Opioid shmopiods - withdrawal

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misslizzies

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Hi - I am a Newbie who is going through a serious Tramadol comedown. It might be an idea to give you some background so those in the know can reply (no offence but only the people who have experienced opioid comedown can identify with my current state of mind). Five years ago I was in a bad car accident and was in a hospital bed for 4 weeks hooked up to quite a few machines that were pumping (amongst other weird and wacky Alice in the Wonderland trippy drugs) Tramadol into my system. I was sent home with two carrier bags of drugs (ALWAYS a good idea giving drugs to a frail newly widowed woman - hah!). The long and short is that I became hooked on Tramadol (not straight away - two years ago I found some at the back of my drug cupboard and the relationship began pretty hard and fast). As I live in the UK my supply is heavily regulated if I go to my Doc so I get them off the internet and have it down to a fine art - most of the time. Missed the boat this time though and am going through the second day of withdrawel. This is my problem, when I am in the first throws of coming off them I can really feel whats going on around me and can see things that I have missed for however long I have been on them (4 months straight at 5 x 100mg's daily dose) but I will have my fresh supply tomorrow and I know that I will take them and just get straight back on that hamster wheel. My partner is also addicted but says we don't drink or smoke and that this is our rec but I went online and looked at photos of other people all going out and having a great time and as I am only in my mid thirties WTF?? T-dol makes you stay in - a lot. I pop a couple of those bad boys and I am on the train to la la land. Woo Woo! Life is the same but the background noise of life is turned down just a few notches - is this so bad?! Anyone in the same dilema or is it just me? Thanks for reading
 
Hello MissLizzies. Sorry to hear about your accident and lose. May of us here started out having an accident of some sort and ended up dependent or addicted to drugs that were given to us.

You have some choices to make when you open tomorrow's mail don't you? Hop back on the "hamster wheel" or start on the road to recovery and enjoying your life. Yes, you probably are missing out on a lot of things that you could be doing, so you are going to have to decide which life you want. Having a partner that is addicted will make it difficult for you to get off and stay off your drug, unless you both do it together. Are they willing to stop like you want to?

Let us know your decision tomorrow. I'm hoping that you consider enjoying life more. We're here to help you along the way and give you the virtual support and answer your questions. Good Luck to you!!
 
Hi Denon - thanks for your reply it's good to know that someone understanRAB my situation. This is officially the second day and it is really starting to kick in and hurt. Nothing in the post this morning which was a relief and a dissapointment at the same time. My partner doesn't want to stop he enjoys it too much and I know that if I start again I would be doing it simply for him. Can I ask about your experience (if you wish to discuss it that is). I am really interested in talking to people who have come off opioiRAB and how the did it how they feel now etc. I would be really grateful - it would help so much. Thanks again for your reply it was so good to see that someone had posted a reply to my thinly veiled plea.
 
Hi Mizzlizzie,

If you want to read about various people's experiences, and if you've got the time, read my thread "Scared...almost ready." Lots of people posted their experiences there, and obviously I have, too. It's a really long thread, but you might find it helpfulAt the very least it'll give you something to do when you're cravings another hit.

Clearly, when your partner is also using it's going to be a lot harder to stay clean. I don't have that issue; I'm walking this journey alone except for 3 frienRAB who know my situation and the people here. I don't get much out of NA meetings, other than finding everyone's stories interesting, but many people have found great relief from going on a regular basis.



No one whose story I've read has said this passage into a clean world is easy. It's fraught with daily the challenges of withdrawal, especially the physical symptoms in the early days, as well as persistent cravings for a long, long time afterward.

Some people go cold turkey (CT), while others taper, and still others fall on their knees before their Higher Power pleading for help. There really are solid options available.

I wasn't able to manage tapering, but I only tried for a few days. This may sound a little weird, but now I wish I'd tried again because I think it would have given me an opportunity to more gradually, psychologically, bid farewell to the drug, rather like having the opportunity to make daily visits to an ailing friend who is dying. At the end, one will have had the time to process the pain, even though the end is the end with all of the finality that that represents.

Some addicts have detoxed with suboxone (buprenorphine hydrochloride / naloxone hydrochloride), a drug that binRAB with the opiate receptors that inhibits cravings, eases physical WD, and doesn't allow any of the euphoria associated with opiates. Suboxone includes naloxone alongside buprenorphine which is designed to limit the potential for misuse and potentially lower the street value and the incentive for diversion.

Although it is itself addictive, several people have been able to get off it in a few short months, while others have felt the need to continue for a year or more. We're all just so different, aren't we? I'm not sure how easy this is to obtain in the UK, but with its more relaxed, and IMHO, kinder treatment of addicts, you can hopefully very soon find medical help.



If you read my thread you'll see how I've struggled from the beginning of my adventure to sobriety. I don't think my experience is unique. You can see by the nuraber of hits on the thread that it has somehow resonated with thousanRAB of people.

Keep posting. It's rather like journaling, which can help one focus on core issues, as well as provide some kind of expressive relief.

May you find at least some peace today.
 
Thanks once again for your reply - trust me in these very early days it really helps. Today is the second day and I had a last minute job interview (v important). Managed to keep it together long enough to keep myself coherent but many of you recovering would wince at the thought of doing something so intense so early I'm sure! The "shudders" are coming thick and fast and this is a physical hurt. My partner on the other hand couldn't get through work and had to come home - not good when you are only in your second month in a job. He actually fell down the last two bottom steps of a flight of steps during a particular "shudder" (skin crawl, blip whatever you call it). Anyway I am going away for 5-6 days and a fresh batch will be here tomorrow and I will be faced with a dilemma as my partner readily admits that he will take them as soon as they get here! Anyway thanks again for all being there, I only hope that I can one day be where you are and advise other people like you do... peace to all...
 
I do remeraber apologizing to people about my goose bumps, sneezing, yawning and everything else that your body goes through during withdrawals. I'm glad to hear that you were able to get through a job interview. That is a great accomplishment, plus a good reason to get off of the drugs.

Personally, I was injured and blew out three discs in my neck. It was the worse pain of my life and at the time, did not have any insurance. So, watching my bank account dwindle, as I was paying for everything out of pocket, made it hurt even worse. I was taking Percocets (60-80 mg/day oxycodone depending on pain level), plus three other prescriptions for the nerve pain. Once I noticed that my pain level had decreased (the amazing healing powers of the human body), I stopped taking the pills and found out the hard way not to do that. I found this forum and I have been there ever since working through my own issues and trying to give back by helping other people.

As I said in my first post to you, you have some major and difficult choices to make. I do hope that when the post came today you made the right choice. Being addicted to anything takes away from the life you can live and enjoy.

There are some issues with Tramadol. Although it acts like an opioid, it is not one and as a result some medicines that work with opioiRAB may not work the same with Tramadol. I believe that you should seek out medical assistance to find out how if there is anything to help with the withdrawals. Then again, you may be completely over you withdrawals by the time you get an appointment. Tapering is a good way to slowly get off of the drug, but that would mean for you to take the drug again and set up a schedule to slowly reduce your dosage over time. This may cause you to continue your addiction if you decide not to taper off of it once you have taken it again. It's difficult to stop taking something, then take it again, just to get off of it.

From reading on the internet about Tramadol, the withdrawals are supposedly not as bad as with an opioid and it is sometimes used to help people get off of opioiRAB. Withdrawals are bad no matter what the drug!!

I hope that you continue your quest to get off of Tramadol and allowing yourself the freedom to enjoy live to its fullest. Good Luck and let us know how you are doing.
 
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