Author: John Carter

Fentanyl: MedlinePlus Drug Information

The FDA also warned that children are at particular risk for accidental death from exposure. A healthcare provider will give you an injection of Fentanyl in a hospital or clinic. Providers may use this medication when other pain medications don’t work well enough or can’t be tolerated.

Fentanyl Injection

These may be symptoms of a serious condition called serotonin syndrome. Your risk may be higher if you also take certain other medicines that affect serotonin levels in your body. Heat can cause the fentanyl in the patch to be absorbed into your body faster. This may increase the chance of serious side effects or an overdose. Some drug dealers are mixing fentanyl with other drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA.

What should I watch for while using this medication?

  1. Blood and urine tests may needed to check for unwanted effects.
  2. Do not use the patch for mild pain or pain that occurs only once in a while.
  3. This may increase the chance of serious side effects or an overdose.
  4. Store at room temperature away from light and moisture.

You may also need another opioid while your dose of fentanyl is being adjusted, and to relieve any “breakthrough” pain that occurs later on. Be sure you do not take more of the other opioid, and do not take it more often than directed. Taking 2 opioids together can increase the chance of serious side effects. Fentanyl skin patch is used to treat severe pain, including acute pain following surgery. Ionsys® is applied by your healthcare provider in a hospital setting after surgery for the short-term management of acute pain. Duragesic® is used for pain severe enough to require around-the-clock pain relief for a long period of time.

What is a fentanyl patch?

This medicine is given as a shot into a muscle or vein. Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter OTC) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements. Check with your doctor at regular times while using fentanyl. Dizziness, lightheadedness, or even fainting may occur when you get up suddenly from a lying or sitting position.

Missed Dose

Safety and efficacy have not been established in children younger than 2 years of age. A person with a substance use disorder might obtain fentanyl by misusing prescribed medication or acquiring the drug from an illegal laboratory. Misuse of fentanyl includes taking it orally, smoking it, snorting it, or injecting it. Older people are more likely than younger individuals to experience adverse effects, especially the respiratory depressant effects of fentanyl. Healthcare professionals will typically monitor people in this age group.

Addiction is the most severe form of a substance use disorder (SUD). SUDs are characterized by compulsive drug seeking and drug use that can be difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. When someone is addicted to drugs, they continue to use them even though they cause health problems or issues at work, school, or home.

Your care team will tell you how much medication to take. If your care team wants you to stop the medication, the dose will be slowly lowered over time to avoid any side effects. Give your health care provider a list of all the medicines, herbs, non-prescription drugs, or dietary supplements you use. Also tell them if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use illegal drugs. Fentanyl is a potent opioid that offers pain relief to those who live with severe acute or chronic pain conditions.

If you take other medications that also cause drowsiness like other narcotic pain medications, benzodiazepines, or other medications for sleep, you may have more side effects. Get emergency help right away if you have trouble breathing or are unusually tired or sleepy. A person exhibiting the symptoms of overdose should get immediate medical attention. With an overdose of fentanyl, the brain experiences hypoxia.

Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances. One report has suggested that epidural fentanyl may mask the pain of myocardial ischemia in patients treated with fentanyl for other reasons. Another report has suggested that QTc interval prolongation may occur in some patients receiving the related narcotic sufentanil. Another report has implicated fentanyl as a potential cause of pulsus alternans in a patient with aortic stenosis and congestive heart failure.

While using fentanyl, you should talk to your doctor about having a rescue medication called naloxone readily available (e.g., home, office). Naloxone is used to reverse the life-threatening effects of an overdose. It works by blocking the effects of opiates to relieve dangerous symptoms caused by high levels of opiates in the blood. Your doctor may also prescribe you naloxone if you are living in a household where there are small children or someone who has abused street or prescription drugs. Your doctor or pharmacist will show you and your family members how to use the medication.

Your doctor may decrease your dose if you have sleep apnea (stop breathing for short periods during sleep) while using this medicine. Your healthcare provider will dispose of the Ionsys® patch after removing it. Your healthcare provider will remove the Ionsys® patch before you leave the hospital. The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine.