Meperidine - How Is It Taken?

How Is It Taken?

Meperidine is taken orally or injected. The oral forms of the drug include tablets and syrup. Tablet sizes range from 25 milligrams to 100 milligrams per tablet. The syrup form contains 50 milligrams of meperidine per 5 milliliters of liquid. A typical oral dosage of meperidine is 50 milligrams to 150 milligrams every three to four hours.

The body responds to meperidine more quickly when it is injected, so those dosages are usually about half that of the oral forms of the drug. Injections may be given in the muscle, under the skin, or directly into the bloodstream. Doses are usually given every three to four hours, although an intravenousInjected into a vein. (IV) administration of meperidine is often maintained at a low, continual therapeutic dose.

Hospitalized patients receiving meperidine for pain control after surgery sometimes use a system called patient controlled anesthesia (PCA). A PCA machine allows a specific amount of meperidine to be administered intravenously each hour. However, the patient has control over when the medicine is dispensed. This reduces the need for a nurse to give the patient an injection every three to four hours, and it keeps the drug at a more constant level in the body for better pain relief. The PCA machine is programmed so that it cannot give the patient too much of the drug. This prevents the potential for an overdose.

Meperidine is abused by people used to taking nonprescription street drugs. Sometimes they crush the meperidine tablets and then chew, snort, or dissolve the drug in a liquid and inject it. Misusing meperidine can dangerously affect the way the body processes the drug.