Oxymorphone for pain relief compared to other strong pain meds?

[cv2006]

Has anyone been prescribed oxymorphone (I think the main brand name is Opana) and other strong meds like oxycodone (percocet, oxycodone, oxycontin) which they could compare its pain relief properties to?

According to wikipedia it has 7 times the strength of morphine, but it has a very low bioavailability (like 10% of the active ingredient in the pill actually gets absorbed).

Does anyone have any experience with this med? Or any comparisons to other similar meds and how they worked for you?

[Peaches]

No, but I'm glad you started this thread, I had wondered about this med as well, & will be watching this thread for all the info given on it!

[996ttcab]

Opana is one that I have not had. Know people that have. Mixed reviews oral. I know one that went from oat h to opana and one that went from opana to patch and both seemed to think Fentanyl was stronger. I hear people say hydromorphine is nit strong orally or insulfated. I find it very nice and 4 mg is much stronger than 30 mg of oxycodone to me. Different type if euphoria though. I understand oxymorphone is even better than hydromorphone taken orally so it probably would be nice. I understand it really kills the pain well and it's just nit that huge rush which makes a lot of people say they don't like, but then a lot of the negative reviews come from people who IV H and dillaudid. If your somewhat normal it would probably put you on your ass.

[cv2006]

No, but I'm glad you started this thread, I had wondered about this med as well, & will be watching this thread for all the info given on it!

I've been doing a lot of reading on it, but on some other forums where many members are people who at least at some point in their lives have IV'd h, so I can't really take their opinions as seriously since they've basically experienced the most intense type of pain med administered the most effective way. That's why I'm hoping people on these forums will have a perspective more in line with what I should expect.

[Peaches]

I just came across this website on user reviews for oxymorphone/opana

Sounds like a lot of good reviews from people using it, thought you might like to check it out.
Sorry, I don't know how to do links, you will have to copy & paste.

Oxymorphone Reviews & Ratings at Drugs.com



Cool, the link thing just showed up, LOL

*This post was auto-merged. The following text was added 4 minutes after the last post:*

I've been doing a lot of reading on it, but on some other forums where many members are people who at least at some point in their lives have IV'd h, so I can't really take their opinions as seriously since they've basically experienced the most intense type of pain med administered the most effective way. That's why I'm hoping people on these forums will have a perspective more in line with what I should expect.

Looks like we had the same thoughts here, LOL

The user reviews on this website sound pretty good, I may have to try it myself sometime in future!

[Bnjar5]

check this out gives a good run down---www.pharmer.org/category/tags/oxymorphone.




Remember good information is good medicine!

[yb62338]

From what I've heard, Opana is great for pain management, not so great for recreational use.

[Lynx4]

I was on Opana for about a year at my last pain clinic (they changed my long acting meds about once a year for some reason).

Anyway, Opana ER is great and as far as I'm concerned the only two long acting meds I've been on that work are Methadone and Opana ER. Now, Opana IR is another story. It's horrible and didn't seem to help with pain at all. I was originally on OpanaER with percocets for b/t pain. Then they changed it to Opana IR. I didn't think there would be a difference (the 5mg version) but I was very wrong. I had to take 10mgs at a time to get any relief and that left me very short every month on b/t meds.

With the ER version it felt a lot like Methadone to me, as in, nothing. The pain was pretty much gone, no feelings of getting high or anything like that and although they didn't last 12 hours like they were supposed to, when they were working you never thought about your next dose or being in pain unless you overexerted yourself.

Hydromorphone is terrible and didn't work for me at all, but oxymorphone did. But then, when I was given hydromorphone it was the IR version and I didn't do well with the IR version of oxymorphone either because their bioavailability is so low.

If a chronic pain patient was looking for a good combination, I think OpanaER with percocets for b/t pain is a great combo. But...since oxycontin has changed formulations I can see that people would try to get switched to Opana so they could abuse it. Perhaps in the near future the makers of Opana will change the formula so it can't be abused.

I don't think my Pain specialist even prescribes Opana but I'm not sure. I do hear him talking to other patients because his practice is small and so are the rooms but I never hear any talk of Opana. That's not to say he doesn't, just that he doesn't talk about it, has no literature about it in his office (and he has literature on virtually every medicine used for chronic pain) and no one there talks about it.

Overall, great medicine in the ER form as long as you get the right strength. The 10mg ER was brutal dealing with until they upped mine to 20mg. In fact, I was crying because I had been in pain for so long and hadn't slept for so long that I kind of fell apart.
They upped it right then and I was fine.

