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Tramadol & Withdrawal
I went cold turkey from Percocet on 4/15/16 and by beginning of June I was feeling ok for the most part. On 6/1 I begin a set of 3 Orthovisc Injections for my knee. After my last injection I developed horrible pain in my knee and my dr. prescribed me Tramadol. I told him that I did not want to use any opiod pain meds and he sd that Tramadol was different and it was not addictive. He assured me it would be ok to take for a few weeks which is what I needed Well i have been taking it for about 4 weeks and a few days ago decided to stop it cause my pain is getting better. It has been 2 days of horrible withdrawal just like with the Percocet. I am so scared because of what I went theu with stopping the Percocet CT!!!!! Is Tramadol addictive like the Percocerts etc are? WHY DIDN'T THE DR TELL ME THAT? Someone also said that Tramadol also is an anti depressant and works on yr serotonin levels so that comes in to play when you stop! I was taking 150 - 200 mg a day , everyday for about 4 weeks. Can someone please help me and guide me as to how to wean off of this because I feel too scared to continue CT because of the Brain Zaps etc. I have heard from other people. PLEASE>>PLEASE my friends...please give me some info and advice as to how I should proceed. I should I wean down; how much less for how many days and totally how long to wean off. I am so scared...I do not want to go thru the hell I went thru with Percocet! Thanks everyone! HELP
Welcome back~
Sorry your doctor hasn't become more informed about Tramadol. It definitely IS an opioid/narcotic medicine and your are correct that it has an affect on your serotonin and norepinephrine as well. Many doctors "used to" think it wasn't addictive and freely prescribed it as a solution to pain. This is where WE have to be pro-active ourselves anytime we are prescribed something new from our doctors. We have to check it out thoroughly before we get a script filled and start taking it.
Tramadol is a med that should be tapered do to possible seizures occurring. However, you were on a fairly low dose and should be able to cut back a pill at a time; let your body adjust to the cut; then reduce again. Just like with your Percocet question back in April, we cannot give specific tapering advise on this forum. If you were only on Tramadol for 4 weeks and the max you took was 200 mg, it shouldn't take too long to taper off of it safely. You could ask your dr for tapering advise, but then he/she assured you it wasn't an opioid and all you have to do is read what Wikipedia has to say about this drug or ask your Smartphone.
There is a very long journal that was started years ago with just folks trying to stop their tramadol addictions. I'll give you the link in case you are interested in reading there.
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/1205433/Tramadol--Ultram-Recovery-Room-62
Sorry your doctor hasn't become more informed about Tramadol. It definitely IS an opioid/narcotic medicine and your are correct that it has an affect on your serotonin and norepinephrine as well. Many doctors "used to" think it wasn't addictive and freely prescribed it as a solution to pain. This is where WE have to be pro-active ourselves anytime we are prescribed something new from our doctors. We have to check it out thoroughly before we get a script filled and start taking it.
Tramadol is a med that should be tapered do to possible seizures occurring. However, you were on a fairly low dose and should be able to cut back a pill at a time; let your body adjust to the cut; then reduce again. Just like with your Percocet question back in April, we cannot give specific tapering advise on this forum. If you were only on Tramadol for 4 weeks and the max you took was 200 mg, it shouldn't take too long to taper off of it safely. You could ask your dr for tapering advise, but then he/she assured you it wasn't an opioid and all you have to do is read what Wikipedia has to say about this drug or ask your Smartphone.
There is a very long journal that was started years ago with just folks trying to stop their tramadol addictions. I'll give you the link in case you are interested in reading there.
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/1205433/Tramadol--Ultram-Recovery-Room-62
Hello friend! I have been in your shoes and Tramadol is a nasty substance. The affects it has on a mental level is what sets the withdrawal apart from other opioids. I would highly recommend speaking with your doctor about a taper schedule. You may also try decreasing your daily dose by one pill every few days until you're off of them. I doubt if you be able to avoid withdrawals altogether but they would be milder. I found that benzodiazepines (diazepam especially) and Vicodin really helped the Tramadol withdrawals when I went cold turkey. The worst symptoms to me were the anxiety, suicidal thoughts, shaking, sweating, and inability to cope with daily tasks. I have been off it for a week now and have some minor anxiety and foggy headedness. To me Tramadol has been the worst to come off of out of Vicodin Percocet and codeine.
1 Comments
Hi, thanks for your care & concern. Can I ask how long you were on Tram and what the dosage was? I am going to do the taper method and not go CT. CT with any med is always the worst but sometimes you have no choice. Ugh!!! I have been on it for approx. 6 weeks so praying it won't be total devastation.
Hi there -
Ruthy - can you check your privacy settings and see if you have it set to allow private messages from everyone? (If you are using a mobile device, you will have to go to the full site to do this.)
*Go to your My MedHelp or Profile page (either one is fine)
*Click on Account Settings
*Click on the Privacy Tab
*Make sure "Send me a private message" is set to either "Everyone" or "Only my friends".
If that's not it, please send us a note using the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page on the full site. Muffer did, which is awesome, but since it's your account that seems to have a problem, we'll need to hear from you if this doesn't take care of it.
I hope this helps, though!
Emily
Ruthy - can you check your privacy settings and see if you have it set to allow private messages from everyone? (If you are using a mobile device, you will have to go to the full site to do this.)
*Go to your My MedHelp or Profile page (either one is fine)
*Click on Account Settings
*Click on the Privacy Tab
*Make sure "Send me a private message" is set to either "Everyone" or "Only my friends".
If that's not it, please send us a note using the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page on the full site. Muffer did, which is awesome, but since it's your account that seems to have a problem, we'll need to hear from you if this doesn't take care of it.
I hope this helps, though!
Emily
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Thank you Emily. I just found that and adjusted it.
Oh Muffer message away when you can. It said privacy and thought it was just a privacy statement from MedHelp. It was the only thing I didn't click on. Enjoy the party
You're welcome! Let me know if you need any further assistance. Just click on Contact Us at the bottom of every page.
