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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Tramadol Withdrawal - Should I be worried? (details inside)

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mrp08

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Jan 10, 2011
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Hi,

I've been a lurker on these forums for a few months (actually, since i started taking tramadol).

my use of tramadol started in august 2010 when i moved to thailand for a semester. tramadol is readily available in thailand without a prescription, and i was able to attain it quite easily.

to make this short and easy to follow, i'll break down my history of use:

period of use: august 2010 - january 2011, every single day
typical dosage: 600 mg, spread throughout a 12 hour period, every day
dosage in january 2011: tapering every 2 days from 600 mg, to 500 mg, to 400 mg, to 300 mg, and now i've run out of tramadol.

i'm worried that i might be experiencing some withdrawal symptoms. do you think that i am? i suppose it could be a mental thing where i think i'm having problems, but im actually not. the best description of symptoms that i think i'm having is as follows: shakiness, lowered appetite, overall feeling of sickness (mixture of cold and flu symptoms), general unhappiness / feelings of distress, etc. if anyone has specific questions about my symptoms, all you need to do is ask and i'll post more info.

however, the real question is: am i just being a pussy or is there a possibility that i'm actually undergoing withdrawal symptoms / issues? what should i do?
 
i know tramadol fucks with serotonin and although you were using it for that lenght of time it is still pretty weak opiate so the w/d shouldnt be that bad. just buck up it wont last long. thats imo of course others may have something else.
 
You've already answered your own question. Your asking if your undergoing withdrawal symptoms and you just said your feeling sick with flu like symptoms along with many other withdrawal symptoms. The symptoms shouldn't be severe because you've only been on them for 5 months, you've tapered a bit and Tramadol is a weak opioid. Some people do say they feel awful from them but usually those people haven't suffered withdrawals from full mu agonist opiates like oxycodone or heroin.
 
I've withdrawn from Suboxone and hydrocodone and tramadol, and out of all those Tramadol was the absolute WORST, I would say suboxone could be considered worse because of the length of the symptoms but as far as the actual symptoms themselves Tramadol is way worse, some people say it's worse than Heroin withdrawal, I don't think I'd go that far with it, but I do know it's no walk in the park like people think it is, you will probably experience some withdrawal symptoms jumping off at 300 mg after 6 months of use. you should taper a little more, taper down to about 50 mg then jump off. others will argue and say it's not that bad of a withdrawal and some will say it's as bad as anything else, it is a weak opiate but the withdrawal is unproportionally HARSH!
 
also as for what you should do, you should get some loperamide take a bunch, try to find a benzo or two, get some soup and some powerade and buckle up for a week or so of misery, not much you can do except ride it out unless you get another opiate, loperamide is an opiate but possesses no central effects hence it's otc so it can alleviate some wd symptoms, benzos can help you sleep, and powerade and soup and keep you hydrated and sustained. ride it out and don't get back on the tramride again /
 
Tramadol withdrawal is not at all worse than the big dogs, Heorin, oxycodone & methadone, the full mu agonist opiates. But some do say that it is as bad. Tramadol is a walk in the park compared to something like Methadone. Hydrocodone and Suboxone are some of the easier opiates to come off so I'd imagine Tramadol could be just as bad but I still wouldn't say so. But that's just from my experience. Like I said, some people...
 
there seems to be quite a large difference in peoples opinions on the matter, I've heard many say exactly what your saying, and then again I've heard lots of those that said they grapples with heroin for a number of years and got hooked on tramadol afterwards and wished they could've WD from the Heroin instead of the Tram when they were WD from it. so It depends on the person
 
bpayne said:
there seems to be quite a large difference in peoples opinions on the matter, I've heard many say exactly what your saying, and then again I've heard lots of those that said they grapples with heroin for a number of years and got hooked on tramadol afterwards and wished they could've WD from the Heroin instead of the Tram when they were WD from it. so It depends on the person
Click to expand...

When your using heroin you simply can't get high on Tramadol but afterward if they are trying to get off the heroin by using Tramadol then you may become addicted to it. But once your using the hard opiates its impossible to feel the effects of Tramadol except for maybe the SNRI feeling. Its like trying to get high off Codeine when your shooting heroin. Its just not a powerful enough mu-agonist to do so. Though it does control some of the withdrawal symptoms from heroin or other strong opiates. Except for Methadone, I was taking tons of Tramadol when trying to go cold turkey from Methadone and I just kept puking and puking. I felt nothing from the Tramadol, mine as well been aspirin.
 
