Opiate Withdrawal: Methadone Symptoms & Side Effects

Question: Will tramadol help my painful opiate withdrawal?

(Posted by: Jenn22 on 2008-12-28 21:23:58)

I am getting off of Vicodin and I am starting to go through withdrawal. I read that Tramadol helps ween people off other pain killers such as Vicodin. I am also concerned about the possiblity of seizures. I've read Tramadol can cause seizures. I have never had a seizure though and I took Tramaol for 20 days about a year ago & never had a seizure from it. Has anyone been in this same situation I'm in? Withdrawal and taking Tramadol to ease it? No I cannot go to a doc at this time. No money, no insurance so I cant just walk into a hospital or doc office at this time. So that isn't an option for me. I just need some good advice and hopefully from someone with experience. Thank you so much. Help and answers will be much appreciated.

Posted by: Czar Walters, Child Saver! on 2008-12-28, 21:57:07

Hey, I'm a pharmacist and have had ample experience with this. Tramadol can help minimize the opiate withdrawal to some degree. It is not a full-agonist, meaning it is unlike hydrocodone or morphine in that it does not stimulate all the various opioid receptors in the brain. It does stimulate one important receptor and in addition, it causes a rise in serotonin levels. Both effects will help minimize the withdrawal. However, you are correct about seizure risk. Tramadol lowers the seizure threshold, and can be dangerous. I don't know your medical history, so I can't guess as to how dangerous it could be for you. Don't take more than the recommended dose, and don't drink alcohol. Withdrawal from hydrocodone is not as lengthy as the withdrawal from, say, methadone. However, it is pretty bad from a psychological standpoint. Cravings are common, long after the physical symptoms subside. There are many drugs that can be used to taper off an opioid addiction, like Subutex (buprenorphine), Dilaudid (hydromorphone), etc. These drugs can make it much more tolerable than tramadol will. They are also safer, from many perspectives. When it comes right down to it, you need to go to the ER and tell them you are addicted to opioids. They can almost certainly get you into a state-run detox program, regardless of whether you are broke or have insurance. It costs absolutely nothing to you, and it will make things a lot better in the long run. While opioid withdrawal is rarely fatal, you don't have the medical expertise to supervise your vital signs and other important things that must be addressed to complete a successful detox. You're talking about your life and your health here, there is no excuse (need to work, or will get fired; no money or insurance, etc) good enough to keep you from getting the treatment you want and need. If you can't get there by getting a ride from someone, call an ambulance and tell them it's not an emergency, per se, but you need a ride to the ER for opioid detox. Please take my advice on this. You won't get in any trouble at all, and you'll be surprised at the support you will get from medical staff. They are, after all, there to HELP you. You need help, and they will see that you will get help at no cost to you! More importantly, they will be able to point you toward support groups and outpatient services that will help you succeed when the cravings hit you, on down the road. Trust me, they will hit you. Relapse rate is high for opioid addiction. If need be, they can get you into a methadone program, or preferably, they can get you on Suboxone. It's a prescription you get filled once a month, and you can take it home - no clinic to fool with every morning! First things first - you need to get to a medical detox. If you do this at home, you risk many potentially dangerous medical problems. Good luck. You can beat this addiction.

Posted by: tony p on 2008-12-28, 22:08:51

It depends how long and how bad the Vicodin dependence is. It's probably better to just (if you haven't been already) keep a journal or a count or some kind of record of your Vicodin daily intake and ease off of it. It's hard to say without knowing how much you take and how long, but personally I dosed down around 5mgs a day or every two. Tramadol might help, it is fairly new and they can't say for sure, but it does appear to have a low(er) addiction potential than Vicodin. It's synthetic and not exactly an opiate but it's close. It works different, with serotonin re uptake so I don't think it will key opiate receptors but it might ease the pain of withdrawing . Don't take more than 200mg at once or 400mg a day, or else you'll end up with Serotonin sickness and that's about as bad as withdrawing. So my advice is to try weening off first, slowly, and if that doesn't work, or you don't have access to any more Vicodin, and if cold turkey is not an option, use the Tramadol, but like Methadone, there's still a risk of addiction to that. Off the record, trying smoking Marijuana. No risk of dependency and it can really help take your mind off withdrawing and ease the physical pain.

Posted by: ♥ i loVe hiM ♥ on 2008-12-28, 22:43:15

First of all, make sure you are not quitting cold turkey. YOu should be gradually reducing the amount of vicodin that you are taking daily. The Tramadol can help, but then you will have to do the same thing when you stop taking it. There are side effects of stopping that too. I have been taking two 50mg tablets of tramadol 3-4 times a day for almost two years and I haven't had any issues with seizures. I have had a very pleasant experience with it. Although Tramadol is a non-narcotic medication. there can be withdrawl symptoms. Have have ran out for a couple of days before and in addition to the effects of not taking it has on my condition (long story :), I did get jittery and irritated while not taking it. I am experiencing some kidney issues (pain and frequent UTI's for about 6 months. We are not sure if it is related to the medication or to the condition I have as it can come from both. I am in the same situation as you and don't have insurance at the moment so I can't go to get the tests done to see. I said that to say to be careful and to at least call your doctor if you start to experience kidney pain. BTW- my husband had surgery some years back and was taking vicodin then methadone for the pain. It was hard for a few weeks but using the tapering down method really helped him. Good luck and I hope this helps a bit. :)