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My doctor said to go ahead and take Savella with Tramadol (X-posted)

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Posted 4/16/2010 8:13 PM (GMT 0)
I posted this in the Lyme forum to get advice from everyone there too since some there have Fibro from Lyme.

I was prescribed Savella for Fibromyalgia. I looked up the drug interactions for Tramadol and Savella and it said that it was possible to get serotonin syndrome, which is very scary. I am kinda scared right now and I guess I just want to ask you all what you think. I really need to start Savella to see if it helps with this pain because everything has been getting so much worse lately.

Posted 4/16/2010 8:39 PM (GMT 0)
Cajun, I'm not a doctor but from what I have read, I wouldn't want to take this.  This is only my uneducated opinion.  You might want to go and talk with your pharmacist about this.  Your pharmacist knows more about medications and their interactions than most doctors.  This is their "specialty." 

 

I'm weird when it comes to taking "high powered" medication.  I'd rather deal with controlled pain than take things that could give me side affects I don't want.  I've got enough on my plate. 

 

Sherrine

Posted 4/16/2010 9:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Sherrine,

I don't mind taking the Savella and dealing with the side effects, it's the possibility of geting serotonin syndrome while combining the two medicines together. I don't know if I should just change pain medicines or what. He told me I could try Darvocet instead, but I've tried it before and it didn't work too good on the pain. Maybe I should try it again so that my mind is eased a little. I have been struggling for too long with pain and have lost my life for over a year. I need to at least try this new drug.

Thanks for replying.
Posted 4/16/2010 9:58 PM (GMT 0)
I didn't realize that there was a risk to combining Savella and Tramadol. I've been taking the two together for a few months and nobody ever warned me of this possibility. But I don't think I've gotten serotonin syndrome though. wink
Posted 4/16/2010 10:05 PM (GMT 0)
clumsybee,

From what I've been told, it is rare, but it still scares me either way. What milligram of Tramadol do you take a day?
Posted 4/16/2010 10:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hopefully, the Savella will reduce your pain enough so you can take fewer tramadol. Maybe keep a daily journal so you can keep track of minor changes, positive and negative. Savella has some distinct side effects that are also symptoms of serotonin syndrome: rapid heart rate, sweating, headache, diarrhea, restlessness. Since increased temperature seems to be a symptom of SS but not a side effect of Savella, taking your temperature daily might help.

It's a tough decision, it would probably be easier if you were more certain the Savella would help. I was a single mom when I got Lyme Disease. Whenever I took a new med, I would buy my little one an ice cream, take the med, then sit outside the walk-in medical center and read to her for a few hours in case I had a bad reaction. My point is that if you have to take a med, you do whatever makes you feel just a bit safer while you take it. If that means changing pain meds, that may be what is best for you.
Posted 4/16/2010 10:41 PM (GMT 0)
Dagger,

I think you are right about changing the medication to make myself feel better. I will do that starting tonight and will probably either start the Sevella tomorrow or wait another day. I was wanting to start it while my husband was here just in case I had a bad side effect. And I don't blame you for doing what you did by waiting outside the walk-in clinic. These medications come with some scary side effects these days.

Those side effects you listed were the same side effects I had when I started Lexapro and they went away after about a week...I think. I know it wasn't long.
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