Rectal hydromorphone use has the potential to develop into a habit, especially over time. Use hydromorphone rectal as prescribed. Use the medication only as directed by your doctor, and never in excess of the recommended dosage, frequency, length of time, or manner of use. While you use hydromorphone rectal, talk to your doctor about your pain management options, treatment duration, and pain management goals. Inform your doctor if you or any family members regularly consume significant amounts of alcohol, use illicit substances, have ever experienced an overdose, have abused prescription medications, or currently suffer from depression or another mental disorder. If you currently have or have ever had any of these conditions, you are more likely to misuse hydromorphone rectal. If you suspect that you may have an opioid addiction, speak with your doctor right away and ask for advice, or call the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

While receiving hydromorphone rectal treatment, taking specific drugs may raise your chance of experiencing significant or life-threatening respiratory issues, drowsiness, or coma. Benzodiazepines, such as estazolam, flurazepam, lorazepam (Ativan), oxazepam, temazepam (Restoril), and triazolam (Halcion), medications for mental illness or nausea, muscle relaxants, other painkillers, sedatives, sleeping pills, or tranquillizers are all things you should discuss with your doctor if you are currently taking them or intend to start taking them. Your doctor will closely monitor you and may need to adjust the dosage of your drugs. Any of the following symptoms, including extraordinary dizziness, lightheadedness, excessive tiredness, slower or laboured breathing, or inability to respond, should be reported to your doctor right away if you use hydromorphone rectal together with any of these drugs. Make sure your carer or family members are aware of any symptoms that could be significant so they can contact an emergency room or a doctor if you are unable to do so on your own.

The likelihood that you will suffer these severe, sometimes fatal side effects while receiving hydromorphone rectal therapy rises if you consume alcohol, take prescription or over-the-counter treatments that include alcohol, or use illicit substances. During your therapy, refrain from drinking alcohol, using illicit substances, or taking any prescription or over-the-counter medications that include alcohol.

The dangers of using hydromorphone rectal should be discussed with your doctor.

To treat moderate to severe pain, hydromorphone suppositories are utilised. Opiate (narcotic) analgesics are a group of drugs that include hydromorphone. It functions by altering how the brain and nerve system react to pain.

Hydromorphone is available as a rectally administered suppository. Typically, it is inserted once every six to eight hours. Place hydromorphone at roughly the same intervals each day. Ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any instructions on your prescription label that you are unsure about following. Follow the directions on the hydromorphone suppository exactly.

Stopping hydromorphone suppositories without consulting your doctor is not advised. When using hydromorphone suppositories, withdrawal symptoms can include restlessness, teary eyes, runny noses, yawning, sweating, chills, hair standing on end, muscle and joint pain, widening of the pupils (black circles in the middle of the eyes), irritability, anxiety, backache, weakness, stomach cramps, difficulty falling or staying asleep, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhoea, fast breathing, or rapid heartbeat. Most likely, your dosage will be gradually reduced by your doctor.

Follow these steps to utilise the suppositories:

• Take the wrapping off.
• Water should be applied to the suppository’s tip.
• Raise your right knee towards your chest while lying on your left side (a left-handed person should lie on the right side and raise the left knee).
• Put the suppository about 1 inch (2.5 centimetres) into the rectum with your finger.
• For a short while, hold it in place with your finger.
• After about fifteen minutes, get up. After a thorough hand wash, get back to your regular routine.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more details if you believe this drug should be used for something else.

Before using hydromorphone suppositories,

• If you have an allergy to hydromorphone, any other drugs, or any of the ingredients in hydromorphone suppositories, let your doctor and pharmacist know right once. Get a list of the components from your pharmacist.
• Inform your physician and pharmacist about all prescription and over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, dietary supplements, and herbal products you are currently taking or intend to use. Make certain to bring up any of the following: Dextromethorphan (used in several cough medicines, including Amrix and Nuedexta), Cyclobenzaprine, pharmaceuticals for migraine headaches including rizatriptan (Maxalt), sumatriptan (Imitrex, in Treximet), and zolmitriptan (Axert); lithium (Lithobid, in Librax); medications for seizures such eletriptan (Relpax), frovatriptan (Frova), naratriptan (Amerge), and sumatriptan (Imitrex, in Treximet); 5HT3 serotonin blockers such palonosetron (Aloxi, in Akynzeo), ondansetron (Zofran, Zuplenz), alosetron (Lotronex), dolasetron (Anzemet), granisetron (Sancuso), and ondansetron (Zofran, Zuplenz); serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors such desvenlafaxine (Khedezla, Pristiq), duloxetine (Cymbalta), milnacipran (Savella), and venlafaxine (Effexor); trazodone; and fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, in Symbyax) are selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors. Fluvoxamine (Luvox); in addition to tricyclic antidepressants (often known as “mood elevators”) including amitriptyline, clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), imipramine (Tofranil), nortriptyline (Pamelor), protriptyline (Vivactil), and trimipramine (Surmontil). Also let your physician or pharmacist know if you are receiving any of the following monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, or if you have stopped taking them within the previous two weeks: methylene blue, isocarboxazid (Marplan), linezolid (Zyvox), phenelzine (Nardil), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam, Zelapar), or tranylcypromine (Parnate). Hydromorphone may also interact with a wide range of other drugs, so be sure to let your doctor know about all the drugs you’re taking, even if they don’t appear on this list. The dosage of your drugs may need to be adjusted, and your health may need to be closely watched for any negative effects.
• Inform your physician of any herbal medications you are taking, especially if you take St. John’s wort or tryptophan.
• Inform your doctor if you have or have ever had a head injury, a condition that damaged your brain, a condition that raised your brain’s pressure, slowed breathing, or a condition that affects your ability to breathe, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of illnesses that affect your lungs and airways and includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, or kyphoscoliosis (curving of the spine that may cause breathing problems). Your physician could advise against using hydromorphone suppositories.
• If you are an older adult or if an illness has left you weak or malnourished, let your doctor know. Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had liver or kidney disease, an enlarged prostate (a male reproductive gland), Addison’s disease (a condition in which the adrenal gland produces less hormone than normal), any condition that makes it difficult to urinate, such as a urethral stricture (a blockage of the tube that allows urine to leave the body), or hypothyroidism (a condition in which the thyroid gland produces less hormone than normal).
• Inform your physician if you are nursing a baby, intend to get pregnant, or are already pregnant. Call your doctor if you become pregnant while using hydromorphone suppositories.
• You should be aware that this medicine may lower both male and female fertility. Discuss the dangers of using hydromorphone suppositories with your doctor.
• Inform the surgeon or dentist that you are using hydromorphone suppositories if you are having surgery, including dental surgery.
• You ought to be aware that hydromorphone might make you sleepy. Prior to understanding how this drug affects you, avoid using machinery or driving a car.
• You should be aware that if you stand up too rapidly from a supine position while taking hydromorphone, you could have dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting. When you first start using hydromorphone suppositories, this happens more frequently. Get out of bed gradually, resting your feet on the floor for a few minutes before standing up, to avoid this issue.

