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Opioids switching from tramadol to other opioids cause withdrawals?

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Phat5o

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 15, 2012
Messages
167
i've been a long time opioid user. just this last year i've really been going back and forth between tramadol and tapentadol. when i'm on tramadol i usually take 400 - 500 mg a day, never more as i'm afraid to have a seizure. when i'm on tapentadol i usually stay between 600 - 1000 mg.
i have a question now... would i be able to switch to a more tradiotional opioid such as oxycodone or morphine (which i am able to get prescribed without a problem) without having to go thru withdrawals because of the snri and ssri properties from tapentadol and tramadol?
i'd really like to hear some personal experiences if possible
 
I switched from 300mg daily of tramadol for two yrs to codeine 180mg daily. It took about two weeks in totalbut I did suffer a bit of tiredness and anxiety and one bad day when I had a couple of panic attacks. Do you have access to mirtazapine? A small amount should help with missing NRI aspest of tramadol. It will help you sleep too. It would be best if you could taper the tramadol a bit first and if you use mirtazapine, dont start it until you come off the tramadol. 500mg of tramadol a say is enough of a seizure risk by itself without adding a another threshold lowering drug.lol gave you got access to some diazepam? That would make it alot easier too but use in moderation or you will have a bigger problem at the end it all!lol
 
bunge said:
I switched from 300mg daily of tramadol for two yrs to codeine 180mg daily. It took about two weeks in totalbut I did suffer a bit of tiredness and anxiety and one bad day when I had a couple of panic attacks. Do you have access to mirtazapine? A small amount should help with missing NRI aspest of tramadol. It will help you sleep too. It would be best if you could taper the tramadol a bit first and if you use mirtazapine, dont start it until you come off the tramadol. 500mg of tramadol a say is enough of a seizure risk by itself without adding a another threshold lowering drug.lol gave you got access to some diazepam? That would make it alot easier too but use in moderation or you will have a bigger problem at the end it all!lol
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thanks for the answer. where the symptoms similar to opioid withdrawals? where they to the point you couldn't go to work or function properly?

i do have access to diazapam. i have mirtazapine lying around here as well, i've gotten them prescribed a couple times along with painkillers but i've always stayed as far away from those as i could. i took a couple antidepressants (zoloft) with some ephedrine once in 9th grade and i've never felt as bad as i did the following 2 days. i really don't want valium either because i used to binge on benzos all the time and last time i experienced some very minor withdrawals... needless to say, the way i felt during benzo wd, scared the shit out of me and i feel like it's just not worth it to take them.

bunge said:
Ive no experience with tapentadol but anything with ssri properties its best to taper with as ssri WD are truly awful.
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would you say that it would also make sense to switch from tramadol to a traditional opiate for 3 - 4 weeks to avoid going thru 2 withdrawals at the same time?
 
If you can switch from tramadol to tapentadol without problems then you can switch to other opioids too. Tapentadol does not share tramadol's SNRI properties.
 
I would defo say to avoid coming off two drugs at once, it will make all the less likely to succeed. I maybe had a couple of days-week where it have been harder to go to work or get around. This was due mainly to anxiety though which was prob caused by the sni aspect . Thats why I suggested the diazepam, you might need it to deal with the anxiety. Just be strict with it and keep the diazepam use to every other day and only a couple of weeks and you will be ok.
 
Ive been prescribed sertraline(zoloft) myself before and it made me hyper-manic!lol I dont tolerate any ssri's very well either. Mirtazapine is the only thing other then benzos that deal with my anxiety/panic. They dont worj in the same way as ssri's as its a NaSSa and the side effects are alot more tolerable.
 
Toz said:
If you can switch from tramadol to tapentadol without problems then you can switch to other opioids too. Tapentadol does not share tramadol's SNRI properties.
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are you sure about this? because i thought it had the same type of antidepressant activity as tramadol just with more activity on the mu opioid receptor

bunge said:
Ive been prescribed sertraline(zoloft) myself before and it made me hyper-manic!lol I dont tolerate any ssri's very well either. Mirtazapine is the only thing other then benzos that deal with my anxiety/panic. They dont worj in the same way as ssri's as its a NaSSa and the side effects are alot more tolerable.
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very cool. so do you think that if i switched to oxycodone for example, i could just taper off the mirtazapine without too much discomfort?
 
