Quitting tramadol after 8 years

[pixielv]

Hello all,
I am looking for support and people to talk with about stopping tramadol use/ withdrawals/etc.

A brief summary: I am 38 years old, have been taking Tramadol for over 8 years. For the past 5 years or so I have remained on a steady regimen of 3 50mg pills per day. (150 mg per day).

I now need to wean myself off of the tramadol. One reason being that they will no longer be as easy for me to acquire. If anyone had advice for the best tapering schedule, etc.- please share if you can. I am scared. I need to return to work in two days and I can't be out of commission nor do I have the ability to take time off to recuperate in bed or anything.

I have started to taper my usage by dropping to 2 50mg pills a day for the past 3 days as well as today.
Yesterday afternoon, I felt a cold coming on. Mildly sore throat, runny nose, felt feverish. I assumed it was just a cold but saw that some have had upper respiratory "flu like" symptoms with tramadol withdrawal so now I am not sure what it is. Other than that, I have felt ok and even enjoyed the camping trip I have been on the past four days.

Anyway, I thank anyone who reads this post and has any advice. I am in the process of searching for a tramadol-specific support group online.

[pixielv]

Yes, I have had to sign off a few times at the pharmacy that I was aware the two drugs could be troublesome together and that I was aware of the dangers of serotonin syndrome, etc. My Dr. didn't/doesn't prescribe a lot of tram for me. I had to supplement on my own if you know what I mean. I will no longer be able to do that with ease.

I have been on just two different antidepressants in the 13 years or so I have been on them. The first was paxil. It worked well for me until it didn't also. Cymbalta has been pretty good for me for quite a while. Maybe time to get off or change dosage shortly.

Hopefully I will be able to get off both meds as well as the stupid cigs one day in the not-too-distant future. A girl can hope, right? :)

Thanks so much for the link to the journal. I just looked at it and plan on reading all of it.

I truly appreciate your post, thank you!!

[clean_in_ks]

Just in case you are not aware....there is an ongoing journal where Tramadol Warriors that are helping one another post.  Here's the link:

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/989796/Tramadol--Ultram-Recovery-Room-61?personal_page_id=142

And in regards to taking Trams along with another antidepressant...well, I thought that was contraindicated.  I was on one antidepressant or another for over 12 years....and the one I had the MOST side affects from was Cymbalta.  You may be different....but it's worth considering~
Hope that helps....we'll be here to support you~

[pixielv]

Thank you, Gnarly!
I appreciate the support so much. I am going to keep at it and try to go forward.
I hope you are right..and I was thinking the same thing..at least I was at a pretty reasonable dose (3 a day) so tapering down won't be too extremely painful..I hope!
Thanks again for your reply, I need all the support I can get and it means a lot :)

[pixielv]

I still don't know either, if it was just w/d kicking in a bit or what but I swear I had a virus. Not to be gross but I blew my nose and coughed up a lot of gunky stuff. I had a fever with it too. I wish I knew for sure if I really was sick or just having withdrawal symptoms!!
Oh well- hoping things go better for both of us from here on out!
And hope you have a great weekend :)

[gnarly_1]

Hi  well tram is a tuff nut to crack but tapering is necessary  as for the cold like symptoms it is normal wile detoxing keep in mind your not on 2 high of dose so it should not be to bad keep pushing  threw this when it all said and done it will be so so worth it keep posting for support we have had a lot of members detox off tram ..if your looking for a detox partner Missy1231984 is about the same place you are so message her or go to her post and read it I wish you all the luck in the world..................................Gnarly................................................

[Missy1231984]

I have come down with a cold as well after being a couple of days into my taper plan.  I wonder if the tramadol has something to do with it.  Feeling lousy has increased my craving for it, but so far I have stuck with my schedule.  

[pixielv]

Hi Jinx_777,

Yes, you sure are right about that!! The reason I have been on them so damn long is exactly because of the fact that they not only help with pain but they work as an anti-depressant also. If I had a Dr. who would prescribe them at the 3 x day dose, I would probably not go off them at all.
But there are some health issues popping up that I think might correlate with the meds I am on (Cymbalta & Tram.), so getting off will be for the best.
Anyway- thanks so much for your response!!

[pixielv]

Hello-

I posted a reply on this post but wanted to respond individually as well. I slipped off of my taper while I was sick with a head and chest cold.Went back to 3 x 50 mgs a day for almost three days :(
Today back down to 2 x 50 mg pills. And feeling hopeful that I will be able to continue the taper. I need to be successful!!
How is yours going? Still doing well? I hope so :)

[pixielv]

Thank you!!

[pixielv]

Thanks again for all the support, everyone who has replied. It means a lot!!
I went back to my regular dose (50 mg 3x day) for three days while I was sick (head and chest cold). I was bummed :( Back down to two today.
I am very wary of coming off too quickly due the SSRI/ant-depressant aspect. I am also on an anti-depressant but I am not touching that dose :)
I will be reading and posting more. Finally feeling better from the cold/virus I had. Feeling good again about trying to work my way down on my tram. dose. Hope you all are doing well and thanks again!!

[Jinx_777]

tramadol is a tricky little devil.  because of the anti depressant quality in them, you have to be very careful getting off of them.  you can have seizures if you just stop cold turkey.  
tapering like you are should be ok though.  just don't don't go cold turkey

[Missy1231984]

Hey, I just wanted to see how you are doing today?  I'm hanging in there with my taper.  

[61chevy]

Hey...  I understand.  I went on suboxone to do what I thot would minimize my lortab withdrawal symptoms.  Then I became addicted to sub and getting off that med was even more challenging.  There really is no "get out of jail free" card, but u r wise to try n minimize symptoms as much as possible.  When u jump, stay committed n u will get thru.  Wish I had more knowledge about Tram but I don't.  Sounds like u r heading in the right direction.  Great decision.  We r here for u.  Keep posting, keep reading n stay connected.  This forum has been a tremendous place of support for me.  Good job.

[pixielv]

Thank you so much for your reply! I will definitely take your advice. I have been reading up a bit for some time now as I knew this was coming. Of course, there is never a convenient time to go off of meds. I just hope to minimize any severe symptoms to the best I am able. I will be reading and posting more here. Sort of hard today since my brain feels so foggy and I feel like I have a bad cold. Here's to better days ahead though!!  
Thanks so much again for reading and replying- it means a lot. Hope you have a great night!

[61chevy]

Others that have been thru or have more knowledge than I on Tramadol will undoubtedly chime in soon.  I read on another post from EvolverU, I think, who is very willing to help n encourage, n has lots of knowledge on various subjects.  She said something I felt was very appropriate and profound;

She said something to the effect that there really is no better time to bite the bullet n go thru wd's than today.  There is always going to b family functions, vacations, work responsibilities, obligations, and scores of other reasons to put off the inevitable.  Find out as much as u can about detoxing....  Healthy diet, Thomas recipe, vitamins, minerals, etc.   Be prepared to not be ok for a bit.  Be ok with not being ok for a bit.  The fight is indeed worth the effort.   Read n post often on this forum and know u r in good company.  Lots of other have, are, or will b going thru this so u r definitely not alone.  Wishing u the best.  U can do this, I assure u.

[pixielv]

Thank you for your reply :)  Good luck to you on your taper also! I hope we both get through with minimal discomfort. Thanks again.

[Missy1231984]

I am working on getting off of tramadol also.  Since you aren't taking a very high dose and are tapering I don't think your withdrawal will be quite as severe.   I'm new at this though, so I could be wrong.  I just wanted to say you are not alone.