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The text only version may be available in large print, Braille or audio CD. For further information call emc accessibility on 0800 198 5000. The product code(s) for this leaflet is: PL35533.0042.
Tramadol/Paracetamol 37.5mg / 325mg tablets
Tramadol/Paracetamol 37.5mg / 325mg Tablets
Tramadol Hydrochloride/Paracetamol
This medicine contains tramadol hydrochloride which is an opioid, which can cause addiction. You can get withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it suddenly.
1. What this medicine is and what it is used for
2. What you need to know before you take this medicine
3. How to take this medicine
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store this medicine
6. Contents of the pack and other information
This medicine has been prescribed for you for the treatment of moderate to severe pain when your doctor recommends that a combination of tramadol hydrochloride and paracetamol is needed.
It contains tramadol hydrochloride which belongs to a class of medicines called opioids, which are ‘pain relievers’. This medicine has been prescribed to you and should not be given to anyone else.
Opioids can cause addiction and you may get withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it suddenly. Your prescriber should have explained how long you will be taking it for, when it is appropriate to stop and how to do this safely.
Talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse before taking this medicine:
There is a small risk that you may experience a so-called serotonin syndrome that can occur after having taken tramadol in combination with certain antidepressants or tramadol alone. Seek medical advice immediately if you have any of the symptoms related to this serious syndrome (see section 4 ‘Possible side effects’).
Taking this medicine regularly, particularly for a long time, can lead to addiction. Your prescriber should have explained how long you will be taking it for, and when it is appropriate to stop, how to do this safely.
Rarely, increasing the dose of this medicine can make you more sensitive to pain. If this happens, you need to speak to your prescriber about your treatment.
This medicine contains tramadol which is an opioid medicine.
Repeated use of opioids can result in the drug being less effective (you become accustomed to it, known as tolerance). Repeated use of this medicine can also lead to dependence, abuse and addiction, which may result in life-threatening overdose. The risk of these side effects can increase with a higher dose and longer duration of use.
Dependence or addiction can make you feel that you are no longer in control of how much medicine you need to take or how often you need to take it.
The risk of becoming dependent or addicted varies from person to person. You may have a greater risk of becoming dependent on or addicted to this medicine if:
If you notice any of the following signs whilst taking this medicine, it could be a sign that you have become dependent or addicted:
If you notice any of these signs, speak to your doctor to discuss the best treatment pathway for you, including when it is appropriate to stop and how to stop safely (see section 3 ‘If you stop taking this medicine’).
Addiction can cause withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking this medicine. Withdrawal symptoms can include restlessness, difficulty sleeping, irritability, agitation, anxiety, feeling your heartbeat (palpitations), increased blood pressure, feeling or being sick, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, shaking, shivering or sweating. Your prescriber will discuss with you how to gradually reduce your dose before stopping the medicine. It is important that you do not stop taking the medicine suddenly as you will be more likely to experience withdrawal symptoms.
Opioids should only be used by those they are prescribed for. Do not give your medicine to anyone else. Taking higher doses or more frequent doses of opioid, may increase the risk of addiction. Overuse and misuse can lead to overdose and/or death.
Tramadol is transformed in the liver by an enzyme. Some people have a variation of this enzyme and this can affect people in different ways. In some people, they may not get enough pain relief but other people are more likely to get serious side effects. If you notice any of the following side effects, you must stop taking this medicine and seek immediate medical advice: slow or shallow breathing, confusion, sleepiness, small pupils, feeling or being sick, constipation, lack of appetite.
This medicine contains an active substance that belongs to the group of opioids. Opioids can cause sleep-related breathing disorders such as sleep apnoea (breathing pauses during sleep) and sleep related hypoxemia (low oxygen level in the blood). The symptoms can include breathing pauses during sleep, night awakening due to shortness of breath, difficulties to maintain sleep or excessive drowsiness during the day. If you or another person observe these symptoms, contact your doctor. A dose reduction may be considered by your doctor.
Talk to your doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms while taking Tramadol/Paracetamol:
Extreme fatigue, lack of appetite, severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting or low blood pressure. This may indicate that you have adrenal insufficiency (low cortisol levels). If you have these symptoms, contact your doctor, who will decide if you need to take hormone supplement.
If any of the above-mentioned points applied to you in the past or applies to you while you are taking this medicine, please make sure your doctor knows. He/she can then decide whether you should continue to use this medicine.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines.
Do not exceed the maximum daily doses of paracetamol or tramadol from this or other medicines.
Do not take this medicine with MAOIs (see section ‘Do not take this medicine’).
Please inform your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking:
This medicine is not recommended with the following medicines, as it may affect how well they work:
The risk of side effects increases:
The effectiveness of this medicine may be altered if you also take the following medicines:
Do not drink alcohol while you are taking this medicine, as you may feel drowsy.
Use in children with breathing problems:
Tramadol is not recommended in children with breathing problems, since the symptoms of tramadol toxicity may be worse in these children.
