Morphine Sulfate (MS Contin) – inj., p.o. – Morphine in general is an intermediate acting narcotic but for terminal patients, it can be given in a sustained release form, so instead of being given PRN, it can be given just once or twice a day so they don’t have to ask for pain medication.
Meperidine (Demerol) – inj., p.o. – A very short acting narcotic, typically used post-operatively where you want it to work for a short period of time.
Fentanyl (Sublimaze, Duragesic) – inj., patch – As far as this drug list is concerned, this is your most potent narcotic. It’s dosed in micrograms rather than milligrams. It is administered with IV only in situations where you have respiratory equipment because it may stop breathing. You may also find that there’s a fentanyl patch on the market which is intended for terminal patients. Today, by far, more patients that are receiving fentanyl are not oncology patients and they are being treated for symptomatic pain. The vast majority of these patients are addicted.
Some of these patients may even need fentanyl dependency treatment eventually.
Other Narcotic Analgesics
- Hydromorphone (Dilaudid) – inj., p.o.
- Codeine (also found in combo with acetaminophen) – Schedule III
- Hydrocodone (Vicodin) – p.o. (in combo with acetaminophen) – Schedule III
- Methadone (Dolophine) – p.o.
- Oxycodone (Percodan, Percocet, Tylox, Oxycontin) – p.o.