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Opioids Tramadol NOT SAFE to use to ease opiate WD??

SaosinEngaged

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 25, 2010
Messages
449
I think we all have thought of Tramadol to at least be a minor aid in easing WD from harsher opiates. I know I've used Tram this way multiple times. However, I've been reading through a lot of Tramadol threads on BL and came across this post that alarmed me greatly:

"ethnobot781

Be _very_ careful using tramadol to deal with withdrawals from true opioids. While trams lower your seizure threshold anyhow the risk appears to be much greater if they are taken after opioid withdrawal has begun. I have read plenty to suggest this risk, hopefully I can update with some links soon - my apologies for the lack of them now, I just changed my web browser to one that syncs more easily with my smartphone and am still going through a big folder of old links sorting the wheat from the chaff so to speak.

For anyone in the UK or Australia Dihydrocodeine is almost as easy to obtain as tramadol and is far safer and more effective for wd's/maintenance IMO. Unfortunately for those of you in the States I believe it is a hassle to obtain outside of fairly rare supervised maintenance therapy programmes but there must be a better choice than tramadol obtainable surely. To the OP, taking trams, especially if you have to take a highish dose due to tolerance, when already in suspected Heroin wd could well be a fast route to the ER with a nasty tonic-clonic seizure (similar to one of the more unpleasant forms of epilepsy), or worse if you fit badly alone with all the risks that entails.

Just thought you folks should be made aware - stay safe"

(It is from a thread titled "snorting tramadol" here on BL)

Now I saw this and immediately became very concerned. I've NEVER heard this before and generally have assumed using Tram for opiate WD is kind of a "best practice" type thing.

Can anyone substantiate or refute this guy's claims? Or perhaps back it up with literature they can find? I genuinely want to know if using Tram for WD is legitimately safe or an increased risk of seizures as this guy claims (and seems to really know what he's talking about).
 
the seratonin crash is really brutal. id rather deal with the withdraws from percs, vics with valium, xan ect
 
the best way to deal with opiate withdrawal without taking opiates and restarting the vicious cycle, IMHO, is Loperamide. I have experience in the matter. I was in horrid w/d in jail from not getting my methadone dose of 95MG for 5 days. As soon as I was released from jail , of course i had 12+ hours to wait until the clinic opened for me to get my methadone dose. I got a bottle of liquid Loperamide and downed the whole thing. It didn't make the w/d go away completely but it FOR SURE made it bearable whereas before I took the Loperamide, it was NOT BEARABLE. I was about to jump off a bridge or rob a pharmacy, I"m 100% serious here. Methadone w/d is NO. JOKE.
 
Tramadol w/d is worse than that of oxycodone. Period.

I Don't have exp with many other strong opiates besides oxy, but it definitely beats ANY opiate/oide I've ever tried in terms of withdrawal severeness.

It's better to abuse oxys than this stuff. Seriously.
 
Tramadol w/d is worse than that of oxycodone. Period.

I Don't have exp with many other strong opiates besides oxy, but it definitely beats ANY opiate/oide I've ever tried in terms of withdrawal severeness.

It's better to abuse oxys than this stuff. Seriously.


I agree with these statements...........I was taking Tramadol for pain a while back & was taking 5-50mg Trams a day & when I switched over to hydrocodone, I could definitely feel the serotonin part kick in & even tho I was taking Vics, I still felt the withdrawal from Trams.
 
I have kicked tramadol twice, not being currently on it, and while I was only on it for 4 - 6 weeks both times (up to 300 mg/day), it was not at all pleasant. I have not had any opioid wd's besides these two events, but during the last event I completely lost control and asked to be committed to a psych ward (and I was doing a taper, albeit rapid). I cannot compare tramadol wd's with other opiate wd's from personal experience, but I know that they were bad enough. As mentioned the SNRI properties make the wd's even harsher than just the opioid wd's involved. It is what I am scripted for "headaches", but may have to switch to another opioid, perhaps a little more benign. I am thinking Stadol (only C-IV), but I don't know if my GP would go for it as she knows some of my "past" substance abuse. In any event, tramadol gets risky quick, yes, and who knows if would have suffered seizure-symptoms if I hadn't been on my Klonipin the whole time.
 
Hey guys, all valuable input and it's good to get all that information out there, but I'd like some more thoughts about the OP, which is specifically:

I've always thought TRAMADOL was GOOD for opiate WD as it reduces the symptoms, but now this person is saying (that medical information backs him up) Tramadol is specifically dangerous for opiate WD because while you're in WD from say, Heroin, the Tramadol is more likely to cause a seizure. I'm looking for people to either refute or confirm this as it is the first time I've ever heard it.
 
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