Pancreatitis Support Group

It is my understanding that many physicians are no longer using Demerol for chronic pain or prescribing it for long term use. Many hospitals only use it for anesthesia. This is due to its potential to be toxic to the liver

That's the same thing my doctors said to me.

Demerol should not be used in Pancreatitis. It causes spasm of the sphincter of Oddi (muscle at the opening of the pancreatic duct into small intestine) and could potentially worsen pain!! Just a bad idea. Definitely not used for chronic pain; has a toxic metabolite (product of breakdown of the Demerol).

This is what the American Pediatric Surgical Assoc. says:
Pain can be severe, so narcotics (pain medicines) are given. It is probably best to avoid the use of morphine, which causes spasm of the pancreatic connection to the intestine.

Never been treated with Demerol for pancreatitis but was found to be"allergic"
many years ago with significant nausea, vomiting, etc. Don't plan on taking it again, ever!

While I respect Sosickandtired's response, I must say, I disagree. Morphine and Dilaudid have been implicated with causing spasms of the sphincter of oddi, but Demerol has not been....at least not to the extent of Morphine and Dilaudid. I in fact tried both Morphine and Dilaudid and both ended up putting me IN the hospital due to having the spasms. While it is a morphine derivative, it is really one of the better options, used in moderation while hospitalized. I can say Pain Drs. are not prescribing it as they once did on an outpatient basis due to a metabolite in Demerol that can cause seizures. That said, I used it at home and in the hospital via IV Route while awaiting a Completion Pancreatectomy with Islet Cell Transplant. It was the only thing that kept my pain under control and allowed me to stay home versus being hospitalized while awaiting surgery (took almost eight months to get the surgery approved by the hospital as I was the first patient to have the surgery for CP in the SE!).

The hospital I use still has Demerol on their formulary, however, they only use it in certain circumstances.