What is Tapentadol?
Tapentadol is a centrally acting opioid analgesic which has partial opioid agonistic and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor action.
What is Tapentadol used for?
Tapentadol is used to treat moderate to severe pain when other medicines have failed or cannot be tolerated.
How does Tapentadol work as a pain reliever?
Tapentadol works by binding itself to mu-opioid receptors, thereby activating them and the inhibition of noradrenaline uptake to further enhance the pain relief effect.
What are the side effects of Tapentadol?
- Headache, feeling lightheaded, loss of consciousness, dizziness
- Heartburn, chest pain
- A sudden feeling of warmth, feeling overheated, heavy sweating
- Stomach pain
- Anxiety, Irritability
- Drowsiness, excessive tiredness, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, abnormal dreams
- Dryness of the mouth
- Rash, itching, hives,
- Seizure
- Increased sensitivity to pain
- Decreased sexual desire, irregular menstruation, impotence
- Nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, constipation
What are the dangers of mixing Tapentadol with other substances?
Combining Tapentadol with depressants like alcohol and other opioids leads to life-threatening respiratory depression. This causes decreased oxygen supply to the brain which can result in a coma or death.
What are the signs of Tapentadol overdose?
Tapentadol being a depressant means it causes effects typical of opioids when overdosed. These include:
- Respiratory depression
- Extreme sedation
- Slowed heart rate
- Cardiac arrest
- Low blood pressure
- Pinpoint pupils
- Unresponsiveness
What are signs of Tapentadol withdrawal symptoms?
Prolonged opioid use can cause the user’s body to become physically dependent on it. Abruptly stopping the use of Tapentadol in such a situation would cause the user to experience withdrawal symptoms including:
- Anxiety
- Sweating
- Insomnia
- Rigors
- Nausea
- Pains
- Tremors
- Diarrhea
- Piloerection (goosebumps)
- Hallucinations
How can Healthcare professionals help reduce the risk of Tapentadol misuse?
Presently, the Ghana FDA has not approved any finished pharmaceutical formulation containing tapentadol, making its sale and distribution in the country illegal.
Pharmacists can assist by ensuring unregistered opioids including tapentadol are not offered for sale in pharmaceutical outlets. They can also help by play an active role in preventing misuse though patient education and making appropriate interventions in potential cases of abuse. Community pharmacies can also serve as an avenue to provide some aspects of psychosocial services to individuals with substance use disorders.
What is the FDA doing concerning the abuse of Tapentadol?
The FDA is involved in various activities aimed at promoting the responsible use of controlled substances and the prevention of opioid abuse. This includes public education, policy modification, stakeholder collaboration and research.
Through sustained surveillance, the FDA has presently confiscated units of Tramadol, Tafrodol, Tramaking and Tapentadol in varying strengths from 50mg to 225mg at different border posts, over-the-counter medicine sellers (OTCMS), and from street hawkers.
Where do you seek for help if you have a substance use problem?
You can access help from the psychiatric hospitals or addiction centres situated within the various hospitals. These hospitals include the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Pantang Hospital, Ridge Hospital, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Lekma Hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
