A very old, new drug for neuropathic pain

Posted , 4 users are following.

Hello, anybody have any experience with the pain medicine LEVOPHRANOL? I found it in an article about meds that are good for neuropathic pain. Its like 25 or 30 years old. It kinda went on the wayside exchanging hands with foreign pharmaceutical companies, but is still used and perhaps making a comeback. It is CRAZY expensive, but they have a PATIENT CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM through the pharmaceutical company, Sentynl Pharmaceuticals. I applied and they are paying for all my Levorphranol now. Anyhow, does anyone have any experience to share about this medication? Thank you so much!

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Posted

    Sounds like serious stuff. "Levorphanol is a synthetic derivative of morphine with analgesic activities. Levorphanol mimics the actions of morphine, however, it is about 8 times more potent than morphine. This agent binds to opioid mu receptors, thereby producing analgesia, euphoria, sedation, respiratory depression, miosis, bradycardia, and physical dependence"

  • Posted

    I never heard of it, but a quick search found it. It is an opioid. I hope you're being VERY careful with it as there is a long list of meds you can't use while on it, and side effects. I saw on Good RX that it's $2300!? But it's good to hear there may be other options. I'm doing well enough (well, comparatively speaking) that I'm tapering my gab and relying on other OTC products plus my previous prescription NSAID. I have no desire to add anything else, but as I said, I'm slowly getting better.

  • Posted

    It’s an opiate, potentially addictive, so I’d advise being very careful about that. I don’t recall hearing anything about it during my 40 year career, 26 years of which was involved with pain management. I would wonder why, if it is so wonderful, it never became popular. 

    I’ve not seen many people using opiates for long-term pain do well, and I’ve seen lots of them so quite poorly. There are docs who disagree with that non-opiate approach to chronic pain, so there are differences of opinion. But guess how we got into this crisis of opiate dependency in our country?  

    • Posted

      Charlie, did you ever hear of mexilitene? It's similar to lidocaine and is given orally. No-one I've mentioned it to has heard of it. I know someone who's doctor suggestion I investigate it as she knew I was having problems with gab. I have NO interest in trying anything else. When I'm off this stuff I'll stick to my dancing, CBT, extra-strength Tylenol, Aspercreme and the prescription NSAID I've been on for 25 years.

    • Posted

      I have heard of it. Mexitil is the brand name I think. It’s an antiarythmic (spelling?) med used for pain, slows nerve impulses, so I think it is used for nerve pain specifically. A pain clinic I worked for from ‘89–‘95 used it fairly often, but I don’t recall how effective it was. Not addictive as far as I know. 
    • Posted

      I've had problems with "caine" products, as they lower my BP and make me light-headed. This has happened at the dentist and when I was using the Lidocaine patches and incorrectly later also applied the Asprecreme, so I don't want to try. Even getting eye drops at the doctor causes problems for me, as they numb the eys. The pain specialist seems to have good results with it. Maybe it's a shame that it's not more widely used. I've also heard of people who have had lidocaine infusions and have had luck with those.

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