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Using tramadol to help get through methadone withdrawal

Congrats on getting off methadone! Whew, I hear it?s a rough one. I never went the methadone route, I went from H to suboxen and then tramadol.
Be careful with trams, agh, they seem innocent enough BUT fk, I?ve been on it for a while now! The last couple years I?ve tried to get off it and I?m not exaggerating when I say that I?d rather detox off Heroin anytime over tramadol. After researching, it?s because it doesn?t just bind to the opiate receptors.
It sounds like your careful enough and you probably already know everything I just said but I just wanted to add my 2 cents about the trams. Good luck and congrats! You can do it!
 
Hik, as a greenlighter I think you can only send 1 pm every 180 minutes. But TPD is the man, and he can help you with your verification email I'm sure if you need it.

If you decide to go, and I think you should obvs ; )have fun with your friends this weekend, you really deserve it and it sounds like you have a great bunch of friends!!!

Here for you anytime,
your friend,
Ashley.
 
Thank you , yeah I'm being very careful with those . I'm taking a 50mg in am and 50mg in the PM. Monday I'll be out , so hopefully I'm not hooked . They really do help me sleep better at night and take about 75% of the rls away . I'm getting about 3-4 hrs of ok sleep . My dr won't give me anymore so if I have a mild WD I may see if he can give me a few Ativan . I'm being very very careful because I'm not doing this again .
 
Ash , my friends are a very cool set of guys and girls . They all have done their share of drugs back in the day . We are all in our mid upper 30s so we have matured enough to stay away from the hard stuff , but we still throw down on the booze and weed occasionally while watching sports and at the lake .
 
All right guys , I've dropped the tramadol yesterday. Been about 24hrs since my last 50mg and feel fine . This is day 6 with no methadone btw . I'm feeling much better today . I slept 8 hrs on just 300mg of gabapentin . Maybe my prayers were answered, because since yesterday afternoon I've gradually been coming online again . Could it be possible for the acute WD'S to be over this early. I'm not saying I'm 100% better , but I'm feeling more myself and my appetite is returning. The RLS is still here ,but not as bad . This morning was the first morning in almost 20 years I have not taken a pill of some sort . I listened to an old Hank Williams jr song "old habits" and realized it isn't about losing his lady , but about his hardest habit , which I believe was quaaludes (very symbolic song to kicking your hardest habit). It was eye opening to how country music has more drug songs than any other music genre. Rolling Stone magazine did a article about it. Fun fact for ya .
 
Day 7 . Well still in mild WD'S, but feeling ok. The worst is over I believe. I'm still taking clonidine 3x day and gabapentin 2 x day. Had a few friends over yesterday afternoon and drink a few lite beers and sampled some high end bourbon . It felt really weird drinking during WD'S . I went to bed around 10pm and had some really bad rls at 3am .I'm guessing the alcohol made it worse than usual. I took my gabapentin and went back to sleep and woke up feeling ok. I suppose the social drink was worth it . I have a Cuban cigar I'm saving for my 30 day opiate free . I don't really like to smoke weed alone or while around my daughter, so I usually do it with the guys on weekends. I also don't dabble with benzos . It WAS just methadone and the occasional drink and puff ( not an uppers fan at my age ).
 
Hey Hik,

I left you a message on my thread too.

Just wanted to pop by and tell you how proud I am of you!! Mad respect for you. you're crushing the shit out of your quit!!! Yeah, alcohol during WD's only make things worse, especially emotional instability and RLS. Maybe lay off for a while.

Keep up your amazing quit, here for you anytime, feel free to pm when you get that worked out, I messaged TPD for you so hopefully he can help you out.

So cool that you have that cuban to look forward to!! What a great incentive, motivator as well as a great reward!!

