Tramadol drug interaction. Results that must be known.

At present, most patients ask pharmacists if their new medication may interact with the routine medicine. Despite that, each year a number of side effects occur as the direct consequence of patients taking a new prescription product in combination with their existing medication schedule. Pharmacists assume a very important role in preventing dangerous situations from appearing.

Is it possible to take more than one medication when you are under treatment? Yes, it is possible but your healthcare provider should know all the medication you may be taking before adding one more to the therapy. Why? Because there can be desiderable or undesiderable pharmacological results connected with different drugs, endogenous chemical agents or food.

If patients use two or more medications containing different active principles, their bodies may metabolize them in a different way than expected. However, in some medical cases, drug interactions are planned to get better results from the medicines prescribed (for example: carbidopa with levodopa). Some foods and drinks may also prevent certain drugs from acting properly. Drug-drug or drug-food interactions may be risky for patients’ health. Drug–drug interactions can lead to an unexpected life-threatening and toxicities. An important percentage of admissions in hospitals are caused by the incorrect use of medications and combinations of drugs.

People who are taking Tramadol should be informed about concomitant administration with other drugs (concomitant administration means “at the same time”). In spite of the widespread utilization of analgesic agents, the incidence of severe drug-drug interactions connected with these agents has been moderately low. The most severe interactions usually involved other interacting active ingredients.

Pain, because of malignant or benign etiology, gives a particular challenge not only to patients but also to their healthcare providers ad families. May different drug therapies are used to alleviate their pain. Considering opioids, there is a minor acceptance of their use. However, the longer-term use of these drugs is debated because it is still considered risky in some medical cases.

For example: concomitant administration of Tramadol with carbamazepine causes an important increase in Tramadol metabolism. Patients who are prescribed carbamazepine for a chronic medical condition may need up to twice the recommended Tramadol dosage.

Another example: concomitant use of Tramadol with Quinidine increases Tramadol concentrations and reduces M1 concentrations. The clinical results of this event have not been fully examined and the consequence on Quinidine concentrations remains unknown. In vitro studies have shown that the metabolism of Tramadol is inhibited by the concomitant administration with inhibitors of CYP2D6 (fluoxetine, paroxetine, and amitriptyline). On the other hand, concomitant administration of Tramadol with Cimetidine does not change Tramadol pharmacokinetics. Concomitant use of Tramadol with MAO inhibitors or SSRI's increases the risk of adverse reactions, including seizure and serotonin syndrome.

New information about Tramadol drug interaction is continuously reported. Current studies have explained serotonin syndrome in which drug interaction with other serotonergic agents causes symptoms like increased blood pressure, headache, and agitation. The incidence of serotonin syndrome is related to Tramadol dual mechanism of action.

Tramadol drug interaction is likely to avoid if physicians and nurses use the following recommendations: proper drug, correct daily dose, proper administration and right patient. Another important factor to be taken into account when discussing Tramadol drug interaction is absorption. Racemic tramadol is quickly and almost totally absorbed after oral administration. The mean absolute bioavailability of a 100 mg oral dose is about 75%. The mean peak plasma concentration of racemic Tramadol and M1 takes place at two and three hours, respectively, after administration in healthy adult subjects. In general, both enantiomers of Tramadol and M1 follow a similar time course in the body following single and multiple doses.

Therefore, if you have prescribed Tramadol don’t forget the name of the following drugs: carbamazepine, warfarin, digoxin, ketoconazole, erythromycin, rifampin, St. John’s wort, quinidine. Remember, your healthcare provider is the person who will know how to deal with Tramadol and any other drug substance coadministration. Over the Internet, these are some sites (drug interactions checkers) that provide information about this topic but it is important to mention that drug interactions are continuously reported, so consult your doctor if you need to use a new medication out of your normal drug schedule. Drug-food interactions are not commonly reported.