Tapentadol???

[Lunatik138]

Hi all,

Looooong time lurker of these forums and have a question about tapentadol. I can get hold of some 50mg IR but a bit wary. I love tramadol and have had, I guess, some minor battles with addiction with it. Currently not using anything but at one point was eating around 400-500mg at once of the IR tabs, or if I had the ER 100mg tabs then I'd take 600mg at a time (at my worst point, just to feel a bit high).

I like the warm, fuzzy feeling it gives and the hyper focus when gaming! I'll add I'm a fairly petite female, 5'6 approx 130lbs and also on 125mg of an SSRI (sertraline/zoloft) that I've been on for years. Based on my weight and the amount of tramadol I used to take, I don't know if I'm a slow or fast metabolizer?? Never had any major adverse effects other than the itchies early on and a few leg jolts in my sleep.

Anyway, I digress. Obviously the only way to find out if I'd enjoy tapentadol is to just take it myself, but I'd be interested to hear advice/suggestions/opinions on this drug, based on my given experience with opiates. (never tried anything stronger than tramadol).

Thanks!

 

[Snafu in the Void]

I am not too familiar with tapentadol so can't give too much advice or perspective, but you need to be very careful about using such high doses combined with an SSRI. Tapentadol and tramadol are well known to cause serotonin syndrome. Combined with being on high dose of SSRI puts you at major risk for developing SS. It's really not an advisable combo. You should familiarize yourself with the warning signs of serotonin syndrome. It's not that rare of a reaction, it happens. I went through it a few months ago from a combo of different drugs, extremely unpleasant. Can cause lasting damage or potentially be fatal. It will land you in the hospital at minimum.

Serotonin syndrome - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Maybe someone else can chime in with some more general advice.

Stay safe.

 

[Lunatik138]

I am not too familiar with tapentadol so can't give too much advice or perspective, but you need to be very careful about using such high doses combined with an SSRI. Tapentadol and tramadol are well known to cause serotonin syndrome. Combined with being on high dose of SSRI puts you at major risk for developing SS. It's really not an advisable combo. You should familiarize yourself with the warning signs of serotonin syndrome. It's not that rare of a reaction, it happens. I went through it a few months ago from a combo of different drugs, extremely unpleasant.

Serotonin syndrome - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Maybe someone else can chime in with some more general advice.

Stay safe.

Thanks for your reply and yeah I am aware of SS and the signs. I guess I've been quite blasé about it but I know I've pretty much been playing a game of Russian roulette over the years... I know when I used to get the sort of twitchy legs at night then I'd know to ease off a bit.

I don't want to go down the tramadol route again, which is why I'm wary about tapentadol. Curiousty and the cat comes to mind...

 

[Snafu in the Void]

Just adding this, and why it's important to be aware of SS:

"Cases where opioids alone are the cause of serotonin syndrome are typically seen with tramadol, because of its dual mechanism as a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.[50][51] Serotonin syndrome caused by tramadol can be particularly problematic if an individual taking the drug is unaware of the risks associated with it and attempts to self-medicate symptoms such as headache, agitation, and tremors with more opioids, further exacerbating the condition."

It happened to me. Kratom wasn't the main cause, but was making it worse and I was heavily dependent on it. I kept taking it to avoid withdrawal, it got really bad, 2 hospital trips and I was forced to go cold turkey. Awful experience.