Anyone ever tapered off tramadol?

[Bojangles69]

I'm curious about a few things as I'm no longer on the poppy pods and am now taking just 4-6 trams a day. I believe its an improvement as the pods felt much more narcotic/sedating but I realize trams also have their share of horrible wds.

The thing I like about tram though is I'm never attempted to abuse it, as there is no point. Even if I take 8-10 it doesn't actually do anything but make me feel speedy and I hate the feelings. It just makes me a bit warm, a tiny bit optimistic, and so far no wds transitioning although I did slip into a weird sort of apathy for a couple of weeks.

My questions are these:

How long does tram last in your blood till wds start? Is it possible to go 24 hours with dosing or will it generally be too uncomfortable? Right now I take 4 in the morning then 2 more in the afternoon usually, sometimes 3.

How are tram wds compared to say morphine/poppy wds? I find poppy wds to be absolutely horrendous, far worse than suboxone, and I'm curious what the wds feel like with tram? Is it typical hotflashes, lethargy, depression, etc? But they should also be shorter too right? Like the wd phase not as long?

Is the depression worse compared to morphine/pods just because tram as effects on seretonin? I never found getting off ssris too hard (well except paxil really) but can't imagine that component would add too much discomfort to wds.

People generally say the combination of adrenal, seretonin and mild opiate wd makes wds bad. But tram is a rather weak drug from what I can tell. Are the wds really that disproportionate to the "high"?

What would be a good taper regime? Should I aim for dropping like 50mg a week? 25mg? I just need help here I have a ton of tram, find it rather easy to control my use on, so want to outline a taper. Just not sure what to expect really and I hope its easier to tapering pods.

 

[TINK]

I just tapered from 100 mg a day in 2 days down to 50 mg a day for 2 days then went clean. I never got "high" from it it just sorta keeps my chronic pain at bay but never gets rid of it. I could take a whole bottle and it still would not get me high or get rid of my pain. I didn't get any withdrawls like I did with norco.

For me the tram is just like APAP

 

[Lazyscience]

tramadol has been the worst drug ive withdrawn from. way worst than benzos for me. taper slowly!

 

[Bojangles69]

Hmm I would wonder if people who naturally get "high" from tram also get much worse wds. I remember pillthrill and some young guy on here (forgot his name think it started with a "c") who tried tapering off tramadol and said the wds were a nightmare, but they also seemed like they were getting high from it.

I agree with TINK for me its just like APAP with a bit of niacin flush lol. Will make my skin noticeably warm, and first time I ever took it felt pretty good, but aside from that it seems to do very little. I mean its strong enough to keep pod wds perfectly at bay, so it much be doing something, but I'll just taper slowly and see what happens I guess.

 

[villian]

I've never tapered tramadol but I've withdrawn off it a few times. The duration is around 7 days of acute "sickness" and I felt somewhat off for up to 2 weeks. Tramadol doesn't give standard dopesickness for me. I get a tad of diarrhea and stomach upset but the problem with biggest problem is the acute anxiety it causes. Along with the anxiety I get worse insomnia from tramadol than I do traditional opiates.

I definitely believe some people get worse sickness, and those are the ones who get a high off tramadol (I believe their brain chemistry is more wired to benefit for the snri/opioid action of the drug). I never got an opiate-like high from them but I did get a pleasant long lasting buzz that made a long day of physical labor much less of a problem.

Like I said I never tapered, but I can't imagine you being bad off at all if you dropped 25mg a week or even every 4 days. The anxiety coming off is a real bitch but nothing that isn't manageable.

Keep on fighting the good fight man

 

[Lazyscience]

ive heard kratom can help with withdrawals in case of emergency btw.

 

[theseeker]

Hey Bo- I'm pretty much in your exact situation of tapering on tramadol. Before I went on an oxy binge I was down to like 1 tram in the morning and two trams at night (then I fucked up and started on the percs again).

Here's what I did before:
dose at 9AM and 6:30PM
2.5 AM 2.5PM do for a week
2 2.5 week
2 2 week
1 2 week
1 1 week
0 1 week

That was the plan anyway and I had very little in the way of discomfort. I also gave myself a week to acclimate so there was that. I find tram to be pretty effective for tapering because, at least for me, the effects last a long time. Also, it really doesn't get me high so I don't cheat.

