AntonioP: Tramadol withdrawal - feeling lost and seeking support

[AntonioP]

Hello everyone,

 

My name is Antonio, I am 31 years old, liveing in Poland and I just joined the group, hope all of you are doing well and in the path of healing.

 

I come to you in a very diffuculet time and looking for guidance and possibliy reassurance, as I find myself in a very severe withdrawal from Tramadol.

 

Story: I started taking Tramadol in mid January 2024 for neuropathic pain, 50-100 mg/ week, on and off, whenever I was in pain. However, in March I have taken it more frequently: 1-2 pills pill (50-100mg) every day for 1 week, on average, and in one particular day, I took 3 (150 mg). On that same day, I was hit with a wave of anxiety and mental and physical symptoms and that was when my withdrawal started (March 15th 2024).

I haven't notiecd that i was developing dependence during this period. Until March, I would take a pill and then I was a week without it, feeling normal.

In summary, I was taking Tramadol on and off for 2,5 months, and on the last week I took more than usual.

 

Background: In March 2020 I experienced major withdrawal following discontinuation of Pregabalin. The symptoms lasted almost 2 years and were debilitating and during this time I was put on different substances: Valium, Zoloft (briefly), Vortioxetine, that I tappered. In general, I am a very sensible to medications. In 2022 I recovered.

 

Current situation: I am on day 17th of Tramadool withdrawal. I was not aware it was an SNRI. I believe that my serotonin and GABA receptors took a hit from the past and got sensitized, making me prone to the withdrawal. I am experiencing the waves and windows pattern. Symptoms are extremely difficult to deal with and are always changing thorghput the day. I am having windoes, minutes, sometimes hours, on a daily basis, mostly in the morning. 

 

Symptoms:

-Head pressure

-Agitation

- Rumination

- Dread/Terror/Intrusive Thoughts

-Feeling not like myself

- Chemical depression and anxiety

- Unable to focus

- Feeling desperate and in an existential suffering

- Strange pain running through my body on waking up

- Disorientation

 

These symptoms are the same the ones I experienced in the past.

I was not aware Tramadol could lead me to this state and I am struggling a lot. Any feedback or advice would be appreciated.

-Should consider reinstate?  - Can i expect such a prolonged withdrawal as in the past?

 

Thank you in advance and sending my best wishes to you all.

 

Antonio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Erimus]

Hello, and welcome to Surviving Antidepressants. We are a peer support forum to assist in tapering off psychiatric drugs safely, or recovering from psychiatric drug withdrawal.

 

Your first task is to create a drug signature, with the following:

 

• All current medication you take, the dose you take, when you started the drug, and when you made dose changes
• All current supplements you take
• An accurate history of recent drugs, taken in the last 12-24 months
• Dates for recent should be written as 7 Oct 2023, or Oct 7 2023, or early Oct 2023, or mid Oct 2023
• A history of drugs taken 24 months ago and beyond - if applicable
• Dates for historical drugs can simply be listed as start and stop years
• Please do not use 07/10/23 // 10/07/23 as this is intepreted differently around the world

 

• Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses. See my signature for example of clear and concise information.

 

• Click this link to edit your signature: Edit your signature here.

 

 

This topic is for anything relating to you, and any questions you have. Please do not start another topic.

 

We recommend tapering by no more than 10% of your CURRENT dose each month, to limit withdrawal symptoms. E.g. 10mg --> 9mg --> 8.1mg --> 7.29mg

 

All the answers you are looking for regarding tapering and antidepressant withdrawal are on this site. Please search around and continue to read as much as you can manage. Use the site search function to search for specific words or phrases, such as drugs or symptoms.

 

Here are a few of the most useful links:

 

Important topics in the Tapering forum and FAQ

 

Micro tapering

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Taking multiple psych drugs? Which drug to taper first?

 

How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules

 

Using a scale to weigh and measure doses

 

We only recommend two supplements. Omega 3 Fish Oil and Magnesium. Both should be introduced separately and increased slowly.

 

Regards

Erimus

[Erimus]

9 hours ago, AntonioP said:

Background: In March 2020 I experienced major withdrawal following discontinuation of Pregabalin. The symptoms lasted almost 2 years and were debilitating and during this time I was put on different substances: Valium, Zoloft (briefly), Vortioxetine, that I tappered. In general, I am a very sensible to medications. In 2022 I recovered.

