Opioids tramadol withdrawal questions. all help/advice is appreciated

[Phat5o]

so.... after a one year binge of daily tramadol and tapentadol i have decided enough is enough as my doc has finally been able to greatly reduce my pain level thru various proceedures. for the last year i have been on 400 - 600 mg of daily tramadol although i rarely go over 500 mg because i'm scared lowering my seizure threshold. i get tapentadol/nucynta as well and every time i get a refill i will dose those instead of the tramadol until i run out, then get back on the trams. when i take nucynta i usually 800 - 1000 mg a day. i also take codeine pills here and there as i have an unlimited supply of pure ones, these i mostly took for breakthru pain at doses ranging from 150 - 250 mg.
as you can tell the amounts i take are moderate at most, i never really build too much of a tolerance at all and i don't like to be completely out of it either, besides my first dose in the morning and last dose at night . but my dosing has been super consistent so i never had to deal with withdrawal symptoms or having to ration drugs.... in short, my body is probably very spoiled.

now to my questions....

i've only kicked tramadol after like 3 - 5 weeks of consistent use but never after this long of a run.... how dangerous is tramadol (and tapentadol) withdrawal really? will i be in danger of having a seizure? i'm really worried about this especially because i have no idea what to expect since i was taking everything so consistently. tapering seems to be out of the question for me... i see people on the internets say they've successfully tapered all the time but i don't have the self discipline in all honesty. it just plain and simple wouldn't work out. i would much rather just jump into the cold water than getting an inch deeper every 10 minutes.
what really sucks now is that i can't be taking any benzos during this detox either because i had to go thru a minor benzo detox a couple of months ago. it wasn't too intense but it was there and it scared me so i don't go near em anymore now.
also, how are the tramadol paws after you get thru the acute stage of the withdrawal? i've kicked an 8 year oxy habit before and those damn paws stayed with me for the better part of a year. it was brutal. i just want to kind of know what i'll be dealing with so i can plan this detox into my calendar better.
does the acute detox only take 3 - 4 days like it would for oxy?

any help from experienced users would be really really appreciated as tramadol withdrawal seems a little different as opposed to the more traditional painkillers.

*edit: does anybody know if the fatique after acute detox is just as intense and long as with oxy? i need to know this because i will be working a physically demanding job and i'd have a big problem if i'd be just as fatiqued for 2 months

 

[Halif]

Hi Phat5o,

I hate to tell you this, but I strongly believe that tapering is the only way you will get off tramadol and/or tapentadol. This is just my opinion, but I have experience with both of those, and long term use of hard opiates (and a variety of benzos too), so there is some experience behind my opinion.

Going cold turkey off tramadol is absolutely hideous without benzos. The withdrawals are not the same as 'single action' opiates/opioids. I'm sure you are aware of tram/tapen's anti-depressant effects. After just a few weeks of using tramadol and then stopping abruptly, I had some of the worst withdrawals I've ever experienced. I say that because there is a much more pronounced mental (ie. bizarre mindfuck) aspect alongside the typical physical symptoms compared to those of oxy or morphine or even fentanyl.

Opiate/opioid WDs are generally mentally distressing in the first place, but tramadol and tapentadol really fucking with your head due to their SNRI properties. Cold turkey from these can be, no exaggeration, downright traumatic. Extreme depression and mental instability, bizarre and frightening dreams/hallucinations (including in the daytime when just sitting down zoning out), and a desperation/hopelessness that has you willing to do/take anything to make it stop.

I think if you try to stop without tapering, you are almost certain to resume using them again shortly, or find something as a replacement which becomes a new addiction.

Of course, you should do what feels right for you. I just think cold turkey from those after a year's consistent use will be traumatic and/or potentially very dangerous.

Take care and keep us updated

 

[Phat5o]

thanks halif. that sounds terrible lol. i did notice that the mental part of tramadol withdrawals was a little different than with standard opiates when i had detoxed after a couple weeks of use but at that point i hadn't been using long enough so it wasn't too significant. the body pains were definitely a lot less and i did not even experience leg cramps which is like one of the first symptoms i used to get from oxy wds.