Is Tramadol withdrawal hard?

Hi everyone. I'm a 27 year old female and have been on tramadol for about 8 years. I know, started young! Anyways, I'm on day 13 of tapering off of tramadol. I'm finally down to 1-50mg tablet a day. I'm going to start 25 mg (half a tablet) on Saturday. This has been a very hard time for me to stop. I have tried to quit tramadol before on many occasions. It never works. So this time, I recruited my fiance to be my support through this all and hold onto the medicine and dispense it to me daily (so I don't take more than I need to).

The pain from withdrawal is real! I have very high anxiety, I get cold chills, I'm irritable, extremely exhausted and I feel like my joints are made of glass.

The worst symptom of them all is this throbbing headache that i've had every single day since I started tapering.

My advice, stay away from tramadol. Regardless if that is your only option.

Tramadol is a pain killer that is part of the opiate family of drugs prescribed to change the way the body perceives pain or to treat addiction to other harder opiate drugs. Withdrawal from tramadol may require medical supervision but is not typically life threatening. Tramadol can be tricky because it interacts in the body like an opiate-benzodiazepine hybrid.

very thankful for all the post in this entire thread--  thank you all..

tramadol is a kind of "double med."  it is a major league antidepressant (a seratonin And norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor similar to effexor and cymbalta) AND a synthetic opioid pain reliever-- both combined in every pill.  when taken for pain, it may do that job but also starts hijacking your brain's neurochemistry-- and there's a ransom for that. 

for me, OMG- tramadol withdrawal is truly frightening.  If you are like me, you will honestly wonder if you have not damaged your brain somehow by taking tramadol. as days turn into weeks even on a tapered withdrawal...   

I'd taken tramadol for over 5 years (100 mgs twice daily) for back issues.  this is a reasonable, prescribed therapeutic dose-- relatively minor even, maybe, and I never missed a dose. coming off this med has been horrible. I have been tapering down for over 3 weeks and honestly only have felt a little like my real self over the last 2 days.  I have had serious lethargy, brain fog, vision problems, sneezing/nasal congestion and more odd symptoms.  It is a real hard call on whether to go to work or relate to people in life right now due to this withdrawal syndrome.  I am down to 25 mgs twice daily and next week will cut that in half. Just a total drag physically and mentally- but what is worse is the sinking feeling that I have screwed my brain's machinery up for good.  From all I've read, that's unlikely - but still...

If you are taking tramadol for pain or for fun, please realize that after a month or so ( and especially over years_) it is setting itself up in your brain as a replacement for your own neurotransmitter chemistry- some will really have to pay for that.

OMGosh!  I NEVER EVER want to take this pill again!  I need a right hip replacement and have been taking Tramadol since May. 1 50 gram pill every 6 hours. Initially I only started with 2 50 mg pills/day. Unfortunately, the pain had picked up and I went to 3 50 gram pills/day. I know that my dosage is on the smaller side compared to other posts on here, but let me just stress that I do have a much bigger understanding for folks addicted to meds and have HUGE amounts of empathy for ANYONE suffering from any drug withdrawal. Last Friday night I realized I did not have any Tramadol left. No big deal I thought, I will call the pharmacy in the morning and get my refill. Meanwhile all night on Friday I suffered from insomnia, restless legs, chills, sweats, and MAJOR vertigo. At first I thought I was coming down with something. By Saturday, I was super depressed, chills/sweats, still couldn't sleep, nausea, diarrhea,  and didn't/couldn't move off of the couch. Somehow on Sunday, I managed to make it to the pharmacy, still experiencing all of these crazy symptoms. I go to pick up my script, only to discover that it cannot be filled!!!!!  What- are you kidding me, why?  The FDA has now classified this as a NARCOTIC!  Are you freaking kidding me?  When did this take place?  Oh, about 2 weeks ago. Since the new classification, all Tramadol refills are void, we can call your doctor on Monday for a new refill. (I still at this point did not put 1 plus 1 together). At that point I was SUPER annoyed because I have a company car for my job. If I had had an accident over those past 2 weeks while taking Tramadol- guess what, I would 100% be out of a job!!!  (AND I was NEVER informed about the change from my doctor or the pharmacy). The more I stewed about this Sunday night, all the while experiencing restless legs, insomnia, chills/sweats, and everything else....I started to google Tramadol withdrawal. Then I was even MORE angry (which I didn't know was possible!). I was angry because I discovered that when you stop taking the med abruptly you could have seizures, extreme withdrawal affects....and guess what....ALL of the FREAKING effects I was experiencing. WHY didn't the pharmacist explain to me how you should be weened off of this stuff?  It cannot believe how many balls were dropped here. I feel like HE--!  I finally got my refill Monday evening, but also realized that I've been going through withdrawal since Friday afternoon. At this point I refuse to take them, and have just been suffering in my bed all of this week. This is day 5, I've slept a few hours since last Friday, but not many at all. Still MAJOR naeasua, sweats/chills, vertigo, restless legs, MAJOR insomnia....frankly I'd almost rather die!  I'm not suicidal, but I will NEVER go through this again.  New symptom today....sneezing. So I have pain in my hip, plus all of these unpleasant withdrawals (hip replacement due in 2 weeks, thank GOD!) NEVER again!  My hearts are out to each of you who have been on this white devil pill over a longer duration and higher dosage. May God show you Mercy, and good luck!

