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Do Pain Killers Affect Oxygen Saturation Levels?
Question: What kind and how many pain relief medicines affect oxygen saturation level percentage?
Brief Answer:
Morphine...Oxycodone...Hydrocodone...etc
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.
Morphine doesn’t reduce oxygen saturation. What it does is to suppress deep respiration which leads to a drop in saturation. However, you need high doses of morphine and the other opioids to be able to go into respiratory depression and suffer from low oxygen saturation. It is actually a trade off between not being in pain and taking higher doses of morphine that may cause decreased oxygen saturation. The antidote for this is naloxone and could be live saving in cases of morphine intoxication.
I hope this helps. I wish you well. Thanks for using our services and do feel free to ask for more information and clarifications if need be.
Morphine...Oxycodone...Hydrocodone...etc
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.
Morphine doesn’t reduce oxygen saturation. What it does is to suppress deep respiration which leads to a drop in saturation. However, you need high doses of morphine and the other opioids to be able to go into respiratory depression and suffer from low oxygen saturation. It is actually a trade off between not being in pain and taking higher doses of morphine that may cause decreased oxygen saturation. The antidote for this is naloxone and could be live saving in cases of morphine intoxication.
I hope this helps. I wish you well. Thanks for using our services and do feel free to ask for more information and clarifications if need be.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
I quit taking Morphine, but am still taking Hydrocodon for a bad back. I have been taking one of them or other pain meds since 2003. I have to use Oxygen and would frankly like very much to stop it. I am tempted to stop the Hydrocodon as well to see if my oxygen saturation rises more. It now goes between 87 and rises up to 92 or more. What would you suggest?
Brief Answer:
The problem is not the drug but how much you take!
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Morphine or hydrocodone in small doses will not depress respiration. Unless you are taking it in higher doses, this is unlikely to have been the cause of fluctuating saturation.
The bottom line is that if you can go with the pains, the reducing and even getting off the pain medications will be a plus to you. If the pains need medications all the times, then the price to pay would be higher doses and the depression of respiratory efforts.
Hydrocodone is purely for pain and the decision to stop and see how well saturation improves is fine as we are not risking any other health problem. Let me hear from you when you do so.
I wish you well.
The problem is not the drug but how much you take!
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Morphine or hydrocodone in small doses will not depress respiration. Unless you are taking it in higher doses, this is unlikely to have been the cause of fluctuating saturation.
The bottom line is that if you can go with the pains, the reducing and even getting off the pain medications will be a plus to you. If the pains need medications all the times, then the price to pay would be higher doses and the depression of respiratory efforts.
Hydrocodone is purely for pain and the decision to stop and see how well saturation improves is fine as we are not risking any other health problem. Let me hear from you when you do so.
I wish you well.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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