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3 years of +3000mg Tramadol daily - help!

Will miss Tram :(

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 25, 2015
Messages
48
Location
Rogueland
Hello
I take A LOT of 200mg pills every day, I don't even count them anymore.
I usually take as much pills that either the day ends or I end up vomiting.
I dropped 20kg of weight and my relatives and friends are starting to get suspicious about me because of sudden weight loss and the dark "bruised" circle under my eyes.
I'm also worried about my kidneys.
I've not noticed any problems yet, but soon or late my kidneys will quit functioning if I continue to take trams like this.
I need to STOP!!!

I want to quit, and even did that before multiple times.
I can tolerate the WD symptoms, and tapering works well for me.
But the main problem is that I can't ever imagine living without the joy and euphoria that tramadol gives me for the rest of my life...
So soon or late I will end up resuming the nasty habit.
Please tell me how can I solve this issue?

Please help.
Is there any drugs that make tramadol to feel inert/dislike-able ??
How about coffee and/or cocoa?
 
I'm sorry I have nothing to offer. How on earth do you avoid horrendous constipation of Tramadol?
 
I've heard of super high doses of tramadol ingestion, but this is pretty damn extraordinary. I mean, I've taken more than 1g at a time before, which I can't recommend in any way shape or form. Thank your god(s) you don't have any underlying seizure problems...

Seriously, get your ass to the doctor OP. Personally I wouldn't tell them you've been taking SO much Tramadol. If you have a good relationship with them it would be ideal to tell them all the details, but I don't think you wanna get thrown in a psych ward or something because they think you're suicidal for taking so much Tramadol. If nothing else, tell them you're concerned about your liver/kidneys/etc and need to have a physical will all the possible labs to make sure you're not in trouble. If you don't have a GP or something, go to urgent care of the emergency room.

Next to seeing a doctor ASAP and having labs and a physical, STOP TAKING SO MUCH TRAMADOL. Coming from another opioid lover, I understand how this might not be realistic. But seriously, in your case I'd almost recommend you start using heroin as opposed to so much tramadol... Find another drug to get high from, as continuing to take so much tramadol will end up resulting in SERIOUS consequences, likely death eventually.

I mean, if you like the idea of developing a seizure disorder and kidney disease, by all means keep at it. I really don't mean to be a dick, but you need to make some serious changes with your drug use.

Using ANY other opioid is better for you, given your circumstances, than continuing to misuse tramadol in such an extreme, ridiculous way.

I don't understand your last question. Are you asking if there is something to neutralize excess tramadol in your system, kinda like Naloxone/Narcan and how if can reverse an overdose? BTW, Naloxone won't help in your case if you overdose, only thing I can imagine helping is valproic acid and some kind of sedative like lorazepam or phenobarbitol.

What you're doing is almost certainly a lot more scary than you know. Please reconsider and find something else to get high from. Plus, using another "real" opioid to get high from will be a lot more enjoyable, with much better euphoria and everything.

You would probably be a great candidate for Methadone Maintenance or Suboxone Maintenance. You clearly would benefit from treatment and you seem to be someone who would also need ORT to really get something out of treatment.

Good luck! And see a doctor!!!
 
The main problem is that I don't have access to any other drug to replace tramadol with it.
And just the thought of a drug-free life makes me a hardcore nihilist.

The weird part is that I never ever experienced any seizures in my life, on and off trams.

My tolerance has got so high that I must go over 2000mg before I start to feel a light euphoria :(

By neutralization I meant that is there any food/drug which mask/hide the tram effects so you don't feel anything from trams, and thus find it pointless to take that much trams.
 
What Toothpaste is saying regarding suboxone or methadone is exactly that - your opiate receptors will be blocked, so you won't crave tramadol nor will you feel it's effects should you try to get high. You really need to explore those options. Also, like toothpaste said, buying heroin off the street at this point is far more healthy than the amount of tramodol that you are taking now. Also, the serotonergic properties of tram should not be taken lightly - not only will you have to withdraw from the opiate part of the tram, but the serotonin boosting part too. From what I hear, that is what makes Tramadol so hard to come off of.

You really should try and research the benefits of Suboxone maintenance - it helped me greatly with cravings for heroin and enabled me to move on from being constantly obsessed about dope. When you are in active addiction your brain knows nothing else so it likes to play tricks on your psyche and make you believe that a life without drugs isn't worth living, but that's total baloney. I promise you won't always feel that way if you seek some help.

Please don't try and taper off this much or god forbid, go cold turkey, without seeing a doctor! I hope you can find a solution! There are lots of really knowledgable folks on this board who can help you find the right path, but you still should see a doc.
 
Please don't try and taper off this much or god forbid, go cold turkey, without seeing a doctor!

Very, very wise words.

Nothing I've ever heard of "neutralizes" the effects of tramadol. Taking Buprenorphine or Methadone will allow you to still feel the euphoria you desire, since you don't have access to any black market opioids.

