any one else been prescribed oral morthine how did you get on with it?
morthine: any one else been prescribed oral morthine... - NRAS
morthine
Written by
wolves
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7 Replies
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I only take it for breakthrough pain. At first I didn't mind the taste, but now follow it with a glass of ice cold water, to wash the horrible after taste away. It takes about twenty minutes to get working on the pain, and can make you drowsy.
I spent a short time on it when I was hit with both severe sciatica and my RA flaring....nightmare!! 
It wasn't very effective, plus it made me constipated. Oramorph was then replaced with slow release morphine sulphate tablets, which did help a bit with the pain but spaced me out and made me even more seriously constipated. 
I was on them for an even shorter length of time. My rheumatologist later informed me that morphine is not very good pain relief for RA.
Just my findings, hopefully it will suit you better.
I used to use oral morphine in combination with Tramadol and Paracetamol when my pain was at its very worst.
I must admit it wasn't a pleasant combination and it zonked me out but at least it dulled the pain a little. I only used the Oramorph in this combination and it did help when Tramadol on its own wasn't sufficient. I staggered the doses so that I was taking the drugs about 2 hours apart. I'm not able to tell you the effect of Oramorph on its own.
Fortunately I haven't needed this type of pain relief for some time, and I can see now that it was because my RA was simply not controlled at all. I did not know this at the time. I don't know what other treatment you're receiving but maybe it's worth trying to get an RA review if you need oral morphine on a regular basis.
That's interesting, my GP told me to stop taking tramadol with oramorph and the MSTs, which made sense as they are all opiates....it's no wonder you were zonked! 
He did however prescribe diazepam with the morphine, which amongst other things also acts as a muscle relaxant....it's no wonder I was spaced too! Like you, neither was my RA controlled at the time, but the sciatica was the more painful.
Interesting, my rheumy told me Tramadol was not great for RA, described it as 'dirty' and told me to augment it with Oramorph in the stepped combination I used! My RA pain was so great that being zonked short-term wasn't a problem and fortunately the episodes were short-lived - only 2 or 3 days. I certainly could not function normally whilst taking that much pain relief. Respect to those who have to.....
Being zonked can only be a good thing when in severe pain! The slow release MSTs, which were a fairly high strength, combined with diazepam certainly helped in that respect. The only reason I stopped taking them was due to some serious constipation...can you imagine trying to go to the loo constipated, RA flaring and severe sciatica!! Perhaps best not to!..calling it a nightmare nowhere near does it justice! The oramorph didn't seem more effective than tramadol, which I find does take the edge off my RA pain.
That made me laugh, and yes, I understand!
When I was FINALLY given Oramorph it was because I'd asked for sleeping tablets to knock me out as I couldn't bear the pain. Tramadol makes me very sick, so it wasn't having much effect. Are you in pain all the time?
