tramadol withdrawal

[denice46]

hi me yet again !has anyone have experience of coming off of tramadol after many years?to change to different pain relief.i am feeling horrific and am wondering if this is normal and how long i may expect it to last for .

[Hidden]

Withdrawal from Tramadol can be awful Denice, it has to be done under medical guidance from your GP with a slow reduction in dosage. Coming off altogether would be extremely unwise.

Here are some of the more well known side effects you can experience from withdrawal from Tramadol, remember it's an opiate -

Signs of opioid withdrawal

Sweating/flu-like symptoms

Yawning

Mood swings

Abdominal cramps/vomiting/diarrhoea

Bone and muscle pain

Increase in usual pain

Restlessness

Anxiety

Headaches

Tremors

Insomnia

Nightmares

Some info here on coming off Tramadol -it warns that by coming off the medication your original symptoms might return, this info is taken from an NHS website -

nhs.uk/medicine-guides/page...

Please be careful and seek the advice of your GP, they can suggest weaning yourself off Tramadol gradually if this is the best way forward for you. Please do not stop taking it altogether, you could make yourself very poorly which in turn will affect your Fibroymalgia etc.

[denice46 in reply to Hidden]

omg! thankyou ....i have come off altogether and abruptly BOTH my gp and pharmacist when i asked said your on another opiate with the patches you should be ok ! ive been off them 4 days tommorow ! im going to try and get gp ap tmoz but wont hold out much hope as its a half day,ive felt so unwell and im so angry with my gps now its not them who has to feel so unwell on top of fibro flare .thankyou so much for your info very much appreciated xxx

[Hidden in reply to denice46]

It's my pleasure Denice, happy to help any time, just ask!

Please let us know how you get on tomorrow regarding GP, always here for you. (((hug))) xx

[margaretjo]

I was taken off tramadol suddenly in hospital because they said it affects your INR. It was horrific, even though i was in hospital i received nvery limited help and was more or less told to put up with it. Eventually they saw how i was suffering and gave me some sort of patch (sorry dont know what ) Thankfully it only lasted a few days ans I havent had as many falls because of Meniers since I came off it and was given different painkillers that worked just as well. Hope you feel better soon. Let us know please x

[Chel47 in reply to margaretjo]

Hi I was badly treated over tramadol in hospital it's such a pity that staff aren't educated about drug withdrawal

[SuzySparkle]

Hi, I am sending you hugs and empathy ..... I came of tramadol earlier this year and it was truly the worst few months of my life. I can only describe it as cold turkey - and I lost several days altogether. The only good thing is - I was on 300mg slow release and my pain consultant said I should do it gradually. I took from February to June to come off it altogether. I dropped one tablet every 4th day, and then every 3rd day and so on - but I gave each change time to settle before I reduced it again. It was a nightmare everytime I dropped one, as I felt I was in so much pain I wanted to take it to take away the pain. I was strong though, and stuck with it. Ultimately, when it settled, I realised the tramadol wasn't making any difference to my pain - so I don't want to go back to taking it as I never want to have to come off it again. Take control of your medication, and do it gradually. I wrote a plan and stuck to it, but the plan has to be gradual and flexible. If you haven't settled with the reduced dose don't drop another one - it isn't so much the pain but feeling like you have flu that you need to recover from in between. It is awful anyway - but stick with it as it is worth it. In fibro (I read and my Consultant told me) that the opiate receptors can stop working which means the medication isn't absorbed - all you get are the side effects and no benefits. Good Luck xx

[denice46]

thankyou everyone ,saw gp this morning told her how dreadful i feel (tbh it wore me out completely getting there and back!.she upped my butrans patch to ten micrograms per hour .it seems to have took the edge off a tiny bit but not much. i bought some heat patches and stuck them all over my legs to ease the cramps in legs still feel dreadfuly weak and tired and jittery .gp said it can make you feel horrible for at least 4 to 6 weeks !i am glad im off the tramadol but the withdrawal is evil.thankyou to all who took time to reply xxx

[Hidden]

Well done Denice for making it to the Doctors today! Stick with it, it will get easier, every day is a victory! If we can help in any way or just listen, feel free to off load at any time. We're always only too happy to help you where we can.

Here's a hug, take it easy for the rest of the day if you can and keep warm! (((hug))) xx

[enazena]

Do hope you start to feel better soon Denice and thankyou so much for posting this and thankyou to everyone else who posted too cos it is very interesting to know. My Rheumatologist recently put me onto Tramadol from Co-codamol. I have taken them once or twice but not regularly as I was afraid to having been warned about them from others. Reading your post I would definitely NOT want to be on them regularly now so thankyou so much for the tip and gentle hugs to you from me too xxx

[denice46]

i wouldnt advise anyone to try tramadol ive heard so many nightmare stories about them since withdrawing from them .tbh they helped an awful lot the first year i was taking them ,then after that i think they just became a hopeful habit as in maybe they will take the pain away today as sometimes they did sometimes they didnt !for short term use i imagine they are great but whos ever heard of short term fibro!so im sitting here typing now feel so weak achey jittery !i can only compare it to when i had swine flu ,as i said gp upped butrans to to mcg seven day patches im desperately hoping they will kick in my body is used to serious opiod .levels and i cant find out if the patches will give me those kind of levels to control pain and this horrible need for opiods in my system. thankyou so much everyone for taking notice of my rant !its helping somuch to know there are fellow sufferes who know exactly how i am feeling and have showed me support im so very grateful im sending you all respect hugs and love xxx

[Ozzygirl64]

My hubby was on 6 a day for many many years for pain of a curvature of the spine. This year he was sick of taking them and he started missing out the afternoon ones and now he is on four a day. In about 6 months he will reduce it again by another one. But I think you would be better getting GP guidance if you are struggling. He had all that, the sweats and feeling fluey, it passed after a couple of weeks xxxxx

[denice46 in reply to Ozzygirl64]

hiya thankyou for your reply ....i did get gp advice today ,she just upped my butrans patch to ten after starting me on 5mcg patches last monday ,which im hoping and praying will kick in soon! xx

[Ozzygirl64 in reply to denice46]

I do hope they work for you. Withdrawal from any meds will never be a nice thing to go through. I had Tramadol once when my lower back was very bad and I had a bad reaction to them xxxxx

[denice46 in reply to Ozzygirl64]

thankyou ozzygirl64 ,i think the patches have started to kick in today a little ,as for tramadol i wouldnt touch them with a very long stick!thankyou for your reply xx

[Hidden in reply to denice46]

So pleased the patches are now starting to work Denice, hopefully you will feel the relief very soon. Keep up the good work regarding the Tramadol, you're doing great and it will get easier. Well done. (((hug))) xxx

[denice46 in reply to Hidden]

thankyou liberty xx, big hugs xxx

[Ozzygirl64]

I am glad they are starting to work. I would have been happy with those if they would stick to my skin. Even the paractice nurse tried buffing up the skin a bit but no way were they sticking lol. Stay safe hun and wherever possible stay sane xxxxx

[lozb]

I have been on and off tramadol over the last 7yrs and must be extremely lucky as don't get any of the side affects, at the moment I am on 2 x50mg upto 4 times a day, with 2 x 500g paracetamol at the same time, but 90% of the time I only have 1 tramadol, at a time with the paracetamol when I am in agony, hence dont get the build up in my body but saying that I was on ami's every night for over 10yrs, and came off them cold turkey, and was fine, must just be me, I am so sorry that so many others have suffered so bad with them, hope you ladies and gents who are suffering feel better soon x x please don't think I am saving tramadol are good, as no meds are.