Pentazocine

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What is the most important information I should know about pentazocine?

Do not use this medication if you are allergic to pentazocine.

Before using pentazocine, tell your doctor if you have liver or kidney disease, a history of head injury or brain tumor, heart disease, high blood pressure, recent heart attack, asthma or other breathing disorders, mental illness, or a history of drug or alcohol addiction.

Pentazocine may be habit-forming and should be used only by the person it was prescribed for. Pentazocine should never be shared with another person, especially someone who has a history of drug abuse or addiction. Keep the medication in a secure place where others cannot get to it.

Use this medication exactly as it was prescribed for you. Never use pentazocine in larger amounts, or use it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Tell your doctor if the medicine seems to stop working as well in relieving your pain.

Do not stop using pentazocine suddenly, or you could have unpleasant withdrawal symptoms such as stomach pain, fever, runny nose, watery eyes, anxiety, or restless feeling. Talk to your doctor about how to avoid withdrawal symptoms when stopping the medication.

Avoid drinking alcohol while using pentazocine. Alcohol may increase some of the side effects of pentazocine.

Pentazocine can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

Warning

Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.

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What is pentazocine?

Pentazocine is narcotic pain medication

Pentazocine is used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is also used as part of anesthesia for surgery.

Pentazocine may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

Precautions

Do not use this medication if you are allergic to pentazocine.

If you have certain conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely use this medication. Before using pentazocine, tell your doctor if you have

liver or kidney disease;
a history of head injury or brain tumor;
epilepsy or other seizure disorder;
heart disease, high blood pressure, recent heart attack;
asthma, COPD, sleep apnea, or other breathing disorders;
a dependence on narcotic pain medications;
mental illness; or
a history of drug or alcohol addiction.

Pentazocine may be harmful to an unborn baby. It could also cause addiction or withdrawal symptoms in a newborn if the mother uses pentazocine during pregnancy. Before you use this medication, tell your doctor if you are pregnant.

Pentazocine is sometimes used during early labor, but using it just before childbirth can cause breathing problems in a newborn.

Pentazocine may pass into breast milk and could harm a nursing baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

Older adults may be more sensitive to the effects of this medication.

Avoid drinking alcohol while using pentazocine. Alcohol may increase some of the side effects of pentazocine.

Pentazocine can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

Tell your doctor if you regularly use other medicines that make you sleepy (such as cold or allergy medicine, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, and medicine for seizures, depression, or anxiety). They can add to sleepiness caused by pentazocine.

Instructions

Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine.

Symptoms of a pentazocine overdose are not known.

Since pentazocine is often used as needed, you may not be on a dosing schedule. If you are using the medication regularly, use the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and wait until your next regularly scheduled dose. Do not use extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

Side Effects

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

skin or muscle changes, or a hard lump where the medicine was injected;
confusion, hallucinations;
feeling like you might pass out;
weak or shallow breathing; or
increased blood pressure (severe headache, blurred vision, trouble concentrating, chest pain, numbness, seizure).

Less serious side effects may include:

mild stinging from the injection;
drowsiness, dizziness, headache, ringing in your ears;
feeling restless or excited;
nausea, vomiting, constipation;
sleep problems (insomnia), strange dreams;
warmth or redness under your skin;
blurred vision;
sweating; or
mild itching or skin rash.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Interactions

Tell your doctor about all other medications you use, especially:

sibutramine (Meridia);
phenothiazines such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine), fluphenazine (Prolixin), mesoridazine (Serentil), perphenazine (Trilafon), prochlorperazine (Compazine), promethazine (Phenergan, Adgan, Anergan 50, Pentazine), thioridazine (Mellaril), or trifluperazine (Stelazine); or
other narcotic medication such as codeine, fentanyl (Actiq, Duragesic, Ionsys), hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin), hydromorphone (Dilaudid, Palladone), levorphanol (Levo-Dromoran), levomethadyl (Orlaam), meperidine (Demerol), methadone (Dolophine, Methadose), morphine (Kadian, MS Contin, Oramorph), nalbuphine (Nubain), oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet, Roxicodone), oxymorphone (Opana), or propoxyphene (Darvocet, Darvon).

This list is not complete and there may be other drugs that can interact with pentazocine. Tell your doctor about all your prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start a new medication without telling your doctor.

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.