Fast-acting morphine tablets are also known as Sevredol. Slow-acting capsules are also known as MXL or Zomorph. However, it may interfere with your periods menstrual cycle if you're a woman. Speak to a pharmacist or your doctor if you're trying to get pregnant.
They may want to review your treatment. Morphine does not affect any type of contraception including the contraceptive pill or emergency contraception. But if morphine makes you sick vomit , your contraceptive pills may not protect you from pregnancy.
If this happens, follow the instructions in the leaflet that comes with your contraceptive pills. Find out what to do if you're on the pill and you're sick. It may be best not to drink alcohol while taking morphine as drinking alcohol while you're on morphine may make you feel more sleepy or increase the risk of serious side effects.
It's best to stop drinking alcohol during the first few days of treatment until you see how the morphine affects you. The type of painkiller that's best depends on what type of pain you have and the cause of your pain. If morphine does not get rid of your pain or becomes less effective, discuss this with your doctor. When you first take morphine, you'll probably feel sleepy for a few days.
But the sleepiness will wear off after a few days as your body gets used to the medicine. You might notice you are less alert. In this case, you might choose to have less than perfect pain relief as a trade-off.
Morphine is not only used at the end of a terminal illness. It's the amount of pain you have, not the stage of your illness, that decides whether morphine is prescribed for you. Morphine can be used safely in babies and children of all ages, although the dose is usually lower than for adults. Do not drive a car or ride a bike if morphine makes you sleepy, gives you blurred vision or makes you feel dizzy, clumsy or unable to concentrate or make decisions.
This may be more likely when you first start taking morphine but could happen at any time, for example, when starting another medicine. It's an offence to drive a car if your ability to drive safely is affected. It's your responsibility to decide if it's safe to drive. If you're in any doubt, do not drive. It may be best not to drink alcohol while taking morphine as you're more likely to get side effects like feeling sleepy.
Even if your ability to drive is not affected, the police have the right to request a saliva sample to check how much morphine is in your body. UK has more information on the law on drugs and driving. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you're unsure whether it's safe for you to drive while taking morphine.
If you take recreational drugs, such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin, while you're taking morphine, you're more likely to get the serious side effects of morphine including breathing difficulties, heart problems such as high blood pressure, seizures and even going into a coma.
Some recreational drugs, such as cannabis, will also increase morphine side effects such as sleepiness and dizziness.
Taking heroin while you're on prescribed morphine is especially dangerous. You're more likely to get all the side effects of morphine, including addiction. Page last reviewed: 23 November Next review due: 23 November About morphine Morphine is a strong painkiller. Morphine works by blocking pain signals from travelling along the nerves to the brain.
The most common side effects of morphine are constipation, feeling sick and sleepiness. It's possible to become addicted to morphine, but this is rare if you're taking it to relieve pain and your doctor is reviewing your treatment regularly. Tell your doctor before starting the medicine if you : have ever had an allergic reaction to morphine or any other medicine have breathing difficulties or a lung problem have an addiction to alcohol have a condition that causes fits or seizures have a head injury have low thyroid levels have adrenal gland problems have kidney or liver problems have an enlarged prostate have low blood pressure have myasthenia gravis a rare illness that causes muscle weakness are trying to get pregnant, are already pregnant or if you're breastfeeding — morphine is usually not recommended.
It's important to take morphine as your doctor has asked you to. Different types of morphine Morphine comes as: tablets fast-acting — these contain 10mg, 20mg or 50mg of morphine tablets slow-acting — these contain 5mg, 10mg, 15mg, 30mg, 60mg, mg or mg of morphine capsules slow-acting — these contain 10mg, 30mg, 60mg, 90mg, mg, mg or mg of morphine granules that you mix in water to make a drink — these are in sachets containing 30mg, 60mg, mg or mg of morphine a liquid that you swallow — this contains either 10mg of morphine in a 5ml spoonful or 20mg of morphine in 1ml of liquid suppositories — these contain 10mg of morphine injection usually given in hospital Morphine suppositories are useful if you cannot swallow tablets or liquids.
