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why is long term so bad?

My husband is trying to come off of tramadol and vicodin. He has taken it for years but just had surgery to repair 2 of 8 herniated disks. He is not doing well and at this point I am wondering why he needed to get off the tramadol at all??
I understand why long term use of Vicodin is harmful, but if he can stay steady @ 10 tram's a day, why NOT?
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547368 tn?1440541785
Hello and welcome to our pain management forum. I am sorry to hear about your husbands struggle with pain.

I agree with Bob that tramadol can be addictive and cause difficult withdrawals. However if you have pain as I assume your husband does than he certainly requires something for pain. There are not many narcotics that don't have addictive properties, indeed I know of none. There are horror stories with most narcotics. But if we have chronic pain we pay the price, in many ways.

I would discuss your concerns with your husband and his physician. His medical providers can not talk to just you because of HIPPA unless your husband has given them permission.

Many ppl with severe back pain, even after corrective surgery require pain medications of some sort due to the continuation of pain. Hopefully pain is better after surgery but sometimes it is not or it is only reduced but continues to infer with function.

Yes the substance abuse forum is a great forum for abuse issues. If your husband has pain that is not controlled I am not sure that is the right forum for him. They will have more information about withdrawing from drugs. There are many wise f you have additional questions please feel free to ask. Take care, Tuck
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Avatar universal
Tramadol is highly addictive and can create easy a dependence issue in a short term use. It contains a synthetic opiate, which makes to be as bad as is, It is more difficult to get rid off than other " normal opiates" as the mentioned Vicodin. The withdrawal effect is nasty, it should be tapered off gradually to get rid off it to minimize such withdrawals effects. How many mg was he taking for how long?Do I understand right if you said he used to take or is taking 10 pills a day or is 10mg a day? I don't think there is such low dose as 10 mg, I heard of 50mg minimum, so if it is 10 pills a day no matter how many mg each is is a strong dependence he is on, the more mg the worse it is.
It is not my intention to scare you, but those are hard facts. Unfortunately not too many doctors are aware of How addictive or how bad dependence can create the Tramadol. I have used but only for 1 year and was 50mg 3 times a day, I weaned it off over a week and I had no withdrawal symptoms at all, but I visit the Substance Abuse Forum daily and there had been so many similar stories about Tramadol that is alarming.The moderator Avisg used to be addicted to Tramadol, so you can ask her questions about it in that Forum. Good luck  
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