Here for Support!
Ditto everything CIK said. Maybe you can hand them to someone, who can give you them on a schedule, and taper a bit. Do Not be scared..I know it easier said then done, but you have not been on that med too long for it to really change your Brain & body Chemistry. The Brain zaps are from the Trams. I will bet on that one! I sure hope the Dr did not put you on a AD med while on the Trams? Just keep checking in with a update. Go into that area that CIK gave you..This will really help you a bunch. We are here for you all the way. One day at a Time!!!
Bless
Vickie
Ditto everything CIK said. Maybe you can hand them to someone, who can give you them on a schedule, and taper a bit. Do Not be scared..I know it easier said then done, but you have not been on that med too long for it to really change your Brain & body Chemistry. The Brain zaps are from the Trams. I will bet on that one! I sure hope the Dr did not put you on a AD med while on the Trams? Just keep checking in with a update. Go into that area that CIK gave you..This will really help you a bunch. We are here for you all the way. One day at a Time!!!
Bless
Vickie
39 Comments
From the bottom of my heart; thanks so much clean_in_ks & Vickie for taking the time to answer me & most of all for caring. The Dr did not put me on any AD meds. I can't believe that I am back in this awful place again but I will go forward & follow what you both have said to me. I will do the taper, for sure, because I know that CT won't work. I read somewhere that it will take 1/4 of the time you were on a med to taper off of it so I am thinking that since it was about 4 weeks, I will need a week to taper off? I am praying that I didn't damage myself & that I can get off of it & be ok again. :( Thanks, so much again, for taking the time to help me. Lov you both.
I was taking them for 5 years for pain and specifically asked for them thinking,they were safe. I'm sure you could imagine the WDs. I think you will be fine since it was such a short time. I cut back a half a pill for 2 weeks. I doubt you'll get brain zaps from the antidepressant property. Seizures happen in high doses of Tramadol. No worries there you've lowering them. I know folks that had seizures only when taking too many. I'm 57 and did this so can you. Funny thing, I'm now on a,low dose of Percocet 2 / 5 mgs a day. What was your dose of Percocet? My Tramadol dosage was 200 to 300 mgs a day. I went through hell on earth with Tramadol and am hoping low dose Percosets won't be a problem. I would say your suffering will be of short duration this time around, mostly physical. Best wishes to you. Ruthy
Hi Ruthy, tks so much for caring. When you said that you cut back a half a pill for 2 weeks did you mean that you reduced what you took each day by 1/2 of a pill until you were down to none? I think I would like to do it that way but I am a bit confused as to how you actually did it. I was on Percocet 5-325 - taking 4 to 5 every day for about 6 months due to knee surgery (very painful suirgery indeed). Of course, after taking the Percs for 6 mths when I decided to stop I went CT. It was a very tough, miserable, trying, depressing, anxiety stricken time for me. The physical was bad but not as bad as the mental; anxiety, confusion, sadness, inability to think things thru, not wanting to leave my house etc. It was a good 6 to 8 weeks before I began to feel myself and that is why I am so scared with the Tramadol Taper & or wean down. How long have you been on the 5mg Percs and is this something you will be continuing for pain? Again tks so much for being there for me. So appreciated. Let me know if you need to talk about the Percs anymore or anything else. How blessed I was the night I found this forum of people who don't judge they just want to comfort & help.
Yes I cut back every 2 weeks 1/2 ·A pill. I still couldn't avoid the mental inevitable since I was talking ::) them for so long. I truly think you will be over this quicker than you this nk.I've been on Percoset for 6 months @2 per day. I still need them but want to start lowering,the dosage if I can. I can't believe what you went through with the Percocet at only 6 months. I want to stop them but I last 10 hrs and cave in do to pain. I'd rather have pain than withdrawals so I'm going to try to lower dosage starting today.
Hi Ruthy don't forget I was taking 4 to 5 every day & maybe 6 on a day when the pain was real bad. So the amount I was taking is much more than you and I think that's where the difference in withdrawal can come in to play. Plus I think that I have one of these brains that are very pain medication sensitive if you know what I mean. So I think I get affected more than others from what I have heard from other people in the same circumstances. 2 a day is not much at all & although You should expect some withdrawal, it will not be like mine plus I went CT & I am suggesting that you taper for sure. I think my hardest part was the anxiety and feeling low and not wanting to do anything. This could just be "part of me" and how I am wired. Tks Talk to you soon. I started my taper yesterday and will taper for about 1 week. I read that your taper period should be 1/4 of the time you were taking the meds. So I am thinking that on meds for 4 weeks....taper for one week. Hoping it works. Talk to you soon. :)
Hi Muffer, That schedule of taper makes sense. After what I went through from Tramadol WD I am going to go as slow as it takes to not feel any Wd. I take Neurotin for nerve pain and it is just being discovered for help with opiate WD, helping anxiety was the biggest help from the little research out there. I'm hoping this will help. I hope so he injections help so you can stay off pain meds. Keep posting, Ruthy
I forgot to ask how you are holding up Muffer?
Hi Ruthy, it is so good to have someone to talk to about all of "this"! Thanks for being there for me. :) Well I started my taper on Monday; will taper by 1/2 every 3 days so should take me abt 2 weeks instead of doing it all in 1 week. Hoping that small taper will make difference in any withdrawal I may have. That is very interesting about the Neurotin. I had not heard of that. I did read up on it after you mentioned it and it does sound like it good definitely help you as you taper. I am hoping that the injections will help too. So far they have helped a bit but not as much as I would like. I saw my Dr. last Wed. & he gave me an additional shot of cortizone so we will see if all of these injections can yield some relief for me.
