Tramadol & Withdrawl

[HydroApe]

Out of curiosity,
How many of you use Tramadol to help stave off withdrawls and if so, how does it work for you?
It's easily available and I've used it for that reason from time to time.
It seems to help somewhat. It certainly helped when my use was mere hydro, but is obviously less effective for the stronger stuff.
Also, how much do you usually use and are you safe about the level of your daily intake.

Thanks for any input.

[roxi*stardust]

I have used it before and it seems to work ok. I would take 2 tablets 4X a day. I think the warnings say not to take more than 450mg per day.

[Suboxstitute]

Has anyone used the same thing to minimize w/ds from an "out of daily maintenance sub dose for six days or so?

Perhaps should have posted in the bupe section and I'll also UTSE but as long as we were on the topic.....

S

[JunkBombJamie]

Yeah I use tramadol alot when Im out of dope. I somehow manage to keep a credit card and with that its easy to get tramadol online. I always have that and fioricet around the house. The tramadol takes for ever to start working cuz I think it has to metabolize into morphine in ur system n that takes a couple hours. The few times a month I know Im not going to have any money to score H I will take the tramadol as soon as I wake up. Usually 300mgs, then 100mgs every couple hours after that, all day. The fioricet I take two every 4 hours or so. It contains a mild barbituate so it kinda feels like a mild benzo. I usually end up taking about 800mgs of the tramadol throughout the day, but I would not advise this!!! as it can cause seizures, I have not had one though. It does help, but with a fairly hefty H habit it does not make me feel 100% at all. Also, I get soma soma from the same sites I get the other two meds and that can be good for sleep at night.

[ItsLupus]

Maximum dosing recommendations are 300mg. http://www.drugs.com/tramadol.html It can and will lower the seizure threshold in people.Even people that have no prior history of seizures(certain conditions also can cause it to interact alcohol,street drugs;),etc).Also if you take it check the other meds you take regularly(if any)to make sure they dont interact and lower the threshold even further.

[Poppylvr]

We are using tramadol now at my funny farm to help detoxing opiate addicts. Recently it even helped a gal who had accidentaly been put into precip wd's by Suboxone. It seems to work well with easing wd's.
Sue - my guess is it would work - worth trying rather than nothing....

[longduckdong]

Yeah it apparently works wonders for some folks.... I don't get a single ounce of goddamn anything when I've taken it. Different strokes fo sho.

I only have a Hydro habit too, and it does nothing.

[Saint]

I kicked methadon with tramadol once (after having been on done for 25 years). Had to start on 100 mgs tramadol once I had tapered to 10 mgs of done. Then my doc upped my tramadol dose to 150 mgs (100 in the morning + 50 at night) when I went down to 7.5 mgs done, a week later he upped me to 200 mgs (2 x 100 mgs tramadol a day) when I went to 5 mgs of done and further up to 250 when on 2.5 mgs done and finally I ended on 350 to 400 mgs tramadol a day and zero methadone.
Unfortunately tramadol didn't help with my pain good enough, so after 8 months I had to go back on methadone and I tell you one thing: when I kicked tramadol I was extremely nauseous for almost 10 weeks! (despite the fact that I was back on a low dose of done!!). But I can see it help for some people..
I just think tramadol is scary shit... I never, NEVER, exceeded the maximum dose of 450 mgs a day. And would advice anyone to do the same. Never had a seizure thankgod.

[x31966]

I kicked a 8 mg per day sub habit with tramadol and Ambien, and to my surprise it worked. I had both scripts left over from various doctor visits..I was so glad I saved them. I would take 100 mg tram and 5-10 mg ambien 4 times a day (at that time I thought 400 was the max). The ambien relaxed me and it has been proven to work for restless leg syndrome and I guess the tram helped for pain. The only symptom I still had was diareah and it didn't help regulate my body temp (I still was hot/cold).
I would def say it helped and I would recommend this combo to anyone.

[robojunkie]

Just don't take the max all at once. Say 50-100 mgs every hour, not say gulp a bunch like you would a real opiate, fuck the SSRI type effects or whatever they are and lowered seizure threshold that will come with too high a concentration, its like codeine and has to be demethylated. And you may or may not notice you suddenly don't like cigarettes (if ya smoke).

