Welcome to the current newsletter issue of
Advances in Medicine (AIM)- Take AIM against pain.
Feel free to send me an e-mail with your own thoughts
and experiences. Email: timsams@mypainreliefdoc.com.
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There is a new opioid (narcotic) medication that was recently
FDA-approved for use in the United States. It is an oxymorphone
hydrochloride opioid called Opana manufactured by Endo
Pharmaceuticals. Opana is the first oral preparation of
oxymorphone having previously been available only through
injection or suppository - mainly for hospitalized patients.
Opana (oxymophone) can be compared to Dilaudid (hydromorphone)
similarly to the manner in which Vicodin (Hydrocodone) can be
compared to Percacet (oxycondone). They are very similar
chemically, differing only by small molecular changes in the
presence of oxygen and hydrogen atoms. Dilaudid has been about
the strongest oral opioid available until now. The recently
banned Palladone (hydromorphone) was chemically virtually
identical to Dilaudid. The FDA asked Purdue Pharma to withdraw
Palladone after it was discovered that there was a potentially
lethal interaction effect with alcohol - in large doses, I would
imagine.
The approval of Opana fills a void in oral opioids for people in
pain. Opana R Immediate Release tablets provide powerful
analgesia for acute or episodic pain with a relatively short
duration of analgesia. Opana ER Extended Release tablets provide
powerful analgesia for persistent, continuous pain with a
relatively long duration of action.
Opana Instant Release is a schedule II opioid which means in
most states it is a triplicate medication and as such compares
to Oxy IR, MSIR, Percodan, and Dilaudid. The Extended Release
Opana would compare to OxyContin, MSContin, and Kadian. Clinical
trials with Opana demonstrated analgesia with both opioid naïve
(never took opioids before) and opioid experienced (were taking
opioids at time of trial) patients. In clinical practice,
extended release opioids like Opana are almost always prescribed
only after a patient has been taking short acting opioids long
enough to develop a tolerance.
If you have taken several of the Continuous Release opioids with
less than satisfactory results, you should ask your doctor about
Opana Extended Release. If you have been taking short acting or
instant release opioids only, you can consider asking your
doctor about Opana. Because Opana is a schedule II opioid, most
primary care physicians probably will not prescribe it. You may
need to be treated by a pain physician to have Opana prescribed
to you.
Opana Immediate Release is available in 5 and 10 mg tablets.
Opana Extended Release is available in 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg
tablets. The ER version is recommended to be prescribed twice
daily (BID). Clinical experience will determine if most pain
doctors begin prescribing it three time daily (TID), as has
occurred with several of the long acting opioids. Get more
information from the manufacturer at www.endo.com.
Remember, opioids are neither intrinsically good nor bad. That
depends on what you do with them and how they work for you.
Tolerance develops with all opioids, which is not the same as
addiction. You can learn much more about opioids by reading the
article "Should I take Narcotics for Pain? found on the home
page of www.MyPainReliefDoc.com. In ABC's of Pain Relief and
Treatment, Chapter 23 provides even more detailed information
about the advantages and disadvantages of opioids. If you do not
have a pain physician, you can locate one in your neighborhood by
clicking the Pain Clinics hyperlink on the home page of
www.MyPainReliefDoc.com
As always, your comments are welcome. If you have taken Opana,
your experienced comments might be included in a future
newsletter.
Good light,
Dr. Tim
My Pain Relief Doc
http://www.mypainreliefdoc.com
Copyright 2006. Dr. Tim Sams and My Pain Relief Doc.
All rights reserved. http://www.mypainreliefdoc.com
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You may freely distribute a copy of this newsletter or
use it on your web site or RSS feed, as long as you
include the entire article, along with the web links
and copyright information. Thanks, Dr. Tim
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