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Nucynta

Hello,

I asked earlier about another drug, but I couldn't read the doctors writing and thought it said Sufenta...ooops, sorry.

The prescription is "Nucynta" and it's new and I didn't want anything with SNRI properties. I rather not take a straight synthetic but you really can't tell the doc what to do.

Has anyone had an experience with this pain killer? It's a "Mu-opioid" and has opiate and nonopiate properties. I wonder what the "non opiate" ingredients are. If anyone has any knowledge about this drug, can you please let me know.

Thanks you,
abby
12 Responses
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Avatar universal
Thanks for taking the time to check this site and help people!  I have been takin nucynta 50 mg 4 times a day for chronic pain.  I've been taking it for maybe a year or so (after taking and doing all kinds of pills, surgeries, etc,) to help. Anyway, the medicine just can't work quick enough forr me.  Have any suggestions?  I don't want to take more meds or stro ger ones, just something that works quicker.  People on one of my support group mentioned crushing other types of pills for faster relief but I'm guessing that's not the thing to do.  Thanks again for your help!
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1641061 tn?1300720577
will this nucynta take away dope sickness from percoset please let me know and dont judge.
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Avatar universal
Sigh, I hear you sister, regarding addictive personality.  I have fought mine (oddly enough, successfully) for more than 35 years.  I am bi-polar, and klonopin (clonazapam) is part of my medicinal "cocktail".  I take great care to stay below my daily allowance because I'm petrified of becoming addicted.  I am also suffering from desperately excruciating arthritis pain for which I am prescribed nucynta, soma and tramadol.  It takes herculean effort not to take more than the prescribed dosages of these prescriptions.  But I know that I have to do it.  Because I don't want my life to become nothing but waiting in agony between prescriptions, or even worse having to resort to illegal means to acquire pills.  Stay strong!
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Avatar universal
Nucynta(tapentadol) has the same ability to effect serotonin and norepinephrine not unlike Ultram(tramadol) but it is more potent that would explain its class 2 control substance profiling. This means there cannot be any refills on its rx. Patients must obtain new written rxs each time when filling at the pharmacy.This drug is not unlike Ultram(tramadol) in that one of its side effects happens to be seizures.Also benzodiazepines are sometimes prescribed for seizure control but when a patient is in withdrawal they can indeed have seizures if they've used the drug for long periods of time or in larger doses.One problem that both Ultram and Nucynta have is the number of serious interactions when prescribed say w/ almost all antidepressants (ssri's snri's tca'setc) serotonin syndrome can be life threatening sometimes.Seizures can also be increased if one were to also use antidepressants simultaneously w/ tapentadol and tramadol;
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Avatar universal
Thanks for your support and have a great Christmas!

abby
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Avatar universal
I want to be clear, I don't have any information that this particular drug causes seizures during withdrawal. What I do know is that for a long time the accepted wisdom was that tramadol had a milder withdrawal than true opiates but that was discovered to not be the case and in fact some people experienced seizures during withdrawal. It looks like this drug is in the same family and so I would think that you would have to consider it a possibility. Please stay in touch. When you are ready to get off these drugs there are people on this site who can be very helpful and supportive. And I do agree that you should try to taper first. A lot of us have found that to be difficult to do on our own but I bet you could do it if you have made up your mind to do so. And if not, well you get some help and try again. As bad as it might sound sometimes, getting off is not the hard part. Staying off is, and there are special complications when your main trigger is pain. You and I are the same age and I can tell you from hard won experience that , although some people seem to manage it, for many of us it is just not sustainable. Eventually the drugs not only stop working, they actually cause pain and you are left with an addiction and all your natural defenses stripped away. I'm glad you seem to be smarter than I was and are recognizing what's going on before you get in deeper. I will be looking for your posts in case I can help in any way. Good luck ( and Merry Christmas).
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Avatar universal
Yep, I get it. But I have to taper off somewhat. I have to take my Grandson shopping. I no longer have my Son (no other childred) and my Grandson needs a winter coat. I promised him this and he doesn't have a lot. He needs a coat before Christmas so he can have one when he goes with his mom out of state for Christmas.

I just need something to get me to December 24 and then I can get help to work on this situation. I knew I would have to deal with this at some point and now the time has come.

Why on earth does this Nucynta give you seizures? I thought only benzos and alcohol could cause them. I have had multiple seizures and convlusions from trying many times to cold turkey from benzos (I didn't know how to taper off). I'll do opiate wds before I damage my brain anymore with anything that will act like a benzo.

