Chances of addiction if taking only as prescribed or less

Today,  I was prescribed Tramadol 50 mgs (1/6 hrs as needed max. 4/day) primary use: working hrs, not comfortable taking a narcotic on the job.   History is I have been taking Norco 10-325 and will continue to do so in the evenings if needed.  Some days I don’t take any, others I take up to 2.  A 60 pill RX lasts me about 45 days, min. of 30.  Pain meds have never worked particularly well for me, except injected dilaudid (twice in ER for severe kidney infections), so I tend not to even bother unless I am desperate for any kind of relief.  After reading everything on this board about Tramadol, I am concerned about becoming addicted.  My question is this:  If you take the Tramadol prescription as prescribed (or less) and don’t take it for an extended period of time (I only plan on taking until I can lose weight for back surgery, possibly 6-9 months) what are the chances of becoming addicted?  I plan on taking 1 possibly 2 a day on bad days. I had both my Primary Doc and Pharmacist insist there is little chance.  I’d rather get my straight answer here.   Many Thanks in Advance

[Julia M Aharonov, DO]

You said that you read everything there was to read here about tramadol. Did you happen to read my blog and the responses to it? You will get a lot out of it.
Tramadol is still am opiate, no matter how you cut it and your primary care doctors are simply not familiar enough with it. They are telling you what they have been told by the drug reps or told in residency. I was actually told on one of my pain rotations many years ago that it was "just like Tylenol, only stronger".
If narcotics do not work well for you, it is likely that tramadol will not either, however, it might, because it affects a slew of different other receptors.
When you do try to get off of it, even if you take it only as prescribed, expect to have withdrawals. Withdrawal  typically begins 10 – 20 hours after stopping use. Because of its added serotonin release, stopping Tramadol can cause seizures and depression. Withdrawal from Tramadol can also bring on severe mood swings, electric shock feelings in the body and aggressive behavior.
Some of the other Tramadol withdrawal symptoms from doing self Tramadol detox include loss of appetite, nausea, insomnia, chills or tremors, fever, sweating, anxiety, flu like symptoms, diarrhea and hallucinations.
Please read my blog on tramadol misuse by clicking on my name and then blogs. You can also find more info on tramadol on my clinic website www.MDSDrugDetox.com under Tramadol Addiction.
I hope I answered your questions and good luck on your research. It is a very good idea to loose weight, I commend you on realizing that. Good luck again and good health.

We perform a Tramadol Detox under anesthesia to eliminate all of these withdrawal symptoms insuring that you can truly move on from a Tramadol dependence.