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Ultram Addiction
by ldjohn, Mar 03, 2003 12:00AM
I too am addicted to Ultram. I quit 2 times and have been seeing a therapist. I had abused prescription painkillers than I had a baby and I knew I was done with these addictions. However, I had a headache one night and my father had ultram for his arthritis, he said they are new (1996) and they were not a narcotic. That was it... here I am 7 years later still fighting this demon.
Now I have 3 children under 7 years old, a full time job and my husband is out of work. It is so difficult to even think about quitting but every so often I start to get sick of the monkey on my back. People have said it gives you a feeling of well-being and energy, she is right. My self-esteem has been compromised and I can't help but hate myself for what I am doing. The energy part is the worst. Trying to keep up with the day to day husle/busle of everyday working and kids at 43 years old is too much sometimes and the ultram helps keep me afloat.
I thought of weaning off, that didn't work, I quit altogether until my dad gave me ultram again. My question is how about acupuncture? I don't have 3 days to chill out and withdrawal from this medicine. My kids 2 3year twins are constantly in need of my attention.
Without the kids, I could do it for sure, I have in the past.
I am really finding this harder and harder to quit and my tolerance has forced me to take more (30 a day) pretty bad...
Please let me know what you think about the acupuncture and how I would go about doing it. I called a place that will charge $40 a visit. Thanks for help. Ldjohn
Now I have 3 children under 7 years old, a full time job and my husband is out of work. It is so difficult to even think about quitting but every so often I start to get sick of the monkey on my back. People have said it gives you a feeling of well-being and energy, she is right. My self-esteem has been compromised and I can't help but hate myself for what I am doing. The energy part is the worst. Trying to keep up with the day to day husle/busle of everyday working and kids at 43 years old is too much sometimes and the ultram helps keep me afloat.
I thought of weaning off, that didn't work, I quit altogether until my dad gave me ultram again. My question is how about acupuncture? I don't have 3 days to chill out and withdrawal from this medicine. My kids 2 3year twins are constantly in need of my attention.
Without the kids, I could do it for sure, I have in the past.
I am really finding this harder and harder to quit and my tolerance has forced me to take more (30 a day) pretty bad...
Please let me know what you think about the acupuncture and how I would go about doing it. I called a place that will charge $40 a visit. Thanks for help. Ldjohn
Grappler
I HOPE YOU SEEK HELP AND I WILL PRAY FOR YOU..
30 a day is a serious problem but NOT insurmountable. There are enough ppl on this board who have prevailed over same & could give your usage a serious run for its money. But make no mistake about it: Getting off ultram is going to be tough & to not have 3 days to go thru withdrawal is greatly under-estimating the inherent difficulty in getting off this drug. The fact is, 3 days would hardly touch the withdrawals you are going to experience.
But do it you can. You need determination, a game plan, an understanding of what addiction is all about, to know what to expect while withdrawing, family support & the support of other addicts.
I have never been a group gal. But once I looked the monster in the eye & saw it was me, I came to this board & it has helped me tremendously & I'm now almost 6 wks. clean of beaucoup doses of codeine.
I'm curious as to what your doc says about your usage, although I'm assuming you must be getting extra from supplementary sources since I can't imagine a doc prescribing 900 tabs a mo. If you're shopping around, you're in good company on this board.
You'll likely get a lot more useful advice later from others on this board but I wanted to welcome you, tell you you CAN do it but urge you to do it right. You've taken the first step by coming here. It's a series of steps, for all of us, even those long clean.
We're all pulling for you & post as often as you need
Dancing in the Dark
If you feel that you really cannot detox right now or if you do detox and fall off the wagon, Suboxone might be an alternative. It can be used as a maintenance drug, and it has saved my life. I've been on it a couple months, and I can't tell you the difference it has made. Plus, it doesn't come with the ball and chain that being on Methadone maintenance does.
You do have to be careful though, because the addict in you will tell you you need more pills. I have to use a lot of willpower to take as prescribed, even though if I were to take more it wouldn't do anything for me. You should start looking for an addiction specialist in your area, and ask him/her about Suboxone if it sounds like something that interests you.
We can do many things we don't think we can. I cannot say it enough - tell your family and friends about this. Let them support you. You will need that. Good luck.
I was here about 6 months ago at the begining of my first withdrawl from opiates. At that time I was coming off a habit, which had progressed over the course of about 18 months.
My abuse began after a motorcycle accident which left me with a broken foot and a later wreck, which dealt me an almost complete tear of my left ACL. I was 29 at the time of my accidents and on March 7th I will turn 32. The first withdrawl was BAD! So bad that I said I would never go back to using again. I was a Registered Nurse and had come very close to getting caught nabbing drugs on a few occasions. Well, needless to say I ate those words. I was clean for almost 2 months. I remember thinking how dumb I was for risking my CAREER and in the process throwing away my life. I was so happy to be free from the evils of opiate addiction.
Here I am 4 days from my 32nd birthday and on my 4th day of a cold turkey withdrawl. The difference this time is that I got CAUGHT! I was caught taking IV Demerol from a hospital. I thought I was too slick to get caught, but I DID.
The State Board of Nursing gave me the opportunity to seek treatment and keep my license, but the hoops I was going to have to jump thru for the next 3 years seemed overwhelming and when I got the packet from the board 2 weeks ago, I just put it away and missed the deadline to enter treatment. Basically, I threw everything away. I rationalize this behavior by keeping in my mind that I never wanted to be a nurse anyway, which is true. I just sometimes wonder if I am taking the easy road out.
The withdrawl is much different this time. Yesterday was the worst with aches and pains in my legs and lower back. It seems so much worse this time. I hope day 5 will be the begining of the end for my LAST withdrawl. I guess I had to lose everything in order to see the light. My relationships with everyone around me have all but disappeared. I see myself as difficult to get along with and almost completely self centered. THIS IS NOT WHO I AM.
I guess I am just typing to get things off my chest and to say that this is a hell of alot of pain to go thru for a damn DRUG!
Thanks for listening,
James
Idjohn, pharmdee is right: 30 Ultram a day is a toxic dose by anyone's standards (even mine). You may think you're too busy to take time off for detox. After you've seizured from an Ultram OD you'll undoubtedly find the time. Better to find that time now. A mom in the middle of a drug-enduced seizure isn't much use to her kids, especially if she's behind the wheel at the time. At the dose you're on, this can happen without warning. Imagine the consequences ...
Thomas
P.S. Hi Spanky!