Help please! Coming off tramadol...

[LeaAnn807]

I have been doing this since Friday and it seems to be getting worse instead of better.  I mean the restlessness is horrible.  I cannot lay still at all!  I don't know what to do.  I have done this before, but it has never been this bad for this long.  I have hardly slept at all and I am dreading tonight so badly that I'm scared to death.  Please, someone tell me what I can do to help the restlessness and get some sleep.  Is this unusual to go on for this long?

[LeaAnn807]

I always give up WAY to early...long before I give my body, mind and heart a chance to get better on it's own.  I have had a couple of years of clean time, and I did feel better, but I never got any aftercare, and you see where I am now.  

I wish this was over soon!!!!

[vicki595]

Yeah it's hard to believe you can forget the withdrawals and all the other pain that goes with addiction. But we do!  I think of it like giving birth...if we didn't forget THAT process we'd only have ONE child.  LOL   It's a brain thing...it's good our brains forget the pain of life but not when it comes to addiction...
Aftercare of some kind is important for us.  It helps...especially in down times,craving times,etc..
I heard that definition, too!  We've all been insane!!!

XO

[LeaAnn807]

Aftercare is the other thing that I never tried!  I will do it this time!  Promise....

It is hard to believe one could ever forget this!  

I heard this in rehab once..........Definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.

That would be ME in a nuttshell!

[vicki595]

LOL    I USED to laugh at all the vitamin proponents...How can THAT work???  I KNOW what works!!   Arrogant little addict I was...  Yes...it sounds hard this time. Unfortunately, we tend to forget how awful the withdrawals were.  The brain is funny like that...that's why everyone talks about aftercare so much. It's important and not too early for you to get thinking about it.  :)

Try the living room thing tonight. It's kind of a brain trick-

Vicki   xo

[LeaAnn807]

I thought of doing that. Just sit in the living room instead of trying to lay in bed.  I feel so tired from not sleeping that I want to be in bed, but it doesn't seem to work. I do have melatonin, but it hasn't helped much.  I may try the tea tonight.  I have never been much of a vitamin girl, but I have tried this time AND the herbal things people recommend.  Us addicts sometimes think that if it's not a prescription to knock us out that it can't possibly work!!! : )  I just wish tomorrow would be better.  I have never had this hard of a time before.. Maybe that should tell me something about not doing it again, huh?  I want to be rid of this curse SO bad.

Thank you for the support.  I appreciate it so much!

[vicki595]

Glad you have support!  Do you have Melatonin??  The stuff really works for sleep.

I can't say how much longer really...this is about your 4th day.  Avisg will know or have great thoughts on this. She's not on right now but she has a lot of experience with tram.  The length of time seems to be different for everyone but it DOES end.
Also,there are some great teas like Sleepytime you can sip on.  For me, I just didn't go to bed. I got in to comfy clothes and sat on the sofa watching TV with the lights on. It took a lot of pressure off and I was able to at least relax a bit.

Vicki     xo

[LeaAnn807]

Thank you!  I have had 3 baths in epsom salt and 2 showers today.  They are a great help. I just get to the point that I dread darkness because I know I'm not going to sleep, and that makes it worse!  I have taken the mag.  Hope it helps.  Any idea when this might end?  I need some hope I guess or at least an honest answer about how much more I should expect!

Thanks so much to all of you!

No...I am not alone!  I have much help here!

[vicki595]

Are you alone now???   You need to be taking the vitamins,eating,drinking.  Calcium and magnesium really help the restlessness. Also,club soda (not tonic water) is a help.  Can someone go to the store for you??

Right now you can get into the bath with HOT water and sit and soak. Keep adding hot water as hot as you can stand.  If you have Epsom salts add it to the bath. If not, buy some. It pulls toxins out of your body.

Hang in there...it will get better.

Vicki  xo

[LeaAnn807]

Thanks guys!  I am not tapering.  Never had the discipline to do that!  I have not had any  since Saturday afternoon, but that was only 2.  I took my last regular dose Friday at 130 pm.  I was taking about 15 a day.  I just got some magnesium and am already taking clonidine.  It usually helps me a lot, but this time I am still so restless.  Maybe I'm not taking enough, but I expected to be so much better by today???  What am I doing wrong??

PS...anything with Benadryl in it makes me wired like crazy, but thanks for the tylenol pm suggestion!

[downandout1003]

Hey,
Sorry to hear your having a rough time.  I have taken my share of tramadol, usually only when I couldnt get anything else.  I eventually moved on  to the methadone.  Today is day 12 with no methadone.  I am taking Subutex.  But the first seven days off methadone were absolutely horrible.  I did not think I was gonna make it.
I can tell you that Tylenol pm helped with me with the not sleeping, thats the part that bothered me more than anything .  If you can get a doctor to call you in some clonidine it will help a lot too, it's a non narcotic blood pressure that they also use for withdrawls.  I promise it will help.  I know it's hard but I promise it's do-able.
God bless and your in my prayers   AJ

[cleanmom]

How much and how often are you tapering?? Have you tried the Hylans Restful Legs?? Also, magnesium helps a lot with the restlesness in your body. This was a huge problem for me too and the magnesium helped the most. 1000 mgs a day. Hang in there it WILL get better. I too was a tram lover and i know they say to taper it but i found the sooner i got off of it, the sooner i felt better. Tapering too much kinda drags it out a prevents you body from getting back to normal and leaves it in kind of a limbo state. Do not stop tapering though until you have gotten the ok from your doctor. And you might want to check with your doctor too about the way you are feeling, they may be able to help as well.. Good luck and God Bless. Luv, Jacky