I was taking opana for quite a while there and suboxone for a while, and more recently snorting opana though, and I took some codeine and barely felt anything, but I pop 300 mg of tramadol and I'm high as fuck so explain that cause I can snort most of an opana 20 in one go and high as shit and feeling good, but 300 mg of tram gets me high too just in a different less euphoric way
 
hey guys thanks for the responses. it really means a lot to me that people are willing to take the time to help me out.

as of right now, i have no way to get my hands on more tram (i dont know if i'd want to even if i could, but tapering down further would probably be a good call). i do have a way to get bupropion, would this help at all? i don't even know what that shit is...never done it, not even sure if its possible to do recreationally, but i'm pretty sure its an anti-depressant type thing so i didnt know if it would help WDs from tramadol.

probably a stupid question but i'm really trying to get through this quickly and easily.

thanks again guys.
 
I wouldn't take bupropion without a doctor prescribing it. It does have an effect on norepinephrine like Tramadol does, but it's more complicated than replacing one for the other. Also, bupropion comes with a very big warning about lowering seizure threshold and that's (potentially) not good especially coming off of an opiate.

By all means see a doctor if you thank an anti-depressant will help. Also, bupropion is not recreational. Once in a while someone will say it is but that's rare. I personally am prescribed it and have never felt a high.
 
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I suffered extremely unpleasant withdrawal upon cessation of tramadol. I also had a 600mg per day habit, and tapered in a very similar manner to you and then ran out.

I experienced all of the typical opioid withdrawal symptoms (except nausea and vomiting) and atypical effects, such as electric shock sensations and brain zaps which are exclusive to tramadol due to its serotonergic activity.

You are definitely going to experience withdrawal from tramadol, actually the opioid WDs are caused by the lack of its metabolite o-desmethyltramadol which does most of the opioid work. This is because tramadol is metabolised into M1 (o-desmethyltramadol) and due to its 200x greater affinity for the mu-receptors that tram itself it is responsible for the opioid effects and consequent withdrawal effects of tramadol.

The tramadol itself however is a fairly potent and fast acting SSRI, which is why you get SSRI-esque WDs after quitting tramadol.

Try 5HTP or L 5-hydroxytryptophan. It's a herbal supplement that is converted into serotonin via hepatic metabolism and it really helps with the SSRI withdrawals from tramadol.

Good luck!
 
Morphoid said:
The tramadol itself however is a fairly potent and fast acting SSRI, which is why you get SSRI-esque WDs after quitting tramadol.

Try 5HTP or L 5-hydroxytryptophan. It's a herbal supplement that is converted into serotonin via hepatic metabolism and it really helps with the SSRI withdrawals from tramadol.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

No, Tramadol is an SNRI. Not SSRI
 
K'd-OUT-in-AZ said:
No, Tramadol is an SNRI. Not SSRI
Click to expand...

Errrm yes actually ... Never assume you know everything.

Tramadol has SNRI activity yes, but recent research has shown it to inhibit the reuptake or serotonin as well as causing vast releases of it. Research underway at this very university in fact.
 
morphoid -

thanks for the response. how long do you think i'm looking at for withdrawal symptoms / until i feel somewhat normal?

ive heard 1 week, 2 weeks, months, etc. can you shed any light on how long it took you to get yourself back to "normal"?
 
Morphoid said:
Errrm yes actually ... Never assume you know everything.

Tramadol has SNRI activity yes, but recent research has shown it to inhibit the reuptake or serotonin as well as causing vast releases of it. Research underway at this very university in fact.
Click to expand...

Who said I think I know everything?

No, Tramadol is an SNRI. All the research I've read says its an SNRI. Provide a link and I will believe you (if its legit)
 
mrp08 said:
morphoid -

thanks for the response. how long do you think i'm looking at for withdrawal symptoms / until i feel somewhat normal?

ive heard 1 week, 2 weeks, months, etc. can you shed any light on how long it took you to get yourself back to "normal"?
Click to expand...

No problem, well I would say between that acute withdrawal will probably pass within 6-9 days (it did for me). After this you'll still have anxiety and depression for 4-6 weeks, coupled maybe with insomnia. As I already suggested, these can be combatted with very helpful OTC aids such as 5-HTP and also valerian root. Obviously it varies from person to person but you should be out of the real awful symptoms within 2 weeks of discontinuing, and then until you're really back to normal ... well, it could be a good few months I'm afraid. But it's best just to take it 1 day at a time. Try those aids I suggested, they did wonders for me. Diphenhydramine is also good for sleep, if you'd rather avoid benzos or z-drugs, which I would advise.

All the best and hope you feel better mate.
 
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