What should I tell my care team before I take this medication?
They need to know if you have any of these conditions:
-Brain tumor
-Head injury
-Heart disease
-Kidney disease
-Liver disease
-Lung or breathing disease, such as asthma or COPD
-Substance use disorder
-An unusual or allergic reaction to nalbuphine, other medications, foods, dyes, or preservatives
-Pregnant or trying to get pregnant
-Breastfeeding
What may interact with this medication?
Do not take this medication with the following:
-Olanzapine; samidorphan
-Safinamide
This medication may also interact with the following:
-Alcohol
-Antihistamines for allergy, cough, and cold
-Atropine
-Benzodiazepines, such as alprazolam, diazepam, lorazepam
-Certain medications for bladder problems, such as oxybutynin or tolterodine
-Certain medications for depression, anxiety, or other mental health conditions
-Certain medication for migraines, such as sumatriptan
-Certain medications for Parkinson disease, such as benztropine or trihexyphenidyl
-Certain medications for seizures, such as phenobarbital or primidone
-Certain medications for stomach problems, such as dicyclomine or hyoscyamine
-Certain medications for travel sickness, such as scopolamine
-Ipratropium
-Linezolid
-Medications that cause drowsiness before a procedure, such as propofol
-Medications that help you fall asleep
-Medications that relax muscles
-Methylene blue
-Other opioids
-Phenothiazines, such as chlorpromazine, prochlorperazine, thioridazine
-St. Johns wort
-Stimulant medications for ADHD, weight loss, or staying awake
-Tryptophan
This list may not describe all possible interactions. Give your health care provider a list of all the medicines, herbs, non-prescription drugs, or dietary supplements you use. Also tell them if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use illegal drugs. Some items may interact with your medicine.
What should I watch for while using this medication?
Tell your care team 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 this medication. Tolerance means that you will need a higher dose of the medication for pain relief. Tolerance is normal and is expected if you take this medication for a long time.
Taking this medication with other substances that cause drowsiness, such as alcohol, benzodiazepines, or other opioids can cause serious side effects. Give your care team a list of all medications you use. They will tell you how much medication to take. Do not take more medication than directed. Call emergency services if you have problems breathing or staying awake.
Long term use of this medication may cause your brain and body to depend on it. This can happen even when used as directed by your care team. You and your care team will work together to determine how long you will need to take this medication. If your care team wants you to stop this medication, the dose will be slowly lowered over time to reduce the risk of side effects.
This medication may affect your coordination, reaction time, or judgment. Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how this medication affects you. Sit up or stand slowly to reduce the risk of dizzy or fainting spells. Drinking alcohol with this medication can increase the risk of these side effects.
This medication will cause constipation. If you do not have a bowel movement for 3 days, call your care team.
Your mouth may get dry. Chewing sugarless gum or sucking hard candy and drinking plenty of water may help. Contact your care team if the problem does not go away or is severe.
Talk to your care team if you may be pregnant. Prolonged use of this medication during pregnancy can cause temporary withdrawal in a newborn.
Talk to your care team before breastfeeding. Changes to your treatment plan may be needed. If you breastfeed while taking this medication, seek medical care right away if you notice the child has slow or noisy breathing, is unusually sleepy or not able to wake up, or is limp.
Long-term use of this medication may cause infertility. Talk to your care team if you are concerned about your fertility.
What are the most serious risks of this medication?
This medicine is a CNS depressant. It can cause deadly breathing problems. The risk is greatest when you first start taking it, when your dose is changed, if you take too much, or if you take another CNS depressant medicine. CNS depressants include: opioid pain medicines; opioid cough medicines; benzodiazepines; certain other sleep medicines and tranquilizers; muscle relaxants; antipsychotics; and alcohol in drinks or medicines. Tell your healthcare provider all the prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines, and supplements you take.
Call your healthcare provider or get emergency medical help right away if you have: trouble breathing; have drowsiness with slowed breathing; have slow, shallow breathing; feel faint, very dizzy, confused, or have unusual symptoms.