Oxycodone Vs Tramadol - Alternating And Addiction?
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I have a rheumatoid condition and am prescribed both Oxycodone and Tramadol. I alternate between them, not wishing to become addicted. What I'm unsure of is whether they are different enough chemically to prevent my body getting too used to either one. I also take a day off here and there, but I just feel very wary. I have to do pain management, but I just want to verify that taking Oxycodone one day and Tramadol the next doesn't strike my body chemically as being the same thing. Many thanks for any helpful response!

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I just wrote a long response (not sure if it posted yet), but am not sure if I remembered to say thank you for your reply. Thank you!

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Thank you--I don't have flare-ups constantly, but they can last a long time (weeks, months) and when it's really bad (like now) Naproxen just isn't enough...I don't even like depending on anything for pain but dependence is one thing...what I just really don't want to do is get addicted to anything, that's all.

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Thanks, but I think you have assumed there was something fishy about my query. So I will just say this. I don't take any medications other than those prescribed to me by my GP and my rheumatologist. And I have never had a "drug screen" nor would there ever be any reason for me to have one. And I have had a rheumatoid condition since I was a teenager and I am well aware of issues related to both dependence (which is not the same as addiction) and tolerance. Dependence and tolerance are one thing, addiction another. I asked what I asked because I have been taking Humira (biweekly shots) for years to control my arthritis but have had to go off it now and do pain management instead, and I wanted information from someone other than my rheum or my GP--they are both overly great fans of Western medicine, in my opinion, and the use of narcotics for pain management. I just wanted to verify that I truly won't be in grave danger addicted while following the dosing schedule that's as recommended for my flare-ups (sometimes a flare-up lasts for months).

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Thank you, CryssyN, you covered that very well and I'm sure your post will be helpful to others on this site, as well.

Another thing I'd like to touch on is dependence, it's an aspect that is also different than addiction, but it is what happens after you've been taking the same medication in the same dosage for a long period of time. You're body basically just gets used to having that substance added and you may experience minor withdrawal or rebound effects, if you would abruptly stop taking it.

That is something else that anyone taking any medication for a long period of time needs to be concerned with and your idea of alternating may help prevent that and tolerance from occurring too fast, so both medications may last you for a longer period of time, before you'll need dosage adjustments or different drugs.

Learn more Oxycodone details here and you can learn more Tramadol details here.

But they both are somewhat similar substances, since the Tramadol is also derived from an opiate.

However, as to your question about whether or not they are different enough, it really depends on your body, but in most cases they are, because your body recognizes the chemical differences very fast.

As an example of that, say you were taking just Oxycodone for a year or so, but your doctor suddenly switched you to Morphine, well even though it is another narcotic, you may still experience some rebound and withdrawal symptoms from stopping the Oxycodone. So yes, in most cases, our bodies are very good at knowing the difference.

Are there any other questions or comments?

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There is a difference between addiction and tolerance of pain medicines. When you regularly take almost any medication your body can build up a tolerance to the medicine, which will leave a chronic pain patient need dosage adjustments. This is the reason the pain doctors start you off on the lowest doses of medicines and then slowly titrate you up to a stronger dosage or a diffrent medicine. On the other hand addiction is when you take more medicines than the prescription was intended, when you mix medications to get a euphoric feeling and addiction will lead to illegal use of narcotics.

Your question about mixing tramadol and oxycodone is they are different types of pain medicines and they will both show up in a drug panel. Your pain management clinic should be the only place prescribing your pain meds and they can stop prescribing medications if you don't exactly follow their rules.

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