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A Walk on the Dark Side: My Struggle and Release with Tianeptine



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A Walk on the Dark Side: My Struggle and Release with Tianeptine

Old 10-07-2016, 06:15 AM
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That's really great Jasper. Sounds like you are doing it!

I will start using a scale so that I know what I'm taking as I haven't been doing that. I would like to try this method once I taper down quite a bit, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to get a doctor to prescribe the meds for me. Please keep us updated, as I will be coming back here to check on your progress. You are giving me hope!! Thank you so much for that!
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Old 10-08-2016, 07:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Jasper77 View Post
Well, here I am on my 4th day without a bit of Tianeptine. The Tramadol takes all the cravings away. I am also tapering off the Tramadol now.

This morning at 8 am I did 100mg Tramadol and it's now 5 pm here and I still have not redosed. So my cravings may be down considerably which means I may not have to do any more Tramadol. At least not much more. I may have to do 50mg tonight but I think after that I may be in the clear.

We'll see how tomorrow goes.
Very happy to hear Jasper. As you found out as I did, Tramadol tickles the same opiod receptors in the brain as Tianeptine and tricks the brain
From withdrawing. Now that you are making good progress start weaning off the Tramadol and you will be pain free in no time buddy. And if you have any Tianeptine in the house, flush it for good.
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Old 10-08-2016, 08:04 AM
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Just a word about tramadol. I was addicted to the stuff for 18+years. Numerous rehabs. Tapered more times than I can count. Oh, and I preferred this drug to all other opiates because it gave me energy and lasted a long time. And yes, I got high off the stuff. Not surprised it negates withdrawals from Tianeptine. And the withdrawals from tramadol were horrendous for me.
Just felt I needed to share my experience with this drug.
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Old 10-09-2016, 01:08 AM
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Hey Sober John! Nice to see you and thanks for this thread. It literally saved my life!

Thanks Earthling for following and thanks for the warning Lovetosail. I can't wait to get off Tramadol as well. I've wanted to indulge more than once on Tramadol but won't now more than ever.

Well this will be my 7th day without Tianeptine. It's 4 am right now and I can't sleep. It's probably because I've been tapering off Tramadol. I'm down to 50mg after lunch and 50mg before bedtime. It's not easy but I rather be sleepless than indulge in an opiate buzz at this point. I know it's just my body rewiring after 10 years of Tianeptine abuse.

My back pains are all but gone at this point although I still get a random sensation here and there but it's pretty much back to normal. I'm so glad I'm not going to loose any vital organs because of this drug. It's insane how long I let this go on even though the warning signs were there. Tianeptine will fry your kidneys and liver man. A good reason to stay clear of this drug.

Ok... I will check back in in a few more days. Thanks for following my progress. I guess I'll try to get back to sleep.

Oh yeah... Today I am throwing out all my Tianeptine. It's such a strange feeling let me tell you! I guess this is really it.
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Old 10-09-2016, 09:06 AM
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Originally Posted by lovetosail View Post
Just a word about tramadol. I was addicted to the stuff for 18+years. Numerous rehabs. Tapered more times than I can count. Oh, and I preferred this drug to all other opiates because it gave me energy and lasted a long time. And yes, I got high off the stuff. Not surprised it negates withdrawals from Tianeptine. And the withdrawals from tramadol were horrendous for me.
Just felt I needed to share my experience with this drug.
You are correct, Tramadol is very addicting and if used irresponsibly can lead to a new problem. People addicted to opiates or tianeptine are in a bad place and the withdrawals are some of the most hellish a person can experience. I think once a person figures out they can't do it alone they search for something to help ease the withdrawals. I read on several forums of people taking loperamide or Immodium in gigantic doses to offset their opiate withdrawals. There are people that advocate drinking grapefruit juice with the loperamide so it crosses the blood barrier in the brain to tickle the opiate receptors in the brain.

I stumbled across Tramadol by accident as it was prescribed to me for an injury. When I started taking the tramadol I noticed I had no desire to take the tianeptine and I responsibly used tramadol to stop my tianeptine addiction. I always stayed aware that I could be trading one addiction for another so I weaned off the tramadol in a fast enough rate to keep addiction at bay while also making sure it was not fast enough to pull me back to tianeptine.

