Common antidepressants prevent painkiller tramadol from working

Common antidepressants appear to interact with opioid pain medication tramadol making it less effective for pain relief, experts report in Pharmacotherapy.

Records from 152 people who were taking the painkiller tramadol were reviewed. It was found that people who were also taking antidepressants fluoxetine, paroxetine or bupropion required three times more pain medication per day to control “breakthrough” pain throughout the day, when compared with people not taking those antidepressants.

“For patients who have the combination of chronic pain and depression or anxiety, keep in mind that this interaction does exist,” lead author Derek Frost explains. “And for health care providers, if you have a patient approaching you saying this medication isn’t working for me, is there an interaction at play?”

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