Opioids About my Serotonin Syndrome, can someone please read this and help me

[crisler]

I have been on tramadol for the past two months, month one, at 150mg per day, now month two at 250mg per day. I took my usual 250mg yesterday and Im not chasing a high, just using it for depression but this is my last 3 weeks, I wanted to do 250mg/day this week, then sunday change to 100mg/day, then the last week 50mg/day, and I should be pretty good as far as withdrawals. Well last night and rightnow I have been very very ill.

I checked my temperature last night and this morning, both time 98.1 degrees and 98.5 degrees. I dont have a fever. But I feel hot and cold at the same time, I blast the a/c because I feel like Im burning up, then I get intense shivers but I dont feel cold still hot, but Im shivering. I feel detached from my body. Im really scared. Last night I was going to go to the ER but Im scared I will be outcast for life and marked as a drug abuser or something. Alo along with this fever feeling but no actual fever, I also am extremely nauseaus, constantly on the toilet, stomach rumbling, and Im having what I searched and found to be called myclonic leg twitches. I thought last night I was going to really have my first seizure. Its scary I last dosed 24 hours now and still sick and scared.

Ok my three questions: Does this sound like serotonin syndrome to anyone? I can not find anything ele this could possibly be. Second, If I take more tramadol but just a smaller amount, will I die, if feeling ill will going to the ER save me? Third, if i do not take anymore tramadol today and I start my lower doses tomorrow, is that safe in regards to possible serotonin syndrome from too much tramadol?

Im just really stressing out Im about to check myself into the ER, I need this tramadol not because I want to get high but its making my life reall great forthe first time in my 24 years of being alive. Also I am going to stop but I at least wanted to wean down. Can someone take the time to read this and help me.

 

[chase_in_56ace]

I have been on tramadol for the past two months, month one, at 150mg per day, now month two at 250mg per day. I took my usual 250mg yesterday and Im not chasing a high, just using it for depression but this is my last 3 weeks, I wanted to do 250mg/day this week, then sunday change to 100mg/day, then the last week 50mg/day, and I should be pretty good as far as withdrawals. Well last night and rightnow I have been very very ill.

I checked my temperature last night and this morning, both time 98.1 degrees and 98.5 degrees. I dont have a fever. But I feel hot and cold at the same time, I blast the a/c because I feel like Im burning up, then I get intense shivers but I dont feel cold still hot, but Im shivering. I feel detached from my body. Im really scared. Last night I was going to go to the ER but Im scared I will be outcast for life and marked as a drug abuser or something. Alo along with this fever feeling but no actual fever, I also am extremely nauseaus, constantly on the toilet, stomach rumbling, and Im having what I searched and found to be called myclonic leg twitches. I thought last night I was going to really have my first seizure. Its scary I last dosed 24 hours now and still sick and scared.

Ok my three questions: Does this sound like serotonin syndrome to anyone? I can not find anything ele this could possibly be. Second, If I take more tramadol but just a smaller amount, will I die, if feeling ill will going to the ER save me? Third, if i do not take anymore tramadol today and I start my lower doses tomorrow, is that safe in regards to possible serotonin syndrome from too much tramadol?

Im just really stressing out Im about to check myself into the ER, I need this tramadol not because I want to get high but its making my life reall great forthe first time in my 24 years of being alive. Also I am going to stop but I at least wanted to wean down. Can someone take the time to read this and help me.

Sounds like typical tramadol withdrawal to me. Its a particularly nasty substance to come off of given its snri activity it can cause brain zaps when quitting cold turkey. Serotonin syndrome is a life threatening condition that happens a lot less than people think. It happens after combining certain drugs, not coming off tramadol.

 

[forestman4]

Definitely not serotonin syndrome. You have actually caused quite a problem for yourself. Taking trams daily is just going to lead to huge addiction. Sadly I am going down that same Street.

I understand tramadol is amazing and I didn't 20 mg everyday.

You are stuipid if you take a drug and dependent on it, ando letting yourself run out of it.

I always keep a huge stash of trams.

Check in to the ER. They'll help you but send you to detox or rehabilitation.

You have got into a sticky situation. If you are depressed and need tramadol like me, then don't go within 10 feet of a hospital. They'll make you commit suicide by taking you into a jail and force you out of drugs. That's the government for us.

You probably won't die, just get more tramadol or codeine and take it to relieve of withdrawal. Then keep a stash of tramadol. Don't j crease dosage and keep at 250 mg. If you want to quit DON'T DO IT DRASTICALLY. TAKE IT SLOW. Slowly reduce by 20 mg every day. And then take 100mg of codeine than reduce to 0. You'll have no symptoms and ull be clean but obviously depression continues.

If you want to go to the hospital because you can't access any other opioid, like tramadol or codeine sulfate, then go in and tell them you are going through tramadol withdrawal and be prepared to be sent of to a rehabilitation center.

But tramadol withdrawal isn't deadly. Seizures rarely happen, and it's impossible to have a seizure from tramadol unless u exceed 400 mg in 24 hours. So keep it calm and don't go to the ER. You don't want to go to a rehabilitation center. That sucks.

 

[Sprout]

Yes, yes of course. Dependency spawns solely from stupidity and running out is always by choice.
Fancy giving me directions to this mythical land where Tramadol grows on trees?
8)

OP: you definitely do not have Serotonin Syndrome. SS is a life threatening condition that occurs when excess SE is circulating and homeostatic controls are insufficient leading to rapid hyperthermic shock.
What you are experiencing is combined withdrawal from the opioid modulation of Tramadol's metabolites and the SNRI action of Tramadol itself.
The leg twitches are a very common (and very infuriating) part of the WD syndrome.

What you need to do before anything is calm down. Just relax. You are not dying.
It's not pretty, I know, but it's not fatal.
You will be fine, trust me.

250mg is not a ridiculous dosage to be at and your duration of use is short enough that the WD will not be anywhere near as debilitating as it can become.
If it gets unbearable then use the lowest dose of Tramadol you can get away with and treat the symptoms like you would a seasonal virus - Tylenol/Paracetamol, Loperamide, a nice hot bath.

 

[forestman4]

Actually this mystical land where I live in, I can get all scheduled drugs except for 10 drugs that have no recreational use whatsoever. And I don't need a prescription. 500 mg of tramadol is 1 dollars in my so called 'mystical land'

 

[spacejunk]

You are stuipid if you take a drug and dependent on it, ando letting yourself run out of it.

It is not a question of stupidity. Addiction, for the most part, does not discriminate.
You've fallen into something that a lot of people before you have also succumbed to - especially folks that use this website.

You're not stupid - you're tapering, by the sounds of it (?) and soon enough these symptoms will pass.

Hot/cold flushes and leg twitches/restless leg syndrome are classic opioid withdrawal symptoms. Not serotonin syndrome, as has been pointed out.
Don't stress - you'll be ok, just ride it out as best you can.
As Sprout says - comfort meds help! It's worth searching bluelight for other opiate withdrawal tips as well - there are heaps of things that people use to help.

 

[crisler]

Thanks guys, even the guy who called me stupid. I appreciate your help. I feel much better and with the amount of tramadol I have (I did not run out), I am planning on doing one week of 100mg then one week of 50mg. Im still afraid to take anymore but you guys make great points to why I shouldnt have SS so I will take 150mg now and see how better I feel and post back in this thread. I think 1 week 100mg and 1 week 50mg should be good enough to atleast help w/d not be severe, does that sound like an appropriate taper to you guys? Ive never tapered from something before. Thanks

 

[spacejunk]

In my experience, the lower you can taper your dose to, before cutting it completely, the less you tend to suffer in withdrawals.
Personally, i'd taper more gradually than than. Are the pills 50mg?
I'd be cutting them up and taking it lower incrementally, as fast as i could comfortably do

 

[crisler]

Yea they're 50mg instant release Tramadol with nothing else in them like acetaminophen or snything.

 

[crisler]

Oh my god it was withdrawals. From just 24 hours without tramadol. I dosed at 12:15 at a dose of 100mg. Im still scared of SS possibility but I will take one more only later if I need to which I doubt. But I feel sooo much better I have an appetite now, Im slowly losing my nausea, I feel none of the other things i was just feeling except slight headache which worries me but this is the consequence of my actions I have to deal with it. Well today is day one of my taper I feel relatively great on 100mg, amazing compared to earlier. It was withdrwals from just 24hours without this drug. I have enough to do 7 days at 100mg and 7 days at 50mg. This should be the best thing I can do for myself at this point. Was a great run this tramadol really gave me a great two months but I cant do this anymore.

Anyways thanks guys. If something changes all of a sudden I will update this thread.