I posted this thread because I know being addicted to anything is scary but when you start messing with receptors in the brain and get addicted, the agony, fear and hopefulness is 100 times worse and no one out there that I could find figured out how to crack breaking the addiction of Tianeptine as its withdrawals can be easily compared to extreme heroin withdrawal. Always be careful with any prescription meds. Don't walk out of one jail cell just to enter another.
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Old 10-09-2016, 03:40 PM
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Several things I noticed today on my 7th day without.

A shortness of breath... I think this is caused because Tianeptine is an anti asthmatic. It helps your lungs get more oxygen. So since I've stopped Tianeptine my body has to readjust. But it's really a drag.

Also, a skin irritation I've had for years is gone and cleared up finally. It was this annoying patch of rough skin on my neck and I know now it was the Tianeptine. This drug can cause skin problems.

Tomorrow is my last day on Tramadol. And then I'll try loperamide as recommended. I don't think it will be that much of a reach though. It's going on 7pm and I've only done 50mg Tramadol. I feel comfortable and even went out to the park for a nature walk. It felt revitalizing seeing it through more of my own brain chemicals instead of the opiate window.

So in two days I should be free of all opiates. Yay!
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Old 10-09-2016, 10:09 PM
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I'm still here cheering you on! Keep it up!!! :-) Please don't give up and keep us posted. You are in my thoughts and prayers. I'll be checking back here on a daily basis.
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Old 10-10-2016, 06:07 AM
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Originally Posted by Jasper77 View Post
Several things I noticed today on my 7th day without.

A shortness of breath... I think this is caused because Tianeptine is an anti asthmatic. It helps your lungs get more oxygen. So since I've stopped Tianeptine my body has to readjust. But it's really a drag.

Also, a skin irritation I've had for years is gone and cleared up finally. It was this annoying patch of rough skin on my neck and I know now it was the Tianeptine. This drug can cause skin problems.

Tomorrow is my last day on Tramadol. And then I'll try loperamide as recommended. I don't think it will be that much of a reach though. It's going on 7pm and I've only done 50mg Tramadol. I feel comfortable and even went out to the park for a nature walk. It felt revitalizing seeing it through more of my own brain chemicals instead of the opiate window.

So in two days I should be free of all opiates. Yay!
Great work Jasper! Skip the loperamide as its not very effective anyway and you are on a very low dosage of tramadol. You should be able to stop it without any issues.
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Old 10-11-2016, 06:58 AM
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Well, I guess I'm done. Yesterday was my last day on Tramadol. And I've decided I'm not going to do anymore. Yes, I am feeling not so good. My body is craving and habit is rearing its ugly head but it's manageable. Plus I didn't get any sleep last night and probably won't tonight either.

But I'm gonna see this through... This is my one chance to save myself and I can't give up now. I believe the Tramadol made my end to Tianeptine abuse possible. It let me get through the terrible withdrawl torture of Tianeptine. The discomfort was and is mild and so I'm so glad I ran across this thread. It worked for me too.

Tramadol is not a magic pill... You are going to go through withdrawl symptoms even with this technique. But it will save you 70% of the pain going off Tianeptine cold turkey. I suggest you get off Tramadol as soon as you can before your body learns how to use it to get high. You have a short window to do this so try your best to just take enough to take away the major withdrawl and not indulge in the slight pleasure of the drug.

I will post further in a week or so to let you know how I'm doing but I guess so far this experiment was a success. Now I just need to heal and learn to walk the line. But thank god the darkest part of this nightmare is finally over.

Peace.
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Old 10-12-2016, 03:16 AM
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It gets better everyday Jasper.
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Old 10-13-2016, 02:33 AM
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YAY! I made it! Withdrawl is gone! I thought the Tramadol would not leave me alone. But it finally gave up on me and I'm free! Yes!

I can even watch tv now and enjoy a show without pesky opioids. Wow.

I can't believe I'm finally out! yay!!!

Thanks for following! I took all your encouragement to heart and it really helped. Thanks again!

Cya for now. I'll be around encouraging others now.

Holy cow. It was 10 years for me. Ouch! Lol.