Once you go through severe withdrawal, you are sensitised to psychiatric medication. It is unfortunately one of the consequences of this process.

 

Please read the thread on Tips for tapering off Tramadol.

 

In order to best help you we need to know the exact date you stopped Tramadol, the dose you stopped at, and how long you had been on this dose. Given the nature of this drug I would be considering a small reinstatement, if you have a doctor that is willing to provide tramodol long term. Reinstatement is best done as soon as possible, and in very small increments. Once you have stabilised you can then taper off following our guidelines. About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

We cannot predict how long withdrawal might last, and given your past, I would not want to be chancing another long withdrawal.

 

Regards

Erimus

[AntonioP]

Dear Erimus,

 

Thank you so much for your reply and opinion on my case, i really appreciate.

Indeed, with my past, I should have knowned better before I started Tramadol.

 

It's hard to provide a clear and accurate register of my intake, as i was taking it on basis of need, but here it goes:

- I was on it since January to March 15th; total of 50-60 pills taken during this period.

- January/February I was taking 50-100mg, on average 2x week. During the breaks, I didn't feel any symptom (e.g. 1 week without taking it, no symptoms appeared)

- March, I started taking more frequently during the first week and on the second week I took 50-100mg every day; on the last day (15th March) I took 150 mg and 6h after I felt a rush to my head and the withdrawal began. Symptoms are the same as in my previous withdrawl in 2020-2021.

 

So the last pill taken was 18 days ago. Given I was on it on/off I didn't think initially of the possibility of reinstatement. Yesterday I had an appointment with a doctor who treated me like an addict and refuse to give me more so I could taper. He offered Votioxetine as possible symptom reduction option, given I tolerated it it in the past.

 

Currently, my symptoms are floating, in intensity and typlogy, throughout the day. Windows are appearing and yesterday I had a solid 10h window of 100% normality. However, waves follow and every day is very unpredictable. Currently, sitting at the cafe writting, feeling spaced-out/heavy head.

 

I hope the above gives a more accurate picture of my situation. Indeed, I am wondering the best course of option to follow: a) no action, b) consider reinstament, and try to acquire tramadol for that purpose, c) introducing vortioxetine 5mg. 

 

Any additional feedback would be very much appreciated.

 

Best,

Antonio

 

 

 

 

[Erimus]

6 hours ago, AntonioP said:

So the last pill taken was 18 days ago. Given I was on it on/off I didn't think initially of the possibility of reinstatement. Yesterday I had an appointment with a doctor who treated me like an addict and refuse to give me more so I could taper. He offered Votioxetine as possible symptom reduction option, given I tolerated it it in the past.

If you cannot get access to the drug then obviously reinstatement is not a viable option. I would not attempt to try and treat the tramadol withdrawal symptoms by taking a different psychiatric drug, given your history and period of drug freedom. In my mind, the two options are:

 

1. Reinstatement with small dose of tramadol, which sounds like it will be difficult to get hold of for the amount of time you'd need to taper.
2. Continue drug free and manage the windows and waves of withdrawal. As you know this is unpredictable, but given you are experiencing windows of normality we would hope it is not too long lasting.

Going forward, I would suggest you are very cautious about any medication you take. After complicated withdrawal we can no longer tolerate drugs like the average person can. Unfortunately this means our options for pain relief and such are limited.

[AntonioP]

Dear Erimus,

 

Thank you so much for you reply. It makes sense to consder those two options.

 

Unfortunately, the symptoms persist and are unbareable, mainly the weird head senseations, feels like a chemical depression and I find it very difficult to leave my dark room. It is difficult to deal with the outside environment, and reality feels strange and my mental state is very bad - is possible for these symptoms to go away with time? I am genuinly scared and hopless.

 

I am back to my home country and have an appointment - perhaps will manage to get a perscription and could consider a taper. I am on day 24 and besides a few windows, it's been hell. I am still trying to accept this situation that I find myself again. 

 

In case I decide to reinstate, wondering what dose i could consider. I read the guidelines and I am aware should be a low dose. Given each pill is 50mg, perhaps i could aim for 5-10mg? I will have to get acquainted with the liquid titration method.

 

Any advice/support on this, I would appreciate so much.. Reality dark times.

 

Best,

Antonio