Tapentadol v/s oxycodone are two medications that play a crucial aspect in healthcare when it comes to managing pain. While both medicines come up when one has to prescribe for pain relief the debate of which one is the most effective one. We understand that choosing between both can be confusing. To eradicate the same, we plan on taking a closer look at both medicines and comparing them on multiple parameters.
We hope breaking down the differences between the both will help you make an informed and right choice.
What Is Tapentadol?
Tapentadol is one of the most prescribed analgesic medicines for treating and managing moderate to severe pain. The medicine belongs to a class of drugs which is known as opioid analgesics along with having distinguishing properties from traditional opioids.
What tapentadol is known best for is its dual mechanism of action as it works both as a mu-opioid receptor as well as a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Due to this dual action tapentadol palexia holds the potential to provide pain relief through multiple pathways in your body.
These characteristics of Tapentadol Australia medicine have made it approved to address a spectrum of pains be it acute pain caused by surgery or injury along with chronic pain conditions such as neuropathic pain that is related to diabetic peripheral neuropathy.
What is Oxycodone?
Oxycodone is yet another potent opioid analgesic medicine that is best known for managing moderate to severe pain. The medication comes from the opioid analgesics class of drugs. These drugs act on your central nervous system to relieve pain.
Oxycodone medicine is available in multiple formulations such as immediate-release and extended-release formulations. The immediate-release aims at managing the acute pain whereas the extended-release is meant to focus on chronic pain conditions that require around-the-clock pain relief.
However, oxycodone holds the potential for abuse and overdose hence it is classified as a controlled substance in most places and is meant to be strictly regulated. You can buy oxycodone Australia from e-pharmacies as well like Genericmedsaustralia.com.
Medicine Comparison: Tapentadol vs Oxycodone
How Tapentadol and Oxycodone work in the body
To understand the better choice of medicine to manage your pain the best way is to evaluate both their similarities and differences to draw a detailed comparison. For this comparison, we have three parameters to consider.
| PARAMETER | TAPENTADOL | OXYCODONE |
| Potential of abuse | Tapentadol is registered under Schedule II controlled drug substances in the US. | Due to its high potential for abuse, even oxycodone is classified under Schedule II controlled drug substances in the US. |
| Potency | Due to its high potential for abuse even oxycodone is classified under Schedule II controlled drug substances in the US. | Whereas oxycodone has a potency of nearly 1.5 times more than morphine. |
| Metabolism | Tapentadol is metabolised usually in the liver by glucuronidation along with cytochrome P450 enzyme. | Oxycodone on the other hand is metabolised in the liver mainly by CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 enzymes. |
How Tapentadol and Oxycodone work in the body
The next most important step in drawing a comparison between the two medicines is to understand how they move ahead, how long oxycodone takes to work and address your pains.
By far you know that Tapentadol has a dual mechanism of action due to the presence of both mu-opioid receptor and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. The mu-opioid affects the brain and spinal cord which reduces the perception of pain and alters the emotional response to pain. Along with that the NRI reputable acts as a neurotransmitter that enhances the inhibition effect of norepinephrine on pain leading to a reduction of pain.
On the other hand Oxycodone primarily just works as a mu-opioid receptor which when activated reduces the transmission of pain signals and alters the perception of pain. Apart from that the medicine also affects the dopamine system.
While both Tapentadol and Oxycodone aim at relieving pain primarily and contribute to the unique pharmacological profiles of the pain.
Side effects related to oxycodone and tapentadol
Even though Tapentadol and Oxycodone are the most prescribed medicines for relieving pain, they both have significant side effects that can affect you. Here’s the list of potential side effects for both the medicines:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Constipation
- Drowsiness and dizziness
- Respiratory depression
- Headache
- Sweating
- Itching
- Gastrointestinal side effects
- Dizziness and vertigo
- Sedation
While these side effects intensity depends on how well your body reacts to the medication. Moreover, if you experience any of these side effects, get immediate medical help and discuss the complications you face as long-term side effects of tapentadol could be harmful.
Comparison of the effectiveness of medical research
The most important comparison while deciding which medicine is best for your pain relief is to check the effectiveness the formulation has to offer. There are multiple ways in which we can compare the effectiveness of the tablets.
Both the Tapentadol and Oxycodone are quite effective in managing the various levels of pain be it severe or moderate. Having said that, it is seen amongst medical researchers that tapentadol offers the same amount of pain relief as oxycodone does with a much lower risk of side effects. On the other hand, oxycodone holds the potential to have more side effects than the same tapentadol dosage will leave.
According to the Journal of Pain Research in 2017 multiple medical research found that tapentadol extended-release has been more effective than oxycodone’s controlled-release has.
Having said that both Tapentadol and Oxycodone are quite effective and they both have their factors by which they address the pain and manage the same.
Tapentadol Dosage
Tapaday 200 Mg (Tapentadol)
Tapdol 100 Mg (Tapentadol)
Asmanol 100mg (Tapentadol)
Special Considerations
Now that we have gone through the various comparison parameters to determine which medicine is the best for managing the pain, you need to keep an eye on what are the special considerations you need to take while treating your pain.
- Assess your health, your medical history, and the current medicines that you are taking before starting these medications.
- Start with the lowest dosage so that you can achieve adequate pain relief with the utmost minimal side effects.
- Monitor your treatment journey and the side effects to evaluate the whole process.
- Be cautious of using the medicines amongst elderly patients as they are at higher risk of side effects from the formulations.
Apart from these, in terms of special considerations be cautious of other drug interactions and understand the importance of a proper consultation.