I stopped taking Tramadol on friday as on saturday i had a root nerve injection on my spine for sciatica L4/5. Today is thursday and i havent been able to return to work since then. Ive had nausia, hot and cold sweats, dizzyness (nearly fainted twice) and lack of energy.
The hospital told mme to stop taking any meds no later than 4 days after the injection so that i wasnt masking any positives from it. I actually didnt need them only Gabapentin a few times the day after.
I rang the hospital they said its not a reaction to the sedation and told me to go to the GP. I went to the GP yesterday and i dont have a temperature and my breathing is good. So no virus. They told me to go back to the hospital.
No one can give me an answer.
I now think its the fact i stopped the tramadol. Ive spoken to 2 pharmacists today who said my symptons could be that of stopping the drugs. However no one warned me around the injection to come off them slowly.
Ive now been told to keep resting drink plenty of water and take paracetomol consistently.
The gp gave me anti sickness tablets and i got some electrolytes to help me feel better.
Has anyone else just stopped taking them without realising they had done it (ie not being reminded) and dealt with these side effects?
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Roxxx
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You should never just stop taking Tramadol. You are going through withdrawal.
Tramadol are one of the most addictive drugs and should always been stopped very slowly.
It will tell you all this in the accompanying leaflet
Far to many GPs and hospitals it seems have no idea about coming off these, and other , prescription meds.
You have got this far cold turkey but will take a while yet before you start to feel normal. Stick with it if you can as the alternative is to go back on them and come down slowly
Yes it does sound very much like withdrawal symptoms. How long were you on it and what dose? This will affect how long it takes to get past it.
They say the first 5 days are the worst when you go cold turkey and then it should slowly start to improve. It will take a bit of time before you feel totally ‘normal’ again.
Always amazes me how qualified doctors can tell someone to just stop taking opiates (and many other drugs that are difficult to get off). Think they should all be forced to cold turkey off something as part of their training, they wouldn’t be so casual about it then!
Its a shame as i didnt mean to go cold turkey. I read the leaflet when i started. I just felt in so much pain when i came round from sedation (not nerve pain though) that i wasnt able to think straight for 24hrs then these symptoms hit and assumed it was a reaction to the sedation. Stupidly not thinking once it was withdrawal. I read through the NHS website which brought me to this forum. I aslo dont get paid when not working (only had 3 days holiday to take) so have had added stress onto. Guess i just need to start thinking positively and telling myself i will get better rather than feeling down about it.
Hope yr feeling a bit better,are you? I have tried every painkiller that can get prescribed and tramadol is one of the worst......😗 unfortunately I have lost my meds this wk,instead of going to see the Dr I plan in getting through to weds till I pick mines up.....I really can't be bothered going to drs/chemist , and how I lost them.... hopefully I will be fine, I have a few tramadol in drawer but they will certainly be my last resort,will no you posted,🤔😗x
I guess it’s totally your (and your doctor’s) call really. I think if it were me and I’d got as far as you have, I’d try and stick it out because even if you go back on a small dose and taper - it still isn’t easy and will take time.
Are you feeling any better today? You are doing the right thing by staying hydrated (lots of water), try to eat (chicken soup!) and take paracetamol if it helps.
Either that or go back to doc to discuss.
All the best, you will get through it. Withdrawals are horrible from lots of drugs and Tramadol is one of the bad ‘uns.
Poor you. Sounds as if yr half way through cold turkey. While these are not opiates they do cause all the usual symptoms/withdrawals that a opiate would cause. Yr nearly there , stick with it , stay strong, eat and try to drink as much as you can. A bit of TLC will help too. It amazes me the way drs act these days, tramadol is as bad as herion to come off. x
Oh dear did no one tell you about the side effects of coming off Tramadol, you are supposed to come off them very slowly with help from your GP.
I had been on them for a very long time and my doctor decided enough was enough, I had terrible side effects ( restless leg syndrome) nausea, and loads of other things including the feeling of going to faint, I managed to get through it after a long time, please see your GP and let him know the effects your having, he’s supposed to be there to help you, good luck and keep going, these feeling will go away eventually but it does take time.
Thankyou all for your comments. Its been a week today and i have had a lot of TLC which has def emotionally helped me through. Im expecting a GP callback this afternoon to make sure its put on my records. The GP i saw a few days ago was useless in terms of talking me through Tramadol effects. Just completely skipped over the conversation when i brought it up. I think now i have a better idea of why ive been feeling like this i feel better about it. Now just to start walking again so i can go back to work next week. Thankyou all again. I hope you are all ok in yourselves x
Hi you do no that tramadol are sinthectic opiates in other words it's like coming off heroin you shouldn't of just stopped your gp should no better your supposed to cut down slowly I've been on tramadol over 10 years hate to think how I would feel of I was to come of them
yes me,& I was taking 100 to 150 mg a day & I feel terrible, know whether its the tramadol or not I feel terrible all day, this is going to sound ridicules but it used to go of (the pain)when it came light but the pain in my legs its horrendous ALL DAY I don't know whether its the tramadol or not I know its driving me mad.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXCONNIE50
Ceasing tramadol suddenly definitely can give the symptoms you describe- withdrawal. Feels like flu. But it will go away eventually. The fatigue can last a while. Every day though, you’re a day closer to being ok again. I weaned really slowly off tramadol over 6 weeks so I never experienced problems.
Hi, I think you are going thru cold turkey. We're you on the mess for long. Also don't just stop the gabapentin right away, and so with tramadol. You must wean off them.
Gaberpantin is a real nasty one to come off. Like many pain drugs you must reduce slowly otherwise you will suffer terribly, as you have discovered. I thought I was going to die when I speeded up the stopping. Never do that again. You will feel better. Good luck.
I to had root nerve injection on 8th aug, havent been well since having it, same symptoms as yourself, i went back to gp whom told me i had flare up of all my conditions and it will settle and gave me morphine, mine was c5, 6 on 29th aug im having my shoulder blades done, lf i feel the same again il miss my brothers wedding on 31st aug.
That’s odd that you were told to come off Tramadol to have the nerve block. I had six lumber para vertebrae nerve blocks over three years & at no point was I told to come off Tramadol. Even when I finally had lumbar spine surgery three years ago I still wasn’t told to come off Tramadol & I was still being given it whilst I was in hospital. If you’re in UK it sounds more like doctors using nerve blocks as an excuse to get you off Tramadol as new guidelines for doctors are that opiates should not be used for chronic pain as they don’t work!! I can assure them that they do work besides which most people with chronic pain issues also have periods of acute pain. I seem to have struck it lucky as despite those recommendations my GP, on suggestion of my Pain Management consultant, has taken me off Tramadol after ten years & put me on Buprenorphine patches!! Which works better than Tramadol, it’s Morphine but been tweaked so you don’t get ‘high’ on it. And as my GP said I couldn’t be on both at the same time so had to come off Tramadol first but in a controlled fashion & he phoned me once a week to see how I was doing. Anyway, what I’m getting at is why were you told to stop taking Tramadol & why were you not informed of withdrawal symptoms, two very important questions to ask whichever doctor told you to stop
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