Bye.
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Old 10-14-2016, 03:17 AM
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Freedom is a great feeling. Congrats Jasper!
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Old 10-16-2016, 09:11 PM
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It's Great to Find This...

I stumbled upon this thread while frantically searching Google for as much information about quitting tianeptine as I could find. I found SoberJohn's thread a couple of months ago, but I figured he was long gone at this point, and that this thread was no longer active. But coming back here (accidentally) and seeing Jasper's experience has given me a new hope. Now that I see there are two of you who quit using the same method I finally feel like I might be able to quit this myself.
A little about myself and my tianeptine habit: I started last March, after quitting a kratom addiction. I started with the recommended amount and quickly started increasing my doses. Now, I'm at the point where I'm taking about 3.5 to 5 grams a day. And of course I can't quit because as you all know, the withdrawals are pure hell (I've never experienced anything close to it before). But the habit's killing me. Not only is it expensive, I'm also terrified about what it's doing to my mind and body--I find I'm tired often and my mind does some things it hadn't done before, and the worst part about it is the hopelessness--knowing that I'm at the mercy of this stuff and should I somehow run out of it that I'm doomed. At this point I've stocked up on Gabapentin and Loperamide, and the stuff that goes along with the loperamide to help it work (tagamet, quinine, etc.). I'm ready to quit. It looks like Tramadol is the last piece to the puzzle so I'm looking to open a bitcoin account to see if I can get it that way (thanks for the tip, Jasper). I've been following a taper plan for the last five days and I plan to continue with that until the Tramadol arrives.
I just want to say that finding this post, and Jasper's recent success is so inspiring. Reading his words I could feel the relief he described in that last post where he was finally free of this drug (and the tramadol). There's nothing I want more at this point in my life than to be free from tianeptine. I told my wife that when I get off this I'm never putting another substance other than a multivitamin into my body! It's a horrible, awful addiction and it's a lonely one since so few people have it and so little is known about it. But finding this thread, and seeing that it's active again, is indescribable, and so inspiring. If I could please ask a couple of you to check back in now and again, now that I'm trying to quit, your support would mean so much to me. Congratulations Jasper, I'm very happy for you and hope to join you soon. And SoberJohn, thank you for starting this post. When I started scouring the internet a few months ago looking for help, your post was the only thing I could find that gave me some hope. Now that I see Jasper's joined your ranks, it means that much more. Thank you!
I'll keep you guys updated on my progress.
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Old 10-17-2016, 06:04 AM
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Congrats on the decision to get out of that hell. I can totally relate to the feeling of hopelessness as I couldn't free myself from tianeptine for quite some time. Stay focused on getting off tianeptine and don't forget that tramadol is a quick diversion away from your tianeptine addiction not another addiction. Look forward to seeing you break free like Jasper and me.
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Old 10-17-2016, 12:36 PM
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Thank you

This week I'm going to look at setting up a bitcoin account so I can work on getting some tramadol. I figure I can get it in about 3 or 4 weeks, in which I'll be down to about 1 or 1.5 grams a day, which isn't much compared to where I am now and seems like a reasonable level for me to jump off, onto the tramadol and gabapentin. In the meantime I might experiment with loperamide and gabapentin to see how that works. I tried it once, along with about 7grams of kratom and it seemed to keep withdrawals at bay for at least 10--12 hours. I appreciate that you got back to me, SoberJohn. If you don't mind me asking--how much were you taking per day when you made the switch over to tramadol and gabapentin?
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Old 10-20-2016, 07:11 AM
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I got some messages and need to post 25 times before I can answer. In all honesty, I need to be more active here anyways. Not much of a support group in real life, so this will be it! Jasper, I am so happy for you! The withdrawals didn't last long at all with this method, so I'm feeling extremely hopeful except I have no idea how to get my hands on the needed medications.

HopetoquitTia, glad to see you here! Let's keep this thread alive. I'm afraid there are more people in this awful situation than I thought. I really felt alone in this struggle, but not anymore. Please give us updates on your progress, Jasper and HopetoQuitTia. Much love to all!!
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Old 10-21-2016, 04:45 PM
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I'll be Here

Originally Posted by LostEarthling View Post
I got some messages and need to post 25 times before I can answer. In all honesty, I need to be more active here anyways. Not much of a support group in real life, so this will be it! Jasper, I am so happy for you! The withdrawals didn't last long at all with this method, so I'm feeling extremely hopeful except I have no idea how to get my hands on the needed medications.

