This is almost identical to my reaction to gabapentin—no attenuation of pain whatsoever, and feeling of overall ill-being. Worse (IMO), it deprived me of my ability to think clearly/concentrate, and worst of all, robbed me of my ability to create (both imagination and abstract thought) —my vocation. Perhaps it was fortunate that I never got beyond 900-1200 mg/day; I was in intractable pain at the time, and that may have masked/overridden whatever withdrawal there was.

Acknowledging that jobs involving travel often/usually have no regard for the five-day work week, will this new job require "on-call" or erratic scheduling? It occurs to me that if you can reasonably count on the second day as being the worst, and you have any ability to incorporate that into your working schedule, you might be able to arrange to have that worst day (or worst 2 days) coincide with your "weekend"/(off days). This will indubitably suck until you're off the beastie, but by December, may only be for a couple/few more weeks at worst.

I share your reluctance on this one (and by all means discuss it with your doctor), but thinking it through, it also occurs to me that using something else (e.g. a diazapine prescribed by your doctor) to attenuate withdrawal symptoms one or two days out of 5 - 7 (~a week) through this step-down period is quite different than taking it every day for a month or more, and far less likely to produce/trigger another dependence (or swap one for another). Speaking only for myself, and under the circumstances outlined above, I would seriously consider this option. Planning ahead, maybe ask your doctor about a prescription for a couple days worth—not enough to produce dependence, but enough to test/see if it's worthwhile considering for you.

Doc