Demerol (Meperidine)

Meperidine (me per' I deen) Demerol® Isonipecaine Pethidine Meperidine may cause serious or life-threatening breathing problems, especially during the first 24 to 72 hours of your treatment and any time your dose is increased. Your doctor will monitor you carefully during your treatment. Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had slowed breathing or asthma. Your doctor will probably tell you not to take meperidine. Also tell your doctor if you have or have ever had lung disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; a group of diseases that affect the lungs and airways), a head injury, or any condition that increases the amount of pressure in your brain. The risk that you will develop breathing problems may be higher if you are an older adult or are weak or malnourished due to disease. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately or get emergency medical treatment: slowed breathing, long pauses between breaths, or shortness of breath. Taking certain medications during your treatment with meperidine may increase the risk that you will develop serious or life-threatening breathing problems, sedation, or coma. Tell your doctor if you are taking or plan to take any of the following medications: certain antifungal medications including itraconazole (Onmel, Sporanox), ketoconazole (Nizoral), and voriconazole (Vfend); benzodiazepines such as alprazolam (Xanax), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), clonazepam (Klonopin), diazepam (Valium), estazolam, flurazepam, lorazepam (Ativan), oxazepam, temazepam (Restoril), and triazolam (Halcion); carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Epitol, Tegretol, Teril); erythromycin (Erytab, Erythrocin); certain medications for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) including indinavir (Crixivan), nelfinavir (Viracept), and ritonavir (Norvir, in Kaletra); medications for mental illness, nausea, or pain; muscle relaxants; phenytoin (Dilantin, Phenytek); rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane, in Rifamate); sedatives; sleeping pills; or tranquilizers. Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications and will monitor you carefully. If you take meperidine with any of these medications and you develop any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately or seek emergency medical care: unusual dizziness, lightheadedness, extreme sleepiness, slowed or difficult breathing, or unresponsiveness. Be sure that your caregiver or family members know which symptoms may be serious so they can call the doctor or emergency medical care if you are unable to seek treatment on your own. Drinking alcohol, taking prescription or nonprescription medications that contain alcohol, or using street drugs during your treatment with meperidine increases the risk that you will experience these serious, life-threatening side effects. Do not drink alcohol, take prescription or nonprescription medications that contain alcohol, or use street drugs during your treatment. Meperidine may be habit-forming. Do not take more of it, take it more often, or take it in a different way than directed by your doctor. Tell your doctor if you or anyone in your family drinks or has ever drunk large amounts of alcohol, uses or has ever used street drugs, or has overused prescription medications, or if you have or have ever had depression or another mental illness. There is a greater risk that you will overuse meperidine if you have or have ever had any of these conditions. Do not allow anyone else to take your medication. Meperidine may harm or cause death to other people who take your medication, especially children. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. If you take meperidine regularly during your pregnancy, your baby may experience life-threatening withdrawal symptoms after birth. Tell your baby's doctor right away if your baby experiences any of the following symptoms: irritability, hyperactivity, abnormal sleep, high-pitched cry, uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body, vomiting, diarrhea, or failure to gain weight. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking meperidine.

Meperidine is used to relieve moderate to severe pain. Meperidine is in a class of medications opiate (narcotic) analgesics. It works by changing the way the brain and nervous system respond to pain.

Meperidine comes as a tablet and a syrup (liquid) to take by mouth. It is usually taken with or without food every 3 to 4 hours as needed for pain. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. If you are taking the meperidine tablets, swallow them whole; do not chew, break, or crush them. Swallow each tablet right after you put it in your mouth. If you are taking meperidine syrup, use a dose-measuring spoon or cup to measure the correct amount of liquid for each dose, not a regular household spoon. Mix your dose with half a glass of water and swallow the mixture. Swallowing undiluted meperidine syrup may numb the mouth. Your doctor will probably adjust your dose of meperidine during your treatment. Be sure to tell your doctor about any pain and side effects you experience while taking this medication. This will help your doctor find the dose that is best for you. If you have taken meperidine for longer than a few weeks, do not stop taking the medication without talking to your doctor. Your doctor will probably decrease your dose gradually. If you suddenly stop taking meperidine, you may experience withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms may include restlessness, watery eyes, stuffy nose, yawning, sweating, chills, muscle pain, irritability, nervousness, stomach pain, upset stomach, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, fast breathing, fast heartbeat, and back pain.

