Tramadol :: Tramadol And Alcohol

I began tramadol in June 2014 after surgery. It subsided the pain and made me feel good. Like happy and optimistic about my recovery. I couldn't drive while recovering, so I walked everywhere, including to physical therapy appointments. That was all of last summer. I stayed on them until January to help with physical therapy discomfort. Then I suffered an elbow injury also in January, so stayed on them. My surgeon who originally prescribed them began cutting down on what he prescribed, so I found them elsewhere. This past spring, I began drinking alcoholic beverages after taking my last dose at around 5pm. Two months later was a disaster. Since, I have learned two very important things about Tramadol. One is that it's also an antidepressant and two, alcohol makes them even more addicting. This I learned through all the research I desperately sought. I am now 11 days without taking Tramadol and It's been hell. I spoke to a detox facility and they said that my insurance company would not pay for treatment for Tramadol because it is...wait for it... NOT ADDICTING. So here I am still trying to get this poison out of my system. It stinks because it is now I need something to calm my symptoms. Which is the lesser evil? I have no energy, depression, muscle weakness, no motivation and can cry at any given moment. Why me, why any of this? Doctors need to know what Tramadol truly is as do the insurance companies.