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How To Wean Off Morphine, Used For Pain Management?
I am on 3 15mg tabs. of morphine a day, & a 30mg that is er. at bed. I want to taper off of them, but do not have a lg. quantity left. My pain mgmt. dr. lost his license, & it will be I don t know how long before I can get a new one, & I want to make my supply last that I have left.
Mon, 14 Jan 2019
Hi,
Morphine is a pain medication of the opiate family. There are different modes of tapering opioids such as morphine and stop it completely. The following are certain guidelines, which can be followed:
1. Reduction of daily dose by 10% each day, or Reduction of daily dose by 20% every 3-5 days, or Reduction of daily dose by 25% each week.
2. Decrease dose by 20%-50% per day to 45 mg/day, then decrease by 15 mg/day every 2-5 days.
However, tapering doesn't ensure that you would not experience the withdrawal effects of the medication.
Hence, it should be done strictly under medical supervision. Any withdrawal symptoms experienced should be treated symptomatically depending on the degree of its manifestation.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Ashakiran S, General & Family Physician
Morphine is a pain medication of the opiate family. There are different modes of tapering opioids such as morphine and stop it completely. The following are certain guidelines, which can be followed:
1. Reduction of daily dose by 10% each day, or Reduction of daily dose by 20% every 3-5 days, or Reduction of daily dose by 25% each week.
2. Decrease dose by 20%-50% per day to 45 mg/day, then decrease by 15 mg/day every 2-5 days.
However, tapering doesn't ensure that you would not experience the withdrawal effects of the medication.
Hence, it should be done strictly under medical supervision. Any withdrawal symptoms experienced should be treated symptomatically depending on the degree of its manifestation.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Ashakiran S, General & Family Physician
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