Tapentadol - the active substance in PALEXIA - is a strong painkiller which belongs to the class of opioids. PALEXIA is used for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain in adults that can only be adequately managed with an opioid painkiller.
Tapentadol is PBS listed as an alternative to other opioids such as oxycodone for chronic, severe disabling pain not responding to non-opioid analgesics.
WARNING Limitations of use PALEXIA® SR should only be used when your doctor decides that other treatment options are not able to effectively manage your pain or you cannot tolerate them. Hazardous and harmful use PALEXIA® SR poses risks of abuse, misuse and addiction which can lead to overdose and death.
PALEXIA is indicated for the relief of moderate to severe acute pain in adults, which can be adequately managed only with opioid analgesics. The dosing regimen should be individualised according to the severity of pain being treated, the previous treatment experience and the ability to monitor the patient.
Patients with severe kidney problems should not take these tablets. In case of mild or moderate kidney problems, a dosage adjustment is not required. PALEXIA SR is not suitable for children and adolescents below the age of 18 years.
The dosing regimen should be individualised according to the severity of pain being treated, the previous treatment experience and the ability to monitor the patient. PALEXIA SR should be taken twice daily, approximately every 12 hours.
Some side effects such as drowsiness may be increased. Other medications can also interfere with PALEXIA® SR and make you feel drowsy (see Warning information at the start of this document). Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
This strong pain reliever belongs to a group of medicines known as opioid analgesics. This medicine is available only with a doctor's prescription. Your doctor may have prescribed PALEXIA® IR for another reason. Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why PALEXIA® IR has been prescribed for you.
Treatment in these patients should be initiated at 50 mg PALEXIA® IR and not be administered more frequently than once every 8 hours (maximum of three doses in 24 hours).
Tapentadol (Palexia) is an opioid analgesic authorised for the relief of acute moderate to severe pain that can only be adequately managed with opioid analgesics in adults and children aged 2 years and older.
This medicine may cause sleep-related breathing problems (eg, sleep apnea, sleep-related hypoxemia). Your doctor may decrease your dose if you have sleep apnea (stop breathing for short periods during sleep) while using this medicine.
These medicines can be used to treat anxiety, muscle tension, pain, insomnia, acute stress reactions, panic attacks or seizure disorders such as sleeping pills, tranquilizers, hypnotics or sedatives (examples are Stelazine™, Largactil™, Valium™, Temaze™, or Xanax™).
How does tapentadol work? Tapentadol works directly on opioid receptors in the central nervous system and reduces feelings of pain by interrupting the way nerves signal pain between the brain and the body.
Tapentadol stays in your system for about 22 hours, depending on a variety of individual factors, detailed below. The pain relief effect of Tapentadol is realized about 30 minutes after administration in tablet form.
Serious Tapentadol side effects are confusion, stomach or abdominal pain, trouble urinating, loss of appetite, unusual tiredness, and weight loss.
In those patients who may benefit from opioid therapy, tapentadol may offer high analgesic potency with lower opioid load and better tolerability owing to its dual mechanisms of action. The norepinephrine reuptake inhibition may be useful for patients with a neuropathic pain component.
PALEXIA can cause sleep-related breathing disorders such as sleep apnoea (breathing pauses during sleep) and sleep related hypoxemia (low oxygen level in the blood).
Tapentadol - the active substance in PALEXIA SR is a strong painkiller which belongs to the class of opioids. PALEXIA SR is used for the treatment of severe chronic pain in adults that can only be adequately managed with an opioid painkiller.
This is especially important for elderly patients, who may be more sensitive to the effects of pain medicines. If too much of this medicine is taken for a long time, it may become habit-forming (causing mental or physical dependence) or cause an overdose.
Both tramadol and oxycodone are effective drugs for treating pain. However, because oxycodone is so much more potent than tramadol, it is more effective for more severe pain. Tramadol is generally used for less severe pain than oxycodone for this reason.
When it comes to pain relief, both oxycodone, and tramadol are effective interventions. However, oxycodone tends to be stronger as a narcotic painkiller. Oxycodone works by binding opioid receptors in the brain and nervous system to reduce the perception of pain.
Immediate release (IR) tapentadol shows its analgesic effect quickly, at around 30 minutes.
The results showed no clinically relevant changes in BP or HR with tapentadol ER (100–250mg twice daily) or oxycodone HCl CR (20–50mg twice daily) and suggest that tapentadol ER is a reasonable treatment option for chronic pain management in patients with hypertension.
However, tapentadol administration can lead to serotonin syndrome, which can certainly lead to serious cardiac arrhythmia.
The risk is higher if you also take other medicines that make you feel drowsy. Signs you have taken too much medicine include: Feeling very sleepy or dizzy. Feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting).