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Before you take prescription tramadol, there are a few precautions you should take:
- Be sure to tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to tramadol or any other narcotic pain medications such as meperidine (Demerol), morphine, codeine (or medications that contain codeine such as Tylenol with Codeine), hydrocodone (e.g., Vicodin), hydromorphone (e.g., Dilaudid), oxycodone (e.g., Percocet), propoxyphene (e.g., Darvon, Darvon N), any other medications, or corn.
- Be sure to tell your doctor and pharmacist what other prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking. Be sure to mention any of the following: amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone); antihistamines; bupropion (Wellbutrin);celecoxib (Celebrex); cimetidine (Tagamet);cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril); digoxin (lanoxin); doxorubincin (Adriamycin);haloperidol (Haldol); imipenem and cilastatin (Primaxin); methadone (Dolophine, Methadose); monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, including isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), selegiline (Eldepryl), and tranylcypromine (Parnate); medications for anxiety, mental illness, nausea, pain; medications for seizures, such as carbamazepine (Tegretol); metoclopramide (Reglan); nefazodone; promethazine (Phenergan); quinidine (Quinaglute; Quinidex); ranitidine (Zantac); ritonavir (Norvir, in Kaletra); sedatives; sleeping pills; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft); ticlopidine (Ticlid); tranquilizers; tricylic antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil), amoxapine (Asendin), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Adapin, Sinequan), imipramine (Tofranil), nortriptyline (Aventyl, Pamelor), protriptyline (Vivactil), and trimipramine (Surmontil);venlafaxine (Effexor);warfarin (Coumadin). Many other medications may also interact with tramadol, so be sure to tell your doctor about all the medications you are taking, even those that do not appear on this list. Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects.
- Be sure to tell your doctor if you have or have ever had seizures, head injury, infection in your brain or nervous system, increased intracranial pressure (increased pressure within the skull), diabetes, breathing problems or lung disease, or kidney or liver disease. Also tell your doctor if you drink or have ever drunk large amounts of alcohol, use or have ever used street drugs, or have overused prescription medications.
- Be sure to tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. If you become pregnant while taking tramadol, call your doctor.
- If you know you are planning on having surgery, including dental surgery, tell the doctor or dentist that you are taking tramadol.
- You should know that this drug may make you drowsy and may affect your coordination. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this drug affects you.
- Remember that alcohol can add to the drowsiness caused by this drug. The manufacturer states that tramadol should not be taken with alcohol containing beverages.
- You should know that tramadol may cause dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting when you get up from a lying position. To avoid this, get out of bed slowly, resting your feet on the floor for a few minutes before standing up.
Tramadol may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away while taking tramadol:
- dizziness
- weakness
- headache
- nervousness or anxiety
- agitation
- shaking hands that you cannot control
- increased muscle tightness
- changes in mood
- drowsiness
- blurred vision
- heartburn or indigestion
- upset stomach
- vomiting
- diarrhea
- constipation
- itching
- sweating
- flushing
- dry mouth
Some side effects of tramadol can be serious. If you experience any of these symptoms, call your doctor immediately:
- hives
- rash
- sores on the inside of your mouth, nose, eyes, or throat
- flu-like symptoms
- itching
- difficulty swallowing or breathing
- swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, eyes, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
- fast heartbeat
- hoarseness
- difficulty swallowing or breathing
- changes in urination
- seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist (hallucinating)
- seizures
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