When you hear schedule II drugs you might be confused about what they are. They are drugs used to treat the heaviest and most severe kind of pain. They are always kept under lock and key and those that handle the drugs go to painstaking efforts to make sure that these drugs aren’t stolen or abused. Here are a few of them:
Duragesic is also known as Fentanyl and comes in the form of patches that are to be applied to the skin. They come in 25, 50, 75, and 100 mcg strengths. They are usually to be left on one part of the body for 72 hours. This is often given to patients who have specific pain or who are terminally ill.
MS Contin, or as it’s known as morphine sulfate, is commonly prescribed in both the hospital and the pharmacy and is one of the biggest pain medication around. It’s currently the second strongest medication you can get and the regulations it has on it are enormous.
Dilaudid is also known as hydromorphone and comes in 1, 2, and 4 mg doses. It’s used to treat chronic severe pain and is one of the most prescribed drugs on the market. You tend to see it prescribed in high quantities as the body can allow a lot of the drug before building a resistance.
A newer drug on the market is Opana and its sister drug Opana ER. This is a drug that is also prescribed in high quantities for pain because it can be taken every 3 hours or every 5 to 8 hours if you are taking the extended release Opana. Its milligram doses range from 5 mg to 40 mg. It’s one of the best drugs available and is being prescribed more and more by physicians. But there is still a long way to go before these drugs are prescribed regularly.