Sometimes I can't believe that I got so wrapped up w/pain meds. It sure does affect the quality of your life. I just want to go back to the way I was bf the Percocet. I want to just enjoy the everyday, common things in life and not have to take a pill 3 to 4 x's a day. Do you ever feel like that? I feel like I forgot how to be the way I used to be. I am having a birthday party for my daughter next Saturday and I need to be working on all cylinders for that. I hope I will be & can pull it off. Thanks again for being a friend. Keep in touch. :)
Sometimes I can't believe that I got so wrapped up w/pain meds. It sure does affect the quality of your life. I just want to go back to the way I was bf the Percocet. I want to just enjoy the everyday, common things in life and not have to take a pill 3 to 4 x's a day. Do you ever feel like that? I feel like I forgot how to be the way I used to be. I am having a birthday party for my daughter next Saturday and I need to be working on all cylinders for that. I hope I will be & can pull it off. Thanks again for being a friend. Keep in touch. :)
Yeah your on your way!You should be leveled out mentally by the time your daughters BD party arrives after your first reduction in med. I would wait till after to reduce Tramadol again. Your probably still healing from the Percocet as I am from Tramadol. I still have severe anxiety days from that poison. I am hopeful the Neurotin will be enough for pain. I'm not tapering uni this bout of anxiety subsides. I'm happy you'll be free soon. I tapered slow from Tramadol and ha no physical symptoms when I stopped completely. Just mental things but they took a toll on my body. I'm still fatigued but way better. After 5 years of taking it I suppose it will run its long course. Hang in there!
Hi Ruthy, not a good day today :( Got a call 3am this morning from my mom (85 yrs) saying she was very sick. So I called EMT and met them at her apt since she is very close. So it seems like they are not sure if she had a heart attack or a TIA but she is pretty sick and will be in hospital for a while. I am the only one left in our family so I will be responsible for her the whole time. So when I went bk to her apt to get some stuff, I tripped over a flower vase she had on the floor and fell right on my KNEE!!!!!!!! So I almost couldn't get up at first but then I did. Pain was excrutiating, knee swelled right away and almost cldn't walk on it. Had to go home and get my cane so I could go to hospital to see my mom. So I did not taper today as I was suppose to. :( I ended up taking 3 1/2 today which is 1/2 more than I usually would take. Hoping it would give me some pain relief and it did. I know that it will be in a few days of pain before my knee feels better. I will not be able to continue the taper for the next few days. I feel like I will have to start again on Mon or Tues and I am so upset about that. I had my mind set to begin the taper and finish up in the next 2 weeks, now that won't happen. :( So I am really down abt this because now I AM ADDING MORE TIME ON TO MY PERIOD OF TIME ON TRAM! It will go from 4 wks to 5 wks on this crap. Do you think that being on it an extra week will effect the taper and withdrawal? The total I will be taking is 175 per day. I know I will need it for at least 2 more days.
PLease give me your thoughts Ruthy and most importantly your support! I guess with the taper, I am not so concerned about the body stuff but more about the head stuff! What do you think? Why do you think I am up so late writing this; bc I can't sleep even w/the Tram, the pain is that bad. I am icing and elevating it for help. I DON"T want to increase the Tram by any more pills. 3 1/2 is the max! Can't wait to hear from you Ruthy. HELP!!!!! TKU xox
PLease give me your thoughts Ruthy and most importantly your support! I guess with the taper, I am not so concerned about the body stuff but more about the head stuff! What do you think? Why do you think I am up so late writing this; bc I can't sleep even w/the Tram, the pain is that bad. I am icing and elevating it for help. I DON"T want to increase the Tram by any more pills. 3 1/2 is the max! Can't wait to hear from you Ruthy. HELP!!!!! TKU xox
Oh Muffer so sorry about everything. Well you will need pain control just a bit longer. Your time on Tram is so short I doubt it will make a difference but never the less you will have withdrawals when you stop completely. Since your mom has fallen ill you have to make up your mind weather you want to continue or just taper slower so your mind can make decisions in caring for her. I can't help but think you are still in withdrawal from Percocets. (No sleep though you took Tram) hadn't been off of them for long and the Tram righted your brain but when you quit Tram it kind of brought back symptoms so I think you must set aside time when you do jump off the Tramadol. You already know the mental is the hardest. This is the hardest thing you'll ever do but I just know it will be of short duration. Time on meds is huge factor. You have not been on anything really that long. Did you have anxiety when you stopped the Percocet? If so you will hav it again at jump time. That is why you need time to tweek through. I went to church on day 3 off Tram and I couldn't handle the lights and noise and I love to sing. Mind sensitivity, yuk. In a month I was fine with all that and I was on Tram for 5 years so I want to encourage you in that area. Are you going to the Dr for your fall? You must be exhausted from everything. This is your biggest time of challenge but you will make it through. Your not going to die. When I was withdrawing it seemed like everything went wrong but it is just heightened sences freaking out all the time. I did support the health food store with hundreds of dollars later with calming herbs. I think they helped but not right away. It's kind of funny, I'm taking Percocet after Tramadol and your now taking Tramadol after Percocet. You will get there. Your in much better shape than me, trust me. Hang in there today. Talk soon, Ruthy
Hi Ruthy, so sorry for last night's "freak out"! Everything just hit me at once; my mom falling ill, hurting my knee & interruption of my tapering. I did see the Dr & he said that all I can do is what I am doing in addition to staying off of my feet for a couple of days which is easier said than done when your Mom is sick & in the hospital. I guess I was very bummed about having to stop my tapering for a few days because I was so pysched to do it & get it over with but it will have to wait for a few days & that is that. Yea I had a lot of anxiety when I stopped Percocet....alot. You are right in that I will probably have it again when I stop the Trams. You are also probably right in that I may still be experiencing PAWS from the Percocet. My quit date for the Percs was 4/15 so it is only a few months ago. Oh Ruthy, I just wish that I wasn't in a similair place again with a pain med but I am and I have to face it & deal with it which I will.
