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6744073 tn?1384771150

how to get through Tramadol (plus other) withdrawel in one piece, step by step

hi,
actually found this forum by mere chance of desperation
whilst googling I came cross "Emily Post's Journal" somewhere here on the forum
this could be the linky

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/16030/Day-18-Cold-Turkey-Withdrawal-from-Tramadol

sent a distress call and Rosy and Heather directed me to here
please find below said destress call and maybe you could furnish me with some help
will also read more through this file etc

head is moodled/moddled up, hope the below makes sense

what is actually my question?
how to get through Tramadol (plus other) withdrawel in one piece, step by step

one thing is for sure: in this battle I will come out as the winner and Tramodol as the big looser

destress call
hi,

I am another one glad to have found you
thanks for keeping the thread going
am a few years back to you and slowly reading my way up but thought of jumping on here to let you know of how thankful I am to you all

am all over the place, vomiting, shaking, emotional, angry you name it

not quite sure if I am on day 2 or 5

but I started now to detox and I will get through it! I am stubborn! and this thread will help me through!!!

am/was on a combo of venlafanine, quetiapine, paracetamol, tramadol, quinine and zopiclone
for depression, chronic pain/fibroyalgia, ME, mscle spasms, insomnia etc

my (clever - not) idea was to come off the venla (plus quetiapine) because after years of taking them, they don't make a difference anymore and
"why "inhabit" a reuptake of serotonin when I can take something to increase it (5htp)?" was the thought and wondered why my GP (I think that is what he said at the time) said there is no such thing ...

successfully reduced more and more, no probs until reached a certain dose and than stayed on it for some time now

anyway, far to shakie etc  now

thought I reduce and will stop the venla etc and slowly start taking 5HTP
thought was good until .... I couldn't say what it was that hit me first

anyway, getting the shakes and sweats and vomiting etc I thought it might be to much serotine floating around and treading very carefully around the 5HTP now, actually only took 3 in about a week and stop now, no need to mess me around even more

didn't know that Tramadol has anti-d in it too and am shocked at what I read so far

stopped Tramadol now too, hence no idea which day I am but am rubbish therefore must stil be in days 1 to 4 ish
sorry, concentration on low and dexterity of fingers on keyboard a hit and miss ...
anyway
will continue to read and will get through
went through other withdrawels before but nothing close to this

because of the non sleeping I tried to ease myself of to sleep with  zopiclone last night but even after 3 (!) I was wide awake and I am very sensible in taking zopi and can go without for weeks etc without a problem

regardless of that my GP gives zopi to me very reluctantly ( because of withdrawel - not) but dishes out the Tramadol like sweets the brain zaps etc

my brain is all over the place and reminder of head frequently vomiting over the bucket

drinking sips of water to keep the vomiting experience of "wrenching out my guts" to a minimum
can rely on the "am I dying, or what? and when hopefully soon" - thought train
can't wait for it to be over

any ad hoc tips welcome

lots of love
Lulu

38 Responses
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Avatar universal
Hi Lulu- It sounds like you're struggling here. First of all, you're right about the Seratonin. The 5 HTP will only increase free Seratonin...although it will help you down the road when you're completely detoxed from Tramadol and not taking any other anti depressant.

You'll need help with sleep right now and it's important. Later on you can taper off that sleep med.  When there are meds you want to stop taking, it's always better to stop one at a time...Also, I think it's much easier on the body to TAPER off Tramadol very slowly instead of stopping it abruptly. There is some evidence of seizure risk with abruptly stopping but it seems to be dependent on other factors.  How many Tramadol do you take per day or did you take per day?

Try ginger ale, peppermint tea, sips of coke, for the upset tummy. Rest now and know you'll feel better. We're here so ask questions...

So, if you stopped the Tramadol and the anti depressant all at the same time, you won't feel well at all!  All the more reason to go back on a small amount of Tramadol for a bit and taper off slowly...

Please get your doctor involved. He can prescribe some meds for vomiting and other symptoms.
Helpful - 0
6744073 tn?1384771150
hi Vicky,

thank you for your reply
I am struggeling, big time
and the bad is that I brought it all on by myself

coming off one meds at the time is exactly the advice I would give to everyone
it was not planed like that at all