Before taking meperidine, tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to meperidine, any other medications, or any of the ingredients in meperidine tablets or syrup. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for a list of the ingredients. tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking or plan to take. Be sure to mention any of the following: acyclovir (Zovirax); butorphanol; cimetidine (Tagamet);; medications for vomiting and seizures; certain medications for migraine headaches such as almotriptan (Axert), eletriptan (Relpax), frovatriptan (Frova), naratriptan (Amerge), rizatriptan (Maxalt), sumatriptan (Imitrex, in Treximet), and zolmitriptan (Zomig); mirtazapine (Remeron); 5-HT3 receptor antagonists such as alosetron (Lotronex), dolasetron (Anzemet), granisetron (Kytril), ondansetron (Zofran, Zuplenz), or palonosetron (Aloxi); selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, Selfemra), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva), and sertraline (Zoloft); serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as desvenlafaxine (Pristiq, Khedezla), duloxetine (Cymbalta), milnacipran (Savella), and venlafaxine (Effexor); and tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline, amoxapine, clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Silenor, Zonalon), imipramine (Tofranil), nortriptyline (Pamelor), protriptyline (Vivactil), and trimipramine (Surmontil). Also tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking the following medications or have stopped taking them within the past 2 weeks: monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors including isocarboxazid (Marplan), linezolid (Zyvox), methylene blue, phenelzine (Nardil), selegiline (Eldepryl), and tranylcypromine (Parnate). Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects. tell your doctor if you have or have ever had any of the conditions mentioned in the IMPORTANT WARNING section or paralytic ileus (condition in which digested food does not move through the intestines). Your doctor may tell you not to take meperidine. tell your doctor if you have or have ever had pheochromocytoma (a type of tumor); difficulty urinating; irregular heartbeat; seizures; stomach problems; or thyroid, pancreas, gallbladder, liver, kidney, or lung disease. tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding. you should know that this medication may decrease fertility in men and women. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking meperidine. talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of taking meperidine if you are 65 years of age or older. Older adults should not usually take meperidine because it is not as safe or as effective as other medications that can be used to treat the same condition. if you are having surgery, including dental surgery, tell the doctor or dentist that you are taking meperidine. you should know that meperidine may make you drowsy. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this medication affects you. you should know that meperidine may cause dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting when you get up too quickly from a lying position. This is more common when you first start taking meperidine. To avoid this problem, get out of bed slowly, resting your feet on the floor for a few minutes before standing up.

Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, continue your normal diet.

This medication is usually taken as needed. If your doctor has told you to take meperidine regularly, take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one.

Meperidine may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away: lightheadedness dizziness weakness headache extreme calm mood changes nausea vomiting stomach pain or cramps constipation dry mouth flushing sweating changes in vision Some side effects can be serious. The following symptoms are uncommon, but if you experience any of them or those listed in the IMPORTANT WARNING section, call your doctor immediately: agitation, hallucinations (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist), fever, sweating, confusion, fast heartbeat, shivering, severe muscle stiffness or twitching, loss of coordination, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, weakness, or dizziness inability to get or keep an erection irregular menstruation decreased sexual desire slow or difficult breathing shaking hands that you cannot control seizures changes in heartbeat difficulty urinating fainting rash hives Meperidine may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication. If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online (http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch) or by phone (1-800-332-1088).

Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store it at room temperature and away from excess heat and moisture (not in the bathroom). Protect this medication from theft. Medication that is outdated or no longer needed should be flushed down the toilet. Talk to your pharmacist about the proper disposal of your medication. It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers (such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers) are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily. To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location – one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach. http://www.upandaway.org

Keep all appointments with your doctor. Before having any laboratory test (especially those that involve methylene blue), tell your doctor and the laboratory personnel that you are taking meperidine. Do not let anyone else take your medication. It is against the law to give this medication to anyone else. Ask your pharmacist any questions you have about refilling your prescription. It is important for you to keep a written list of all of the prescription and nonprescription (over-the-counter) medicines you are taking, as well as any products such as vitamins, minerals, or other dietary supplements. You should bring this list with you each time you visit a doctor or if you are admitted to a hospital. It is also important information to carry with you in case of emergencies.