How are you doing overall? Were you able to start tapering from the Percs with the help of the Neurotin? It sounds like you are in a lot of pain & I am sorry for that. Pain is a hell of a way to have to live! Let me know how you are. Again so sorry for the "freak out" last night. Thanks soooo much for being there, caring and taking the time to reassure me that it will be ok. I have to say that even though it sounds crazy; if it wasn't for Trams I would not have met my new friend and for that I am so thankful. Isn't it funny how life can turn out? No matter how close we are with our family & friends, there is no one who can help us more than someone who has gone thru and or is still going through what we are! I thank God for you Ruthy & your caring. Write soon....
How are you doing overall? Were you able to start tapering from the Percs with the help of the Neurotin? It sounds like you are in a lot of pain & I am sorry for that. Pain is a hell of a way to have to live! Let me know how you are. Again so sorry for the "freak out" last night. Thanks soooo much for being there, caring and taking the time to reassure me that it will be ok. I have to say that even though it sounds crazy; if it wasn't for Trams I would not have met my new friend and for that I am so thankful. Isn't it funny how life can turn out? No matter how close we are with our family & friends, there is no one who can help us more than someone who has gone thru and or is still going through what we are! I thank God for you Ruthy & your caring. Write soon....
Good morning Muffer,
We seem to post opposite times of the day. Where are you? I'm in sunny Cal.
How is your mom doing? How are you holding up?
I think you should have A chat with your Dr that prescribed the Trams. He is obviously not educated on this horrible synthetic opioid that also has a very strong antidepressant similar to the antidepressant Effexor which latches on to all 4 receptors in the brain that makes a cocktail that will suction to the brain in no time. The drug needs to come off the market yesterday. There are and have been many class action lawsuits with Tramadol.
It has ruined my life. I do still have PAWS too and the new pain med my Dr put me on 6 months off Trams. I still have debilitating anxiety. It starts in the morning and peaks around 8-10am. I can hardly think during this time. It is 6:45am right now, been up since 3am, this is the norm. I can feel it coming on . The good news is it lessens as the day goes on but I can't function well until the early afternoon. I am convinced the Percocets disrupted my brain healing and am prolonging healing but I need pain med. I know 2x5mg a day is low but I wish I would have said no to my Dr when she saw me in so much pain. I have a rare auto immune disease so every moment is a struggle. My age 57, my health not the best makes it so hard. I took Drs advice thinking she knew best. Also I was prescribed a benzodiazepine. many yrs ago for my sanity as I had so many symptoms hitting me. I almost had a nervous breakdown. I still take the anxiety med and am very slowly lessening it. I'm angry at myself for trusting Drs. I never took even a Tylenol until my diagnosis . So now some symptoms are leveling out of the disease and I'm desperately trying to see what I can do without, but slowly. So that's my story. Ill check in later.My husband and I have to do something things today but for now I think you should start a very slow taper like 1/4 of a pill and you won't notice it. At least for now it will make you feel empowered. Blessings Ruthy
We seem to post opposite times of the day. Where are you? I'm in sunny Cal.
How is your mom doing? How are you holding up?
I think you should have A chat with your Dr that prescribed the Trams. He is obviously not educated on this horrible synthetic opioid that also has a very strong antidepressant similar to the antidepressant Effexor which latches on to all 4 receptors in the brain that makes a cocktail that will suction to the brain in no time. The drug needs to come off the market yesterday. There are and have been many class action lawsuits with Tramadol.
It has ruined my life. I do still have PAWS too and the new pain med my Dr put me on 6 months off Trams. I still have debilitating anxiety. It starts in the morning and peaks around 8-10am. I can hardly think during this time. It is 6:45am right now, been up since 3am, this is the norm. I can feel it coming on . The good news is it lessens as the day goes on but I can't function well until the early afternoon. I am convinced the Percocets disrupted my brain healing and am prolonging healing but I need pain med. I know 2x5mg a day is low but I wish I would have said no to my Dr when she saw me in so much pain. I have a rare auto immune disease so every moment is a struggle. My age 57, my health not the best makes it so hard. I took Drs advice thinking she knew best. Also I was prescribed a benzodiazepine. many yrs ago for my sanity as I had so many symptoms hitting me. I almost had a nervous breakdown. I still take the anxiety med and am very slowly lessening it. I'm angry at myself for trusting Drs. I never took even a Tylenol until my diagnosis . So now some symptoms are leveling out of the disease and I'm desperately trying to see what I can do without, but slowly. So that's my story. Ill check in later.My husband and I have to do something things today but for now I think you should start a very slow taper like 1/4 of a pill and you won't notice it. At least for now it will make you feel empowered. Blessings Ruthy
Hi my friend Ruthy, I live in New York so that is why we post opposite times of the day! lol Wow after reading your story,you certainly have gone and continue to go through ALOT!!!!! The autoimmune diseases are very rough, to say the least, to live with. I can see where you would need a few different meds to get you thru each day! Very understandable! Pain meds and benzos are probably some of the most popular meds that there are. Although they both can help immensely, we must watch ourselves with them very closely. How long have you been on Benzo's and what are you on? My only experience with a Benzo is when my brother died last year, 57, and I couldn't stop crying and I coudn't get my **** together so my PCP sent me a script for Xanax but only for 1 week. It did help but I find that what it did for me is numb me; no emotions came thru, just felt numb and empty. It helped for those very tough days but then I never took it again. I didn't like how strong it was that it could wipe out all of my emotions and almost leave me emotionless if you know what I mean. I know that there are a lot of people on Benzos on a daily basis for years and withdrawing from them is also a living hell if you try to do it CT.
How is yr pain on a daily basis and do you find that just 2 Percs help? When I was taking them after my herendous knee surgery, I had to take about 3 to 4 of the 5mg/325 tyl.(Percs) /day. to get any pain relief at all. Some days I went up as high as 5! Are you still feeling that the Neurotin is helping? I was reading a lot about it and they were saying that there is some evidence it can help with opiod WD but then you have to be carful getting addicted to that.