HopetoquitTia, glad to see you here! Let's keep this thread alive. I'm afraid there are more people in this awful situation than I thought. I really felt alone in this struggle, but not anymore. Please give us updates on your progress, Jasper and HopetoQuitTia. Much love to all!!
I'll be around here at least until I finally quit, so I plan on checking in from time to time. Sorry to hear you're in the same situation, Earthling. What sucks is that I think we all desperately want to be off of this, we just can't handle the withdrawals that result. I know that I become completely dysfunctional when WD's set in, and that's not even taking into account the effect on mood. Since I have a job and family, it's impossible to just quit without some kind of program in place. Hopefully the one laid out by Sober John will work for me too. Seeing that it has for Jasper is promising. And it looks like I'll be able to begin in about two weeks. Until then, I'm tapering. Earthling, I suggest weighing out doses and putting the powder into capsules, decreasing your dosage by a manageable amount each day. That's what I'm doing now and it makes tapering much easier. I decrease each dose by about 7% per day. But if I don't weigh it out and put it into capsules I end up eyeballing my doses, and that's when I screw up. Keep me posted on your progress, and message me if you need help.
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Old 10-22-2016, 03:54 PM
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I have created a profile as i have important info to share.
i also consume tianeptine and been trough all the nightmare of withdrawal. Tramadol works indeed and it saved me from hell few times when waiting in delivery ,
but i recently discovered that Cordyceps is working like nothing else.
It stop withdrawal in the track, better then Tramadols does.
I have tried twice and there are two strongly pronounced effects,
first it stops entirely the effect of tianeptine, you can be taking aspirin with the same success and it takes more then 3/4 days to start to feel something from the product again and second, no withdrawal at all.
I strongly advice it.
I am planning to stop again for good(this time) knowing that no hell in front is
so relieving.
I know that it doesn't sound reliable, for all i know Cordyceps are only mushrooms,
but after checking on the net, it seem that it is the main product used for hundreds of years in China for Opium withdrawal relief and addiction.
I am sure it has an efficacy with all the rest of the opiates, but my problem and experience are with tianeptine for which i can guarantee that it works.
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Old 10-22-2016, 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted by elent View Post
I have created a profile as i have important info to share.
i also consume tianeptine and been trough all the nightmare of withdrawal. Tramadol works indeed and it saved me from hell few times when waiting in delivery ,
but i recently discovered that Cordyceps is working like nothing else.
It stop withdrawal in the track, better then Tramadols does.
I have tried twice and there are two strongly pronounced effects,
first it stops entirely the effect of tianeptine, you can be taking aspirin with the same success and it takes more then 3/4 days to start to feel something from the product again and second, no withdrawal at all.
I strongly advice it.
I am planning to stop again for good(this time) knowing that no hell in front is
so relieving.
I know that it doesn't sound reliable, for all i know Cordyceps are only mushrooms,
but after checking on the net, it seem that it is the main product used for hundreds of years in China for Opium withdrawal relief and addiction.
I am sure it has an efficacy with all the rest of the opiates, but my problem and experience are with tianeptine for which i can guarantee that it works.
If this is true it's great news. Of course I'm skeptical but willing to try anything. Can you please be more specific as to how much you take and when? Also, do you take the powdered extract in tea or capsules? Thank you.
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Old 10-28-2016, 10:34 AM
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I will begin the tramadol/gabapentin combination this weekend and make an update around Monday regarding its efficacy. I've been taking Gabapentin lately and have been able to cut down a lot on my dosages and dose frequency. It's also taken away a lot of the annoying withdrawal symptoms that occur daily while taking tianeptine (such as constantly sweating). So Gabapentin has been a big help, and now I'll be combining it with Tramadol with the intention of using both for two weeks (without dosing any tianeptine) at which point I will stop using them. The second week I'll be tapering down from the tramadol and gabapentin.
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