Sure, why not? –
June 29, 2019 – According to a study published in the journal Pharmacotherapy, common antidepressants interact with the opioid, tramadol, making it less effective for pain relief by a factor of three or four. These findings from University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center have important implications for people suffering in pain, as some are suspected of drug-seeking, but may in fact be under-medicated and just are seeking more effective pain relief. These findings also could help explain why some people exceed the prescribed dose of tramadol.
Researchers reviewed the medication records of 152 patients at UH Cleveland Medical Center and UH Geauga Medical Center who received scheduled tramadol for at least 24 hours. All participants in the study were admitted as inpatients or observation status. Those who also were taking the antidepressants Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetine) or Wellbutrin (bupropion) required three times more pain medication per day to control “breakthrough” pain throughout the day, when compared with patients not taking those antidepressants. “As we looked at in secondary analysis, it ended up being four times as much over their entire hospital stay,” said Derek Frost, a pharmacist at UH and lead author of the study.