 

[Fire&Water]

Next time try taking a quarter to half tab' every 30-45 minutes...
probably could have relieved wd's @ 50 mg's this way and makes it much easier to cut back

 

[crisler]

Next time try taking a quarter to half tab' every 30-45 minutes...
probably could have relieved wd's @ 50 mg's this way and makes it much easier to cut back

Ok thanks I'll do that

 

[forestman4]

Honestly tramadol is my favourite drug.. I doubt if I will ever go off it.. 250 mg will take me to very happy places.

I just started using it 3 days ago, and I've dosed 250 mg every single day... I've actually bought a stash of 10 500 mg strips. (50 mg tablets, 10 tabs a strip).

I doubt if you'll ever build a tolerance to tramadol very fast but I can see the addictive potential. For me it's the mental and not physical addiction that's the problem. I can easy go cold any time but I just can't handle depression, and instead of taking benzos, tramadol is much better. Wonder drug. Easy to get, cheap and a good euphoric effect many times greater than codeine.

 

[RDP89]

Honestly tramadol is my favourite drug.. I doubt if I will ever go off it.. 250 mg will take me to very happy places.

I just started using it 3 days ago, and I've dosed 250 mg every single day... I've actually bought a stash of 10 500 mg strips. (50 mg tablets, 10 tabs a strip).

I doubt if you'll ever build a tolerance to tramadol very fast but I can see the addictive potential. For me it's the mental and not physical addiction that's the problem. I can easy go cold any time but I just can't handle depression, and instead of taking benzos, tramadol is much better. Wonder drug. Easy to get, cheap and a good euphoric effect many times greater than codeine.

Started using it 3 days ago and doubt you'll ever go off it??? Lol, might wanna give it more time before you decide the lifelong plan.

 

[###]

You are still scared of SS? Who filled your head with that? First your dosage was quite ok (You didn't exceed 400 mg/day if I understood you correctly, what is a quite safe dose.), second you are not getting serotonin syndrome by tapering off SNRI/SSRIs. You will run into withdrawal like you did now, and as people noticed that was mainly opioid withd., but SNRIs have their own although I am not sure how long it takes for dependency to develop on SNRIs (But I am almost sure it takes longer than for opioids.).

It is smart and great you are doing that, so pls don's stop. You mentioned you were taking it mainly against depression, in my case I lost all antidepressant benefits of Tramadol when I started taking it on a regular basis, for pain management. Before that I was taking it for years, few times per month, but relatively highly dosed 150 - 350 (mostly 200 - 250, only few times more than 300. I will mention this because weight definitely does matter here: I am male and back then I was around 90kg and sporty.) and like that it used to work great for depression. I had stopped taking it, and continued years later, for different reasons as I mentioned. And that stupid doc prescribed me prolonged release tablets... Never take these, if you really don't have a good reason for it!!! Tolerance and dependency build quicker, while your body won't get a needed pause to recover. It would disturb the sleep quality, fuck up you immune system etc. Why they prescribe it? Maybe b/c higher price and patents involved (At least here in EU, and all 'social' countries where everyone has insurance which would cover the costs.).

When tapering of, try going slower than always doing a 50 mg 'jump'. I think that 50 mg is a lot in your case. You could buy empty capsules for cheap price, or take powder with soft drinks or whatever, and than you could dose however you like.

 

[###]

Honestly tramadol is my favourite drug.. I doubt if I will ever go off it.. 250 mg will take me to very happy places.

I just started using it 3 days ago, and I've dosed 250 mg every single day... I've actually bought a stash of 10 500 mg strips. (50 mg tablets, 10 tabs a strip).

I doubt if you'll ever build a tolerance to tramadol very fast but I can see the addictive potential. For me it's the mental and not physical addiction that's the problem. I can easy go cold any time but I just can't handle depression, and instead of taking benzos, tramadol is much better. Wonder drug. Easy to get, cheap and a good euphoric effect many times greater than codeine.

As another guy noticed, you will definitelly change your attitude towords T. You started 3 days ago but you are talking like you have quite some experience 'You can easy go cold' : ))? HaHaaHaa. I was taking it 2 years without being physically addicted followed by more than a 2 years of addiction, plus it was a drug we were able to buy without prescription in my country, so I know more than a few guys who were taking it.

Tolerance builds incredibly fast when you start taking it on a daily, or almost daily basis.