[Suboxstitute]

I kicked a 8 mg per day sub habit with tramadol and Ambien, and to my surprise it worked. I had both scripts left over from various doctor visits..I was so glad I saved them. I would take 100 mg tram and 5-10 mg ambien 4 times a day (at that time I thought 400 was the max). The ambien relaxed me and it has been proven to work for restless leg syndrome and I guess the tram helped for pain. The only symptom I still had was diareah and it didn't help regulate my body temp (I still was hot/cold).
I would def say it helped and I would recommend this combo to anyone.


How long (roughly) were you on sub? I'm thinking along the same lines.

Sue

[scikid]

They have helped SWIM with minor pods wds. Does not make it totally painless, but helps.

That same person would never take them recreationly, he is just not one of those people who enjoys trams.

[EleusisII]

I actually used to love getting high off it.
Still helps with WDs. Somewhat better than codeine.

Tramadol got it's own set of problems though. If you have a heavy habit, and have take too much over 3-400mg you risk getting seizures. And from what I hear Tramadol WDs are even worse than regular opie-wds. Something to do with how it interacts with the seretonin-system apparently.

[pinn3d]

I supplement pods w/ tramadol, as they are so easy to obtain..... Once I tried to switch over to trams from the pods completely, but I only made it one day...... BUT---- I managed to stay at a lower dose of pods with taking the trams.... I managed to reduce my daily dose of pods by 25%.... I usually take 200-400 mg tramadol per day, and yes, I believe it is better to take 100mg at a time, and space out your doses......

Tramadol has its own effect, but its hard for me to pin-point just how it feels.... sometimes it feels like the contents of my head are floating or wiggling or something... very strange...... but it is somewhat enjoyable.....

I imagine that if you were determined, you could use tramadol to get off of a harder opiate.... but you would have to be motivated, and determined.... I wasn't determined, I was just experimenting... so my attempt did not work........

I would rather have codeine than tramadol, btw.....

[hydro chris]

I actually used to love getting high off it.
Still helps with WDs. Somewhat better than codeine.

Tramadol got it's own set of problems though. If you have a heavy habit, and have take too much over 3-400mg you risk getting seizures. And from what I hear Tramadol WDs are even worse than regular opie-wds. Something to do with how it interacts with the seretonin-system apparently.

yes i agree ultram/tram withdrawal are just as bad or worse than as some real opiates.
id compare it to a light / moderate habit of oc w/d.. with some serotonin sickness kicked in there. really cant explain it. someone else could prob. do a better job.

[Icecool988]

yes i agree ultram/tram withdrawal are just as bad or worse than as some real opiates.
id compare it to a light / moderate habit of oc w/d.. with some serotonin sickness kicked in there. really cant explain it. someone else could prob. do a better job.


i was doing some searching and im going to have to kick a 130-200mg oc habit, a friend had some tram and i was going to grab some from him to help with the W/D, i know not to exceed 400mg per day but based on this comment if the wd from them are like oc's then....

any advice on dosages for w/d if you think they will help, like how much and how spaced out etc..

thanks.

[TigerFan]

I'm with EII on this, I actually used to enjoy the buzz of tram all by itself. Had very long legs and gave a decent nod. Not anywhere near oxycodone or even hydrocodone, but what can you do. Mixing them is nice too, ultram for the long legs and oxycodone/hydrocodone for the short burst of euphoria.

I actually equate ultram with low doses of suboxone for helping with withdrawals. I'd usually take between 300-600 mgs, even upwards of 1,000 mgs occasionally (I know it's stupid to take that much now though). But, like others have said, withdrawals from ultram are equal to some of the worst of withdrawals of short-acting full-agonist opiates. Ultram is also VERY easy to get online. I still get all sorts of e-mail/snail mail reminding me that I can get 20% off now because it's been so long since I filled the "script" from the online pharmacy. I wonder how long it will be before tramadol becomes scheduled.

I actually used to do the cold-water extraction too with ultram because I could never be sure if there was APAP or not in the 50mg pills. Doing this seemed to make the onset much faster.

@Poppylvr: What doses do they prescribe in your hospital for withdrawal and how long are patients on it? Also, why would they use tramadol over bupe and do they both seem to be equally effective (from what you've seen) with treating withdrawals?

[Papa Verine]

If I was kicking an Oxy habit like you I'd definately use Tramadol. I always took it 400mg at a time, twice or 3X a day. It seems to last pretty long so the second and third dose wasn't always nessicary.

