Help Me With Tramadol Withdrawal?

[MamaSueBee]

[45 yr old suburban Caucasian female. Dx'd eight years ago with ankylosing spondylitis (severe back pain) and Rx'd Indocin and Tramadol. Felt fine on Indocin alone, no side effects to this day...but took Tramadol for a headache seven years ago and got the Rx and have been on it ever since.]

Hi. Last week I started my tapering off of Tramadol. I was taking 200mg/day for the past seven years. I stopped taking one full 50mg pill every late afternoon about six days ago, so I'm now just doing two pills in the a.m. and only one pill around 4pm.

The only problems I have had so far were some mild occasional brain jolts, and for the first two days I woke up at 5 a.m. jonesing (sweating, hot/cold, insomnia, jolts), so I'd stop the wd by taking my usual daily morning dose (the two pills) at 5 a.m., rather than 8 or 9, then go back to bed. I'd get up around 8 or 9 a.m., and then take my one pill by 4 p.m., as scheduled. Only a few brain jolts during the day.

So, in a nutshell, down from four 50mg pills per day to 3 pills per day...over a period of six days.

As of today I am feeling okay. I don't know when to start taking away one of the morning pills. I don't know if I'll cut it in half, or just remove the full pill from the pill schedule. Haven't decided yet. No ideas on when to even do that. I'm just so happy to be doing so well (better than expected) on only taking the three pills, down from the four!

I've quit cold turkey in the past and it was terrible. I felt so sh*tty that I couldn't last a week, just said, "screw it" and started up on the four pills per day all over again.

On a few other occasions I tapered down to one pill a day by cutting slivers of my pills off little by little and cutting away more every three or four days. I thought taking away tiny bits would ease me off, but then by the time I got down to one pill I freaked out and just started taking all of it again.

I'm now in the throes of perimenopause. I am having migraines for the first time in my life and I just want to get off these pills!

So, anyway, I appreciate that this support is here and I am ready to hear anything from anybody willing to put in their two cents here. I just need to talk about it and stay on track. Thanks.

[brokenhearted0909]

Thank you for your insight.  Im learning more and more by being in this forum.  I love your way of thinking.  As i dont know what lies in the future which is scarey for me to even think about, cuz  i always seemed like i had a plan as to what my week would be like. I know that for today i will be ok. My husband wont even say 2 words to me. Not hello, goodbye, how was your day, whatever.  It makes me feel very unloved.  I dont know how anybody can just turn off their love for someone. It makes me very sad and i just want to run away and cry, oh gosh here i go again. Im crying again, got to go.  Thank you for you.

[brokenhearted0909]

Thank you for your openness.  You have a way about the way you talk(type) that makes me remember my mom. Bless her sole.  One of the other things that have been bothering me was i dont have my mom to talk to but i have a great Mother in law whom has great wisdom and insight and experience.  She has helped me so much and i love her for that. Today i felt a little less teary.  Although anything can set that off.  I try to keep telling myself that i can only live for today and tomorrow is another day. Im going to taper off 1 more pill saturday and do it weekly till im off completely. Which should be in 1 month. Im still so very scared what lies ahead. My outlook is bleak but im trying to look at what ive already accomplished. Ive admitted i need help, I know im broken, Im not lying about it anymore, ive got a plan and im trying to make amends to my family that ive pushed out of my life.  I love my family, unconditional love is so hard to come by these days.

[MamaSueBee]

So...any news on when I will be able to a normal night's sleep? Wish it were the sex keeping me up but unfortunately....LOL, well, it's the obvious...detox insomnia! Anyone want to give me some ideas on sleeping?

[LeaAnn807]

You are exactly right and that's awesome!! : )

[YesLife4Me]

Ha!  Another GREAT benefit to getting off pain meds!!!    :)    You will be emotional for a while.  It's been 16 days for me (CT) and I have my moments.   Congratulations and keep up the good work!!

[MamaSueBee]

I'm happy to say that today is Day 2 completely clean! Nighttime is still the worst for me. In some ways last night was worse than the first night, but in other ways things are much better. Something I hadn't mentioned because I simply forgot, is that since I've been weaning off of tramadol I have been feeling things much more deeply. My emotions haven't exactly been all over the place (thank god), but when I see something sweet and heartwarming I get all worked up about it, moreso than usual. But there has also been something else going on-something amazing that I never even considered could happen. For many years now I've had trouble climaxing during sex. Sometimes it would happen, sometimes not. When it did it wasn't a big deal. Maybe once in a blue moon it was better than average. Being in my 40's I had assumed that it was just my age and me getting perimenopausal. Since I took my last dose of tramadol it has been like a light switch being turned back on again! Amazing, amazing...like I'm in my 20's again. If anyone needs a better reason to quit I think that's a pretty good one!