• Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Opioids Quick question - Is Demerol ever Rx'ed for pain anymore?

BeachBum4u

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 9, 2012
Messages
1,674
Location
On the Border of Indecision, thank you Jimmy!
When I was in my teens, an aunt of mine lived with my family for a few years. She had been in a horrific car accident years ago and she took every pain pill known to man. Of course, my girlfriend and I used to dip into her stash on occasion. I found that my favorite (by far!) was Demerol. Now, fast forward 35 years and I'm a pain patient and have been on narcotics on and off most of my adult life. I have never been Rx'ed Demerol (never mentioned). My question is, has anyone out there ever had it Rx'ed to anyone they know these days. BTW, I live in the US. Thanks!
 
When I was in my teens, an aunt of mine lived with my family for a few years. She had been in a horrific car accident years ago and she took every pain pill known to man. Of course, my girlfriend and I used to dip into her stash on occasion. I found that my favorite (by far!) was Demerol. Now, fast forward 35 years and I'm a pain patient and have been on narcotics on and off most of my adult life. I have never been Rx'ed Demerol (never mentioned). My question is, has anyone out there ever had it Rx'ed to anyone they know these days. BTW, I live in the US. Thanks!

It would be rare...a 70 year old Dr. maybe...Too many side effects, Dr's consider it a dangerous pain med' these days.
You would probably be uninspired by the effects 30 some years later.
 
Demerol can still be and is still prescribed for pain (in the U.S. anyway) - but not very often (and for good reason). There are safer opioid medications available for doctors to prescribe now.
 
Its funny this post is brought up (or to my attention today). My sister in laws mother gets Demerol for her leukemia ? or what ever her blood/bone desiese is. So yes I know of one person who it is perscribed to.
 
yeah, meperidine was one of the first opioids i tried. it was scripted back then ('02) for a fractured arm, this was in canada though. allthough it could be scripted in germany it practically never is. morphine is used a lot for severe pain, oxycodone and hydromorphone to a lesser degree.
 
It would be rare...a 70 year old Dr. maybe...Too many side effects, Dr's consider it a dangerous pain med' these days.
You would probably be uninspired by the effects 30 some years later.

Why would you say that? And why do you say it's dangerous. Heck, I've been on oxycontin and opana for cryin' out loud. Worse than those? I'm really curious.

Demerol can still be and is still prescribed for pain (in the U.S. anyway) - but not very often (and for good reason). There are safer opioid medications available for doctors to prescribe now.

Why is it not safe? I don't remember having any remarkable side effects when I used to take it. PLMK
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've only gotten it rx'd while in-patient after surgeries, never at pain clinics. I liked it then. When I was in the hospital for a detox, I lead them to believe I was really there because of appendicitis and they gave me a few shots in the ass with it. It was crap that time. They could have given me a Tylenol and I wouldn't have known the difference. I wouldn't mind trying it now though!
 
Why would you say that? And why do you say it's dangerous. Heck, I've been on oxycontin and opana for cryin' out loud. Worse than those? I'm really curious.

The reason Demerol is dangerous is because of the toxic metabolite called normeperidine. This is why you can't safely take anymore then 400mg's in a day max and you can't take it at high doses for longer then 3 days as normeperidine has a much longer half life then meperidine and it accumulates over time. So unlike oxycodone, morphine, hydromorphone, fentanyl and every other typical opiate/opioid it is actually toxic and narcan doesn't help the toxic effects caused by normeperidine such as hallucinations, seizures, cardiotoxicity and a few other things i am probably forgetting. It's not the opioid effects that makes Demerol dangerous it's the atypical toxic effects special to Demerol. It has anti-cholinergic effects as well this is why Demerol tends to make people alot more spaced out then say morphine

I know people who still get it prescribed here where i live but it's even becoming rare here where as 10 years ago it was still a first line opioid in treating any type of moderate to moderately severe pain. It's absolutely useless for chronic pain since you can't take it everyday, has very short acting analgesic effects and it's not a very strong opioid anyway so that's another reason it's fallen out of favor. It is still used alot in ER settings for certain types of pain such as migraines and such since for some odd reason Demerol seems to work well for migraine pain. The only advantages it has over other opioids is that it causes less respiratory depression then say morphine, hardly causes any histamine release and causes very little constipation.
 