I'm not even suggesting abstinence. I really just want to see you safe Will and the only way it seem like you're gonna be able to get to a safe place in your situation is to start Suboxone/Subutex or Methadone Maintenance.

Are there any suboxone doctors or methadone clinics where you live? Are you in the US?
 
The problem is I can't afford going to a doctor/clinic and get those drugs you mentioned.
I barely put bread on my table and have to live extremely modest to avoid getting homeless.
I have to end this story on my own unfortunately.
Can't I just reduce 100/200mg weekly until I get it down to nothing? why is it still dangerous?
 
Tramadol at high doses is dangerous for a number of reasons, but I believe serotonin syndrome and seizure are two of the ones you really need to watch out for (especially mixed with other serotoninergic drugs or drugs that lower your seizure threshold like alcohol). If you continue taking Tramadol, you really need to avoid all alcohol.

Anything is better than what is going on currently. Reducing your dose is the next best thing to switching to something safer. Reducing it 100-200mg/week will be fine. Honestly I highly doubt you'll even notice a difference. I'd recommend reducing it until you get to 400mg/day as that's considered all around safe by more or less anyone. If you can't get down that low, just get it under or at 1.2g/day at most.

Avoid taking more than 300mg at once, and refrain from taking any more than that at once if you want to avoid a seizure. Even if you didn't have a problem with seizures to begin with, that will almost certainly change if you keep taking grams and grams of tramadol every day.

What about methadone clinics? In California and other states you can get state insurance if you don't have any money or income, which makes the methadone free. Other states can be a bit difference of course. Many other countries (UK, AUS, etc) have methadone covered by the state sponsored health insurance.

How can you afford so much Tramadol yet don't have enough money to get on methadone or visit an urgent care center to get looked over? If you can't get it covered by insurance or get on an insurance program, a lot of clinics only cost $200/month for any dose. Don't get me wrong, I've been there where I prioritize my drug user over my health, but this is still something to seriously consider. You're putting yourself in some serious danger with high doses of tramadol every day.
 
Wow! so it sounds like I'm being veeeery lucky, since taking 600-800mg at once is a common habit to me.
But I will avoid that from now on, and divide my dose into equal smaller 200mg parts, and reduce 200mg each week.
The reason I can't afford it is that I don't have any insurance, methadone is very expensive, and I spend most of my money on getting my daily trams.
Unfortunately I'm not in US and here we have no free state insurance, here they just let you die if you don't have any money, so yeah I'm totally on my own.
But if I manage to reduce my tram dose down to 1g daily, I will be able to spend the left-over money on doctor/methadone.
I'm really sick of this game, wish me luck to succeed.
 
This reminds me so much of myself at one point I was more or less in the same boat as you although I was taking just over half of what you were taking, as hard as it sounds I quit cold turkey and it was terrible but it can be done, if there's a will there's a way. Even if you cant get yourself onto a maintenance program, try get hold of some benzos and some anti depressants (a weeks supply) and it will help you tremendously to get over the worst part of it, it wont take the withdrawal away completely but it will help alotbut if you do make sure especially with the benzod to only take when necessary or you will end more problems the withdrawal symptoms will peak roughly around the 36 hour mark.
 
If you do decide to go on opiate maintenance I would personally recommend subutex rather then methadone which is even harder to quit but then again that's just me and everyone is different so it's what ever you think is best for you, as you said you don't have much money and in most places subutex is more expensive than methadone as well so whatever is best for you.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your situation regarding insurance and treatment and whatnot. My heart goes out to you Will.

Getting some gabaergic drugs like benzos or barbs to have on hand in an emergency and for with taper and withdrawal is a very good ideal. I also suggest getting some valproic acid if you can, especially as its super cheap. It'll help prevent seizures, although make sure to check it's okay to take in conjunction with tramadol.

I'd be careful about what kind of antidepressant you get to take for withdrawal if you in fact do that. Frankly it sounds like a potentially really bad idea if it's not under a doctor's or other specialist's care considering the possibility or serotonergic complication. Do not take an antidepressant while taking tramadol without a professionals input, and under no circumstances while you're taking such high doses.

I'm very, very happy and proud of you for deciding to start taking less tramadol in lower doses. That will go a long way in improving your situation, even if it does solve the actual problems you face with the tramadol. I hope, and sincerely believe, that you'll be able to stick with the new dosing plan you've come up with and continue moving forward to improve you situation.
 
I'd like to reiterate on the antidepressant part a bit more as I agree with the other post that it could be very dangerous, the best antidepressant to take or should I say the safest antidepressant to take through personal experience is mirtizipine as it really helps with the restlessness as you wont need much benzos as well which could also turn into a problem in the long run if you continue to use it everyday, and yes its best to seek advice from a medical professional first.
 
Remeron, aka mirtazapine, is a terrible offender for horrendous, long-lasting withdrawals. I would avoid that one, it also makes you a fat ass.

