Judy B replied: "Ultram can actually BRING ON withdrawal symptoms from narcotics. Your pain management doctor is either a quack or a redneck who believes anyone in pain management is a junkie looking for dope.........been there, done that. Find a NEW PM Doc who has compassion and credentials. Go online, talk to friends or relatives, try the Yellow Pages and/or go back to your Primary Doc to get a referral to proper Pain management. You won't die from withdrawal from that level of narcotics, but you may wish you had for a week or so. Good Pain Management Clinics are, unfortunately, few and far between. With the Federal Gov't's. 0 tolerance policies, they make it really hard for GOOD Doctors to treat chronic pain, and really EASY for quacks and sadists to set up clinics. If all else fails, try your local Emergency Room, and ask the Docs there for a referral. Good luck....it took me 3 months to find a half-assed PM Clinic, and I had to suffer with them for two years before I found a REAL, good Doctor to simply manage my legitimate, chronic pain from multiple broken bones, and considerable hardware to replace missing bone parts. The AMA Website can also be helpful if you live in a Metropolitan area where there are alot of choices available to you, and/or you want to file a complaint against a Doctor. The bottom line is, you don't have to suffer or be treated like a drug addict simply to exist.......keep trying the avenues listed above until you find a Doctor to help you.....the AMA actually IS on the side of patients in chronic pain, it's the Government that thinks we're all drug addicts! To just answer your question, though, it's not necessarily UNSAFE to be switched to Ultram, but it will be mighty UNCOMFORTABLE for a few days!!!!!"