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How To Wean Off Tramadol?

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Posted on Sat, 21 Jun 2014
Question: HI. I am a 62 y.o. healthy female. I have been on tramadol 5 yrs. Dose range has been 75-150 for pain. back and knee surgeries. As my pain lessened I began to lower dose of tramadol only to discover I have become physiologically dependent!!!. How do I titrate down in a way that is tolerable. I am also on Zoloft 200mg. serequal 50mg. clonazepam 1mg.. Any advice?XXXX
doctor
Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (38 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Dose titration

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query.

I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through.

By physiological dependence, did you mean to say psychological dependence or was it physical dependence. In either case the tramadol has to be gradually reduced. You may take 100mg per day for 3 days then reduce 25mg each time every three days. Meanwhile if there is pain you may try to tolerate it as much as possible and if required you may take pregabaline 75 or 150mg to control these pains.
You may continue the zoloft and seroquel and clonazepam etc.
Hope I am able to answer your concerns.

If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you.

If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback.

In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link:

bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy



Wish you good health,

Kind regards

Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Srikanth Reddy (7 hours later)
Yes I did mean physiological not psychological. I am down to 50mg 2x a day. This process is very distressing.Is the med you suggested a prescription,would an antihistamine help or Cymbalta or is that too much SNRI. Thanks
doctor
Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (6 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Slow tapering required

Detailed Answer:
Hello
Cymbalta will not help in tramadol withdrawal. If you are distressed at present then you maycontinue at 50mg twice daily as of now and then reduce by 25mg every 7 days. This gradual withdrawal will help you in recovering from the tramadol dependence. If while withdrawing tramadol, you have pain over the back, then it is possible that instead of the withdrawal of tramadol, it could be the basic pathology lying beside the back that could be responsible for the pain which is requiring you to take painkillers. The primary pathology of the back needs to be addressed in this case.
As health care magic is an online forum, legally we are not supposed to prescribe medications without physically examining you. Such regulation are primarily meant for the safety of the patients as well as the Doctor. Further any prescription given in E-mail will not be honored by the pharmacy in your country. Sincere apologies for the same.
However you may discuss these options from your primary doctor and get the prescriptions from him. I had discussed with you the option of pregabaline for the kind of pain and anxiety that you were experiencing for tramadol withdrawal. At the dose of 75 mg or 150mg twice dauly Tab Pregabaline can be very effective.
Hope this helps.
Kind regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
Answered by
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Dr. Srikanth Reddy

Psychiatrist

Practicing since :2007

Answered : 2770 Questions

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How To Wean Off Tramadol?

Brief Answer: Dose titration Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query. I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through. By physiological dependence, did you mean to say psychological dependence or was it physical dependence. In either case the tramadol has to be gradually reduced. You may take 100mg per day for 3 days then reduce 25mg each time every three days. Meanwhile if there is pain you may try to tolerate it as much as possible and if required you may take pregabaline 75 or 150mg to control these pains. You may continue the zoloft and seroquel and clonazepam etc. Hope I am able to answer your concerns. If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you. If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback. In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link: bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy Wish you good health, Kind regards Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.