Have Chronic Back Pain, Mood Swings And Fatigue. Want To Get Off Tramdol And Hydrocodone?

Posted on Fri, 20 Sep 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 20 Sep 2013 Answered on

Mon, 14 Oct 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I have chronic back pain but I would like to get off of my tramadol, 1 300mg pill per day and 3 hydrocodone per day 7.5/325 mg per day. Any suggestions? Mood swings and fatigue. Thanks

Answered by Dr. Nsah Bernard (58 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Possible withdrawal symptoms can follow

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Thanks for posting on XXXXXXX

When tramadol is taken for long it is possible to have withdrawal symptoms if suddenly taken off without tampering. Tramadol is a very powerful pain reliever. Even though this medication is non-narcotic, it is considered equivalent to morphine and hydrocodone. Interestingly, when Tramadol was first offered to the public, the manufacturer indicated there was low potential for abuse and while this is still true, there are certain situations in which dependency and/or addiction can occur.
I wish to know if you want to withdraw both medications because you are having mood swings and fatigue?
Hydrocodone is an opiate derivative which comes with its own withdrawal symptoms after using for long (several weeks) and suddenly withdrawing.
You can start by reducing both medication doses to lowest dose through a certain period before completely stopping.
I am sure you will want to consider taking other pain killer medications for the back pain? You might also need to consider physical therapy.
You will need to discuss with your doctor first before stopping the medications.

Hope this answered your question and if not, please feel free to write back.
Dr. Nsah

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar