Is Tramadol Addictive

Is Tramadol addictive?

This is the million dollar question.

Anyone who’s used narcotics recreationally will tell you flat out, “Yes, Tramadol is addictive.” 

However, the medical profession and people who’ve never abused drugs have varying opinions on the subject.

And that’s just it—they have opinions, not experience.

Tramadol may be seen as having a lesser potential for dependence than oxycodone simply because it’s a schedule IV drug instead of a schedule II like most opiate painkillers.

However, don’t let this classification fool you. Tramadol is just as addicting as any other opiate, and gets you higher than a kite when taken in larger amounts than prescribed.

Don’t believe me? Well let me tell you a tale (and this ain’t no Texas tall-tale) about my experience with Tramadol and also share with you some popular opinions on the subject.

And away we go…

My Personal Experience with Tramadol Addiction

Let’s take a time machine back to about 2013–2014. I was teaching courses on jazz piano and jazz improvisation at the prestigious University of North Texas College of Music.

I had just gotten sober for the second time in my life, and things were going pretty well. I was talking about a subject I loved all day and making decent money doing it.

A story for another post is that I am extremely attracted to women who have issues with drugs and sex.

Well, my obsession for one such woman who would ultimately choose another person over me left me in some pain, and I didn’t want to work a program around this situation at all.

Wouldn’t you know it? My back started to hurt pretty bad. At this point, I was doing less teaching and more music production at a studio in Dallas, TX.

I was hunched over keyboards and synthesizers and behind a computer a lot, and yes my back legitimately hurt.

However, my emotions were what were bothering me more.

I remember I had a grand plan (yes, us addicts and our plans of how we’re going to do it right this time!) I was going to go to the doctor, tell him I was an addict, get him to prescribe me Tramadol, tell everyone I knew in the program that I was taking pain medication legitimately, and somehow all of this wouldn’t lead me down the highway to hell.

It’s easy to get a doctor to prescribe you Tramadol. I remember taking that first Tramadol and immediately whipping up a conversation with a stranger (ah yes, the proof that this opiate was definitely working).

So what did this lead to? I then went to another doctor to get some X-rays done. I told him I was an addict, but he prescribed me four 10s of hydrocodone a day.

Jackpot!

Funny how I thought by telling him I was an addict, that would somehow prevent me from being in active addiction.

Well, you can guess how the story goes; a little time with the painkillers and eventually back to heroin for me.

The most recent time I took Tramadol was after a venture to the dentist. I got 15 of them, took them all at once, and was mad fucked up for the next 36 hours or so.

So what’s my conclusion based on experience? Tramadol is addictive, Tramadol gets you high, tramadol is easier to get than other painkillers, and taking Tramadol will lead back to stronger opiates if you ever abused heroin or oxy.

So What’s What Do the Addiction Experts Say About Tramadol? 

Well first of all Tramadol is a synthetic opioid. It doesn’t carry the name oxycodone, hydrocodone, or fentanyl; however, it’s just as addicting.

Just like my experience, experts say that Tramadol is prescribed more readily than other opiate painkillers. The fact is, many doctors just don’t think it’s addicting.

That GABA area of the brain is heavily affected by Tramadol abuse and can cause a decrease in the production of dopamine. This lays the groundwork for the need to continue taking Tramadol in order to experience feelings of euphoria.

The symptoms of a Tramadol high include:

  • Nausea
  • An upset stomach
  • Vomiting
  • Tiny pupils

You have to be very careful when overtaking Tramadol as it slows down your breathing and your heart rate. So much that, yes, it can kill you.

When in withdrawal from Tramadol, users may experience the following:

  • Insomnia
  • Tremors
  • Depression
  • High anxiety
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Flu-like symptoms
  • Sweating

If you are abusing Tramadol and are trying to quit, it’s best to get professional help at a detox center of some sort.

Don’t try to do this on your own if at all possible.

Contrary to some beliefs, Tramadol induces a horrible withdrawal experience, and some of the symptoms mentioned before can be just as bad or worse than someone who is withdrawing from heroin.

Tramadol Is Addictive, Without Question

The bottom line is this — if you’ve ever abused painkillers, or any narcotic, then it’s extremely likely that you can’t use Tramadol safely at all.

It will be easy for you to convince yourself that, by taking Tramadol, you’re not messing with a  highly addictive substance.

Don’t be fooled!

If you are taking more than prescribed, that’s because it’s getting you high, and you’re going down a treacherous trail.

I know for me personally that if I start taking Tramadol I can expect to see a syringe full of heroin in the not too distant future.

This isn’t my opinion

This is my experience.

Do you have experience taking Tramadol, or maybe know a loved one who is in denial about their Tramadol abuse?

Let me know in the comments — I’d love to hear from you.

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Adam Fout
Admin
3 years ago

Thanks for reading Claude! I know your story intimately. I hope that it gets better soon for you my brother.

Steve
Steve
2 years ago

I found it has helped with depression (diagnosed) where other anti-depressants do not work for me. This I found out completely unintenionally when given it for pain associated with kidney stones. I can take one 50mg (which normally would be as prescribed ” every 4 -6 hours as needed”. One does the trick for depression for an entire day and more (!). Unfortunately, of course, the bottle ran out, so it’s back to trying to find ‘another anti-depressant’. It did get me to research (google search) on ., “Tramadol works as an anti-depressant’ and sure enough found a link that gives testimonials to that very thing.

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