I was prescribed Vicodin back in August when I "decided" to fall down some stairs and did a number on my leg. Since then I have taken only about 30 mg a day. But lately I have been trying to cut down and discovered that I am having some of the withdrawal effects. I sure didn't expect that.

At any rate, I called the doc's nurse about it, and she said the doc would tell me when to cut down and would probably prescribe another pain med, a non-opiate, when he decided I needed to get off. I told her I hoped it wasn't Tramadol because I have already been taking that everyday for years, underneath anything else I take.

Well, when I tried to renew my Vicodin last week, I got a call back and was told the doc wasn't going to give me any more Vicodin, but instead was going to give me a scrip for Tramadol. Needless to say, I was not happy. Don't these people listen? I explained again about my situation, including that I would like some guidelines on weaning off and I needed more Tramadol to do it right I thought, and the nurse said she would tell the doc and get back to me. I didn't hear anything back. Well, when my hubby went to get some meds the pharmacy called and said they had for me, I discovered I had been given prescriptions for Vicodin and for Tramadol. No messages from the doc......

Gee, well, I'm now down to 20 mg a day. I tried to wean down to 15 yesterday and today, but am having a lingering bad headache, knee pain, and some depression, I think, as a result.

I know some people are prescribed these drugs long-term and I have no problem with that. But I sure didn't expect withdrawal effects from 30 mg! I wasn't even taking as many of the pills as the instructions said I could--and now I'm glad I didn't.

I am still in PT, so I think I will slow down on the weaning, now that I have more pills. I am annoyed, though, that I didn't hear back from the doc. Maybe it was because he had prescribed Oxycodon to me after knee surgery the first week in February and didn't know I was still on Tramadol? I never did finish the full bottle of Oxycodon, knowing its adddictive potential. Gee.

What do you folks think about this situation?