What is this medicine?
PENTAZOCINE (pen TAZ oh seen) is a pain reliever. It is used to treat moderate to severe pain during surgery or child birth.
This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.
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What is the price of this medication and similar alternatives?
This pricing information is subject to change at the sole discretion of DS Pharmacy. This pricing information was updated 09/2009. For the most current and up-to-date pricing information, please visit www.drugstore.com. Actual costs to patients will vary depending on the use of specific retail or mail-order locations and health insurance copays.
| Pentazocine-Naloxone HCl 50-0.5MG Tablets | WATSON LABS | 30/$40.22 or 90/$112.64 |
| Talwin NX 50-0.5MG Tablets | SANOFI PHARMACEUTICALS | 30/$65.09 or 90/$173.57 |
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What side effects may I notice from receiving this medicine?
Side effects that you should report to your doctor or health care professional as soon as possible:
- allergic reactions like skin rash, itching or hives, swelling of the face, lips, or tongue
- breathing problems
- changes in vision
- chills, flushing, sweating
- confusion, disoriented
- fast, irregular heartbeat
- feeling faint or lightheaded, falls
- hallucinations
- redness, blistering, peeling or loosening of the skin, including inside the mouth
- tremors
- trouble passing urine or change in the amount of urine
Side effects that usually do not require medical attention (report to your doctor or health care professional if they continue or are bothersome):
- clumsy, unsteady
- constipation
- difficulty sleeping
- headache
- nausea, vomiting
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How should I use this medicine?
This medicine is for injection into a muscle or a vein. It is usually given by a health care professional in a hospital or clinic setting.
If you get this medicine at home, you will be taught how to prepare and give this medicine. Use exactly as directed. Take your medicine at regular intervals. Do not take your medicine more often than directed.
It is important that you put your used needles and syringes in a special sharps container. Do not put them in a trash can. If you do not have a sharps container, call your pharmacist or healthcare provider to get one.
Talk to your pediatrician regarding the use of this medicine in children. While this drug may be prescribed for children as young as 1 year of age for selected conditions, precautions do apply.
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What if I miss a dose?
If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you can. If it is almost time for your next dose, take only that dose. Do not take double or extra doses.
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What may interact with this medicine?
Do not take this medicine with any of the following medications:
- butorphanol
- buprenorphine
- nalbuphine
This medicine may also interact with the following medications:
- alcohol or medicines that contain alcohol
- MAOIs like Carbex, Eldepryl, Marplan, Nardil, and Parnate
- medicines for depression like duloxetine, fluoxetine, sertraline, venlafaxine
- medicines for sleep
- other prescription medicines for pain
- procarbazine
- sibutramine
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Who should NOT use this medication?
- Known hypersensitivity to pentazocine or any ingredient in the formulation.
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What should I watch for while using this medicine?
Tell your doctor or health care professional if your pain does not go away, if it gets worse, or if you have new or a different type of pain. You may develop tolerance to the medicine. Tolerance means that you will need a higher dose of the medicine for pain relief. Tolerance is normal and is expected if you take the medicine for a long time.
Do not suddenly stop taking your medicine because you may develop a severe reaction. Your body becomes used to the medicine. This does NOT mean you are addicted. Addiction is a behavior related to getting and using a drug for a non-medical reason. If you have pain, you have a medical reason to take pain medicine. Your doctor will tell you how much medicine to take. If your doctor wants you to stop the medicine, the dose will be slowly lowered over time to avoid any side effects.
You may get drowsy or dizzy. Do not drive, use machinery, or do anything that needs mental alertness until you know how this medicine affects you. Do not stand or sit up quickly, especially if you are an older patient. This reduces the risk of dizzy or fainting spells. Alcohol may interfere with the effect of this medicine. Avoid alcoholic drinks.
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What should I tell my health care provider before I take this medicine?
They need to know if you have any of these conditions:
- breathing problems
- drug abuse or addiction
- head injury
- if you frequently drink alcohol containing beverages
- kidney disease
- liver disease
- seizures
- an unusual or allergic reaction to pentazocine, naloxone, other medicines, foods, dyes, or preservatives
- pregnant or trying to get pregnant
- breast-feeding
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Can I stop taking the medication if I feel better?
If you are taking an analgesic for pain and you are no longer experiencing the pain you may stop using the medication. In general, pain medications are to be used on an ?as needed? basis.
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I am on so many medications; do I have to take them all?
This is called polypharmacy—many different medications being used at the same time by one person. Sometimes, being on multiple medications is acceptable and appropriate but at other times it may be problematic. If you are receiving your medications from multiple physicians you need to ensure that they all know what medications you are taking. The best way to do this is to make a list of all the medications you are currently using, including all nutritional supplements, homeopathic remedies, vitamins and over-the-counter drugs (if possible, also include all the diseases you have been diagnosed with). Give a copy to every doctor who takes care of you so they have it on file, this way they can avoid duplicating medications and perhaps even try to consolidate some. After every doctor's visit remember to update the list accordingly. Also, as much as you possibly can, try to use the same pharmacy to fill all your prescriptions, this way any potential drug interactions can be caught and averted.
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Where can I get more information?
More Information
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