Here for you anytime,
your friend,
Ash.
hikfromstik said:
Day 7 . Well still in mild WD'S, but feeling ok. The worst is over I believe. I'm still taking clonidine 3x day and gabapentin 2 x day. Had a few friends over yesterday afternoon and drink a few lite beers and sampled some high end bourbon . It felt really weird drinking during WD'S . I went to bed around 10pm and had some really bad rls at 3am .I'm guessing the alcohol made it worse than usual. I took my gabapentin and went back to sleep and woke up feeling ok. I suppose the social drink was worth it . I have a Cuban cigar I'm saving for my 30 day opiate free . I don't really like to smoke weed alone or while around my daughter, so I usually do it with the guys on weekends. I also don't dabble with benzos . It WAS just methadone and the occasional drink and puff ( not an uppers fan at my age ).
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1 week , but I really don't feel much better today . We went to see a movie last night and I ended up drinking a large coke . It got my heart racing while trying to go to sleep and today I feel like a zombie from lack of sleep . I Definitely can tell I'm not taking the tramadol anymore. They are great for the worst WD's , but I'm scared to get hooked on those . I'm out of the gabapentin too . It's just clonidine from here on out . I read where clonidine can cause extreme rebound high blood pressure and anxiety. I'll have to wean off of it . I'm so pissed how just about every drug besides antibiotics are addictive or cause withdrawal. The drs are lied to from the drug reps . I remember when tramadol was non scheduled and non addictive , supposedly. I believe all the addiction data the drug companies give drs are biased and not the real world data. Just by reading these threads is all the proof I need . Thanks you ash , I'm trying to get this over with without any other dependency of any kind . It sucks today , but it'll get bet . "All things shall pass"
 
FYI it takes about 14 days to get through methadone’s acute withdrawal. Try to keep your head up, you’ll get there. Is there no way you can get anymore GBP? Like, it’s definitely something your doctor should help you with for at least the first two weeks off methadone.

Also, I you have enough available, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to continue taking tramadol for the entirety of acute withdrawal, or at least the first ten days. Shouldn’t be long enough to develop a dependency on tramadol, and if you’re concerned you could just taper for the last week.

Tramadol is great for methadone withdrawal. Perhaps not as much so as buprenorphine, but if you have it available highly recommend continuing to use it as a comfort med. lots to gain, little to risk.
 
I have a new 15 day supply of tramadol, but keep hearing the horror stories and I'm scared shitless of stacking on more WDs after the methadone WD's go away . Maybe I'll get some gabapentin tomorrow. Its gonna be a long night I believe. At least I have some clonidine.
 
Hik, happy to hear you've got some proper meds to help you!!

Come on here and post as much as you want and I will be here to support you..

Be kind and patient with yourself okay? You're doing a great job and I am so so proud of you my friend!!

Hugs,
And feel free to pm me if you like.
Ash.
hikfromstik said:
I have a new 15 day supply of tramadol, but keep hearing the horror stories and I'm scared shitless of stacking on more WDs after the methadone WD's go away . Maybe I'll get some gabapentin tomorrow. Its gonna be a long night I believe. At least I have some clonidine.
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Well done for making it this far Hik. Careful with the trams though, the SSRI component can cause some nasty side effects with long-term use.
 
Day 8 , I had a better night last night. I did take a tramadol, but those don't really address sleep problems associated with WD's . I'm gonna see if my dr can call in some gabapentin today. It seems Dale was right about the clonidine causing foot pain/coldness . I've googled about it and it's common , but could be a side effect of methadone WD's also. The lingering WD's are getting to me . I know exactly where dale is coming from about sleeping an hr or two here and there . I slept about 2 1/2hrs last night , then up and down , smoke a cig , sit down then try going back to bed , toss and turn then get back up . I listened to Elton John's " good bye yellow brick road " song and added that to my addiction song collection. Its pretty chilling listening to during WD's . The crying I believe helps the brain heal. So after a good cry I feel better ( until my next cry spell ).
 
Hello my friend Hik!!

Day 8 for you, so awesome!!! Gab will be good if he will rx them for you. Benzo's would help you sleep if you could get a few too.

Man you sound exactly like me, the crying jags/outbursts were the hardest for me for sure. Hang in there man, it won't last long. if Dale and I can do it so can you!!!

Here for you, feel free to pm me if you like, VERY proud of you!!!

