Thread: A young tramadol user...

Thanks for the continuing support.

The 100mg I took at 11:10 this morning is still working pretty well. The euphoria isn't as strong, but no withdrawal at all. I guess I will take some Benadryl (diphenhydramine) if I have trouble sleeping tonight.

Taking 2 a day until next Wednesday may not be as hard as I thought. I'm sure it will still pose a challenge. Which is why I'm waiting until later in the day to take them. The withdrawal in the morning until I do is scary and although I've been through full-blown withdrawal for days at a time before...I still can't overcome the fear of it.

I used to think tramadol was so cool. Like I said, I discovered it when I was 15 and had no idea what I was getting myself into. Back then I used it on occasion...usually only on Fridays. A year later use is clirabing and dependent.

What amazes me is tolerance doesn't seem to be a big thing with tramadol for me. 150mg has been stabalizing me and providing euphoria for a couple of years now. There is obviously tolerance, because a tiny dose of 25mg used to do the same 6 years ago. I find taking more than 175mg in a day is uncomfortable. At least I'm not up to 900-1000mg like most users tend to get to.

Again...thanks for the support and I'll keep you updated on my process,

You could always try a low dose of an anti-depressant such as Lexapro which helps anxiety too. You may find that you start to experience more and more depression as you start to get off the Ultram. You may also find that you suffer from depression to begin with and you were merely self medicating with the Ultram(tramadol) to treat it. If your doctor thinks you might need an anti-depressant then try it. Not only will it help with the withdrawal (depression, anxiety), but it will treat any possible mental health issue that you may have.

brian

Hi

Hope the day finRAB you well.

Okay, I have something to say that I have thought about for a week before posting. It has really been bothering me. There is still so much in your postings about the 'high."

Brainpain, I will try to space it out. But I got to have 100mg at once or I just feel out of it a little, not as severe as cold-turkey of course. Maybe I'm just saying that because anything much less than that won't supply a buzz, which I'm still getting just not as intense since tapering.

Buddy, you are working on the physical part of getting off a drug, but I honestly still hear you thinking like an addict. This thread began in the first week of June and it is mid-July now. It doesn't matter how long the taper is stretched out, but it is high time that work is done on the mental, as well as the physical, addiction. I just re-read this whole thread and I hope that you will do the same. A lot is written about maintaining the high, the buzz. It seems still a very pleasurable thing for you. If we are still looking for a buzz of any kind from the drugs we are using, then nothing in our thinking is being repaired and restored. If the thinking is not getting repaired and restored as we physically taper dfrom a drug, then we will not meet with success. I truly believe that either a counselor or NA meetings are needed.

Okay, I have said it. Please know that I do care very much that you not only get this monkey off your back, but that you keep him off. Our plans for recovery need to include both a plan for withdrawal and a plan for continuing care. We must get the thinking straight or the physical part will be in vain. A 'buzz' takes the edge off reality and we must learn to live in reality. In sobriety, we do not look forward to a high, a buzz. We strive to understand fully why a no-buzz life is the goal and erabrace it.

You are doing good work lowering the doses of something that is harmful to you. Please start working hard on learning and understanding all that living in sobriety encompasses.

With all hope
reach

howcouldiknow, for me i beleive the loratab has helped with my depressin for yrs. I believe I have been self medicating with it for my depression and my pain. But after yrs. I have changed my mind and am getting back to seeing a psych dr. again. I'm glad to her you didn't stay on the xanax. long term use of xanax can cause sezuires when you try to get off it. I believe eveyone, and yes it's just my belief should be helped by a professional when trying to detoxe. It can be really hard on your body. And just putting it out there, anyone taking mutiple drugs like me, hydro, soma, and xanax need to be very careful, it can cause a herion type high that is very addicting. Good Luck and keep up the good work.

Hi There

Sorry to hear about Mom. It is always a tough call when trying to balance the need for a med against the side effects. When pain and depression are involved, it really is a delicate balance. Depression magnifies the pain, the pain magnifies the depression. That equation of pain and depression sure had a lot to do with my own downfall into drug abuse. Good wishes for Mom.