If this is your first time ever taking the stuff you should start lower than that. Just to see how you're going to react to it. But when I hear people talk about how Tramadol didn't help with their opiate withdrawals I always think they weren't taking enough of it to get the desired effects. It's a very weak opioid. With a 200mg/day Oxy habit you can't expect much relief from an equal dose of Tramadol. 200mg???

So, it's a fucked up drug because to get to a helpful dose you have to pass the recommended dose and then you have to worry about seizures and Serotonin and who knows what else. Luckily for me, I've had nothing but good things to say about 1,200mg/day for a moderate habit. It's just obviously not a safe thing to suggest to anyone else.

We're all different.

But, even if you only feel safe taking a dose below 400mg/day you will get some degree of relief. It's worth it to try.

edit: Forgot to add, what I suggest isn't a kick at all. It's a transition from an Oxy habit to a Tramadol habit. For use in between scripts or other times without your DOC. If you really are trying to "kick" your opiate habit, you're going to have to taper the Tramadol down. Switching one Opiate for another achieves nothing. No pain no gain...

[dharma bum]

I used Ultram for quiet awhile for maintenance. I was determined to get off Oxy. I had about 200 to 240 mg. a day habit then switched to tramadol. I thought it would be hellish but I had heard good things. Unfortunately I didn't know about the seizure threshold and I pushed the limits---sometimes up to 20 a day ( and I did have what I thought to be a seizure--all my limbs were flailing about. I couldn't smoke a cig because my arm would involuntarily flick it anywhere it landed.

Anyway, after that I was more careful. I'd take 2 at time 3 times a day. It made me active, chatty, dare i say....happy? And I did that while waiting to get in the suboxone clinic. They fucked up at the clinic and I had to wait about 3 months. So trammies saved my ass. I never saw this thread when it was started and Sue mentioned using ultram to taper off subs. I'm almost at that point right now myself.

So, my point is trams help you when you're in withdrawal. Just don't take too many. You wanna have control over your arms and legs.

[got_bags?]

I've been alternating back and forth between bags and tramadol. The tramadol really seems to help stave off some of the withdrawal symptoms. I'll take a larger dose early in the day (like 100-200mg) and then take 2 more every few hours as needed. Though I've found it best to try to taper down quickly in a few days, as this will positively affect tolerance when I switch back.

The best part is that the tramadol will help me sleep. To the point where if I wake up in horrible withdraw achey leg crapiness I'll pop one or two and it will usually do it....or at least i'll be comfortable.

[OxyQueen]

Can tramadol be taken WITH suboxone?

[doctor diesel]

Can tramadol be taken WITH suboxone?


I think the answer to that is NO. For the same reason you wouldn't take it with a 'normal' opiate agonist. I've taken tram within a few hours of a sub dose and while it didn't put me into PWDs, it did make me feel shaky, shitty and nauseous for a couple of hours. I don't seem to get PWDs anyway.
I just wanted to say that when I had a half gram a day H habit, if I ever ran out of my DOC, then as WDs began I would take 200mg tramadol and within half an hour I'd be 90% normal. Perhaps clammy, maybe calf muscles a tiny bit stiff, but otherwise perfectly functioning, with absolutely no other WD symptoms.
For me too, it's a potent substitute, and it lasts for hours.


Doc

[Chemical_Boy]

^^^ I think that trams act like a mixed Ag/Antag for some people.... I wonder what is would do to mix "mixed" opiates like that for someone who is dependent..... say if you were maintaining on something like Nubain and also took some Stadol/bupe/__insert other shitty opioid here___

I don't fuck with any of that shit, but just wondering.....


As far as trams... When I used to have a mild habit, I would take five 50mg pills when I got up in the morning if I was dry and would feel better in a half hour or hour. then I could ween down over five or six days and be right. Never tried them once I had a real habit going. I just went straight for bupe/'done....

I imagine if I ever developed a habit again (knock on mother fuckin' wood) that I would give the trammie thing a shot again.... they are easy to get scripted.

[Chipper]

I discovered that if I swallow more than 300-400 mg of Tramadol, it makes me throw up, and often. For some reason, my body rejects it.

It also seems to conflict with Methadone, for me. I can no longer tolerate Trams (I was so hopeful, too).