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- Should you only take tramadol when in pain?
Your doctor will advise you on the dosage and regularity. Tramadol is most effective when it reaches a stable level in your bloodstream. If you only take it as needed, it will be more slow to take effect.
- What happens if you mix tramadol and alcohol?
Some people treat alcohol as another painkiller. Unfortunately, if you mix alcohol with tramadol, it can cause a serious decrease in breathing. It also slows your reaction times and makes it harder to think straight, so it is very dangerous to drive or operate any other potentially dangerous machine. The same effect results if you mix tramadol with any other drug that depresses the central nervous system, the most common being tranquillisers, sleeping pills, antihistamines, antidepressants, and so on. If untreated, you may slip into a coma.
- What other drugs should you avoid?
This is not the right place to give a full list. You should discuss the risk of interactions with your doctor, particularly mentioning if you are taking any drug to treat anxiety or depressive disorders, seizures or other painkillers.
- What diseases or disorders should you disclose to your doctor?
You should see your regular doctor who has access to all your medical history. If you are seeing someone new, tell him or her if you have any recent head injury, a seizure disorder, kidney or liver disease, a stomach disorder, any psychological disorders, or problems with alcoholism or drug abuse.
- Can you give tramadol to children?
You should not give this drug to anyone under the age of 18.
- Can you take tramadol if you are pregnant?
There is evidence to show that tramadol can cause injury to your unborn child so you should not take it if you know you are pregnant. If you have started a course of tramadol and then discover you are pregnant, tell your doctor immediately.
- Can you take tramadol immediately after birth?
Unfortunately, this drug passes into breast milk and, if you are feeding your newborn, it can pass into his or her body. In a baby, tramadol causes a dangerous slowdown of breathing and heart rate and, if untreated, can result in the baby’s death.
- What are the most common side effects?
The most common affect concentration, producing drowsiness and dizziness, there can be problems affecting digestion and bowel movements, insomnia and, less often, a slight blurring of vision.
- What are the more dangerous side effects?
These only affect a very small percentage of people taking tramadol including an allergic reaction, slow breathing, fast heart rate, agitation and mood swings, and seizures.
- What is the risk of dependence?
If you have already had problems with alcohol and other prescription drugs, it is unwise to start taking tramadol. The risk of psychological dependence is quite high. But if you are reasonably positive about your life and have no other problems, there is no real risk so long as you treat the drug with respect, i.e. take the lowest dosage and for the shortest period of time.
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