NOT rely on willpower alone at this stage. You are a very strong person, but please, be kind to yourself and let others help you. You really need to get into NA or AA at this point. You'll learn techniques and insights that can help keep you clean for the rest of your life. And you need the rest of your life clean, for the child you have on the way. You'll get phone numbers from people happy to talk to you. So when you get one of those cravings, you can just pick up the phone and say "this sucks" and someone will help you.

It's a combination of learning from NA/AA, growing personally as a result of the fellowship there, and simply reclaiming and recalibrating your own sense of what "happiness" and "life" are.

Want to check it out and report back to us?

Please take good care!

Maisie

Thank you very much for the reply.. I ended up taking 4 norcos today that I got from a friend.. D'OH!!!!!! I will NOT take anymore today or tomorrow or the next day.. I only got 4 so I don't even have anymore. I know this is NOT good news but I was craving so bad. I know what you mean bout going out to lunch with friends and thinking about getting a pill.. OMG, i'm the same way but with lots of things.. Going to a movie, going out with friends, going on vacation(that's the big one)

About the AA or NA or whatever, I'm not sure i'll be able to do that without people knowing like my wife. I need her not to know bout this at least for now.. she has a lot of worries to keep her busy right now so she doesn't need something else.. The main thing i'm happy about is that i'm not in the physical withdrawal state and am NOT going back to that either because I remember the misery.. THats why i'm NOT taking anymore and if i do slip, it's not going to be for awhile. I can't get back into that rut.. but I know that this is how it starts.. it's a trap.. even taking those 4 is a HUGE trap but i'm more aware of it's potential danger this time so that definitely helps.

Maisie, thank u so much for yer support.. and everyone else too.. again, not sure if I can get into any AA or NA's right now.. going to be having a baby soon and hopefully that will keep me plenty busy. I just need to know that the cravings will subside a great deal.. I think you pretty much answered it.. They will go down but not go away completely is what you are saying right? They'll never go away 100% but they'll go away like 90% right?

John

[confusedvette]

Originally Posted by ainteasy

Thank you very much for the reply.. I ended up taking 4 norcos today that I got from a friend.. D'OH!!!!!! I will NOT take anymore today or tomorrow or the next day.. I only got 4 so I don't even have anymore. I know this is NOT good news but I was craving so bad. I know what you mean bout going out to lunch with friends and thinking about getting a pill.. OMG, i'm the same way but with lots of things.. Going to a movie, going out with friends, going on vacation(that's the big one)

About the AA or NA or whatever, I'm not sure i'll be able to do that without people knowing like my wife. I need her not to know bout this at least for now.. she has a lot of worries to keep her busy right now so she doesn't need something else.. The main thing i'm happy about is that i'm not in the physical withdrawal state and am NOT going back to that either because I remember the misery.. THats why i'm NOT taking anymore and if i do slip, it's not going to be for awhile. I can't get back into that rut.. but I know that this is how it starts.. it's a trap.. even taking those 4 is a HUGE trap but i'm more aware of it's potential danger this time so that definitely helps.

Maisie, thank u so much for yer support.. and everyone else too.. again, not sure if I can get into any AA or NA's right now.. going to be having a baby soon and hopefully that will keep me plenty busy. I just need to know that the cravings will subside a great deal.. I think you pretty much answered it.. They will go down but not go away completely is what you are saying right? They'll never go away 100% but they'll go away like 90% right?

John

What is a norco?

How can you hide this from your wife?

Good luck .

[MaisieC]

Originally Posted by ainteasy

Thank you very much for the reply.. I ended up taking 4 norcos today that I got from a friend.. D'OH!!!!!! I will NOT take anymore today or tomorrow or the next day.. I only got 4 so I don't even have anymore. I know this is NOT good news but I was craving so bad. I know what you mean bout going out to lunch with friends and thinking about getting a pill.. OMG, i'm the same way but with lots of things.. Going to a movie, going out with friends, going on vacation(that's the big one)

About the AA or NA or whatever, I'm not sure i'll be able to do that without people knowing like my wife. I need her not to know bout this at least for now.. she has a lot of worries to keep her busy right now so she doesn't need something else.. The main thing i'm happy about is that i'm not in the physical withdrawal state and am NOT going back to that either because I remember the misery.. THats why i'm NOT taking anymore and if i do slip, it's not going to be for awhile. I can't get back into that rut.. but I know that this is how it starts.. it's a trap.. even taking those 4 is a HUGE trap but i'm more aware of it's potential danger this time so that definitely helps.

Maisie, thank u so much for yer support.. and everyone else too.. again, not sure if I can get into any AA or NA's right now.. going to be having a baby soon and hopefully that will keep me plenty busy. I just need to know that the cravings will subside a great deal.. I think you pretty much answered it.. They will go down but not go away completely is what you are saying right? They'll never go away 100% but they'll go away like 90% right?

John

Hi John,

Yes, over time they'll go away probably a lot more than 90%. It's only very occasional for me, and I haven't really been clean that long (since December).

I totally understand you don't want to burden your wife with this issue, and that seems like a good call to me. However, you are really at risk right now. You can see that by your ********-up with the norcos, right?

I don't know where you live, but in my town there are some meetings that take place at noon time, so you can go on your lunch break. Not sure what your work situation is, but if your concern about the meetings is being away from home in the evenings, how about trying to find a noontime or early morning meeting? At least have a look around for them?

Take good care.

Maisie

[ainteasy]

Originally Posted by MaisieC

Hi John,

Yes, over time they'll go away probably a lot more than 90%. It's only very occasional for me, and I haven't really been clean that long (since December).

