No it won't help. You will start with the opiod and it will help you when you take it. When you take the OTC after that, it will seem very ineffective. Eventually, you will only take the opiod, and slowly start getting dependent on it. Your body will need more and more, to manage the pain. If you succumb like I did, it will start effecting your life in ways you can't even imagine. Being high and drowsy, all the time, is not easy. I feel fatigue all the time, and develop a mild temperature soon after I take tramadol. This happens everyday, over and top of the pain that I am trying to deal with. I have tried rehab, but even that didn't work, because I don't take the pills out of choice. I had no option but to go back, just so I could function! I can't work, and am totally dependent on my family for financial support and I can relate to you thoughts about the future. I too have panic attacks, when I think about my own life not being in my control.

Wish you luck! And stay strong!