Tramal is medicine with the active ingredient tramadol. This substance is also found in drugs such as Tramabene, Tralgit, Tramal retard activis, Mabron and many others. Tramal is used to treat moderate to severe pain, mostly after surgery. Drugs with the active ingredient tramadol belong to the group of opioids. Opioids are strong painkillers with a high risk of addiction, both physical and psychological.
My addiction began with Tramal. A doctor prescribed it to me after I had torn my shoulder. I didn’t go for surgery and wanted to train again as soon as possible. I was prescribed Tramal for about a year, but after I finished the treatment, I couldn’t stop. I was already very heavily mentally and physically dependent. I am in no way making excuses; I take full responsibility for my addiction. However, Tramal is a drug from exactly the group of drugs that are not supposed to cure us, to numb the pain at most and not treat the cause of the problem, but to make us want more and more drugs. And this “never ending merry-go-round” is best for business.
Epileptic seizures from opioids
Probably the worst thing that can happen to you with Tramal is an epileptic seizure. It hasn’t happened to me. One day I took Tralgit (a drug belonging to the same group mentioned earlier in the article), it made me feel great, but suddenly I woke up on the ground with my dad screaming at me. “You have had a seizure!” And I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t know where I was. But the worst part is I didn’t even know who I was. The whole thing took a few minutes, but it seemed like eternity to me. I was so scared of the paramedics; I didn’t know what they were going to do to me. And the worst feeling was in the evening when I was supposed to fall asleep and all that was running through my head was that by taking Tralgit and Tramal I had given myself epilepsy. I thought I was going to have for life. Luckily, it was just a provoked seizure and I don’t have epilepsy. But I will never forget it. It was one of my worst experiences.
Just because you get an epileptic seizure doesn’t mean you have epilepsy. You can have a seizure even if you drink alcohol for several days in a row and even if you drink for a long time and suddenly stop. The same is true with Tramal. The annoying thing is that even if you decide to quit, you may be the first to have an epileptic seizure on your journey to sobriety. That’s why Tramal needs to be phased out gradually. And of course, it’s best to see a neurologist who should send you for EEG tests. But even those aren’t 100%. You may come out as having an epileptic focus even if you don’t actually have epilepsy. This lesion may appear temporarily in the results after a provoked seizure from medication.
I also remember thinking that I wasn’t doing anything wrong by taking Tramal. After all, I was taking medication. I don’t do drugs and if I wanted to stop I’d surely be able to do it in no time!
One evening I was sitting in a bar with a friend who was probably the only one who didn’t pull honey strings under my nose and suddenly he grabbed my hand, looked me straight in the eyes and said: “Duri, you’re doing drugs! “‘ He didn’t ask me, he just told me. And that’s when I realised that it was obvious and nothing was the same as before. Later he added that it was visible because I was shaking too.
Strong psychological and physical dependence
The biggest problem with Tramadol is that after just a month of use you can become addicted. Quitting Tramadol causes severe mental and physical withdrawals (withdrawal symptoms) which I have gone through over and over again every time I have tried to quit as well. They usually appear 12 – 20 hours after the last dose. Diarrhoea (because opiates cause constipation and diarrhoea sets in after withdrawal), vomiting, nervousness, anxiety, fears, severe craving (strong craving for the substance you are withdrawing from), and I personally also had severe cramping in my body, especially below my knees. And of course, I couldn’t sleep all nights; I just lay curled up in bed and shaking. I had temperature changes from fever to chills.
Withdrawal symptoms:
- Hot flashes
- Winterfell
- Diarrhoea
- Nervousness
- Cramps in the body, especially below the knees
- Anxiety
- Cravings
But the question is; how does one wean oneself off it? Don’t worry, I’ve been through it all and I’m a whiz at quitting drugs 😊. So read on.