As for the w/d- years ago I was taking 500-700 mg a day. I did this for a solid year every day. When I came off- I got pretty sick but the w/d was over in like 5 days and then another week of tiredness. Now I was taking a hell of a lot of tram there. The w/d hit hard but it was over fairly quickly. It was nowhere near as long lasting as OC or dilaudid- not even in the same league. If you taper down I can't imagine the w/d is going to be bad at all. Again, I was down to three trams a day with really no discomfort and I slept fine. This was after taking low levels of oxy for about 3 months daily. I guess it affects everyone differently but I'd have to say tram w/d wasn't anywhere near as bad as stronger drugs.

 

[Bojangles69]

Thank you theseeker my fellow jerseyite.

I believe I'm one of those people who gets not so bad wds from tram because I know when I wake up in the mornings, the feeling is NOTHING like when I use to wake up from pods. With pods I'd be having pretty intense hotflashes/sweats already by morning, and would be rather shakey and tired.

On tram I can hop out of bed much quicker. And the little bit of morning wds I get are just really minor akward sensations at the most. It just does not seem like a heavy narcotic opiate/opoid and imo does not effect the body that strongly in either direction (getting high or withdrawing).

Thats an excellent plan and exactly why I made this thread. I think I will follow that exact plan to a T so thank you. I also agree 100% about tram being perfect for tapering because although I initially had a ton of willpower to taper on pods and made it off them once, the second time around I found myself bullshitting with them too much and not taking it seriously. I'd increase the dose on random days and get high and tram is nothing like that. The one time I tried taking a lot at once I took 7 and felt hyperstimulated and speedy. My eyes were wide open and it felt a tiny bit like meth use to. I did not like the feeling at all.
So in terms of willpower I do find taperings with it much much easier (compared to stronger opiates). Seeing as though most of my harder drug suppliers have dried up (I just don't have connects like I use to and am fine with that) I think the switch to tram was a smart idea. Wish me luck and and if you ever get back to tapering on the tram let me know how it goes! I just like how it feels more in the league of codiene or darvocets and it doesn't feel like a real opiate. So just being on it too makes me feel more ambitious about getting clean. ttyl - Bo

 

[theseeker]

Yeah, I totally feel you on taking alot at once- not good for me. I kind of get panic attacks from it if I do that now. Like 2.5 pills is the most I can take at one time.
Also, yeah, in the AM I don't feel all jitttered out like when I'm deep into the OC habit.
Overall, I'd have to say tram is a very good drug to wean down on. I'm sure I'm going to have to deal with some BS at the end but I gotta think it won't be all that bad.
I like the PM dose as it pretty much guarantees sleep!
Jersey!!

 

[MyWayIsTheHighWay]

I'm one of those people that does enjoy the high from tram, its very subtle but enjoyable especially mixed with THC. I get a steady supply and have tried to tapper off many times with little success. I'm very impulsive and have never been successfully able to do so. If i have the amount of pills needed to tapper off I usually just tell myself one more time taking enough to get high and thats it. The same goes with weed and any other drug for that matter. I have very little self control.

On a side note I got a pretty cool tattoo relating to my impulsivity and lack of control.
The tattoo is on my right rib cage just below my armpit. It is text that says, "I'll Change Tomorrow"

Good luck with your attempt to tapper off. I'm rooting for ya.

 

[Giddalaus]

Hey Bo- I'm pretty much in your exact situation of tapering on tramadol. Before I went on an oxy binge I was down to like 1 tram in the morning and two trams at night (then I fucked up and started on the percs again).

Here's what I did before:
dose at 9AM and 6:30PM
2.5 AM 2.5PM do for a week
2 2.5 week
2 2 week
1 2 week
1 1 week
0 1 week

That was the plan anyway and I had very little in the way of discomfort. I also gave myself a week to acclimate so there was that. I find tram to be pretty effective for tapering because, at least for me, the effects last a long time. Also, it really doesn't get me high so I don't cheat.

As for the w/d- years ago I was taking 500-700 mg a day. I did this for a solid year every day. When I came off- I got pretty sick but the w/d was over in like 5 days and then another week of tiredness. Now I was taking a hell of a lot of tram there. The w/d hit hard but it was over fairly quickly. It was nowhere near as long lasting as OC or dilaudid- not even in the same league. If you taper down I can't imagine the w/d is going to be bad at all. Again, I was down to three trams a day with really no discomfort and I slept fine. This was after taking low levels of oxy for about 3 months daily. I guess it affects everyone differently but I'd have to say tram w/d wasn't anywhere near as bad as stronger drugs.

Wouldn't the Oxy maintained even at low levels remove all symptoms of an opiate nature wd's though, From the trams I mran. It's a much stronger agonist nd actually hinders the tram to do much at all at as I've recently been explained.