Rescudose

Morphine is a prescription medication used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is useful for both temporary pain and around-the-clock, long-term pain.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information. 

Rescudose is part of the drug class:

• Natural opium alkaloids

This medication may cause serious side effects. See "Drug Precautions".

Common side effects include:

• dizziness
• drowsiness
• nausea
• vomiting
• constipation
• diarrhea
• loss of appetite
• weight loss
• dry mouth
• sweating
• weakness
• headache
• agitation
• nervousness
• mood changes
• confusion
• small pupils (black circles in the middle of the eyes
• flu symptoms
• difficulty urinating or pain when urinating

Call your healthcare provider if you have any of these symptoms and they are severe.

Get emergency medical help if you have:

• trouble breathing
• shortness of breath
• fast heartbeat
• chest pain
• swelling of your face
• tongue or throat
• extreme drowsiness, or you are feeling faint

These are not all the possible side effects of morphine. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088. 

Tell your doctor about all the medications you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• anticoagulants ('blood thinners') such as warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven)
• antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil), amoxapine (Asendin), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Adapin, Sinequan), imipramine (Tofranil), nortriptyline (Aventyl, Pamelor), protriptyline (Vivactil), and trimipramine (Surmontil)
• antihistamines (found in cold and allergy medications)
• beta blockers such as atenolol (Tenormin), labetalol (Normodyne), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL), nadolol (Corgard), and propranolol (Inderal)
• buprenorphine (Butrans, Subutex, in Suboxone)
• butorphanol (Stadol)
• cimetidine (Tagamet)
• diuretics ('water pills')
• medications for anxiety, seizures, depression, mental illness, or nausea
• monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, including isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), procarbazine (Matulane), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam, Zelapar), and tranylcypromine (Parnate)
• muscle relaxants
• nalbuphine (Nubain)
• other narcotic pain medications
• pentazocine (Talwin, in Talacen)
• quinidine  
• sedatives, sleeping pills, or tranquilizers

This is not a complete list of morphine drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

This medication falls into category C. In animal studies, pregnant animals were given this medication and had some babies born with problems. No well-controlled studies have been done in humans. Therefore, this medication may be used if the potential benefits to the mother outweigh the potential risks to the unborn child.

Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully. Take this medication as prescribed by your healthcare provider. Do not change your dose.

Oral (by mouth) morphine comes as a tablet, a solution (liquid), a controlled- or extended-release (long-acting) tablet, and a controlled- or sustained-release (long-acting) capsule all to take by mouth.

• The regular tablet and liquid are usually taken every 4 hours as needed for pain.
• Long-acting tablets (brand name MS Contin) are usually taken every 8 hours or every 12 hours.
• Long-acting capsules (brand name Kadian) are usually taken with or without food every 12 hours or every 24 hours.
• Long-acting capsules (brand name Avinza) are usually taken once a day. Do not cut, break, chew, crush, dissolve, or inject it.

Rectal morphine comes as a suppository to insert in the rectum. It is usually inserted every 4 hours, at around the same times each day. 

Morphine is also available in injectable forms. It will be either injected into a large muscle (such as your buttock or hip) or added to an intravenous fluid that will drip through a needle or catheter placed in your vein or under your skin.

If you feel that your pain is not controlled, call your doctor. Do not change the dose of your medication without talking to your doctor.

Do not stop taking morphine without talking to your doctor. Your doctor may decrease your dose gradually. If you suddenly stop taking morphine, you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as restlessness; teary eyes; runny nose; yawning; irritability; anxiety; sweating; difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep; chills; back, muscle. or joint pain; nausea; vomiting; loss of appetite; diarrhea; stomach cramps; weakness; fast heartbeat; or fast breathing.