You know Ruthy, this whole pain meds world is about taking this and getting addicted to that and then taking this for WD for that only to get addicted to that! Makes me want to scream!!!!! We are constantly chasing our tails! I am anyway,
SO my mom is stable but still in hospital which is best place for her right now. I am totally responsible for her as I am the only one. I had 2 brothers but my older brother, 57, died in 2009 from lung cancer and my youngest brother, 57, just died last 8/8/15 from Sepsis. So I am the only one left. :( II am doing ok. I am taking our advice and until I see what the end of this week holds, I am not going to try to taper. Betweeen my daughter;s party and my mom in hospital I need to be running on all cylinders! Next week once party is over and hopefully I will bring my mom home on Wed. I will wait a day or two to see how she does at home & then I will begin my taper. I have been on some other website which say after you make a cut you should stay on that dosage for 1 wk and then lower & another wk & lower & another week till u get down to 25mg & then take 25mg for one week and then stop. They said if you do it this way exactly as they say; you will have a very, very minimal withdrawal experience if any at all. On 3/day = 150mg. will cut to 2 1/2/day for 1 week, cut to 2/day/week and so on and so forth.It could wind up taking me 6 weeks but to maybe escape WD it is worth it. I have to think in thru to see which way I want to go. I also liked the taper schedule I read which to do one dose for 3 days and then lower dose for 3 more days so on and so forth.
Oh well have to figure which one I want and then look for a possible date next week to begin. Ideally I wanted to be done by end of July but they may not be; if not it will bbe done, for sure, by end of Aug.
Will say Nighty Nite Ruthy! I am tired tonight! Please write tomorrow. I look forward to you messages everyday and I lov hearing from you. xox Muffer
How is yr pain on a daily basis and do you find that just 2 Percs help? When I was taking them after my herendous knee surgery, I had to take about 3 to 4 of the 5mg/325 tyl.(Percs) /day. to get any pain relief at all. Some days I went up as high as 5! Are you still feeling that the Neurotin is helping? I was reading a lot about it and they were saying that there is some evidence it can help with opiod WD but then you have to be carful getting addicted to that.
You know Ruthy, this whole pain meds world is about taking this and getting addicted to that and then taking this for WD for that only to get addicted to that! Makes me want to scream!!!!! We are constantly chasing our tails! I am anyway,
SO my mom is stable but still in hospital which is best place for her right now. I am totally responsible for her as I am the only one. I had 2 brothers but my older brother, 57, died in 2009 from lung cancer and my youngest brother, 57, just died last 8/8/15 from Sepsis. So I am the only one left. :( II am doing ok. I am taking our advice and until I see what the end of this week holds, I am not going to try to taper. Betweeen my daughter;s party and my mom in hospital I need to be running on all cylinders! Next week once party is over and hopefully I will bring my mom home on Wed. I will wait a day or two to see how she does at home & then I will begin my taper. I have been on some other website which say after you make a cut you should stay on that dosage for 1 wk and then lower & another wk & lower & another week till u get down to 25mg & then take 25mg for one week and then stop. They said if you do it this way exactly as they say; you will have a very, very minimal withdrawal experience if any at all. On 3/day = 150mg. will cut to 2 1/2/day for 1 week, cut to 2/day/week and so on and so forth.It could wind up taking me 6 weeks but to maybe escape WD it is worth it. I have to think in thru to see which way I want to go. I also liked the taper schedule I read which to do one dose for 3 days and then lower dose for 3 more days so on and so forth.
Oh well have to figure which one I want and then look for a possible date next week to begin. Ideally I wanted to be done by end of July but they may not be; if not it will bbe done, for sure, by end of Aug.
Will say Nighty Nite Ruthy! I am tired tonight! Please write tomorrow. I look forward to you messages everyday and I lov hearing from you. xox Muffer
Good morning Muffer,
I had the longest post to you just now and it disappeared. We have church this morning an our daughter visiting so will write later this evening or tomorrow. So sorry. Hugs, Ruthy
I had the longest post to you just now and it disappeared. We have church this morning an our daughter visiting so will write later this evening or tomorrow. So sorry. Hugs, Ruthy
Hi again. Long day. Head swimming with no sleep last night.
You will have some Wds no matter what when you take your last dose. The Antidepressant in th med will be screaming as it has made your brain it's home for a bit. But I think you have time on your side. Tapering is hard when you get under 1 pill. You may want to jump at that point and just go for it. The receptors in the brain will cling to what it has left in it. Then throw a fit when what's left goes bye bye. Remember, your withdrawing,from 2 meds in 1. I'm not trying to scare you but set time aside in case your head wants to toy with you for a while. Can you get Clonidine from your Dr? I'm sure you know it's an old school blood pressure med that is now pretty much used for Opiad WD s.
I had to go to ER shortly after my last dose after jumping because I thought I was having a heart attack. They gave me Clonidine and wow! It was amazing. It helps immensely with WD s. It makes you knocked out and you will sleep. It controls alot of the mental WD symptoms. They sent me home with a prescription as well and I followed up with my PC and she gave me another prescription because it worked so well. Tolerance does buildup after a while but it felt oh so good to take one and bam! anxiety gone and ready for a quick nap. And you will sleep through a lot of the yucky first week of through the roof nervous system overload. I loved it! But it does lower blood pressure so you have to keep an eye n that. If you feel dizzy, you need to back off a bit. But it is a wonderful help when your heart rate just skyrockets. My resting heart rate got up to 137 at one point. ER Dr said they arnt concerned until it gets to the 160s. Anyway this med saved my life for the first 2 weeks. I seriously was not human and Clonidine helped me sleep through a lot. I don't know how a blood pressure med can make you so sleepy, I guess because it targets the resting heart rate, brings it down and your human again. It helps with the other WD s too.