I feel ya, I was never informed that 2 weeks ago the FDA changed the classification of Tramadol to a narcotic. Even more angry that my script was void and had to wait several days without any Tramadol until my doc called a new script in. I thought I was coming down with the flu.....NOPE, just good ol withdrawal. I'm still ticked, you can read my entire story below under Guest 7 minutes ago....good luck to you sweetie... I'm on day 5 and still dealing with it.

I was prescribed vicodine after a broken leg 4 years ago and the doctor gave me a script for Tramahell thinking that I didn't need anything as strong as vicodine.  I took Tramahell for about 2 months and figured I would just stop because the Dr. told me it wasn't addicting.  OMG I didn't know what the hell was wrong with me I felt so bad and when I figured out it was the tramahell I started taking it again.  Well I found I could buy the stuff online and I loved how I lost weight, felt happy all of the time, and it actually got me to stop drinking alcohol because of how it made me feel.

Well I kept increasing my dosage to keep me feeling the way I liked until I was up to 30+ 50MG pills a day.  It seemed like no matter how much I took I had no negative reaction, the more the better.  Well now I can't get it online any longer so I have been trying to wean myself off of the sh*t but no matter how little I reduce the amount I get the withdrawals.  The "jumping out of your skin" feeling is the worst and I have truly thought of killing myself several times but I have a great life which has kept me from doing anything stupid.

I only have 12 pills left and I am in a total panic right now because I will be totally out before the end of the week.  I don't know how I will make it through this.  I have no support because I am too embarrassed to tell anyone that I have gotten myself into this position.

What I have found is alcohol makes the withdrawals WAY worse.  Advil has helped but I have been taking way more than I should so I'm worried about hurting my liver.  Who knows what damage I have done to my body taking so much tramahell over the past 3 years.  I can't believe my doctor told me this sh*t wasn't addicting, I would have rather dealt with any pain than feel like this.

How long will I feel this way?  What happens when I totally run out of pills?  I hope I can report back and tell anyone going through this that there is light at the end of the tunnel. 

updating; so, i have not been able to get down past 25mg twice daily and still live a reasonable life- due to wd effects. I tried the "prozac bridge" technique but my head felt like it was just swimming in toxins. so frustrating. off Prozac/ and taking longer Tram taper approach. plan to stay on this dose for a couple of months and hope my brain adapts- before cutting to a lower dose. I have heard that one should plan to taper for a period of 1/4 the time you were on tram. That might be nec but its so hard to keep taking this enemy pill in for so much longer - in order to get away from it. its been 6-7 weeks of never feeling right but one thing that has helped some symptoms has been loratidine- the non-drowsy antihistamine. and exercisin

There is nothing worse than opiate withdrawls. I went through them.......my doctor recently prescribed Tramadol for my back pain. I stoppped this past weekend because they were making me tired and I had no interest in doing anything. Truly, I wouldn't call them withdrawls rather an unhpleasant feeling. Yes it can be exhausting, depressing and anxious.......but when I think back to what I went through coming off of Oxycodone this truly is much easier. Don't get me wrong, it's uncomfortable but if you tell yourself you can do it and it's not too bad it really is much easier than opiates. I guess everyone is different though...

Good luck to any of you going through it. Stay strong, just think about how friggin good you will feel once it's over. I promise you. If you want to chat please contact me and I would be happy to go through it with you and be your support......

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This drug is the Devil!  I'm 46 years old and was prescribed tramadol for Neurapathy Pain 3 years ago.  My dosage rose from (2) 50mg tabs per day to (1) 300 mg Extended Release.  I never abused them, but they did help with pain and made me feel good for short periods of time each day.  I never did research on trams, so I had NO IDEA about the Withdrawal Effects until a short time ago.  My pharmacy couldn't get the 300 ER's in stock and I went 3 days without - Pure Hell.  It wasn't until googling "Tramadol Withdrawal" that I realised what was happening to me.  Looking back I now see that much of my pain was actually Tramadol Withdrawal instead of Neuropathies.  Every night when I was in terrible pain thinking it was my Neuropathies, It was really the Instant Release 50mg Tabs running out of my system.  At that time I was taking (1) in morning and (1) around 4 PM.  I can't believe my doctor didn't catch this - Instead I was just prescribed more!  Long story short the recent withdrawal scared the Heck out of me and I made the choice to quit.  Here is my story so far as I'm in the middle of withdrawal and question if I'll come out alive.