Some people like the Fentanyl patches and some don't, and I'm one of the ones that it didn't work well for. I lost them in the shower, when I would sweat at all, whether it was cleaning house or going outside in hot weather they would pull away from the skin so I wasn't getting any medicine. I guess if you could find the right product to glue that baby down hard to your skin it would work better.

[Peaches]

[QUOTE=Lynx4;68896]


With the ER version it felt a lot like Methadone to me, as in, nothing. The pain was pretty much gone, no feelings of getting high or anything like that and although they didn't last 12 hours like they were supposed to, when they were working you never thought about your next dose or being in pain unless you overexerted yourself.

If a chronic pain patient was looking for a good combination, I think OpanaER with percocets for b/t pain is a great combo. But...since oxycontin has changed formulations I can see that people would try to get switched to Opana so they could abuse it. Perhaps in the near future the makers of Opana will change the formula so it can't be abused.



Hi Lynx4,

Are you saying that the ER version of Opana helps with pain, but with no feelings of getting high? Or were you talking about Methadone?

I also saw another poster say Opana was good for pain but not recreational use.

I was just asking because you mentioned that people might want to switch to Opana so they can abuse it. If it only works for pain & doesn't give a person some kind of euphoria, why would they want to abuse it?

If it works well for pain like the old formula oxycontin used to, it would be a shame if they changed the formula. Seems to me that when they make these changes, it doesn't work as well anymore for pain.
I used to think oxycontin was great for pain until they changed it, now it just makes me sleepy & sluggish, & I don't want to do anything. I would really hate to find another med that works well for pain, then have them change the formula on it.

[Lynx4]

[quote=Peaches;68993]

With the ER version it felt a lot like Methadone to me, as in, nothing. The pain was pretty much gone, no feelings of getting high or anything like that and although they didn't last 12 hours like they were supposed to, when they were working you never thought about your next dose or being in pain unless you overexerted yourself.

If a chronic pain patient was looking for a good combination, I think OpanaER with percocets for b/t pain is a great combo. But...since oxycontin has changed formulations I can see that people would try to get switched to Opana so they could abuse it. Perhaps in the near future the makers of Opana will change the formula so it can't be abused.



Hi Lynx4,

Are you saying that the ER version of Opana helps with pain, but with no feelings of getting high? Or were you talking about Methadone?

I also saw another poster say Opana was good for pain but not recreational use.

I was just asking because you mentioned that people might want to switch to Opana so they can abuse it. If it only works for pain & doesn't give a person some kind of euphoria, why would they want to abuse it?

If it works well for pain like the old formula oxycontin used to, it would be a shame if they changed the formula. Seems to me that when they make these changes, it doesn't work as well anymore for pain.
I used to think oxycontin was great for pain until they changed it, now it just makes me sleepy & sluggish, & I don't want to do anything. I would really hate to find another med that works well for pain, then have them change the formula on it.

Sorry to confuse you. Yes, Opana is great for pain and has the same feeling as Methadone. It doesn't make you feel high. But it is abusable because people can crush it and shoot it up, whereas you can't do that with oxycontin anymore. Some patients are asking to be switched to Opana so they can abuse it (whether they want to snort it, crush it or shoot it).

Anybody that was abusing oxycontin, whether from the doctor or the BIs, could do the same with Opana. If Emergency Rooms start to get a lot of ODs from Opana then I can see them changing the formula. There isn't anything in the pipeline right now that is saying they are changing Opana, I was just thinking outloud that it is abusable so it may have to be changed down the line. Those that shoot up meds are going to find a med they can shoot up and since they can't with oxycontin they are going to go for the OxyIRs, Opana or maybe the morphine IRs.

[Peaches]

@Lynx4
Thanks for the explanation.
I have never tried to abuse oxycontin, but it did give me euphoria taken the right way.
I did however take one fourth of an 80mg once when a friend gave it to me for pain, & I got so sick I spent the day in the bathroom, so I would never cut any ER pill & have that happen again.
So Opana works well for pain, but you don't get the euphoria from it like the oxycontin, kind of sad, it's always a plus to me, but as long as it works well for pain, it might be something to give a try.
The new formula OP works well for pain, but makes me feel very sluggish & all I want to do is sleep, so it's worth giving something else a try.

[yb62338]

You can probably still get euphoria from oxymorphone, it just has low bioavailability orally, while oxycodone has really high oral bioavailability.

[cv2006]

Sorry to confuse you. Yes, Opana is great for pain and has the same feeling as Methadone. It doesn't make you feel high. But it is abusable because people can crush it and shoot it up, whereas you can't do that with oxycontin anymore. Some patients are asking to be switched to Opana so they can abuse it (whether they want to snort it, crush it or shoot it).

