LoginMorphine Sulfate Injection
Generic Name: morphine sulfate
Product Name: Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection
Indication: What Morphine Sulfate Injection is used for
It is used most commonly for relief of severe pain. It may also be used just before or during an operation to help the anaesthetic work better.
Your doctor may have prescribed morphine for another reason. Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why morphine has been prescribed for you.
Morphine may produce physical dependency if used for a long time (i.e. more than two weeks). Physical dependency means you may experience unpleasant feelings if you stop morphine suddenly. However, it is also important to keep your pain under control. Your doctor can advise you on how to manage this.
This medicine is available only with a doctor’s prescription.
Action: How Morphine Sulfate Injection works
Morphine is a pain reliever that belongs to a group of medicines called opioid analgesics. Morphine is the principal alkaloid of opium. Morphine acts as an agonist, binding to receptors in the brain, spinal cord and other tissues. These sites have been classified as mu receptors and are widely distributed throughout the central nervous system being present in highest concentration in the limbic system.
Morphine exerts its primary effects in the central nervous system and organs containing smooth muscle.
Morphine produces many effects including analgesia, decreased gastrointestinal motility, respiratory depression, drowsiness, changes in mood and alterations of the endocrine and autonomic nervous systems.
Nausea and vomiting may occur through direct stimulation of the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ).
Urinary retention may occur due to increased bladder sphincter tone.
Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection contains the active ingredient morphine sulfate and the inactive ingredient sodium chloride in water for injections.
Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection does not contain lactose, sucrose, gluten, tartrazine or any other azo dyes.
Dose advice: How to use Morphine Sulfate Injection
Before you are given Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection
When you must not be given it
You should not be given morphine if you have an allergy to morphine or any of the ingredients listed here.
Symptoms of an allergic reaction to morphine may include:
- Shortness of breath, wheezing or difficulty breathing;
- Swelling of the face, lips, tongue or other parts of the body;
- Rash, itching or hives on the skin.
You should not be given morphine if:
- You have severe bronchial asthma or any other lung or breathing problems;
- You are suffering from acute alcoholism;
- You are undergoing treatment with monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors (e.g. phenelzine, tranylcypromine, moclobemide or selegeline), or have stopped MAO inhibitor treatment during the last fourteen days;
- You have an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia);
- You have severe liver problems;
- Severe central nervous system depression;
- Diabetic acidosis where there is danger of coma following biliary tract surgery or biliary colic;
- Obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract;
- Heart failure after lung disease;
- You have a head injury, brain tumour or increased pressure in the head.
Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection must not be given to premature infants or during labour for delivery of premature infants.
Do not use Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection after the expiry date (EXP) printed on the pack. If you are given this medicine after the expiry date has passed, it may not work as well.
Do not use Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection if the packaging is torn or shows signs of tampering.
If you are not sure whether you should be given morphine, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Before you are given it
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have allergies to:
- Any other medicines;
- Any other substances, such as foods, preservatives or dyes.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are pregnant or intend to become pregnant. Your doctor or pharmacist will discuss the possible risks and benefits of you being given morphine during pregnancy.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. As morphine passes into breast milk, breastfeeding is not recommended while you are being given morphine.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have or have had any medical conditions, especially the following:
- Epilepsy, convulsions, fits or seizures;
- Under-active thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) and/or adrenal gland (Addison’s disease);
- Enlarged prostate or problems with urination;
- Tachycardia, fast heartbeat liver problems;
- Kidney problems;
- Any bowel disorders or ulcerative colitis;
- Biliary tract disease or inflammation of the pancreas;
- Myasthenia gravis.
If you have not told your doctor or pharmacist about any of the above, tell them before you are given Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection.
Taking other medicines
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any other medicines, including any that you buy without a prescription from your pharmacy, supermarket or health food shop.
Some medicines and morphine may interfere with each other. These include:
- Medicines to treat depression, psychiatric or mental disorders;
- Antidepressants which belong to the group of medicines called monoamine oxidase inhibitors i.e. moclobemide, phenelzine, tranylcypromine;
- Selegeline, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor used to treat Parkinson’s disease;
- Alcohol;
- Cimetidine, a medicine used to relieve heartburn or treat stomach ulcers;
- Diuretics (fluid tablets);
- Medicines that lower your blood pressure (antihypertensives);
- Medicines used to thin the blood e.g. coumarin derivatives such as warfarin;
- Medicines to treat HIV infection and AIDs e.g. ritonavir or zidovudine;
- Acidifying and alkalising agents;
- Medicines that depress the central nervous system, such as, other opioids, sedatives, hypnotics, general anaesthetics, other tranquilisers and phenothiazines;
- Diazepam, a benzodiazepine;
- Muscle relaxants, medicines used to relax your muscles;
- Medicines to stop nausea or vomiting e.g. metoclopramide;
- Anti-diarrhoea medication;
- Anticholinergic medicines, such as medicines used to treat Parkinson’s disease and stomach cramps or travel sickness;
- Oral medication like paracetamol and mexiletine;
- Other opioids and opioid antagonists (naltrexone).
These medicines may be affected by morphine or may affect how well it works. You may need different amounts of your medicine, or you may need to take different medicines. Your doctor or pharmacist will advise you.
