New member here, knew of this forum for a few years and finally decided to join to get some non biased advice.
So ive been using Tramadol for around 6-8 months, starting around 100 - 150mg a day until around November/December. I found I needed a higher dose to feel anything, and eventually ended up using 200-300mg daily. The last few weeks I don't feel anything unless I use 200mg at once max twice a day, however the last few days I have been using 200mg daily just out of dependence or habit really (just feel really bored and antisocial without). Now I want to get off tramadol or at least get to a point where I no longer need to use so much to feel anything! I have quit twice before, once for about 2 weeks (sometime early December) and a few weeks ago I managed a few days sadly.
The hard part is my job, im in a position where I need to keep my job to be able to keep my home and keep a decent bank balance (If I leave things would go very much downhill for a good few months minimum, for one I would be homeless as they own my home). I work anywhere from 40-80 hour weeks, with a short day being 9am-6pm and 3 nights a week I will work until 9pm. I get one day off a week sometimes less and the work is hard! I lifeguard and find the tramadol not only helped my concentration but my depression too, this is not a job I can slack or be in a bad mindset with unfortunately (We often have 1300 people in the building and im responsible for everyone within my zone!).
I really don't know how to go about this but something eventually will give, im finding that I am doing larger and larger doses when work gets hard, on a few occasions I have done 500mg in a day, yet on days off 100-200mg is plenty which I am slowly reducing with time off.
Realistically I want to get off tramadol but the withdrawal is very hard and is pretty much impossible with work, even if and when I do I know I will be using it again occasionally for hard days.
I am probably going to try a taper, although it is hard when things seem hopeless in work and you still have access to the drug. Also is there any alternative? Something that will just make me forget my depression, boredness or anxiety that I can use maybe once a week instead of the tram without endangering my alertness? Ive heard of oxycontin, however im scared of the even worse effects of addiction and know its highly expensive/addictive. Also Ritalin but crashing in work will definitely do me no good.
If I do eventually ever get off it I will most certainly be in a position to move forward to another job (I don't want to carry my addiction to anther job), just getting there is hard... I also realize getting hooked on tram was a big mistake and have nobody to blame but myself and my willpower, however any advice would be appreciated from an outside source!
So ive been using Tramadol for around 6-8 months, starting around 100 - 150mg a day until around November/December. I found I needed a higher dose to feel anything, and eventually ended up using 200-300mg daily. The last few weeks I don't feel anything unless I use 200mg at once max twice a day, however the last few days I have been using 200mg daily just out of dependence or habit really (just feel really bored and antisocial without). Now I want to get off tramadol or at least get to a point where I no longer need to use so much to feel anything! I have quit twice before, once for about 2 weeks (sometime early December) and a few weeks ago I managed a few days sadly.
The hard part is my job, im in a position where I need to keep my job to be able to keep my home and keep a decent bank balance (If I leave things would go very much downhill for a good few months minimum, for one I would be homeless as they own my home). I work anywhere from 40-80 hour weeks, with a short day being 9am-6pm and 3 nights a week I will work until 9pm. I get one day off a week sometimes less and the work is hard! I lifeguard and find the tramadol not only helped my concentration but my depression too, this is not a job I can slack or be in a bad mindset with unfortunately (We often have 1300 people in the building and im responsible for everyone within my zone!).
I really don't know how to go about this but something eventually will give, im finding that I am doing larger and larger doses when work gets hard, on a few occasions I have done 500mg in a day, yet on days off 100-200mg is plenty which I am slowly reducing with time off.
Realistically I want to get off tramadol but the withdrawal is very hard and is pretty much impossible with work, even if and when I do I know I will be using it again occasionally for hard days.
I am probably going to try a taper, although it is hard when things seem hopeless in work and you still have access to the drug. Also is there any alternative? Something that will just make me forget my depression, boredness or anxiety that I can use maybe once a week instead of the tram without endangering my alertness? Ive heard of oxycontin, however im scared of the even worse effects of addiction and know its highly expensive/addictive. Also Ritalin but crashing in work will definitely do me no good.
If I do eventually ever get off it I will most certainly be in a position to move forward to another job (I don't want to carry my addiction to anther job), just getting there is hard... I also realize getting hooked on tram was a big mistake and have nobody to blame but myself and my willpower, however any advice would be appreciated from an outside source!