Dosage Doses vary from person to person. How often will I take it? How often you take it depends on the type of morphine that you've been prescribed. Important Do not break, crush, chew or suck morphine slow-release tablets or capsules. Will my dose go up or down? How long will I take it for? What if I forget to take it? This will vary depending on which type of morphine you're taking.
Never take 2 doses at the same time to make up for a forgotten one. What will happen if I stop taking it? Morphine has an average half-life of 2 to 4 hours. In other words, it takes between 2 and 4 hours for your body to eliminate half of the dose of morphine. The half-life fluctuates from person to person.
This is because everyone metabolizes medications differently. It takes several half-lives for a drug to be fully eliminated from the body. For most people, morphine will fully clear the blood in 12 hours.
However, morphine can still be detected in the saliva, urine, or hair for a longer period of time. According to American Addiction Centers , morphine can be detected in:. A number of factors can influence the time it takes for morphine to clear the body. These include:. The effects of morphine are increased if you consume alcohol. Combining alcohol with morphine can also lead to dangerous side effects, including the possibility of a fatal overdose.
Taking cut, broken, chewed, crushed, or dissolved forms of morphine may lead to increased drug release into the body , which can increase your risk for overdose or even death. These medications have been shown to interact with morphine and potentially increase its effects:.
Withdrawal symptoms occur when the body has become dependent on a drug. In drug dependence, the body has become used to the presence of a drug, so if you stop taking that drug suddenly, or if you miss a dose, you may experience predictable symptoms known as withdrawal.
Your doctor may want you to reduce the dosage over time to prevent withdrawal. They will monitor you closely during treatment and check how you are at your appointments. Contact your advice line as soon as possible if:. You might have one or more of them.
They include:. Constipation is easier to sort out if you treat it early. Drink plenty of fluids and eat as much fresh fruit and vegetables as you can. Try to take gentle exercise, such as walking.
Tell your doctor or nurse if you are constipated for more than 3 days. They can prescribe a laxative. Cancer drugs can interact with some other medicines and herbal products.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist about any medicines you are taking. This includes vitamins, herbal supplements and over the counter remedies. It is not known whether this treatment affects fertility in people. Talk to your doctor before starting treatment if you think you may want to have a baby in the future.
This treatment may harm a baby developing in your womb. It is important not to become pregnant while you are having treatment. Talk to your doctor or nurse about effective contraception before starting treatment. People taking morphine for weeks or months can develop a physical dependence on the drug.
This causes withdrawal symptoms if the drug is stopped. Your doctor or nurse will advise you how to reduce the morphine dose gradually if necessary. Don't stop taking morphine suddenly. Some people can also develop a psychological dependence addiction to morphine. This may be more likely in people who have problems with alcohol or drug use. For further information about this treatment go to the electronic Medicines Compendium eMC website.
Morphine is very good for some sorts of pain but other pain needs different painkillers. You may need to take several different types of medicine to manage your pain. Morphine belongs to a group of painkillers called opioids. Morphine is the most commonly used opioid, but there are also several others, for example, oxycodone or fentanyl. Sometimes it is necessary to switch from one strong painkiller to another.
Some pain, for example, nerve pain shooting or stabbing pain , may need a different sort of painkiller to relieve it.
Your doctor will be closely monitoring how you are getting on and may need to add in other medication from time to time. There are many reasons for people to be breathless but from time to time the best drug to use for this symptom is morphine. It reduces the feeling of breathlessness that you have without removing the real cause. Many people think that morphine is only given near the end of life; this is not true.
You are given morphine to relieve strong pain. If you have any doubts at all then just ask. If you have benefited from this information and would like to share it with others, then please do — we want more people to feel comfortable facing the issue of palliative care. Home About Us Blog.
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