I just know your suffering will be short. There is an old thread on here just for Tramadol folks. Search for Emily post in the search engine here in the upper right corner. A gal named Emily started a thread many years ago. She made it her journal and others found it and learned from her daily writings. It is like the Tramadol Sacred Thread. The postings and pointers from so many people is endless. It is 62 pages long of just Tramadol detoxers. I posted too for support. My postings started on page 62. I read these postings starting from day one of just Emily posting her WDs, talking to herself at first then hundreds and hundreds landed on her thread and so many people were detoxing at the same time and supporting each other. The thread is almost dead now but reading what others went through and posted helped me. I read for hours on end during early WD. I can't tell you how it helped. Others did the same, reading the posts of people in the throws of WD. Many in the site took dangerous amounts but made it through. For some reason I felt comforted in reading of others that went before me that suffered so because I did. There are some that got hooked at only 1-2 weeks and had WD S but not like me and others that took the med for years. I know the Percs will be easier but still not easy enough to stop. My PC said it takes only 60 days for Opiate med to change brain chemistry. I learned so much about brain receptors and such. There is even a pharmacist and a Dr on there that Xeroxed from it. They had good medical advise about what is happening to the brain and the proper supplements to feed the brain like Amino Acids, Bs and Cs and fish oil. Even a lawyer posted for a long time. I want to say around 2005 they were on there. If you are having a harder time than you think, just read read read these posts if that time comes for you. It is a wonderful distraction and support there were some detoxing at the same time as me and we leaned hard on each other. Sorry for the long letter but I wanted to tell you about how great that thread is to read. So Birthday party and bringing mom home then plow in!!!
I take 1.5 mgs of Klonopin and it never even touched my anxiety. I was allowed to take more but still went to ER. If it went for anxiety it would be so much easier. Some don't have anxiety much like the younger folks. Boy that isn't my case. I can't even think of stopping Klonopin right now but I will. And it will take a few years. My Dr is ready to help with that but I'm just not healed to start it yet. Even so so so slow tapering like 5% every 4 weeks won't spare anyone in the end. I've read up a lot on it. I will suffer a good year after tapering for 1-2 years. Dizziness and lethargy and HIGH ANXIETY (oh boy) are the worst. No driving for a long time from what I understand. I'm so glad you only took Benzo for 1 week. But so sorry for your loss of your 2 brothers. What pain you have been through. It hurts my heart. I hope you are healing from it. Well, I will wake up tomorrow and look forward to hearing from you. Hope you had a good weekend. Xox Ruthy
You will have some Wds no matter what when you take your last dose. The Antidepressant in th med will be screaming as it has made your brain it's home for a bit. But I think you have time on your side. Tapering is hard when you get under 1 pill. You may want to jump at that point and just go for it. The receptors in the brain will cling to what it has left in it. Then throw a fit when what's left goes bye bye. Remember, your withdrawing,from 2 meds in 1. I'm not trying to scare you but set time aside in case your head wants to toy with you for a while. Can you get Clonidine from your Dr? I'm sure you know it's an old school blood pressure med that is now pretty much used for Opiad WD s.
I had to go to ER shortly after my last dose after jumping because I thought I was having a heart attack. They gave me Clonidine and wow! It was amazing. It helps immensely with WD s. It makes you knocked out and you will sleep. It controls alot of the mental WD symptoms. They sent me home with a prescription as well and I followed up with my PC and she gave me another prescription because it worked so well. Tolerance does buildup after a while but it felt oh so good to take one and bam! anxiety gone and ready for a quick nap. And you will sleep through a lot of the yucky first week of through the roof nervous system overload. I loved it! But it does lower blood pressure so you have to keep an eye n that. If you feel dizzy, you need to back off a bit. But it is a wonderful help when your heart rate just skyrockets. My resting heart rate got up to 137 at one point. ER Dr said they arnt concerned until it gets to the 160s. Anyway this med saved my life for the first 2 weeks. I seriously was not human and Clonidine helped me sleep through a lot. I don't know how a blood pressure med can make you so sleepy, I guess because it targets the resting heart rate, brings it down and your human again. It helps with the other WD s too.
I just know your suffering will be short. There is an old thread on here just for Tramadol folks. Search for Emily post in the search engine here in the upper right corner. A gal named Emily started a thread many years ago. She made it her journal and others found it and learned from her daily writings. It is like the Tramadol Sacred Thread. The postings and pointers from so many people is endless. It is 62 pages long of just Tramadol detoxers. I posted too for support. My postings started on page 62. I read these postings starting from day one of just Emily posting her WDs, talking to herself at first then hundreds and hundreds landed on her thread and so many people were detoxing at the same time and supporting each other. The thread is almost dead now but reading what others went through and posted helped me. I read for hours on end during early WD. I can't tell you how it helped. Others did the same, reading the posts of people in the throws of WD. Many in the site took dangerous amounts but made it through. For some reason I felt comforted in reading of others that went before me that suffered so because I did. There are some that got hooked at only 1-2 weeks and had WD S but not like me and others that took the med for years. I know the Percs will be easier but still not easy enough to stop. My PC said it takes only 60 days for Opiate med to change brain chemistry. I learned so much about brain receptors and such. There is even a pharmacist and a Dr on there that Xeroxed from it. They had good medical advise about what is happening to the brain and the proper supplements to feed the brain like Amino Acids, Bs and Cs and fish oil. Even a lawyer posted for a long time. I want to say around 2005 they were on there. If you are having a harder time than you think, just read read read these posts if that time comes for you. It is a wonderful distraction and support there were some detoxing at the same time as me and we leaned hard on each other. Sorry for the long letter but I wanted to tell you about how great that thread is to read. So Birthday party and bringing mom home then plow in!!!
