Tasha Cutton at Clinic 77.
Photo: RNZ / Luca Foreman
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners says most of its members have at least one patient dependent on the pain reliever Tramadol.
Tramadol was supposed to be a non-addictive alternative to more harmful opioids like oxycodone or fentanyl.
The college president says patients need more information about the drug’s side effects.
Tasha Kuten was first prescribed Tramadol for back pain and soon was visiting multiple doctors to feed her addiction.
“Of course, if you have any kind of addiction, you start with a lie. So I go to doctors, three different doctors. You’re grossly ill, but you’re not.”
She said she was not told that tramadol is addictive when she was prescribed it.
Cutton was now drug-free, and the director of Clinic 77, which helps people with addictions.
Doctors who prescribe Tramadol should tell people about the potential risks, she said.
“From tramadol to benzodiazepines, only the leaflet covered will be good.”
Getting off tramadol can be harder than getting off methamphetamine, she said.
“If you stop using it, you start getting the symptoms — sweating, tremors, shaking, nausea, vomiting.”
Samantha Murton, president of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, agrees that patients should be told about side effects.
“Whether in the information on the pamphlet or in the package or with the doctor or person who holds it.”
Doctors likely turned to tramadol as a prescription because other opioids, such as OxyContin, were found to be highly addictive, Murton said.
But when switching to tramadol, doctors may not be fully aware that it can cause dependence and have side effects, she said.
“I think there’s not enough talk about the addictive nature of it, so that people understand that it’s hard to quit if you take it for a long time.”
She says it’s helpful to have a separate prescription to help patients take the medication.
“It would be great to explore some of the ways that people can gradually get away from it.”
Addiction psychologist Sam McBride says the medical profession needs to be better at communicating with patients when prescribing these drugs.
“Both identifying people who may be vulnerable, talking to people about the risks of addiction or abuse, and warning them about it.”
Pharmacy data shows that since 2017, the volume of drug pharmacies has increased by 9 percent.
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