Re: Quickie Question - What is order of Pain Meds in strength?
Weaver,
I'll try and clear a few things up for you.
First, one thing to remember is that all drugs have a "brand" name and many have several. For instance, Vicodin-Lortab-Norco-Lorcet are all "Hydrocodone." Usually the only difference is the amount of Tylenol that is added.
Percocet-Percodan-Tyloz-OxyIR-Roxicodone-OxyContin are all "Oxycodone". Again tylenol may be added (Percocet) asprin may be added (Percodan), nothing added (OxyIR) or time-released (OxyContin)
Morphine is the name for Morphine. Other names are MSContin, Kadian, Avinza.
As far as strengths it goes like this:
Hydrocodone approximataly equal to Morphine
Oxycodone is approximately 50% stronger than Morphine.
This is of course oral doses. You can find this by doing a search on the web for an equianalgesic chart. This compares drug strengths. What mg's compare to what mg's
Most people right off the bat think that Morphine is the strongest drug. This is untrue. It is an old drug and the gold standard that other drugs are compared too. Its usually the one used in an ER setting. Also, an IV is going to be stronger than PO (oral).
If you look on the charts, Morphine orally is just about equal to Hydrocodone mg to mg. Oxycodone is 1.5 : 1 ratio with Morphine
There are different families of opiates. The stongest family is the fentanyl family. Most commonly prescribed is Duragesic (fentanyl patch). The other fents are used commonly in surgery and in pain pumps.
Hope this clears things up a little. Take Care
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