I talked to the pharmacist and he assured me that there are no SNRI qualities to this drug and that he was 99% sure he could fill it by Friday. I just retrieved a message on my cell and he says that the company can't fill it at this time and they don't have a date when they can fill it-- S***. He apologized, now that he's written all over the script. I assume that if this is a new drug that there are no generics and I can't get it from any other company; but I'm not sure about this. Trying a get a pharmacy that has it in stock is like trying to find a needle in the hay stack. I cannot use CVS.

It didn't start out like this. I never really had a 'thing' for opiates. It just grew I suppose.

Thank you for your response and help.
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Avatar universal
     Yeah, this looks a lot like tramadol. They built on what they learned from tramadol. When tramadol first came out they didn't understand its mechanism as a serontonin re-uptake inhibitor. But the research seemed to show that this made it more effective, especially for long-term chronic pain so now we have tapentadol (nucynta) which they claim to be a more effective serontonin booster as well as a stronger Mu-opiate. This is what they are calling this new class of drugs that they don't understand at all. In fact it says right on the home page for this drug - with a star by it - "The exact mechanism of action of Nucynta is unknown." I think you would have to assume that it has the same withdrawal complications - possible seizures - as tramadol.
    I feel for you, I know that living with chronic pain can be so hard. It certainly seems at times that nothing could be worse. But whoops, it turns out there is - being an addict in pain. It is such a shock to realize it's not just about taking medication for your pain anymore. So hard decisions have to be made. If you are going to take drugs for your pain and you are an addict, (and you know you are, right?), you need to be aware of what you are getting into. You can't let things creep up on you. Or you could quit. If you choose that option you can get lots of help here on this site on how to do it..
     And that is really why you came here, don't you think? Not just to ask about nucynta. You know that you are acting in a way that does not at all fit who you think you are. You know that you can no longer control your intake. You are crushing your pills. You're using Christmas as an excuse to keep going the way you're going. And I assume from your request not to be lectured that you know that filling narcotic prescriptions in two states is dangerous. The new reporting laws make it possible to red flag precisely those situations and they are not above putting nice grandmas in prison for committing drug felonies. So if you are going to continue taking drugs you need to be a lot more careful.
     I wish you well in working through this. I can only hope that you are smarter than I am and you figure out sooner than I did where this is all leading. It will save you a world of suffering. Good luck.  
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Avatar universal
Thanks, I appreciate it. Yep, lucky to be alive myself. I suppose it's called an addictive personality???

abby
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Avatar universal
The pills also seemed to help me right up to the point where they tried to kill me.  Try emetrol for your stomach - immodium for loose stools -  Check out Percogesic (OTC) for the pain....... And keep posting on this forum with questions or concerns. Most here will understand where you are coming from quite clearly.
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Avatar universal
Thanks for your response. I asked the pharmacist and he said NO it has NO SNRI properties...ugg. The pharmas have their AD and SNRIs in the pain clinics big time. You MUST be depressed if you're in pain. I'm not depressed, other than sick and tired of pain.

Every month it gets harder and harder to not use up all the percocets before the end of the month. Last month I went to the ER in withdrawals to get some more to take me to my next script. The ER advised me to go to a pain management specialist. This is not the person that I am. In the beginning I filled the script 9 days late with pills left over in the bottle. What has happened to me????

I went to a pain clinic yesterday in Virginia and have been seeing a neurologist in Maryland. I am filling the Nucynta in Maryland and have filled the percocets in Virginia. Please don't lecture me. This all crepted up on me and I don't know how it happened. Now I need this Nucynta so I don't go into WDs right before Christmas. The percocet gets filled Dec 24.

I must take my Grandson out Christmas shopping.

I'm sick to my stomach scared. I've never done this before. This is the last time. Next month I will give the bottle to my boy friend and he will hide them and give me the prescribed amount everyday.

Every time I tried to stop taking them I'd get RA and Lupus "flare ups" and when I took one 10mg perc for the pain, then I couldn't stop. Around 5 or 7 or 8 pills later, I'd stop with a great deal of guilt. It was not like this at first, I never abused them for a very long time. I started crushing them.

I am in very poor physical condition and pills helped.

abby


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Avatar universal
It does have SNRI properties in the descending pathways.........it seems to be a lot like tramadol - -  slight Mu activity in the ascending pathways..............  google it - -
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