I was prescribed Tramadol 50mg and Hydro 7.5 for back pain. Personally prefer Hydro BY FAR! But again, that was one month on Tram. so not too sure about WDs but Hydro and oxy are much much better opiates
 
Although tapentadol is not a serotonin releasing agent it is much like tramadol a NRI.

From my experience which switching from tramadol to traditional/more potent opioids is that the SRA and NRI withdrawal are practically none existent because opioids are such effective antidepressants. It's like asking if oxycodone would stop the withdrawals from duloxetine, absolutely.
 
Chromophobia said:
Although tapentadol is not a serotonin releasing agent it is much like tramadol a NRI.

From my experience which switching from tramadol to traditional/more potent opioids is that the SRA and NRI withdrawal are practically none existent because opioids are such effective antidepressants. It's like asking if oxycodone would stop the withdrawals from duloxetine, absolutely.
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This. More then likely youll see little to no WD symptoms because of the opioid being a lower class drug compared to hydro/oxy for most people..
 
^good to know, i hope it pans out like that if i decide to make the switch.



RaceHorse said:
I was prescribed Tramadol 50mg and Hydro 7.5 for back pain. Personally prefer Hydro BY FAR! But again, that was one month on Tram. so not too sure about WDs but Hydro and oxy are much much better opiates
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the reason i don't want to be back on stronger opiates is because i have a serious opiate detox behind me that i wish not to go through again. also tramadol withdrawals are easier for me to go through than oxy withdrawals which were horrible to me with ridiculous PAWS that lasted for over 8 months... i can only imagine how bad withdrawals and PAWS would be now after actually needing/being prescribed them and having them on your opiate receptors 24/7.... also i am a lot more functional on the weaker opioids and i plan to get off pills again as soon as my back starts getting a bit better.
 
On your same boat here. I too hate getting prescribed hydro, not because I don't like, but because I like it too much! If you have a history of addiction, maybe it's best you discuss that with your doc, of course after you do, you more then likely wont ever get another controlled substance script again, but if you truly are looking to completely stop opiats once all pain is gone, then talk to the doc. who might have another path you can take instead of Hydro or Oxy
 
yes that's it exactly... i like it too much. once i open that door i can't close it.

the good thing is that here in europe the doctors see opioid withdrawal more of a medical issue and properly taper you off with appropriate opioids and other medicines. they failed to do this with me in the states. one time an orthopedic doc i had in the united states just switched me from 10 percocets a day for 5 months to 2 800mg ibuprofen a day lol. they wouldn't do this here. out here they will also tell you that tramadol can be just as addicting as other opioids, which most doctors in the states don't know or even acknowledge for whatever reason. another thing about europe that i love is that when you're on pain management they will never give you pills mixed with acetaminophen due to the fact it's so damn toxic.
 
Phat5o said:
are you sure about this? because i thought it had the same type of antidepressant activity as tramadol just with more activity on the mu opioid receptor


very cool. so do you think that if i switched to oxycodone for example, i could just taper off the mirtazapine without too much discomfort?
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Yeah if you just use mirtazapine for a short period and dont get above 30mg then you should have no problems. Its not an addictive substance, just needs to be tapered if used for a few months. If your useing it for a few weeks tops then the worse you should get is a little bit of insomnia. On the plus side I think mirtazapine is suspected to have sime kind of effect on opiate receptors which when used regularly seems to make opiate painkillers more effective. I can say that I think there might be some truth in this Regarding my chronic pain at least.
 
bunge said:
Yeah if you just use mirtazapine for a short period and dont get above 30mg then you should have no problems. Its not an addictive substance, just needs to be tapered if used for a few months. If your useing it for a few weeks tops then the worse you should get is a little bit of insomnia. On the plus side I think mirtazapine is suspected to have sime kind of effect on opiate receptors which when used regularly seems to make opiate painkillers more effective. I can say that I think there might be some truth in this Regarding my chronic pain at least.
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that's why i've been getting it prescribed as well, to help with the pain in addition to the opioids. i've just been too sketched out to take them though for reasons mentioned. my doctor also told me they tend to make a lot of people start putting on fat, wasn't too excited about that neither. if i do make the switch and i start feeling discomfort i will do what you recommended though, can't be too bad just for a couple weeks.
 
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