I've only gotten it rx'd while in-patient after surgeries, never at pain clinics. I liked it then. When I was in the hospital for a detox, I lead them to believe I was really there because of appendicitis and they gave me a few shots in the ass with it. It was crap that time. They could have given me a Tylenol and I wouldn't have known the difference. I wouldn't mind trying it now though!
How did you "trick" a hospital into thinking you had appendicitis? If they thought you had appendicitis, i don't think they give people a couple of shots of Narcotics and send them on their way home; they usually remove the appendix. Unless you went as far as having it removed...just curious is all...
 
They don't usually give it to people in out patient settings because it is so toxic to the liver and kidneys.

If you do get demerol it's only a small amount.

If they think you have appendicitis they don't give you pain medications. They do this so the pain isn't masked. If they rule it out then they give pain medication.
 
Would pethidine be good for breakthrough pain? In that case you wouldnt have to take it everyday but could still get the benefits from its mixed mechanism of action?
Its always been one on my list, but I'm curious if I could take it for case o extreme breakthrough pain a few times a week without significant toxicity issues.
 
They don't usually give it to people in out patient settings because it is so toxic to the liver and kidneys.

If you do get demerol it's only a small amount.

If they think you have appendicitis they don't give you pain medications. They do this so the pain isn't masked. If they rule it out then they give pain medication.

So why do they still use it in hospitals? It being administered in a hospital doesn't make it any less toxic.

Oh, and, if I recall correctly, demerol has an even worse oral bioavailability than morphine, and that's bad.
 
It's got the worst side effects. That's why it's dangerous. These were a last resort thing to me
Cuz I could get em cheap. Canada also.
I dont see why u would want these.
Oh and intranasal they are just as bad as 2ci (which burn like a bitch, put most to shame.) but it would b worth it just to get well. This was when I was on oxy. Haven't seen them since then. Now h is cheaper.
 
Like everyone has said yes but not very often for good reasons.... You do not want it the stuff is very toxic to the body in a bad bad way.
 
So why do they still use it in hospitals? It being administered in a hospital doesn't make it any less toxic.

Oh, and, if I recall correctly, demerol has an even worse oral bioavailability than morphine, and that's bad.

Because it has it's place in medicine. When you come in with abd pain and spasms they will give you demerol.

Demerol doesn't cause spasms in organs like the pancreas, kidneys, liver, gallbladder, and intestants. Morphine does. It causes sphincter spasms. Demerol causes no spasms.

They will give a elderly person Demerol even though it's harder on the liver because of this fact. Morphine is not the go to drug in every situation.

Plus some people are allergic to morphine vs Demerol.

Usually in hospitals it's given IM, IV push, or pain pump.

When you are getting ready to leave they may switch to PO meds to reduce your dependancy on the drug to prevent wd.
 
The reason Demerol is dangerous is because of the toxic metabolite called normeperidine. This is why you can't safely take anymore then 400mg's in a day max and you can't take it at high doses for longer then 3 days as normeperidine has a much longer half life then meperidine and it accumulates over time. So unlike oxycodone, morphine, hydromorphone, fentanyl and every other typical opiate/opioid it is actually toxic and narcan doesn't help the toxic effects caused by normeperidine such as hallucinations, seizures, cardiotoxicity and a few other things i am probably forgetting. It's not the opioid effects that makes Demerol dangerous it's the atypical toxic effects special to Demerol. It has anti-cholinergic effects as well this is why Demerol tends to make people alot more spaced out then say morphine

I know people who still get it prescribed here where i live but it's even becoming rare here where as 10 years ago it was still a first line opioid in treating any type of moderate to moderately severe pain. It's absolutely useless for chronic pain since you can't take it everyday, has very short acting analgesic effects and it's not a very strong opioid anyway so that's another reason it's fallen out of favor. It is still used alot in ER settings for certain types of pain such as migraines and such since for some odd reason Demerol seems to work well for migraine pain. The only advantages it has over other opioids is that it causes less respiratory depression then say morphine, hardly causes any histamine release and causes very little constipation.

Thanks for the info, I did not know that. I just really think it's kind of odd that it's prescribed so infrequently but used so regularly in hospitals. Interesting, no? You know, that's why I asked the question, really curious about stuff. Thanks again.
 
Isn't that Michael Jackson's drug? Both Elvis and Michael Jackson fell to the drug, in the line of duty LOL
 
Only time I had demerol was when I was in the hospital when i had problems with my gallbladder. It felt amazing..I remember nearly sleeping while sitting up and the nurse asking me questions. I asked for some to take home in pill form but they said they could only give it in the iv and that was all they would give me.
 
Top