Balance... okay, I must ask you a question regarding balance. Why are you planning to up your dose again on Wednesday when you are doing okay now? Honestly, it doesn't seem like balanced thinking to do so. Of course I am a great advocate of tapering under a doctor, but what point is there in undoing what is already accomplished? A big step has already been taken and been survived. Why back-peddle? Because a refill is coming? Gently I tell you.... this is addictive thinking. It is dodging the personal responsibility and trying to lay it all on the doctor. Take what you have already accomplished to the table when you sit down with your doctor. Please don't create a 'restore' point that is counter-productive to the goal. Will you think about this? You have already started your journey and there is no need to go back to 'Start" again.

Stay in touch.
reach

Yes. Even though hydrocodone isn't what I'm addicted to, it felt good to flush them. Call me crazy, but I can't get much off of hydrocodone. Even in higher doses, like 20mg at once! Yes I feel great...but it's only for an hour or two then I'm coming down.

However, with the tramadol, I could take a dose in the morning and be fine all day. The comedown isn't as harsh, and although the high may diminish somewhat, I find withdrawal won't start until the next morning. Seems like tramadol works for 12-14 hours, while hydrocodone only works for 6 hours max.

Tapering from tramadol is still going good, guys. In the evenings I definantly want a little more and go back to my usual dose, but at least I feel no withdrawal. Sometimes I just feel weird not feeling that high all day. It's hard sometimes. if I keep following the doctor's tapering instructions I should be off of it in October. He said to come back and see him then and see where we're at.

Well, they are supposed to be anonymous and you are not supposed to talk about what happens in the meeting. As the saying goes, "what happens in the meeting, stays in the meeting". Of course people are going to be people and gossip so let's just say it's supposed to be confidetial but you never know if someone will say something about you. At least you would have more support than you currently have and they realize exactly the way you are feeling.

I would really give the bottle over to your girlfriend and either give them to you only as 1 dose at a time or your daily dose if you think that you will not take the entire day's dose at once. It would greatly help you to stick to the taper and get off of them eventually. I think that you might need to get on an anti-depressant before you taper completely off of the tramadol. Not only does it help the depression but also anxiety as well.

brian

Just to let you know, I am also tapering....not from tramydole, but from oxycodone. Your explanation of withdrawal feeling like something was crawling under your skin, or something like that, is probably the best way I can explain it. It's just horrendous. I hope you do well....you're so young....I've ruined my life and many relationships and can't even eat properly at this point, much less get up and do anything. I don't even want to write much here because I've tried tapering a few times before and not been successful. I feel like people must think it's crying wolf after awhile.

Good for you! SounRAB like your doc is being very supportive.

Try not to take that Xanax too often, and only if you're really suffering WD. It would be easy to get too dependent on the Xanax to calm or relax you....then you'll have to taper off THAT. My doctor wouldn't give me the Valium that I requested and I'm glad he didn't. He did give me Clonopin, which I was too afraid to take (for fear of liking it).

Keep us posted and good luck!

hughe, I'd definantly ask about Atarax. It may not help everyone, but I was feeling tense last night since I took my tapering tramadol dose so early in the morning and I had some Atarax and it helped relieve some of that tension and helped me ease into sleep. Dare I say it worked better than Xanax? It felt about the same, just not such a "medicated/drugged" feeling.

There is an OTC drug related to the prescription Atarax (hydroxyzine) called Dramamine: Less drowsy formula. It contains meclizine. Which is either supposed to be a metabolite of hydroxyzine or related to it. I always preferred the original Dramamine (dimenhydrinate), but meclizine appears to share some anxiolytic properties of hydroxyzine.

Wow your doctor actually has a poster in the exam rooms that says they don't prescribe addictive drugs?

GonnaRecover, you're right,these opioiRAB due help with depression and anxiety. Especially my tramadol, since it not only binRAB to mu-opioid receptors, but also inhibits the reuptake of serotonin and norepenephrine. So I'll likely go on a SNRI when I finish tapering to avoid any rebound or increasing depression/anxiety.