I totally understand you don't want to burden your wife with this issue, and that seems like a good call to me. However, you are really at risk right now. You can see that by your ********-up with the norcos, right?

I don't know where you live, but in my town there are some meetings that take place at noon time, so you can go on your lunch break. Not sure what your work situation is, but if your concern about the meetings is being away from home in the evenings, how about trying to find a noontime or early morning meeting? At least have a look around for them?

Take good care.

Maisie

Yeah, i'm currently unemployed.. Got laid off in December so I could probably go in the middle of the day.. that just seems like another "secret life" haha i know that sounds stupid but that's what it would seem like. I might check that out. The norcos have worn off and I don't feel like gettin more so I will NOT be getting any or trying to get any anytime soon again.. thanks for all yer support on this. That's great that you've been clean since December.. you haven't even slipped once since then???? the cravings have gone down a lot since?

thanks again
John

[MaisieC]

Originally Posted by ainteasy

Yeah, i'm currently unemployed.. Got laid off in December so I could probably go in the middle of the day.. that just seems like another "secret life" haha i know that sounds stupid but that's what it would seem like. I might check that out. The norcos have worn off and I don't feel like gettin more so I will NOT be getting any or trying to get any anytime soon again.. thanks for all yer support on this. That's great that you've been clean since December.. you haven't even slipped once since then???? the cravings have gone down a lot since?

thanks again
John

Hi John,

OK, now I'm going to have to be tough with you, for your own good.

You are at serious risk of relapse. You are having severe cravings. You have very easy access to drugs through friends who also use. You are relying on nothing but your own willpower. You're in a situation where you can't confide in your wife. You're not working, so you don't have that structure in your life. You have already relapsed. You're expecting a new baby, which is going to be wonderful but is also going to cause all kinds of new stress you've never had before. You must also be under a lot of stress over being unemployed.

You're a walking time-bomb.

I've been clean since December because I have a support and recovery group. I've been in your situation sooooo many times I can't count. I've relapsed over and over again. This has been going on for me for 10 years. It has sucked big time. I don't want to see anyone else go through that, believe me. Especially someone who is about to become someone's daddy.

You say now that you will not be getting any more drugs. I say you don't have any way of knowing that. You probably would have said the same thing a week or two ago, and look what you did. It's not your fault...it's the addiction. But you have to learn that willpower probably isn't going to be enough to keep you clean, especially given all the variables in your situation.

I understand that you don't want to sneak around about going to meetings. But life is like that sometimes. Recovery is the best "secret life" you can have right now. I think there is a way you can make a meeting, if it's important to you. I'm encouraging you to regard it as really, really important.

Sometimes it's hard for people who have never been in a 12-step program to see the benefit, or to understand what it can do for them beyond just applying their own will and their own common sense. All I can tell you is that those programs help thousands of people just like us. It's the only place you can learn certain things. Even if you could spend thousands and thousands of dollars on private rehab, they're going to send you to 12-step meetings...both inside and when you get out. It's the gold-standard. You deserve that, and your child deserves it.

I don't mean to bash you over the head (well, maybe a little ), but I care about you and I think I feel more acutely than you do the degree of risk you're running right now. And I really don't want you to learn the way I did, because by that time your child will be 10 years old and your lives will be massively ********ed up. You have a lot going for you, and I really want to see you succeed.

See if you can find a daytime meeting?

Take care.

Maisie

[ellis]

hi im one month post tram.was given it post op 8 months ago,noone told me its addictive properties or antidepressant effect.its took me two months to taper off it.ive felt ive got my life back.theres a fab support network for withdrawing..gooogle tramadol withdrawal and look at emilys post. its full of us weaners..all the best to you.

[fawncarey@yahoo.com]

Can be but not as much as say percocet or vicoden. It works well for mild pain and headaches. Worked well for my RA when it was mild. Still take in the morning kinda gets ya going my other pain medicines make me tired. This does not do that so even know I hurt worse in the morning at least I dont get up and go right back to sleep. Take the edge off and does not give ya the tiredness at least me. I still require narcotics in the evening though. ya get no buzz from these thats why i like them.

[heh]

Tramadol is terrible for me. It almost made me throw up the first and last time I took it. Can I ask what you were prescribed for?

[confusedvette]

Originally Posted by heh

Tramadol is terrible for me. It almost made me throw up the first and last time I took it. Can I ask what you were prescribed for?

abdominal pain....

[confusedvette]

Tramadol will not let me sleep if I take it at night.....anyone else experience this?

[MaisieC]

Originally Posted by confusedvette

Tramadol will not let me sleep if I take it at night.....anyone else experience this?

Yes, I had this same symptom. Same deal I had on the other opioids I took. Too buzzed to sleep. Augh!

[confusedvette]

Originally Posted by MaisieC

Yes, I had this same symptom. Same deal I had on the other opioids I took. Too buzzed to sleep. Augh!

Vicodin does the same thing....

[MaisieC]

Originally Posted by confusedvette

Vicodin does the same thing....

Yes, it does to me, too.

[kdipaolo]

Be careful with this drug. I took it one time, one time!!! Due to the one time use from Tramadol, I had a grand mal seizure obviously from reading the other post you will find out that you dont sleep and that you feel like you are having an panic attack 24/7. Every time I walk in my room I get scared that I am going to have a seizure. I dont understand why my physican would prescribe a medicine to me that causes seizures when I have epilepsy. It has been two years since I have had a seizures before this incident. Due to that physician I bit half my tongue off. So please be careful with this drug I dont know what I would have done if my husband was not home to take care of my 3month old baby.