Anybody that was abusing oxycontin, whether from the doctor or the BIs, could do the same with Opana. If Emergency Rooms start to get a lot of ODs from Opana then I can see them changing the formula. There isn't anything in the pipeline right now that is saying they are changing Opana, I was just thinking outloud that it is abusable so it may have to be changed down the line. Those that shoot up meds are going to find a med they can shoot up and since they can't with oxycontin they are going to go for the OxyIRs, Opana or maybe the morphine IRs.

Actually I've been reading about the Opana ER defense against abuse called TimerX which apparently makes it gum up when it comes into contact with moisture, making it time-released if snorted or plugged, and impossible to inject.
I have no clue if that's the case with the instant release but the ER seems impossible to abuse. This is a great thing in my opinion because it means stronger pain meds are more likely to be prescribed to patients in need. The only problem is that while this med apparently is at least double the strength of oxycodone, the active ingredient is only 10% absorbed if swallowed properly. I guess that's why I wonder how effective Opana ER really is, if a pill containing 40mg is at least equivalent to 80mg oxycodone, but out of that 40mg Opana ER, only 4mg actually gets absorbed.

[yb62338]

^ Opana IR, at least from what I've heard, is fairly easy to abuse. You're also right about the low bioavailability of opana; Probably why OxyContin is so much more common.

[Peaches]

Actually I've been reading about the Opana ER defense against abuse called TimerX which apparently makes it gum up when it comes into contact with moisture, making it time-released if snorted or plugged, and impossible to inject.
I have no clue if that's the case with the instant release but the ER seems impossible to abuse. This is a great thing in my opinion because it means stronger pain meds are more likely to be prescribed to patients in need. The only problem is that while this med apparently is at least double the strength of oxycodone, the active ingredient is only 10% absorbed if swallowed properly. I guess that's why I wonder how effective Opana ER really is, if a pill containing 40mg is at least equivalent to 80mg oxycodone, but out of that 40mg Opana ER, only 4mg actually gets absorbed.

Your post above mentions a post quoted by me, but actually the quoted words in that post were made by Lynx answering my questions.

I am interested in how Opana works for pain, if you get a chance to try it, please let me know your thoughts on it.

When/If I ever try it, I will also give you my thoughts on how I feel it works for me as well.

Thanks for your input on this, & also thanks to all others who posted!

[rhfutureghost]

I had Opana a while back, through a friend, not a doctor I should point out. It worked amazingly well for my back pain and gave me quite the euphoria!

[mthomas46]

In one thread somebody posted a link for a pain killer comparison chart, and I know oxymorphone is listed highest on the scale. There are no other meds that rate higher. Check out the chart.

[cv2006]

I had Opana a while back, through a friend, not a doctor I should point out. It worked amazingly well for my back pain and gave me quite the euphoria!

If you don't mind sharing, what dose was it? Instant release or ER? What kind of tolerance did you already have at the time?

My first experience was that it had no effect on me. Tried increasing the dose the next day and got incredibly sick. Since then I've taken it in smaller doses and found that if I start to take too much I feel sick, but below the level where I start to get headaches and feel sick, all I notice is that I feel a little more social. Otherwise, I feel absolutely nothing from this med. Nothing. I can't believe it is rated so high on the chart compared to other opiates. I just can't believe it. (And I do know what I have is real, not fake).

[Lynx4]

@cv2006, I think that's one of the reasons doctor prescribe Opana over oxycontin; it doesn't 'feel' like anything. There was no sense of high or euphoria or anything when I took it. It took maybe 2 days for it to really get rid of all of my pain but I thought the ER worked great and I loved the fact that it didn't feel like anything. Anytime I take a medicine that causes any euphoria I end up feeling really really tired a few hours later. Therefore I'm really happy that Methadone and OpanaER don't cause any of those feelings.

Have you noticed if it helped with pain at all or was it just totally useless for you all the way around? I ask because hydromorphone is like that with me. It's useless as a pain med and causes me massive anxiety because I can't get the pain under control. Some percentage of the population find that morphine doesn't work at all for them, and those people will usually find that hydromorphone and oxymorphone don't work either. (yeah, I watch A LOT of medical shows and real life trauma shows and occasionally I see it mentioned that morphine didn't work and the patient had to be switched to another painkiller).

[cv2006]

@Lynx4 it did help with pain. I haven't used morphine lately, so it's hard to say if it worked better. I think it may have been better than morphine though. Since my pain is different every day it is tough to really compare pain meds accurately, but I try to use tramadol as much as possible just because it really is a strong pain med, and anything stronger than that I try my best to reserve for when I really need it.