I wanted to come off the anti-depressent venlafaxine most and first of all
God only knows why I had to throw in the 5HTP before tapering off first
and where the thought came to flush out the quetiapine at the same time boggles the mind
and whilst I made my self "knowledgable" and realized that tramadol also acts on the serotonin I must have lost my marbles completely

and now I don't know what to do

course I will contact my GP and come clean (yet) again
with all the sweating and stuff I don't fancy going outside and I am not really well enough to travel to my GP and when I moved house I also moved outside of his area which means a home visite is out of the window etc and I might "loose" him as GP when he finds out etc so better not take that risk
when I mess up then 100%

reading up on the amount other people take/took it's not much, 2 max 3 100mg ext release per day, if I would take one that would be already half my daily dose and would W/D make look rather like a farce
maybe I will break a tablett and take a fraction?

decided to take one paracetamol to ease stuff up, not sure if that works
(used to take 6 x 50mg per day)
plus took now one zopiclone for hope of sleep

still undecided about taking a fraction of tramadol

I just think I will mess up even more
I don't really wanna give up, that would be defeat and who knows, tomorrow I might just have broken the "cycle" etc but the shivers and spasms etc are more than I can bottle right now

I just want to come off of all that stuff
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Lulu. Why were you taking the seroquel? Are you bipolar or schiz? You really ought not cold turkey that med. That mau the one you really should be taking.
You should also taper your ssri. Wgen you cold turkey them you get that terrible vertigo feeling and that not something you need tossed on your plate right now. As vicki said, a taper make for a much smoother withdrawal.  It also keeps you from getting so frustrated that you end up failing your goal.
I really urge you to stay on your seroquel at least till you have all the others licked.
Good luck sweety. Theres a hug attached if you can bear to be touched.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
LULU I am so glad the link I gave you to the forum worked! So happy to see you posting! You will get incredible advice...be sure to FOLLOW it sweetie. One step at a time... You can do this..
Helpful - 0
6744073 tn?1384771150
thank you rosy,
thank you 1ringmaker,

read through the Thomas Recipe as good as possible but too much to take in - maybe if I had read it prior?

better today than yesterday, every sip of water came up straight away but continued to sip because I thought it will also get the acid out of my stomack (?)  - what did stay in was (water) ice lollies lol - managed to take 2x37.5mg venla and 2 half of paracetamol and it stayed in too plus zopiclone to sleep - wasn't sure about that because I worried if I might be sick and die in my sleep - still here

the seroquel is for (mild) bipolar, with rapid cycling, sometimes mixed but not manic as such - came down from 500 to 200 already over the last few month, no problems there

best place to be atm:
in bed with electric blankett on and dressed in multiple absorbing clothes to keep me from shivering and avoiding bed/mattress getting soaked - lights off, giving me even more headache, audio play in the back ground for light entertainment

started to take small dose of venlafaxine (thinking of 37.5 mg 3 times a day)
before I was down already to 75mg 3 time a day
and paracetamon (3 a day, down from 6)
plus zopiclone to help with sleep

I understand what you say about the seroquel, maybe I take one 100mg(was down on two already) every other day?

just the thought of taking the meds (all of them) makes me feel sick, but then so does the thought of anything going down my throat

the brain zaps are nearly gone, headache not, only once vomited so far
knibbled on 3 rice cakes and some lukewarm water and kept them in too

tired and exhausted now
thank you
lots of love
lulu
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Things seem to be smoothing out for you lulu. Thats great. The good thing about tapering is a lot of the nastiness of withdrawal are minimized.
Responded to your invitation.  Im not on this site daily but stop in as often as I can.
Keep reducing a bit at a time.  The yuckies will smooth out and you will be able to pay attention to what your doing.  Anything that is critical to your mental health has to be the very last thing to be adjusted.  
Keep me up to date lulu and continued gool lu.
Helpful - 0
6744073 tn?1384771150
thank you

things are "setteling"
added some watered down veggie stock to my rice cakes
taking fractions of the other meds, not the tramadol, just to keep me floating
headache turned into full blown migraine but the fractions help to settle this

God bless
Helpful - 0
6744073 tn?1384771150
whilst I was sticking/sweating/vomiting it out to get better I thought (a thought of tapering)

trap this demon in a cage
as long as it is strong(er than I am), feed it just enough not to try to escape
to wait its chance so to speak
if I don't feed it, it will try to break out and get me again
when it gets weaker and weaker it won't have the strenght to break out
and then, when it gets even more weaker and weaker
I will be able to throttle it

or something down the line like that
Helpful - 0
6726276 tn?1421126668
Do you have a cat? I like your get well room. Be safe. Pamela
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Good analogy lulu. That's essentially what beating addiction is all about.  You starve it till its to weak to be a problem.  Looks like your getting good coherent thoughti back.  Your doing awesome!
Helpful - 0
6744073 tn?1384771150
hi Pamela,

