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Diamorphine is given IV/IM/SC - not orally - which generally means that its use is confined to a short period in the first few hours/days of a hospital admissio

Diamorphine is given IV/IM/SC - not orally - which generally means that its use is confined to a short period in the first few hours/days of a hospital admission until the patient can be switched to oral medication. Noone is sent home with diamorphine unless they are end stage palliative and they are on a home syringe driver to get it. OTOH oxycodone is almost always orally administered which means patients stay on it for longer in hospital and are commonly discharged with a prescription for more. The doctors I work with who have done fellowships in USA state that oxycodone is (?was) given out like lollywater compared to hospitals here, where it is only prescribed if the patient has a REALLY good reason they can't have oral morphine.

DanBC 10y ago
But people in UK do get oramorph, which is a liquid oral morphine.
- anon4this1 10y ago
  Patients (and addicts) state there is a particular euphoria that oxycodone has (and diamorph/heroin) that morphine doesn't really have. Of course oral morphine does cause addiction, but oxycodone just seems to have greatly increased rates.
robbiep 10y ago
Although tablet formulations of diamorph also exist >The doctors I work with who have done fellowships in USA state that oxycodone is (?was) given out like lollywater compared to hospitals here, where it is only prescribed if the patient has a REALLY good reason they can't have oral morphine. My experience as a medical student on elective in the US was this - I couldn't believe the quantities of opiates prescribed cf. Australia
tcbawo 10y ago
I read this recently: Drug wholesalers shipped 780 million prescription painkillers to West Virginia over a six-year period. In a state of 1.84 million residents, the shipments amount to 433 pain pills for every man, woman and child in West Virginia. http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Drug-Wholesalers-Shipped-780M-Pain-Pills-to-West-Virginia-407331135.html http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Drug-Wholesalers-Shi...

DanBC 10y ago

But people in UK do get oramorph, which is a liquid oral morphine.

anon4this1 10y ago
Patients (and addicts) state there is a particular euphoria that oxycodone has (and diamorph/heroin) that morphine doesn't really have. Of course oral morphine does cause addiction, but oxycodone just seems to have greatly increased rates.

robbiep 10y ago

Although tablet formulations of diamorph also exist >The doctors I work with who have done fellowships in USA state that oxycodone is (?was) given out like lollywater compared to hospitals here, where it is only prescribed if the patient has a REALLY good reason they can't have oral morphine. My experience as a medical student on elective in the US was this - I couldn't believe the quantities of opiates prescribed cf. Australia

tcbawo 10y ago

I read this recently: Drug wholesalers shipped 780 million prescription painkillers to West Virginia over a six-year period. In a state of 1.84 million residents, the shipments amount to 433 pain pills for every man, woman and child in West Virginia. http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Drug-Wholesalers-Shipped-780M-Pain-Pills-to-West-Virginia-407331135.html http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Drug-Wholesalers-Shi...