Hugs,
your friend Ash,
here for you anytime.

hikfromstik said:
Day 8 , I had a better night last night. I did take a tramadol, but those don't really address sleep problems associated with WD's . I'm gonna see if my dr can call in some gabapentin today. It seems Dale was right about the clonidine causing foot pain/coldness . I've googled about it and it's common , but could be a side effect of methadone WD's also. The lingering WD's are getting to me . I know exactly where dale is coming from about sleeping an hr or two here and there . I slept about 2 1/2hrs last night , then up and down , smoke a cig , sit down then try going back to bed , toss and turn then get back up . I listened to Elton John's " good bye yellow brick road " song and added that to my addiction song collection. Its pretty chilling listening to during WD's . The crying I believe helps the brain heal. So after a good cry I feel better ( until my next cry spell ).
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Just got back from the dr . Got me some gabapentin x90 . I lost 10lbs since last visit, so I must have lost most in the last week, because over vacation I was boozing it up and eating bbq, heavy seafood, pizza , big breakfast etc.... just took a pill so I'm about to get some zzzzzs . Dr discussed naltrexone shots or pills. I read the side effects online and not too sure about it .
 
Kallisti23 said:
Well done for making it this far Hik. Careful with the trams though, the SSRI component can cause some nasty side effects with long-term use.
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Yes they do have a bad " come down" I could tell yesterday that something definitely changed after I quit them . I felt like a coke come down.
 
I was wondering how your appt went, great that he gave you gab, sounds like you have a good doc there, it's not always the case.

Keep it up my friend, you're doing an amazing job, be kind and patient with yourself. If you need to chat hit me up anytime,

Your friend,
Ash.


hikfromstik said:
Just got back from the dr . Got me some gabapentin x90 . I lost 10lbs since last visit, so I must have lost most in the last week, because over vacation I was boozing it up and eating bbq, heavy seafood, pizza , big breakfast etc.... just took a pill so I'm about to get some zzzzzs . Dr discussed naltrexone shots or pills. I read the side effects online and not too sure about it .
Click to expand...
 
Day 9 , I had a really bad vivid nightmare last night . I'm guessing it's the gabapentin because I've had vivid dreams when I took it last week . This batch of gabapentin is stronger than my daughters script from 9 years ago that we've had in our med cabinet. It sure helps the WD'S though. I'm gonna try dropping the clonidine because of its side effects ( out of breath feeling and extreme tiredness ) . Clonidine causes rebound high blood pressure and anxiety when stopped . I may have to wean them. My rls is worst today it seems . I've tried the sosking bath thing and it works temporarily. Today I'm gonna do some yard mowing on my riding mower . The temperature has cooled a bit here in Tn and I'm gonna get some sun and enjoy the day as good as I can . Also have some farm chores to attend to. My dad covered for me since my WD'S began , bless his heart.
 
Day 10 . Feeling much better today . I actually woke up energized and ready for the day more than in the last 10 days. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. The WD'S are easing off. I'm gonna drop the gabapentin today and see how I feel . I'm ready to be 100% drug free ( besides my BP meds). Something is causing a stange chemical smell . I remember Dale mentioning it . Could it be the gabapentin or just a WD effect ? Anyway its getting old smelling it. Last night I slept 5 hrs . I think it's very important to get that sleep ,which heals the body and mind . I found out our towns pain clinic is closing. 1600 patients will have have to go elsewhere. I wonder how many will self medicate with street opiates ? The compassion in me feels for them. Just watch in a few years , this opiate ban thing will do a 180 ,except with heroin or fentanyl.
 
Wow you're doing such a great job hik!!!!

I am so happy to read this, 10 days is amazing!!!! Honestly it will just keep getting better and better, NEVER go back to where you were, who would want to repeat WD's right?? ; )

Happy you got 5 hrs sleep last week, that's better than most.

Keep up the great work hik, I think you're the best!!!

Here for you anytime,
your friend,
Ash.
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hikfromstik said:
Day 10 . Feeling much better today . I actually woke up energized and ready for the day more than in the last 10 days. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. The WD'S are easing off. I'm gonna drop the gabapentin today and see how I feel . I'm ready to be 100% drug free ( besides my BP meds). Something is causing a stange chemical smell . I remember Dale mentioning it . Could it be the gabapentin or just a WD effect ? Anyway its getting old smelling it. Last night I slept 5 hrs . I think it's very important to get that sleep ,which heals the body and mind . I found out our towns pain clinic is closing. 1600 patients will have have to go elsewhere. I wonder how many will self medicate with street opiates ? The compassion in me feels for them. Just watch in a few years , this opiate ban thing will do a 180 ,except with heroin or fentanyl.
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