Opana Anyone?

[tjat3]

Hi all,
just got a new med, Opana.
Anyone have experience?
Thanks
Tj

[Boopers]

Hi TJat3,

No, I have never heard of Opana. What is it for? Is it a pain med for a specific part of the body or general?
Take Care,
Linda

[jaded2nite]

http://www.opana.com/

[Violet]

Sounds promising. What type of pain do you have? Please let us know how it works for you.

[exitwound]

Opana just came on the market in the past couple of weeks, and is actually a narcotic painkiller (an opiate) which was taken off the market in the 70's due to abuse potential but has been re-approved.

It is related to Dilaudid (Hydromorphone) and is similarly very powerful. Generally it is thought of as more powerful than morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine et cetera. -- similar in potency to Dilaudid and obviously less potent than Fentanyl.

It is Oxymorphone, and is prescribed for moderate to severe pain. There are three forms:

*Intravenous, usually used for emergency severe pain relief or for post-operative pain in Hospital.

*Instant-release (Opana) in 5 and 10mg dosages. For post-op/acute pain, or for break-through pain when used in concert with a long-acting painkiller.

*Extended-release (Opana ER) available in 10, 20 & 40mg dosages for long-term severe chronic pain applications.

I am considering asking my doctor to switch me to Opana 5 or 10mg for breakthrough pain (I currently take OxyIR 5mg). This might work well, even though he doesn't like prescribing Dilaudid, because it's a good low-dose replacement for higher doses of OxyIR & I need better relief; since high doses of Opana are known for causing more nausea than other opiates, I figured low doses of the instant-release form to go along with my high doses of Oxycontin would work well.

I plan to switch to the Duragesic fentanyl patches fairly soon, and one of the other benefits of Opana is that it works well with both Oxycodone and Fentanyl; whereas Oxycodone may not be an effective breakthrough medication for Duragesic users because Fentanyl blocks Oxycodone from binding to opiate receptors as efficiently as Oxy does on its own.....

[brians2000]

I am currently on Avinza 90mg. Just wondering how it compares. I was on Duragesic Patch 25 before doctor switched me to Avinza. I like Avinza much better but I was just wondering what else is available. Brian

[ASkicker]

FYI, my ex-wife has been taking Opana for about six weeks now, and in her experience, it is NOT as powerful as Oxycontin. When taking the same dose of Opana as she used to take with Oxy, she has not had nearly the relief with the Opana that she used to get from the Oxy. The only reason she made the switch is because she moved to a new state and had to get a new doctor there. That doctor has been excellent so far, but she said right up front that she only prescribes Opana, and NOT Oxy because she feels it has far less chance of causing addiction issues than the Oxy does while providing strong pain relief. Since it hasn't been out very long, not sure how that philosophy is holding up in the real world, since Opana is a long-acting extended release drug, just like Oxy SR is.

[exitwound]

Originally Posted by ASkicker

FYI, my ex-wife has been taking Opana for about six weeks now, and in her experience, it is NOT as powerful as Oxycontin. When taking the same dose of Opana as she used to take with Oxy, she has not had nearly the relief with the Opana that she used to get from the Oxy. The only reason she made the switch is because she moved to a new state and had to get a new doctor there. That doctor has been excellent so far, but she said right up front that she only prescribes Opana, and NOT Oxy because she feels it has far less chance of causing addiction issues than the Oxy does while providing strong pain relief. Since it hasn't been out very long, not sure how that philosophy is holding up in the real world, since Opana is a long-acting extended release drug, just like Oxy SR is.

That's odd! Maybe she wasn't given the correct equivalent dosage though. Generally, it should be a 2:1 Oxycodone:Oxymorphone ratio.

Thank you for posting your ex-wife's experience, either way.....it's interesting.

So far I haven't heard much about Opana ER and I had been thinking about staying with Oxycontin for a while and switching to Opana instant-release as my breakthrough medication instead of OxyIR 15/30mg. I've heard good things about the 10mg instant release version working better than 30mg of Oxycodone for some sufferers.

[krashleen]

Curious too, as I have 5mg oxycodoneIR for b/t pain, but it isn't quite cutting it..and the 15mg, well I get two a day when I have that one. I usually bit them in two for more coverage.

Other thoughts on opana? Cost?

Originally Posted by exitwound

That's odd! Maybe she wasn't given the correct equivalent dosage though. Generally, it should be a 2:1 Oxycodone:Oxymorphone ratio.

Thank you for posting your ex-wife's experience, either way.....it's interesting.

So far I haven't heard much about Opana ER and I had been thinking about staying with Oxycontin for a while and switching to Opana instant-release as my breakthrough medication instead of OxyIR 15/30mg. I've heard good things about the 10mg instant release version working better than 30mg of Oxycodone for some sufferers.

[sandomania]

I am also interested in the cost of Opana ER and the IR anyone know?
Thanks Sandi