endless tramadol merry-go-round

[pinkgirl73]

Ok so I posted a little over a month ago that I was gonna stock up on as many trams as I could get my hands on before the 8-18 deadline.  Did that.  Have tons and tons.  But so what?  I dropped from 14 to 8 in one leap and have been on 8 a day for a little over a month.  My grand plan was to taper down a little bit every 3 weeks or so....but I haven't done that yet because...and this is the kicker....my "plan" isn't going as "planned".  Now I am sure many of you who have been through this before aren't surprised by this, but I am...lol.  So here's the problem.  I made it through my withdrawals, which lasted about 7 days when I initially jumped from 14 to 8.  So I thought "wow...this isn't gonna be so bad.  In a few weeks I'll just drop a little more and so on and it will be a breeze."  Well there's just one problem.  Its all catching up to me now.  I feel like crap mentally and emotionally!!!  I feel like my entire life is a chore.  Being awake is a chore, physically having my eyes see something is a chore, getting a drink is a chore.  Its a nightmare.  So that's been going on about a week.  As it stands, I can go 12 hrs between my doses, which in and of itself is a miracle, considering I used to pop them all day long like candy...so I've come pretty far.  But I want to drop my dose again.  I heard that I'm never gonna adjust mentally to my lower dosages and I heard that I'll pretty much feel emotionally horrible and dead inside until I come completely off.  So the question is...do I do a huge drop again and just get off these damn things as fast as I can?  Or do I do it slowly and just have to deal with this numb, dead, bored, awful, dreadful mental and emotional feeling for as long as it takes to do a slow taper?  I just want the lesser of the 2 evils.  I would LOVE to drop hard and fast but I'm terrified of the emotional side of things.  I have been on tram at high doses for 10 years.  I absolutely cannot have a doctor guide me through this so as much as I'd like to and as much as people tell me I should, it isn't an option in my situation so I'd just really appreciate any and all advice on how some of you got through it and what you did that helps you.  Like I said I said, I can deal with the physical side but would really appreciate advice on the slow  vs fast taper thing.  Thanks all.

[immortaldebra]

I had a 120 pill refill left on my prescription and the pharmacy refused to refill it. I ran out last week. I only take 2ea 50mg at night for osteoarthritis pain. I couldn't get in to see the doctor till today. You would think he would give me enough for a week so it wouldn't just be cut off but he didn't. Meanwhile I got into misunderstandings with my family that will never be forgiven, been lethargic and spent practically the whole weekend crying Why would he waste my time and his by making me come in just to tell me he is taking my tiny doseage away.

[immortaldebra]

I had a 120 pill refill left on my prescription and the pharmacy refused to refill it. I ran out last week. I only take 2ea 50mg at night for osteoarthritis pain. I can't get into see the doctor till today. You would think he would give me enough for a week so it wouldn't just be cut off but he didn't. Meanwhile I almost wrecked my car, got into misunderstandings with my family that will never be forgiven, been lethargic and spent practically the whole weekend crying and wanting to die. I hope he refills it for me today. Why would he waste my time and his by making me come in just to tell me he is taking my tiny doseage away.

[pinkgirl73]

yes, I am still tapering and managed to not increase again.  I am not addicted to the feeling they give me as much as I am physically dependent on them.  They used to make me happy, thin, superwoman, as well as help a lot with my pain.  Now they don't help me at all.  I have never even tried to get off them before but I always wanted to.  So now I have to due to the new law.  Anyway, last night I dropped to 3.5 and my next dose I will do 3.5 again instead of 4.  So I guess its better to taper slowly according to u guys.  I want to do it as quickly and as painless as possible but I guess I will have to just be patient.  I cant wait until I'm completely off.  I have an actual scrip from my doctor for 4 per day but I am still going to get off them completely.  They don't work for my pain anymore and I hate being a slave to them.

[atthebeach]

Hi I remember when you dropped. Are you taking 4 pills  2 x a day?
You will feel better. Your body will begin to repopulate all your natural brain chemistry. This will take time after being on them for ten years. You know tramdol as the anti depressant component.

Great job sticking to the 8 pills a day and not going back up. It is a marathon not a sprint, don't be in such a hurry.
Please get in exercise each day, drink protein shakes, take vitamins, eat a healthy diet, lean protein and veggies.

You are doing awesome keep up the good work.
Keep the faith,
Debbie

[dominosarah]

Tramadol needs to be tapered real slow.  The wd's can be very brutal if you go too fast.  This isnt a race so slow it up and let your body and mind get used to the drop.