Tapered off the 300 mg Extended Release to 150 mg over about a week (including the 3 days without due to pharmacy not getting my order in).  I still had a bottle of the 50mg instant realeas tabs, so I switched to those.  Starting at 125mg, I tapered by 25 mg every 3-5 days depending on when I stabilized at each dosage cut.  Once I reached 50mg I decided to make the jump, as I was feeling bad withdrawals anyways and didn't want to prolong it any further.  I now question if I should've did a few cuts down from the 50mg, but I too far in to start over.  Below is the time table of my withdrawal so far WITHOUT ANY tramadol.

Saturday 10/18 - 25mg at 2 PM and my LAST 25mg at 9PM

Sunday 10/19 - Slept good through Sat/Early Sunday with 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Felt Pretty Good during the Day and started feeling the withdrawal heavy by Evening.  Restless Legs/Arms, Brain Zaps, Sneezing, General Flu Type Feeling.

Monday 10/20 -  Only Slept from 5:30 AM to 9:00 AM.  It was a very rough and painful night.  DEEP DEEP Pain radiating from my bones to my skin.  Very unbearable and enough to make you consider cutting off your limbs.  On a scale from 1-10 (10 being worse), my daytime was about a 7 and Evening an 8.

Tuesday 10/21 - Awake till 6AM and then slept on and off till about Noon with maybe 4 hours of actual sleep.  The pain was horrible in the early morning and I gave in and took a Tylenol 3 at 5AM.  It probably helped me get those few hours of sleep, but I really hope it didn't set me back.  I also take Klonopin 1 mg each night for sleep, but it hasn't helped at all since stopping the tramadol.  Daytime was not too bad and I though - Hey maybe I turned the corner already!  WRONG - by eveining my pain and symptoms were a 10+.  My wife bought epsom salt, Magnessium Pills, and sports cream to try to combat the restless arms/legs.  They seam to help short term, but not enough to sleep.

Wedsday 10/22 TODAY -  Wide awake to 5:30AM and fell asleep after taking my 3rd bath of the night.  Awoke one hour later at 6:30AM to the most Horrible Pain and ANXIETY that I'd Ever Felt.  Got up and took a HOT shower and calmed down a little and then decided stay up and write the post.  I feel about a 7 right now with brain zaps, RLS, insomnia, anxiety, and feeling depressed and hopeless.  Not sure how the rest of the day will go, but I'll try to keep the withdrawal update/timetable going.  Thanks for reading and God Bless everyone going through this!

I'm interested in learning how you are doing now?!! Still hanging in there? I took my last 50mg dose on Saturday, 11/1 and I feel worse today than I did yesterday. Still not sleeping. Extremely achy and anxious all day. Can't get any work done. This is crazy! I was hoping by day 5 that I would begin to feel a bit better, but day 5 is worse than day 4. I'm pretty bummed right now. :(

I think its interesting to note all of the people who say the withdrawals weren't that bad were only on it for a few months I've been on it. For 3 years due to herniated discs and spinal stenosis, I've had addiction problems a lot, withdrawn from multiple drugs including stronger opiates. Tramadol is the worst.nausea, diarrhea, flu symptoms were just the tip of the iceberg, brain zaps, depression, shaking.. its quite a hopeless feeling. We need to take this drug more seriously.

Once you have decided to stop taking tramadol, withdrawal symptoms can start as early as a few hours after the effect of tramadol has worn off. In fact, people who forget to take their tramadol have reported feeling nervous, anxious, feeling of pins and needles, sweating, and palpitations only a few hours after their next dose.

ask your DR for requip. I have RLS BADDDDDDDDDDDDDDD this works

Did you stay stopped after your withdrawl from tramadol? How many mg of the drug were you using daily before you decided to stop. How long did you withdrawl last? Did you experience bone and muscle pain?

I'll have to disagree also I have been on opiates from oxy to Ron for 15 years I can handle the wd from strictly opiate it terrible but nothing easy. Now five days ago I got to stupid idea to quit ron and heard tramadol was relatively harmless a doc a legit certified doc told me that trams are non addictive and only for pain..... Bullsht he should b suspendd I'm goin thru the worst wd right now granted I took 400mg twice sometime three times day for five days I kno that's a ton but iam 67. 320 pounds and have a fifteen year op tolerance so they only kinda helped what most people don't understand is that tramadol is all so ands I Ssni or antidepressant and works as a serotonin Tripitaka inhibitor lol why the hell would u give that to a patient unknowingly long story short tramadol is the fckn devil iam goin to try to wean quick the maybe Lilian and pot that's wat I suggest because instant stoppage can lead to fatal seizures because of the Sri property's I hope this helps