I take 1.5 mgs of Klonopin and it never even touched my anxiety. I was allowed to take more but still went to ER. If it went for anxiety it would be so much easier. Some don't have anxiety much like the younger folks. Boy that isn't my case. I can't even think of stopping Klonopin right now but I will. And it will take a few years. My Dr is ready to help with that but I'm just not healed to start it yet. Even so so so slow tapering like 5% every 4 weeks won't spare anyone in the end. I've read up a lot on it. I will suffer a good year after tapering for 1-2 years. Dizziness and lethargy and HIGH ANXIETY (oh boy) are the worst. No driving for a long time from what I understand. I'm so glad you only took Benzo for 1 week. But so sorry for your loss of your 2 brothers. What pain you have been through. It hurts my heart. I hope you are healing from it. Well, I will wake up tomorrow and look forward to hearing from you. Hope you had a good weekend. Xox Ruthy
Hi Ruthy, so good to "as you said" to wake up & hear from you! :) Thanks soooo much for all of the info; it is so appreciated. I will definitely look into that thread and extract as much info as I can as well as realize that those of us who have to face the nasty WD are not alone.
I didn't really want to ask my PCP for anything in regards to WD from Tram. When I was WD from Percs, She gave me Metoporol for rapid heart beat as well as to mb calm me a bit. It does help w/rapid heartbeat but not much else. I really don't want to involve her again. (The Tram came from the Ortho Dr, not her so I don't want her to start thinking that I am an addict of some type if you know what I am trying to say. I still have some Metoporol so I can take that to help w/my heart rate. Right now every am bf I wake up my heart is beating like crazy & I am sweating like I am in a sauna so that's why I know that I must be addicted to the Trams bc my body is expecting it and when it does not get it in am it yells. I went thru the same with the Percs but much worse bc I wt CT! Every am my heart used to beat so dam fast I thght I might jst die! :( As the day wt on, it got a little bit better.
I find that with Tram, I wake up w/the rapid heartbeat and sweats but if I delay the first pill for a few hours, it seems to subside? Some days I don't take my first Tram until between noon & 2pm.. I like to see how I will feel when I delay it. This taper process to WD is ok but it is so drawn out and, for me, having the pills around tempts me to take more. I don't have anyone I can give them to so they can give to me when I am suppose to get them so I have to be in charge. That was the main reason I jumped w/the Percs CT. I couldn't control not taking a pill if I was hurting so I got rid of all of them and the WD began & the rest is history as they say.
I def will taper the trams bc of the AD in the pill. I just may do it over 1 week w/the 3 day taper instead of the 1 wk for ea doseage. Not 100% sure yet. Just don't like to drag it out for so long. Want to get done, WD, heal and restart my life. I feel like I was living my life and then it stopped and I need to pick up where I left off if you know what I mean. :) I am acquainted with AD as my brother was on them for about 3 years. I remember when he wanted to stop taking CYmbalta the Dr. had him on taper each dose for 2 weeks until there was no pill. It worked and he had no WD.
So Ruthy, you do have more than share when it comes to all of this. :( The auto-immune disease is bad enough but to have to had gone thru what you did with Tram that's way too much ! I am sorry that allof this has happened to you. Hopefully there will come a time when you can wean off the others bc you won;t need them but until then you need to do what Ruthy needs so she can live some kind of life. :)
I am looking towards beginning to taper a week from tomorrow. That is my set to begin goal date. Whatever it will be as I sd bf it will be & I will hve to deal as I did w/the Percs. As I previously told you that was not "pretty". Again, the anxiety is what debilitated me but little by little I took baby steps bk to normalcy (whatever the hell that is)! I know that I am still having PAWS from the Percs.but it is not even close to what it was.
Yea I am healing from the loss of my brothers...it is hard, esp. with the oldest since we were close. I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband and 2 wonderful kids (36 & 29) & 2 grand kids (6& 8) My family has helped with the deaths and sicknesses totally. BUT none of them know about the Percs or Trams and that;'s how I want it to stay. Just don't wt them to know bc I guess I am embarassed and ashamed of myself. Even though I need them for legitimate , tough pain, I should have jumped before I got to addicted to them but too late for that. So for now Ruthy, this is between me and my new found, wonderful friend Ruthy! I feel like I have know you forever and feel like I can share all of my lows, disgraces, disappointments freak-outs etc. abt the meds w/you and you won't judge me & right now that is what I NEED!!!!!
I will say nighty nite Ruthy and I will again tonight, include you in my prayers when I tell God I am thankful & blessed to have my new friend Ruthy in my life! :):) xox Muffer Write Soon!!!! Thank you for your daily caring!
I didn't really want to ask my PCP for anything in regards to WD from Tram. When I was WD from Percs, She gave me Metoporol for rapid heart beat as well as to mb calm me a bit. It does help w/rapid heartbeat but not much else. I really don't want to involve her again. (The Tram came from the Ortho Dr, not her so I don't want her to start thinking that I am an addict of some type if you know what I am trying to say. I still have some Metoporol so I can take that to help w/my heart rate. Right now every am bf I wake up my heart is beating like crazy & I am sweating like I am in a sauna so that's why I know that I must be addicted to the Trams bc my body is expecting it and when it does not get it in am it yells. I went thru the same with the Percs but much worse bc I wt CT! Every am my heart used to beat so dam fast I thght I might jst die! :( As the day wt on, it got a little bit better.
I find that with Tram, I wake up w/the rapid heartbeat and sweats but if I delay the first pill for a few hours, it seems to subside? Some days I don't take my first Tram until between noon & 2pm.. I like to see how I will feel when I delay it. This taper process to WD is ok but it is so drawn out and, for me, having the pills around tempts me to take more. I don't have anyone I can give them to so they can give to me when I am suppose to get them so I have to be in charge. That was the main reason I jumped w/the Percs CT. I couldn't control not taking a pill if I was hurting so I got rid of all of them and the WD began & the rest is history as they say.