used to live with cats - not well enough to care for one at the moment - just the thought of he smell of cat food - yuck
nevertheless neighbours's cats come in on a regular base - living on a busy cat garden-cross-road

thanks for liking the cage
the brute doesn't know yet it's in there , hehehehe

Helpful - 0
6726276 tn?1421126668
Lulu. You are witty & wonderful !
Helpful - 0
6744073 tn?1384771150
hi 1ringmaker

today is not bad
can drink veggie stock and eat rice cakes
still feel a bit sick but no vomit, just the feeling of it
and all stays in! well, comes out the other end very quickly
still bad headache but not as bad as migraine; right side as usual including eye
would say that must be day 5
body aches too, legs, feet, hips etc and I can understand how innocently naively I just could pop a tramadol (as done in past), but no, the occacional half paracetamol (3 halves a day) just not to rise suspicion
this brute has no idea what is hitting it!
will also continue to take 3 halves of venlafaxine (3 x 37.5mg) and 3 halves of quetiapine (3 x 50mg) to be able to manage and not to suffer too much
just to keep it in the system
hope I can stay that low
my brain however is more "alert" or "awake" which feels good too - hardly any brain zaps
still spending a lot of time in bed but today with breakes doing little cores around the flat

thank you again for your support
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Your analogy is right on point!  Welcome.  I'm glad your starting to feel somewhat better.  There is so much love and support here, keep us updated.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Not a problem at all. I think yoi have the physical park licked. The hard part is not falling back into the same trap. Once you get a firm handle on this lulu there is no reason you have to live in constantpain. Occational meds to aalleviate pain is fine. Its the steady intake that sends the signal to your own pain pumps to shut down.
What youve been experiencing is the restarting of your own pain devices.
It hard to believe that we are in that much pain all the time. But one week of withdrawal slams home that thought very clearly.
Imagine having to live like that constantly. .....
Helpful - 0
6744073 tn?1384771150
forgot to mention
had a mineral bath today
it was needed
the sweat is so itchy, didn't wash hair - skull itchy still
still sweating but nothing compared with before
lost about 2 or 3 kg during the week
have now more thirst and "appetite" for liquid

1ringmaker, sorry I don't understand what you are saying in your second paragraph, please come again ...

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
You mean about what you've been experiencing?
Your body produces its own medication constantly.  When someone takes external meds (narcotics for example) the body stops production of its own. When you stop taking the external med your body has to go through the process of making it on its own again. The discomfort experienced during withdrawal is the time lapse between the external meds waring off and the body taking up the slack and making its own again.
My comment was simply that it astounds me just how much pain our body is in on a day to day basis and that a week of withdrawal shows us quite clearly what life would be like if our bodies didnt have its built in pharmacy.
Helpful - 0
6744073 tn?1384771150
that makes it clearer
wasn't able to read between the lines

hope my body starts producing  soon - my legs are on fire and kicking - took the meds for today already

rubbing my feet against my knees does distruct a bit - also the heat of the electric blankett

tired but legs keep me awake
not sure what to do about that
Helpful - 0
3197167 tn?1348968606
Gonna chime in here on this statement by 1ringmaker:

"Once you get a firm handle on this lulu there is no reason you have to live in constantpain. Occational meds to aalleviate pain is fine. Its the steady intake that sends the signal to your own pain pumps to shut down."

If you are an addict....and not just "dependent physically" on a narcotic pain med....I totally disagree with this statement.  Addicts can't "reverse" brain chemistry.  Not only will we pick up where we left off....our use will progress.  To tell myself "someday I can go back and take narcotic pain meds" is not a thought I ever allow myself to entertain~
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I will give that statement over to you because you diferentiate between physical dependence vs an addict. The statement I made was aimed at physical dependence, not abuse. If a person can use the drug as it is intended then there is no reason to live in constant pain.  If you take to much or for to long, your back to sweating a monkey
Helpful - 0
3197167 tn?1348968606
Good enough....totally agree.

It was important to make this differentiation since this is an addiction/substance abuse forum.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
So right and point well taken. I sometimes lose the line that seperates the two.
Helpful - 0
6744073 tn?1384771150
lol
finally this morning the penny dropped (I think)
you were saying down the line

when we go through a week of utter agony on w/d it shall be a doodle to manage pain w/o meds

thank you
wanted to reply earlier, went online and got lost on THIS site lol
so much info about so much stuff
Helpful - 0
6744073 tn?1384771150
I know, still didn't get it
read your post again and you are right

when our bodies are send on holiday instead of producing pain relieve, no wonder then, when the artificial supply runs out, the tsunami breaks out
Helpful - 0
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