 

[Ksa]

I have been on tramadol for the past two months, month one, at 150mg per day, now month two at 250mg per day. I took my usual 250mg yesterday and Im not chasing a high, just using it for depression but this is my last 3 weeks, I wanted to do 250mg/day this week, then sunday change to 100mg/day, then the last week 50mg/day, and I should be pretty good as far as withdrawals. Well last night and rightnow I have been very very ill.

I checked my temperature last night and this morning, both time 98.1 degrees and 98.5 degrees. I dont have a fever. But I feel hot and cold at the same time, I blast the a/c because I feel like Im burning up, then I get intense shivers but I dont feel cold still hot, but Im shivering. I feel detached from my body. Im really scared. Last night I was going to go to the ER but Im scared I will be outcast for life and marked as a drug abuser or something. Alo along with this fever feeling but no actual fever, I also am extremely nauseaus, constantly on the toilet, stomach rumbling, and Im having what I searched and found to be called myclonic leg twitches. I thought last night I was going to really have my first seizure. Its scary I last dosed 24 hours now and still sick and scared.

Ok my three questions: Does this sound like serotonin syndrome to anyone? I can not find anything ele this could possibly be. Second, If I take more tramadol but just a smaller amount, will I die, if feeling ill will going to the ER save me? Third, if i do not take anymore tramadol today and I start my lower doses tomorrow, is that safe in regards to possible serotonin syndrome from too much tramadol?

Im just really stressing out Im about to check myself into the ER, I need this tramadol not because I want to get high but its making my life reall great forthe first time in my 24 years of being alive. Also I am going to stop but I at least wanted to wean down. Can someone take the time to read this and help me.

If you suspect serotonin syndrome, stop eating food, stop taking pills and go to the ER.

 

[forestman4]

Dude don't go to an er or hospital.
If you want to quit gis ahead.

Let me give you facts, you need to go over 400 mg to have a seizure. Going over 200mg will cause leg twitches. I experience it. It's because there is a large amount of electrical activity in your brain. But not large enough to cause a seizure.

 

[Bleezenthal]

I'm not sure if this would be helpful, but I would like to briefly (I.E. without writing a book) describe my experience with what I am 99% sure was Serotonin Syndrome. Background: I had just spent 2-3 days amped on dexedrine, approximately 120 mgs per day. I finally was fraying at the seams and needed to sleep badly! So I hit up my friend and he gave me a 800 mg Seroquel and 3 different anti-depressants, I don't remember which ones. Basically, about 25 minutes later, I was sweating like crazy, feeling extremely hot. So I sat down, and my legs started jerking. It wasn't like RLS (which I'm familiar with from Opiate withdrawa)l, it was spasmodic, violent, rapid jerking. Completely uncontrollable.

So I went outside to smoke a cigarette and try to calm down, when I noticed the house manager sitting at the table. I was worried about seeming high, (it was a sober living home) so I sat down across from him nonchalantly and kept smoking. After a short while, I noticed he was sitting incredibly still, didn't even seem to be breathing, and he was staring right through me. I was hesitant to do this, but after trying to talk to him with no response, I reached out and lightly poked him on the arm. He disappeared. That was how it started, and I don't want to go on too long for this, but leg twitches and hallucinations sure sounds like SS. I have never in my experienced drug career experienced hallucinations that were completely accurate false depictions of reality, that would only disappear if I reached out and touched them. Has anyone else ever gone through anything like this? And do you agree or disagree that this was in fact Serotonin Syndrome? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Zerwas]

Let me give you facts, you need to go over 400 mg to have a seizure. Going over 200mg will cause leg twitches. I experience it. It's because there is a large amount of electrical activity in your brain. But not large enough to cause a seizure.

In fact a number of people experienced seizures from lower doses as 400mg. There are reports of patients suffering grand-mals from "only" 200mg so your advice is not true and could be dangerous to others. How do you come up with that?
I have had a lot of experience with Tramadol in the past and it will turn from a wonder drug to one you absolutely hate very fast if taken every day. I used to love it back then and nowadays I would never touch it anymore. The SNRI effects are just nasty and will fuck you up with constant use to the point you are feeling bad even while on it.

OP: I think your plan sounds good. I can recommend Gabapentin for the acute WD-phase. It stabilizes your mood and takes away a lot of the nasty symptoms. Just don't take it longer than a week.