I def will taper the trams bc of the AD in the pill. I just may do it over 1 week w/the 3 day taper instead of the 1 wk for ea doseage. Not 100% sure yet. Just don't like to drag it out for so long. Want to get done, WD, heal and restart my life. I feel like I was living my life and then it stopped and I need to pick up where I left off if you know what I mean. :) I am acquainted with AD as my brother was on them for about 3 years. I remember when he wanted to stop taking CYmbalta the Dr. had him on taper each dose for 2 weeks until there was no pill. It worked and he had no WD.
So Ruthy, you do have more than share when it comes to all of this. :( The auto-immune disease is bad enough but to have to had gone thru what you did with Tram that's way too much ! I am sorry that allof this has happened to you. Hopefully there will come a time when you can wean off the others bc you won;t need them but until then you need to do what Ruthy needs so she can live some kind of life. :)
I am looking towards beginning to taper a week from tomorrow. That is my set to begin goal date. Whatever it will be as I sd bf it will be & I will hve to deal as I did w/the Percs. As I previously told you that was not "pretty". Again, the anxiety is what debilitated me but little by little I took baby steps bk to normalcy (whatever the hell that is)! I know that I am still having PAWS from the Percs.but it is not even close to what it was.
Yea I am healing from the loss of my brothers...it is hard, esp. with the oldest since we were close. I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband and 2 wonderful kids (36 & 29) & 2 grand kids (6& 8) My family has helped with the deaths and sicknesses totally. BUT none of them know about the Percs or Trams and that;'s how I want it to stay. Just don't wt them to know bc I guess I am embarassed and ashamed of myself. Even though I need them for legitimate , tough pain, I should have jumped before I got to addicted to them but too late for that. So for now Ruthy, this is between me and my new found, wonderful friend Ruthy! I feel like I have know you forever and feel like I can share all of my lows, disgraces, disappointments freak-outs etc. abt the meds w/you and you won't judge me & right now that is what I NEED!!!!!
I will say nighty nite Ruthy and I will again tonight, include you in my prayers when I tell God I am thankful & blessed to have my new friend Ruthy in my life! :):) xox Muffer Write Soon!!!! Thank you for your daily caring!
Good morning.
I think there is a way to private message on here. Ill try It and give you my e mail address. That way we're not exhausting this site. Ill try to friend request you. The format had changed. I lost touch with a friend after the site was revamped.
I think there is a way to private message on here. Ill try It and give you my e mail address. That way we're not exhausting this site. Ill try to friend request you. The format had changed. I lost touch with a friend after the site was revamped.
OK. Just let me know where I should look for it.
OK Ruthy..I found you!
Didnt you get a message from me in your inbox?
Hi Ruthy, I did get yr msg and I spent 1 hr writing you back. I sent it but I don't think you got it? Then I sent you another quick msg today....you didn't get it? I don't know what I am doing wrong....After I read your msg I wrote my msg in the reply box and I also tried to send you a new msg. Did you get any of them? Ugh...don't know what I am doing wrong?
My internet has been down all day. But I just checked my inbox here on Michelle and no message. How about e mail if we can't figure it out? Click on my name anywhere Ruthy55 and then click on send message not send note. Ill check my inbox again. Hope we figure it out
Stupid spell check I meant med help not michelle
Stupid spell check I meant med help not michelle
Just sent you a quick note. Let me know if you got it.
Hey kiddo...just went on the Med Help site and clicked on your name as you said then clicked send message and it came up and said that "I can't send a private message to this user". Do you , mb, have to list me as a friend? Idk... So that is why you didn't get my 3 msgs. Let me know what you want to do.
I sent you Private message with my e mail. I did add you as a friend. Did you add me as a friend? E. Mail if you are comfortable to
Yes I do have you as a friend. I just clicked on you from my friends (which of course is only you) and I clicked on send message and I got the same msg....Cannot send private message to this user. Can I contact someone from Med Help to try to help me out w/this glitch? What do you think? Should we just forget this and email?
PS...I didn't get to tell you that I read your msg about 3 times bc I could not believe it all! My God Ruthy...you have been to hell & back & I am so sorry for that! We will talk more about when we decide how to communicate. Hugs & Double Hugs to you my friend.
I had a block on my settings and don't know how that happened. So try again. I also went into my settings and said to be notified when I receive private messages. I like that feature
I just tried and it said the same...I can't send a private msg to this person. Ugh
Earlier today I got an email from MedHelp saying that I had a msg from Ruthy55.
Ruthy I just went on the "Help" screen and it said that after you add someone as a friend you must confirm that person as a friend. It said notifications of friend applications are located at the top of your profile page. DOes that mean anything? Have you confirmed me as a friend? I just double checked and I have confirmed you as a friend so that's why I am getting yr msgs. Let me know.
Yes it says we are now friends. Click on your email and it used to take you right to the PM. I don't like this format. I gave you my email in one of them but we can keep trying
I tried and sent another private msg. Did u get it? I mentioned in the private msg that I am not comfortable communicating via my email bc, at times, other people have access to my account. How can we get this to work? Is there some way to contact a Help Desk within MedHelp? Ugh!!!!
Hey Ruthy, Ijsut found a Help link on MedHelp and I sent them a message and informed them of our dilemma and asked them to help us out. You may hear from them re us being friends and wanting to PM. Let me know if you do! We need to get this figured out STAT!!!!!!
Hey Ruthy, I just tried to send you a private msg...did it get to you? Let me knoe. If not you will have to use the Contact Us Link at the bottom of the pgs to see what MedHelp can do to help us. Miss you lots! I want to give you my comments on your questions in your last private msg but want to do it via a private msg. This needs to work for us!!!!! PS If you want me to reply to your last msg I would be happy to give you my thoughts on what you asked about. Hugs
I did the reply to your PM to me. When I clicke don your name and asked to send msg it came up with the same msg...Cannot send this user a PM!!!! UGH!!!!!
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