Hydromorphone Hydrochloride (Oral: Extended release)

Extended release hydromorphone hydrochloride is prescribed to patients who need constant pain relief because of a chronic condition. Patients take this medication once a day by mouth; over the course of the day, the medication is gradually released into the bloodstream. It deadens pain impulses in the central nervous system to relieve pain.

Side Effects/Warnings

This medication must be swallowed whole. Chewing, splitting or crushing the pills can cause too much of the medication to be released into the body’s system at once, leading to a fatal overdose.

This medication should be prescribed only to patients who need long-term pain management and who are no longer responding to other opioid medications. It should not be prescribed for short-term pain management or to patients who are not on other narcotic drugs because of the potential for abuse and/or overdose.