from ultram to Vicodin?? - Pain Management Message Board

Queenneeee · 03-10-2007, 10:05 AM

My doctor cold turkey is taking me off my ultram which I have been on for over a year. He called in a new prescription to start Vicodin ... I am totally out of the ultram and going to pick up the vicodin right now. I had asked about slowly coming off the ultram he said not to worry because I am replacing it with another pain med. I am so scared and worried ....will I be ok this weekend ? I have read everything I could about ultram from this board for over a year and I learned you can NOT just stop taking it. Once I ran out on a Sat and waited til Monday to get refill and had a very very strange and bad bad day , thanks to all of you I learned it was because of the 'withdrawls' I had which I didn't know I had. Wish me luck this weekend ..plus I am also nervous of being on Vicodin, I read a lot about it on these boards ....

morgyporgy · 03-10-2007, 10:32 AM

well i for one love the pain relief i get with the vicodin. it is simply hydrocodone and tylenol. when i first started on pain meds i was given ultram and unfortunetly was allergic to it. it helped with the pain but being allergic.....after 2 days the doc pulled me off. you didn't state what dose you are starting on. i am currently on the 10/325. be sure to take with food at first and see how it affects you before driving. i have never had any issues on this med except not liking the europhic affect it can give you but fortunetly that has passed. funny because i guess that feeling is why people get addicted to it. i have been on it for about 1 1/2 yrs. now and have no complaints except that it seems i have built a tolerance for it and my dr. wants me try the mscontin. we haven't gotten there yet tho. i take mine 4 times a day. i really don't think the withdrawals are going to be an issue because i believe the vicodin will replace the ultram and i think you will be fine. gl and let us know how you are doing. god bless, katy

kimmark1 · 03-10-2007, 02:42 PM

Usaully it is the other way around. Doctors take a person off vicodin and put them on Ultram because ultram is nonnarcotic. In my opinion, ultram is a very weak pain killer, and vicodin is stronger, so you shouldn't be experiencing withdrawls or more pain than you have been when taking the Ultram. I wouldn't worry. You should be happier with the relief it will give you than with Ultram. However;it may cause drowsiness, but everyone is different.

ozzybug · 03-10-2007, 03:00 PM

Quenneee-
Hey there. Did your PM take you off the Ultram for any particular reason? Had it stopped working for you, or were your pain levels increasing and the doctor felt that Vicodin would be a better choice?

Either way, the one thing I can suggest is to make sure, as already stated to take it with food. This will hopefully help stave off any kind of nausea. If you've not taken Vicodin before, or very often, it can tend to make you a bit nauseous, and can also make you drowsy or kind of "loopy" as well. This should all pass in time though.

For me, Ultram was great for releiving my pain, but unfortunately I'm allergic and broken out in hives each time I took it. Vicodin is great for breaktrhough pain and has never given me any kind of euphoric or loopy feeling, but the first few times I took it, it did make me nauseous.

Yes, it is addictive, but your doctor feels you need it, so take it as prescribed, and if the time comes that you need to come off of it, I'm sure he will taper you down so you won't have to suffer major withdraw symptoms.

Let us know how it goes. Good Luck, and I hope your pain levels show improvement soon! Oh, one more thing to remember. The acetaminophen in the Vicodin isn't so great on the liver, so if you are going to be taking this on a regular basis, make sure your doctor does liver screens. Because I take Norco (same as Vicodin, but less aceptaminophen) my doctor has me go for bloodwork every 6 months.

Katirina · 03-10-2007, 06:09 PM

There are many meds they say you should go off of slowly and I have taken a few with no problems. I also take Ultram daily and have Vicoden but it really doesn't help much so am now taking Percoset. When I first started the Ultram I didn't take it daily until I was in a lot of pain. I actually have no problem taking any of these meds w/no food just water. You will probably do just fine. Some times reading everything on the board isn't necessarily good (if that makes sense).