I have been taking (Tramadol) prescription pain killers for three years. The dose was three tablets per day. As you may or may not know, removing drugs or should I say “going cold turkey” is not easy. For example, your pain receptors are hyper sensitive and any reduction in dose in my experience leads to uncomfortable pain, cold sweats, depression and restless legs to name a few. For this reason, the barriers to quitting for myself outweighed the benefits on remaining in this drug induced state.
So, what possessed me to stop? Well it was by accident: the motivation was when I watched a #Wim Hoff video (referred to as the Ice-Man). The short of it is that he (Wim) was advocating deep breathing, cold showers and mind control. I carried out the breathing which apparently induces an adrenaline rush. This in turn reduces pain and also the process gives you a sense of calm or peace. I performed this for a couple of weeks with the realisation of positive side-effects: That was the fact I was forgetting to take the pain killers on a regular basis, to a stage whereby I was taking just one a day. This was when I had the eureka of going cold turkey. I started to take just one tablet per night until I was sure I could handle this comfortably. This then became two days, then three and then a complete shut off of the drug.
I also noticed an uplift in mood and my strength and stamina had improved.