Tapentadol: A Look at It
People take this medicine to treat sudden pain from things like getting hurt or going to the doctor. This eases pain. It changes the brain, which changes how the body feels and how it handles pain.
How to take and use tapentadol the right way
When you get a new prescription for tapentadol, read this first. Talk to your doctor or the store about what scares you.
Do what your doctor tells you and take this medicine by mouth. You can take this medicine with or without food. Taking this medicine with food might help if it makes you want to throw up. Don’t move your head around much for an hour or two. How can you feel better in other ways? You can talk to your doctor or the drug shop.
It relies on how healthy the person is and how well the medicine works. Don’t use it or take too much of it for too long. The doctor told you to stop taking the medicine.
It’s best to take painkillers as soon as the pain starts. Before the pain gets worse, you should see a doctor right away. At that point, the medicine might not work as well.
Some things might happen if you suddenly stop taking this medicine. If you’ve been taking a lot of it for a long time, this is very important. So that you don’t go through withdrawal, your doctor may lower your amount slowly. Do you want to kill yourself, are you stressed out, or can’t sleep? Talk to your nurse or doctor right away. As soon as your eyes get wet, your nose gets stuffy, or your behavior changes quickly, you should let them know.
This medicine might not work as well after a long time of use. Talk to your doctor if this medicine stops working right.
A lot of people find this medicine helpful, but some can become dependent on it. If you abuse drugs or alcohol or get hooked on them, that might happen to you more often. Don’t get hooked on this drug until your doctor tells you to. Talk to your doctor or nurse about how to find out more.
If your pain gets worse or doesn’t go away, you should call your doctor.
Take this pill to feel better.
You might get sick, throw up, or have trouble going to the bathroom. You might also be sick or tired. If a side effect gets worse or lasts longer than you thought it would, call your doctor or the pharmacy right away.
Eating foods that are high in fiber, drinking a lot of water, and working out can help you stay regular. You might need to take a pill too. The drug shop worker can help you pick out the best cleaner.
Stand up slowly after sitting or lying down to keep from getting dizzy.
Don’t forget that your doctor gave you this medicine because they believed it would benefit you more than harm you. It doesn’t bother a lot of people who take this medicine.
You may not have healthy adrenal glands if you forget things, have sleep apnea (not breathing while you sleep), stomach or gut pain, or have trouble going to the bathroom. It’s also possible if you don’t feel hungry, are always tired, or lose weight. Get in touch with your doctor right away.
Do you get dizzy, have seizures, breathe slowly or badly, or need to wake up often? You should see a doctor right away.
If you take this drug, your body might make more serotonin. There are times when this can cause serotonin syndrome or poisoning. The risk goes up if you take drugs that make your body make more serotonin. There are many ways that medicines can affect each other. Tell your nurse or doctor about all the medicines you take. Having diarrhea or throwing up, your muscles are shaking, you have a fever you can’t explain, or you feel stressed or angry for no reason? You need to see a doctor right away.
Most people don’t have any problems with this drug. If you have a rash, feel hot, or swell up (especially in the face, tongue, or throat), you should see a doctor right away. Also, if you can’t breathe or feel stable, you should see a doctor.
These aren’t the only bad things that could happen. Not in this list? Talk to your doctor or the drug store if you feel different.
If you get sick in the US, you should see a doctor. Call 1-800-FDA-1088 or go to www.fda.gov/medwatch to tell the FDA about bad effects.
If something goes wrong in Canada, you need to tell your doctor. If something goes wrong, call us at 1-866-234-2345.
Some Ideas on How to Be Nice and Care
Tell your doctor or nurse if you are allergic to any other medicines before you take tapentadol. Parts of this item might be broken, which could make some people sick or worse. You should talk to your doctor about it.
If you have heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, liver disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or suicide thoughts, you should tell your doctor or pharmacist before taking this medicine. Also, let them know if you or anyone in your family has a past of drug abuse or addiction.
After taking this drug, you might feel sleepy or dizzy. Getting drunk or high can both make you sleepy and dizzy. Do not drive a car, move big things, or do anything else that needs your full attention until you are sure it is safe. Don’t drink. You should talk to your doctor if you smoke weed.
Tell your dentist or doctor about all the medicines and vitamins you take before surgery. In this group are prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and medicines that come from plants.
Following this drug may make people over 65 more likely to feel lost, sick, dizzy, or tired.
If you are pregnant, you should only take this medicine when you have to. It’s possible for the baby to get hurt. What might be wrong with the drug? It’s something you should discuss with your doctor. (Read the part about being careful too.) There’s no way to be sure if this medicine enters breast milk. For kids who are still on breast milk, it might be too much. If your baby seems sleepy for no reason, has trouble sucking, or has trouble breathing, you should call the doctor right away. Before you nurse, talk to your doctor.
Calamine, get rid of it.
It needs to be dry and not in water or bright sunlight. It should have the same dampness as the room. Don’t keep things in the bathroom. Do not give kids or dogs drugs.
If no one tells you to, don’t flush drugs or throw them away in the trash or toilet. If you no longer need or want this, you should throw it away the right way. Want to find out more? You can call your trash service, talk to your doctor, or read the Medication Guide.
How medicines work
It’s possible that mixing drugs will not work as well or will have more bad affects. Not all of these medicines work with each other. Prescription drugs and vitamins made from plants should both be on your list of meds. You should give your doctor and pharmacist this list. Talk to your doctor before you start, stop, or change the amount of any drugs you are taking.
When mixed with this drug, these chemicals, such as pentazocine, nalbuphine, and butorphanol, can make it work better.
If you take this medicine with MAO inhibitors, it could be very bad for you or even kill you. People who are already taking MAO inhibitors like tranelcypromine, isocarboxazid, moclobemide, phenelzine, procarbazine, rasagiline, safinamide, selegiline, or isocarboxazid should not take these drugs. Also, most MAO inhibitors should not be taken two weeks before this drug. Talk to your doctor about when to begin or end taking this medicine.
If you take more drugs that raise serotonin levels, you are more likely to get serotonin syndrome or get sick. It is also against the law to use MDMA (also called “ecstasy”), St. John’s Wort, and some antidepressants, like fluoxetine and paroxetine, as well as SNRIs, like duloxetine and venlafaxine. If you take more of these drugs, you might be more likely to get serotonin syndrome or get sick.
If you take this medicine with other drugs that may also make you sleepy or have breathing problems, you may be more likely to have dangerous side effects like being very sleepy or dizzy or breathing slowly or weakly. Tell your doctor or pharmacy if you also drink alcohol, smoke weed, or take drugs like zolpidem, carisoprodol, cyclobenzaprine to help you sleep or deal with stress; cetirizine or diphenhydramine to relax muscles; or cetirizine or diphenhydramine to treat allergies. To give you more help.
Read the back of all of your asthma, cold, and cough drugs. There may be things in some of them that make you tired. Talk to your doctor before taking these medicines.
Some lab tests that check for amylase and lipase levels might not work right if this drug is used. This could mean that the test results are wrong. Tell everyone in the lab and with you that you’re taking this medicine.
Way too much
As soon as you see someone passing out or having trouble breathing after taking too much, help them before you call 911. If you have naloxone on hand, do this. They should do it. Call a poison control center right away if the person is awake and doesn’t seem hurt. In the US, call 1-800-222-1222 to get in touch with the poison control center in your area. In Canada, people can call their poison control center. Take too much, and your heart rate will slow down. You could also have seizures or pass out. Also, taking slow or no breaths is bad.
