What is Opana ER?

Opana ER is an opioid medication that helps treat moderate to severe pain. The generic name of Opana ER is Oxymorphone hydrochloride extended-release. Opana ER indicates the relief of modern to severe pain, such as treating acute post-surgical pain. For the team’s chronic treatment, doctors should only consider long-term use if there is a significant clinical benefit to the patient’s therapy that outweighs any potential risk. Opana ER tablets manage chronic pain and only for people already on a regular schedule of potent opioids for a prolonged period. You can easily buy Opana ERonline or from a local pharmacy store.

Important Information

Opioid medicine like Opana ER can put a stop to your breathing or slow it down and lead to the occurrence of death. The attendant should seek emergency medical attention if you have slow breathing with long pauses, blue-colored lips, or unconsciousness. Just one dose of this medicine accidentally or improperly may lead to sudden death. So, be careful and ask your pharmacist where to locate a drug take-back settlement program. If there is no such program, flush the remaining medicine down the toilet.

What to know before taking Opana ER?

Opana ER can cause dizziness or drowsiness. Consumption of alcohol or marijuana (cannabis) will make you feel dizzy, cause dangerous side effects, and death may occur. Before taking Opana ER, check with your doctor if you are allergic to it. You should not take Opana ER if you are allergic to it or if you have:

• Breathlessness or severe asthma
• Blockage in intestines or stomach

Before taking your medicine, don’t forget to tell the doctor if you ever had:

• A head injury
• Seizures
• Breathing problem
• Sleep apnea
• Drug or alcohol addiction
• Urination problem
• Mental illness
• Liver or kidney problems
• Problems with your gallbladder, pancreas, or thyroid.

Your newborn baby could be dependent upon the drugs if you use this medicine while you are pregnant. It can cause life-threatening withdrawal symptoms. Babies who are born dependent upon opioids may need medical treatment for several weeks. It would be best if you don’t breastfeed while taking Opana ER.

How to take Opana ER?

Read the available medication guide before you start taking Opana ER and each time you get a refill. If you have any queries, ask any of your medical healthcare providers. Take this medication regularly as per your doctor’s directions, not on an as-needed basis. Take this medication orally without food or an hour or two after eating your doctor’s prescription. Doctors recommend taking it within every 12 hours usually. Swallow the whole Opana ER tablet instead of breaking, crushing, disintegrating, or opening it.

Do not lick, pre-soak, or wet the pills before putting them in your mouth. Take one medication at a time with enough water to swallow the tablet completely. If you are nauseated, ask any of your medical healthcare providers for tips to decrease nausea (such as lying down an hour or two with as little head movement as possible). Before taking this medication, ask your medical healthcare provider to stop or change the dosage of other opioid medications or pain relievers such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

Opana ER dosage

Your Opana ER dosage will depend upon your age, medical condition, the initial response to Opana ER’s treatment, other medical conditions you have, and other medications you take. Your dosage for moderate to severe acute pain:

• Immediate-release tablets indicate acute pain where opioid use is appropriate.
• Opioid naive patients: 10-20 mg orally every 4-6 hours initially and start with a 5 mg increment.
• Conversion from intravenous (IV) oxymorphone oral: absolute bioavailability of orally is 10% approx. therefore, conversion from one mg IV every 4 to 6 hours is equipotent to 10 mg orally every 4-6 hours
• Older adult patients or patients with renal or hepatic impairment should take the medication 5 mg orally every 4-6 hours.

Dosage for Chronic severe pain: Opioid naive patients: 5 mg orally every 12 hours initially, then titrated in increments of 5-10 mg every 12 hours within 3 to 7 days to a level that provides appropriate analgesia and reduces side effects. The use of higher starting doses in patients who are non-tolerant to opioids may cause fatal respiratory depression. Dosage limitations: Because of addiction & misuse of opioids, even at recommended doses, the more significant risks of overdose and death with extended-release opioid formulations reserve for patients whose alternative treatment options are ineffective, non-tolerant, or would be otherwise inadequate to provide sufficient management of pain. It does not indicate a needed analgesic.

Overdose

In case of an overdose to Opana ER, immediately take medical help or call the Poison helpline at 1-800-222-1222. An Opana ER overdose can be deadly, especially in a child or someone taking it without a prescription. Overdose symptoms of Opana ER may include pinpoint pupils, slow or shallow breathing, severe drowsiness, or no breathing. Your doctor may suggest you take naloxone to reverse the opioid overdose and keep it with you all the time. Anyone can purchase naloxone from a pharmacy (or online pharmacy) or local health department. Ensure that any person caring for you or your attendant should know where you keep naloxone and how to use it.

What to avoid while using Opana ER?

Avoid driving any vehicle or operating machinery that requires alertness. It may lead to accidental falls or severe injuries.

Opana ER side effects

Inform your medical healthcare provider immediately if any of the following common side effects of Opana ER persist or worsen, including vomiting, nausea, headache, dry mouth, constipation, mild itching, drowsiness, dizziness, or lightheadedness. Severe side effects of this medicine that may require immediate medical attention may include:

• Allergic reactions including difficulty breathing, hives, itching, severe dizziness, rash, swelling of your face, throat, lips, or tongue;
• Shallow breathing;
• Seizures;
• Fainting;
• Sleep apnea;
• Mental illness (including agitation, hallucination, confusion);
• Abdominal or stomach pain;
• Vision changes;
• Slow or fast heartbeat
• Difficulty in urination;
• Choking or gagging while swallowing this medication;
• Signs of unwell functioning of adrenal glands (such as unusual tiredness, loss of appetite, weight loss);
• Severe drowsiness; or
• You are hard to wake up.

What drugs can interact with Opana ER?

Opana ER can interact with other medications and cause dangerous side effects leading to death. Ensure that your doctor knows if you also take any drugs that affect serotonin levels in the body, a sedative-like a valium, COPD medication, cold or allergy medicines, other opioids, drugs that slow down your breathing or cause sleepiness, or medicines for bowel syndrome, overactive bladder, motion sickness.