Dad addicted to Tramadol for 3 yrs, and now maybe Adderall(adderrall) too

[Scranton]

My dad has been taking Tramadol for 3 years.  Before he started taking it, he was addicted to hydrocodone.  The family doctor we both see was very free with handing out the painkillers in the past. My doctor was prescribing me 180 pills of Tramadol a month.  The nurse that prescribed them told us they were not much stronger than Tylenol, and she didn't warn us of their highly addictive nature.  I don't take them anymore, but I know my father does, and I am so worried about his health.  He is in his 50's and has high blood pressure, he also smoke at least one pack of cigs a day, and he only gets a few hours of sleep each night.
    I take Adderall (adderrall) for ADHD, and my father knows I take it and what the physical side effects are.  A couple of months ago he told me that he has been buying a few pills of Adderall (adderrall) here and there from a guy that works at his mall.  KNowing my dad and his history of drug dependency/addiction, I just know he is probably abusing Adderall (adderrall) in addition to Tramadol and got knows what else the stupid doctor will give him.  Sometimes when I see him I can tell he has not been to sleep for a day or so.  I mentioned the Adderall (adderrall) issue to my stepmother, but I didn't tell her that I knew he was definitely buying them.. I don't know what to do...I want to help but I don't know how.
      

[confused456]

Someone with more info will be able to help you soon. Best of luck.

[avisg]

when it comes to the tramadol he really does need to taper off of it ,there is a seizure risk.does he want to stop? I don't have any knowledge of adderall (adderrall)

[Scranton]

I'm sure he does want to stop, but he says that his back hurts too bad, etc.  He isn't very educated on all the aspects of addiction, like the withdrawal.  And I think he would be afraid to ask his doctor for advice on discontinuing the use because he would be worried they would think he was a junkie.  I don't know that he fully understands how bad the pills are for his body.  I've seen some posts about people using another drug to help them quit taking Tramadol, is tha a good idea?  I had never heard of the seizure thing until just now.  How scary.  Thanks for the input

[avisg]

scranton ,i am not sure what drug you are taking about to help him quit taking tramadol,if you can tell me the name ,i can tell you about it . There is Clonidine it helps with some of the withdrawls? He will need to taper if you can find out how much he is taking and he is willing we can make him up a taper plan.
avis

[Scranton]

Thanks.  I will try to talk to him tonight or tomorrow to find out.  I'll post more details soon. THANK YOU