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Submitted April 3, 2007
Like all medications whether over the counter or prescribed, misuse of any drug can be deadly. It is imperative to seek emergency medical attention if you think you or someone has overdosed on Tramadol. Medical experts recommend that patients who use Tramadol should not use drugs such as muscle relaxants or cold medicine. Cold medicine and muscle relaxants tend to cause drowsiness. It is also recommended that Tramadol users avoid drinking alcoholic beverages that cause sleepiness. This may also cause slow breathing when intermingled with Tramadol.
This drug is known to cause harmful effects which can weaken ones reaction or thinking. This is especially dangerous if a user operates machinery such as a vehicle. Tramadol should not be watered down, thinned or injected into the patient’s body with a hypodermic needle or any instrument. This can cause overdose and life threatening side-effects and may even cause death. Tramadol should be hidden away from children. If a child happens to consume this drug, contact emergency services or poison control immediately. Some of the fatal side effects in Tramadol over dose are drowsiness, cold or clammy skin, fainting or Coma, significant decrease in heart rate and shallow breathing.
Numerous reports of possibility of medicine misuse and side reactions caused FDA to modify the recommended prescription dosage of Tramadol. FDA has also sent a letter to medical physicians including information about the safety of Tramadol. When the medicine was admitted to the market on March 3, 1995, 115 reports of substantial drug abuse, dependence, withdrawal symptoms and international overdose by individuals who used Tramadol were on record. Moreover, under post marketing surveillance there were also reported 83 seizure cases in patients taking Tramadol together with other medicines like serotonin uptake inhibitors (Prozac, fluoxetine) or tricyclic antidepressants (Elavil or amitriptyline).
FDA in cooperation with Tramadol marketers like Ultram continue to work on developing new labeling which would afford care professionals to become aware that Tramadol should not be prescribed to patients with history of dependence or opioid addiction. The new labeling makes it clear that Tramadol medicines should’t be used by patients allergic to codeine—due to some patients showing severe allergic reaction using the medicine. A comprehensive explanation of the risk of seizures is also available on labeling.
It’s crucial to know that Tramadol may be dangerous to an unborn baby. Tramadol may even cause adverse side-effects in a newborn if the mother uses Tramadol during the pregnancy phase or labor. A woman should contact her physician if she is pregnant or plan to become pregnant during Tramadol treatment. Tramadol can seep into breast milk and may even hurt a nursing baby. It’s crucial not to use Tramadol without notifying the physician if breast-feeding a baby.
Tramadol should always be used with extreme caution in patients with increased intracranial pressure or head injury. The respiratory depressant effects of opioids comprise of secondary elevation of cerebrospinal fluid pressure and carbon dioxide retention, and may be overstate amplified in the patients.
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