Your doctor and pharmacist may have more information on medicines to be careful with or avoid while receiving Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection.
How Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection is given
How much is given
Your doctor will decide what dose of morphine you will receive. This depends on your condition and other factors, such as your weight.
How it is given
Your doctor or nurse will usually give morphine to you.
Morphine can be given as:
- An injection into a muscle;
- A slow injection into a vein;
- An injection under the skin; or
- By a method called patient-controlled analgesia. This method allows you, the patient, to control the amount of morphine you wish to receive. On experiencing pain, you can press a button, which allows a dose of morphine to be administered to you. To prevent you receiving too much morphine, there is a “lockout” period built into the pump which prevents continuous injection of morphine.
Your doctor will decide the most appropriate way for you to be given morphine.
If you take too much (overdose)
If you have received too much morphine, you may have symptoms which include severe drowsiness, slow or troubled breathing, severe weakness, slow heartbeat, pale and cold skin.
Immediately telephone your doctor or the Poisons Information Centre in Australia on 131 126 for advice, or go to Accident and Emergency at the nearest hospital, if you think that you or anyone else may have taken too much morphine. Do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning. You may need urgent medical attention.
While you are being given Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection
Things you must do
Tell any other doctors, dentists, and pharmacists who are treating you that you are being given morphine.
If you are about to be started on any new medicine, tell your doctor, dentist or pharmacist that you are being given morphine.
If you plan to have surgery that needs a general anaesthetic, tell your doctor or dentist that you are being given morphine.
If you become pregnant while you are being treated with morphine, tell your doctor or pharmacist immediately.
Things you must not do
Do not give Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection to anyone else, even if they have the same condition as you.
Do not use Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection to treat any other complaints unless your doctor tells you to.
Do not stop using morphine, or lower the dosage, without checking with your doctor or pharmacist. If you have been using morphine for more than two weeks, you may experience unpleasant feelings if you stop morphine suddenly. Your doctor will probably want you to gradually reduce the amount of morphine you are using, before stopping it completely.
Do not take any other medicines, whether they are prescription or over-the-counter medicines, unless they have been approved or recommended by a doctor or pharmacist who knows you are being given morphine.
Things to be careful of
Be careful driving or operating machinery until you know how morphine affects you. Morphine may cause drowsiness, and impairment of coordination, in some people. Make sure you know how you react to morphine. Do not drive a car, operate machinery, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are drowsy or feeling uncoordinated.
Do not drink alcohol, while you are undergoing treatment with morphine unless otherwise advised by your doctor or pharmacist, as drowsiness and coordination impairment may be worse.
As morphine may cause nausea and vomiting, your doctor is likely to prescribe medicine for you to take/receive before the morphine, to stop you feeling sick. Morphine may also cause constipation, so your doctor is likely to prescribe laxatives to prevent this happening.
Tell your doctor, pharmacist or nurse if you have any concerns about being given morphine.
After being given Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection
Storage
If you are being given Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection while in hospital, it will be stored in the pharmacy or in the ward. Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection should be stored in a cool, dry place, protected from light, where the temperature stays below 25oC.
Do not store Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection or any other medicine in the bathroom or near a sink. Do not leave it in the car on hot days or on window sills. Heat and dampness can destroy some medicines.
Keep it where children cannot reach it. A locked cupboard at least one-and-a-half metres above the ground is a good place to store medicines.
Disposal
If your doctor or pharmacist tells you to stop using Hospira Morphine Sulfate Injection or the injections have passed their expiry date, ask your pharmacist what to do with any that are left over.
Schedule of Morphine Sulfate Injection
Morphine Sulfate Injection is a Schedule 8 (controlled) drug.
Side effects of Morphine Sulfate Injection
Tell your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible if you do not feel well while you are being given morphine. Morphine helps most people with severe pain, but it may have unwanted side effects in a few people. All medicines can have side effects. Sometimes they are serious, most of the time they are not. You may need medical treatment if you get some of the side effects.
If you are over 65 years of age you may have an increased chance of getting side effects.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist to answer any questions you may have.
If you get any side effects, do not stop using morphine without first talking to your doctor or pharmacist.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you notice any of the following and they worry you:
- Drowsiness, dizziness or unsteadiness;
- Light-headedness;
- Confusion;
- Sweating or flushing;
- Nausea and/or vomiting;
- Constipation;
- Reduced libido, erectile dysfunction or no menstrual periods;
- Loss of appetite or taste changes;
- Pain and irritation at the injection site;
- Blurred vision;
- Dry mouth;
- Mood changes;
- Red, itchy skin.
These are the more common side effects of Morphine Sulfate Injection. Mostly they are mild and short-lived.
If any of the following happen, tell your doctor or pharmacist immediately or go to the Accident and Emergency department at your nearest hospital:
- Any signs of an allergic reaction to morphine;
- Severe drowsiness;
- Slow or troubled breathing;
- Severe weakness;
- Agitation;
- Hallucinations;
- Seizures (fits);
- Unconsciousness;
- Slow or rapid heartbeat;
- Difficulty in urinating.
These are serious side effects. You may need urgent medical attention or hospitalisation.
Other side effects not listed above may occur in some patients. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you notice anything that is making you feel unwell.
Do not be alarmed by this list of possible side effects. You may not experience any of them.
For further information talk to your doctor.
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