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Pharmacy and Medications

What is the Procedure for Withdrawing from MSIR-Morphine?

10/15/2008 04:51PM

Question:

I was given this drug for severe pain. The first day I took three 5mg pills. The next morning I didn`t take any. It says to take it as needed. I read that if I stop taking it suddenly that it could cause withdrawl symptoms but the drug store never said any thing. Does it cause withdrawl and how should I stop taking this drug?

Answer:

Many patients have these same concerns when they are first prescribed these kinds of pain medications. Depending on the dose of MS-IR you use and how often you take it, you could notice some physical withdrawal symptoms if you abruptly stop taking the medication. This is more common if you take the medication on a scheduled basis, not “as needed” as you are currently using the medication.

If you decide to stop taking this medication after taking it for a long period of time, your doctor could slowly decrease the dose every two to three days to avoid causing withdrawal symptoms.

Submitted by Katie Kilgore, PharmD Candidate,The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy

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Response by:

The Ohio State University Carmen M. Hadley, RPh, CSPI
Clinical Instructor
Central Ohio Poison Center
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
College of Pharmacy
The Ohio State University