OP, you are on sketchy ground with the tram as others have pointed out. I'm not sure that you would be able to switch safely to another opiate. There is other things happening with tram aside from the opioid effect. If you can switch then great but I would imagine there would still be some brain zaps and other symptoms resembling anti-depressant withdrawal. Kratom is pretty cheap, but I'm not sure if that would really help you or not. Oxy or heroin would be better but not necessarily cheap, I would rather quit those than methadone or subs bc quitting subs wasn't easy for me, I can only imagine methadone. I would imagine quitting tramadol cold turkey is pretty unsafe and possibly dangerous.
 
Yeah I took remeron for a month or so and I gained like twenty pounds. In a MONTH!

This pisses me off hard because affordable treatment should be available to everybody. But the world is far from a utopia so I'll leave that one alone.

Maybe you can research a bit and see if there are ANY programs available in your area? If you are out of the US then subutex is probably what is offered instead of suboxone (I think)

I am in the US but medicaid covered all of my treatment and had i not done a deep dive and really researched all of the government options I would still be shooting dope in my neck and be dead.

I know it sucks. I know it seems hopeless. But before you try and do this on your own, please please PLEASE just reach out and see what is available. This may be moot advice since I don't know where you live, but I too thought I was left for dead and by some fucking miracle, I found help.

Are there free clinics where you can at least tell somebody with some medical experience what's going on and maybe they can lead you to a taper plan that you can do on your own?
 
Whoa, I don't know what to say about this amount of Tramadol...you've been eating over 3 GRAMS of Tramadol a day, OP?

I'm afraid I don't know much about Tramadol except that I've never liked it because regardless of dose I've never FELT it - and I've taken 400mg while opiate naive MAX.

Above all else, heed everyone's warnings and do much research about tapering and withdrawal etc. Tramadol is different than other opiates. I'm amazed you haven't had a seizure.

Edit: Has your doctor been providing this amount to you knowing the math, or have you been sourcing it otherwise? I'm amazed.
 
At first I was prescribed 400mg for my shattered leg, then I found a way to get more of it from the pharmacy without a prescription, and now here I am. (And no I'm not in US)
I don't know what a seizure feels like, but sometimes when at the peak of effects I feel like I'm getting violently and rapidly sucked out of my head-space into the nothingness, so I grab my surroundings to keep myself here; Is that how people who "are going to" experience a seizure feel like?
Anyway, I'm not really bragging about 3g daily dose and no seizure, I feel terrible for myself and what I've done to myself, I feel so so deep in shit...
Regarding the absent of seizures, I'm generally a weird person when it comes to drugs, for example I don't feel anything at all from Opium, no matter how much or in what route I take it, on the other hand cocoa powder generates music inside my head.

I met someone the day after I started this thread, he claims he was in the same shit I'm today, and managed to come out of it by the help of steroids!
He's a gym-rat now with a fit muscular body.
Do you know anything about what he claims? Is he just fucking with me for laughs? or is he telling the truth?
He said "300mg/w of testosterone is all you need to bring you non-opiate euphoria and let you to dramatically decrease Tram, because once you're juiced you won't feel Tram anymore, so what's the point of taking it?"
He meant there will be no more mental games during withdrawals, because Tram doesn't feel good anymore (nor bad... it will just feel like drinking plain water), and I must just worry about bodily functions and brain-zaps (do not reduce the dose too fast).
He also claimed that testosterone will neutralize many of the withdrawal symptoms like cold chills, fatigue, depression, and anxiety.

BUT!
If that is true, why there's no mention of it in the scientific literature?
Has anyone EVER heard anything about this? or even something similar?
 
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Steroids sounds like a pretty drastic step to combat withdrawals when there are so many other, better ways. Especially if you're not a body builder.

I'd recommend you start tapering down at least 300mg/day for the next several days until you're down to like 1000mg/day, then taper 100/day for a couple days, then 50mg/day, then gradually taper out going smaller and smaller. Probably stay at 100mg/day for a while.

Good luck. That is such an obscene amount of tramadol...holey moley.

Edit: This is assuming you're REALLY taking 3000mg/day +
 
I think that's probably going to be way too fast Phil. Tram isn't a traditional opiate and there are some dangers with tapering it too fast similar to psych drugs I would think. I think I remember reading a thread recently about a guy in withdrawal for a year from tram. I'll see if I can find it maybe...but I would try 200-400 mg every couple weeks to start and see how it goes and go from there. You might be able to be a little more aggressive early on because the receptors are probably saturated after a certain dosage but I wouldn't push it. I understand it's pretty urgent but you can mess yourself up from tapering drugs too quickly for a long time.

I also think that it is a terrible idea to mess with your testosterone levels pretty much ever if you don't know what you are doing with them. It's also a bad idea when you are body is working hard to detox itself and you are adding hormones to the mix. Talk about a roller coaster. 8( Please don't do that.
 
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