Do not take Tramadol/Paracetamol if you are pregnant or think you might be pregnant unless you have discussed this with your prescriber and the benefits of treatment are considered to outweigh the potential harm to the baby.
If you use Tramadol/Paracetamol during pregnancy, your baby may become dependent and experience withdrawal symptoms after the birth which may need to be treated.
Do not take Tramadol/Paracetamol tablets while you are breast-feeding as tramadol hydrochloride passes into breast milk and will affect your baby.
Based on human experience tramadol is suggested not to influence female or male fertility. No data on the influence of the combination of tramadol and paracetamol on fertility are available.
If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor, pharmacist or nurse.
If you feel drowsy while taking this medicine, do not drive, use tools or use machinery.
This medicine can affect your ability to drive as it may make you sleepy or dizzy.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure whether it is safe for you to drive while taking this medicine.
This medicine contains less than 1mmol sodium (23mg) per tablet, that is to say essentially ‘sodium-free’.
Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor or pharmacist has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure. Before starting treatment and regularly during treatment, your doctor will discuss with you what you may expect from using this medicine, when and how long you need to take it, when to contact your doctor, and when you need to stop it (see also section 2). Your prescriber should have discussed with you how long the course of tablets will last. They will arrange a plan for stopping treatment. This will outline how to gradually reduce the dose and stop taking the medicine.
The dosage should be adjusted to the intensity of your pain and your individual pain sensitivity. In general, the lowest pain-relieving dose should be taken.
Take this medicine for as short a time as possible and no longer than your doctor has told you.
The recommended starting dose unless otherwise prescribed by your doctor is 2 tablets for adults and adolescents over 12 years. If required, further doses may be taken, as instructed by your doctor.
The shortest time between doses must be at least 6 hours.
Do not take more than 8 tablets per day.
Not recommended.
In elderly patients (above 75 years) the excretion of tramadol may be delayed. If this applies to you, your doctor may recommend prolonging the dosage interval.
Patients with severe liver and/or kidney insufficiency should not take this medicine. If in your case the insufficiency is mild or moderate, your doctor may recommend prolonging the dosage interval.
The tablets are for oral use.
Swallow the tablets with sufficient liquid.
The score line is only there to help you break the tablet if you have difficulty swallowing it whole.
If you think the effect of this medicine is too strong (you feel very drowsy or have difficulty breathing) or too weak (you do not have enough pain relief), contact your doctor.
Talk to a doctor at once if you take too much of this medicine even if you feel well. This is because too much paracetamol can cause delayed, serious liver damage.
If you forget to take the tablets, pain is likely to return.
Do not take a double dose to make up for forgotten individual doses; simply continue taking the tablets as before.
Do not suddenly stop taking this medicine. If you want to stop taking this medicine, discuss this with your prescriber first. They will tell you how to do this, usually by reducing the dose gradually so that any unpleasant withdrawal effects are kept to a minimum. Withdrawal symptoms such as restlessness, difficulty sleeping, irritability, agitation, anxiety, feeling your heartbeat (palpitations), increased blood pressure, feeling or being sick, diarrhoea, shaking, shivering or sweating may occur if you suddenly stop taking this medicine.
If you experience any of these complaints after stopping this medicine, please contact your doctor. Other side effect information is listed in section 4.
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them:
Very common: may affect more than 1 in 10 people;
Common: may affect up to 1 in 10 people;
Uncommon: may affect up to 1 in 100 people;
Rare: may affect up to 1 in 1000 people;
Not known: (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data)
In addition, the following side effects have been reported by people using medicines that contain only tramadol or only paracetamol:
When you stop taking this medicine, you may experience drug withdrawal symptoms, which include restlessness, difficulty sleeping, irritability, agitation, anxiety, feeling your heartbeat (palpitations), increased blood pressure, feeling or being sick, diarrhoea, shaking, shivering or sweating.
If you notice any of the following signs whilst taking this medicine, it could be a sign that you have become addicted.
If you notice any of these signs, it is important you talk to your prescriber.
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme (website: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard) or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store.
By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
Store this medicine in a safe and secure storage space, where other people cannot access it. It can cause serious harm and be fatal to people when it has not been prescribed for them.
This medicine does not require special storage conditions.
Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton (after EXP). The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.
The active substances are tramadol hydrochloride and paracetamol.
A tablet contains 37.5mg of tramadol hydrochloride and 325mg of paracetamol.
The other ingredients (excipients) are: povidone (E1201), magnesium stearate (E152), colloidal anhydrous silicon, sodium starch glycolate (Type A) of potato and pregelatinised corn starch.
These tablets are oval and white for oral administration packed in cartons containing 2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 tablets. Not all pack sizes may be marketed. The tablets are scored and can be cut in half to make swallowing easier. Half doses should not be taken.
This leaflet was last revised in March 2024
1010297-P14.2