There are 4 ways to quit tramadol:
- Tapering off
- Cold turkey
- Substitution therapy
- Supportive treatment
Tapering off
Tapering off is the English name for the gradual dropping off of a dose. Tramal addiction is also an option. I personally find it the best of all. Of course, what I write is just my experience that I have gone through and the knowledge I have gained over the years. With Tapering, a minimum dose is planted at certain time intervals. Also, when tapering, whether you have been taking Tramadol for a shorter or longer period of time depends.
With short use
- 10% of the initial dose, every day
With prolonged use
- 10% of the initial dose, every 7 days
Example 1: Tapering off for Tralgit, oral solution, at a short duration of use and a daily dose of 4 x 20 drops. Tapering 10% of the original dose.
- day – 18, 18, 18, 18, 18
- day – 16, 16, 16, 16
- day – 14, 14, 14, 14,
- day – 12, 12, 12, 12, 12
- day – 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
- day – 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
- day – 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
- day – 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
- day – 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
- day – 0
Example 2: Tapering off for Tralgit, oral solution, with long-term use and a daily dose of 4 x 20 drops. Tapering off 10% of the original dose.
- week – 18, 18, 18, 18, 18
- week – 16, 16 , 16, 16
- week 14, 14, 14, 14, 14,
- week – 12, 12, 12, 12, 12
- week – 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
- week – 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
- week – 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
- week – 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
- week – 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
- week – 0
Cold turkey
Cold turkey is the English name for getting off a drug you’re addicted to, basically, day to day. It’s definitely the hardest method but on the other hand if you’re impatient, maybe it’s the right method for you. But expect severe withdrawal symptoms.
Substitution therapy
Substitution therapy is, one could say, already quite commonly used in our country. Doctors use this option for opiates such as heroin, especially when injecting. But it is also used for withdrawal from drugs such as Tramal, DHC, Codeine, Morphine, Oxycodone… For substitution treatment and three drugs are used – Suboxone, Subutex and Methadone. Methadone is the most potent of these drugs, but it also carries the greatest risk of addiction. Yes, you read that correctly. What helps you out of one addiction will get you into another. But of course, substitution treatment is the method that works. I have used it myself. I took the drug Suboxone, which stabilized me quite well. And quitting it wasn’t such a problem; I used the Tapering off method. Subutex and Suboxone. Two similar names, but the effect is different. Subutex contains pure Buprenorphine, but Suboxone contains Buprenorphine, but also the active ingredient Naloxone which blocks the psychological experiences from Suboxone. Thus, you won’t have as much “fun” with Suboxone as you will with Subutex, but believe me, Suboxone is easier to get rid of. But I will discuss the topic of substitution treatment in a future blog in a much more detailed way.
Supportive treatment
Supportive therapy is very tricky, but sometimes you can do without it. Personally, I would recommend it mainly in the first two weeks to manage severe withdrawal symptoms, but after that I would discontinue it so you don’t go from one addiction to another. Antidepressants are used as supportive medications, but also benzodiazepines (BDZ) like Neurol, Xanax, Frontin, Rivotril, etc. Diazepam is also often used. As I mentioned, beware of the strong addictiveness of these drugs. I’m talking mainly about the “benzos”. But if you can’t handle the initial phase of withdrawals, this treatment can help you too.
So Tramal is a highly addictive drug, and I think you can handle the physical withdrawal even if it’s uncomfortable, but you’re assured that it will be over within two weeks. But the psychological withdrawal symptoms can last for several months. It’s up to you how strong personality you are and whether there is anything left of your strong will, or if it’s all been “eaten” by Tramal.
If it’s even a little bit possible, you’d better not even start with it. If you are just starting out, beware, after just a month you may feel that you are missing the medicine. However, if you are already in this rut and want to get out of it, use one of the methods described above, but of course, consult a psychiatrist (outpatient drug treatment clinic) to see what he/she would recommend. And also, be professionally supervised.
Fingers crossed. If you want any more advice, I’m here for you.
All the facts in the article are my personal experience and the result of self-study and consultation with an expert. They are meant to help people with similar problems as I had, and perhaps set them on the right path, at least a little bit.