Keep eating normally unless your doctor instructs you otherwise.

The missed dose should be taken as soon as you remember. If the next dose is soon due, skip the missed one and carry on with your regular dosing plan. To make up for a missing dose, do not take a second one.

Suppositories containing hydromorphone may have adverse effects. If any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away, let your doctor know right once:

• Constipation
• Drowsiness
• Mood shifts
• Confusion
• Having trouble urinating
• Reduction in pupil size (dark circles in the centre of the eyes)

Some adverse effects may be severe. Call your doctor right away or seek emergency medical attention if you have any of these symptoms:

• Breathing slowed or stopped
• Breathing that is unsteady or alternates between breaths
• Agitation, hallucinations (hearing voices or seeing things that are not there), disorientation, fever, sweating, shivering, extremely stiff or twitching muscles,
• Loss of coordination, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhoea
• Nausea, vomiting, weight loss, anorexia, or lightheadedness
• Failure to achieve or maintain erection
• Irregular periods of time
• Less sexual arousal

Other negative effects from hydromorphone suppositories could also occur. If you experience any strange issues while taking this medicine, contact your doctor right away.

You or your doctor can submit a report to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting programme online or by phone if you have a serious side event (1-800-332-1088).

Keep this medication tightly closed in the original container and out of the reach of children. It should be kept in the fridge. Medication that has expired or is no longer required should be thrown away. See your pharmacist for advice on how to properly dispose of your medications.

Although many containers (such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers) are not child-resistant and are simple for young children to open, it is crucial to keep all medications out of sight and out of reach of children. Always lock safety caps and promptly stash medication up and away from young children where it is out of their sight and reach to prevent poisoning. http://www.upandaway.org

To prevent accidental or intentional drug use, keep hydromorphone suppositories in a refrigerator in a secure location. You’ll be able to spot any missing suppositories if you keep track of how many are still available.

Call the poison control hotline at 1-800-222-1222 in the event of an overdose. Moreover, information can be found online at https://www.poisonhelp.org/help. Call 911 right once if the person has collapsed, experienced a seizure, is having difficulty breathing, or cannot be roused.

You should speak with your doctor about keeping naloxone, a life-saving drug, on hand when using hydromorphone rectal (e.g., home, office). Naloxone is used to undo an overdose’s potentially fatal consequences. To treat harmful symptoms brought on by excessive levels of opiates in the blood, it functions by inhibiting the effects of opiates. If you live with young children or someone who has abused prescription or illicit drugs, your doctor could also advise you to get naloxone. You should make sure that you, your family, your caretakers, and the individuals you spend time with are aware of the signs of an overdose, how to administer naloxone, and what to do in the event that emergency assistance is not immediately available. How to use the medication will be demonstrated to you and your family by your doctor or pharmacist. To obtain the instructions, ask your pharmacist for them or go to the manufacturer’s website. When an overdose symptoms appear, a friend or family member should administer the first dose of naloxone, make an immediate 911 call, stay by your side and keep a careful eye on you until emergency medical assistance comes. Soon after receiving naloxone, your symptoms can come back. The person should administer you another dose of naloxone if your symptoms come back. If symptoms reappear before receiving medical attention, more doses may be given every 2 to 3 minutes.

Overdose signs could include the following:

• Weak or sluggish breathing
• Having trouble breathing
• Sleepiness
• Not able to speak or awaken
• Muscular tremor
• Clammy, frigid skin
• Pupil dilation or dilation of the pupils (dark circle in the middle of the eye)
• Slow or irregular heartbeat
• Dizziness
• Fainting

Keep all of your appointments with your physician and the lab. To monitor your body’s reaction to hydromorphone, your doctor may request specific lab tests.

Inform your doctor and the lab staff that you are using hydromorphone prior to any laboratory test (particularly those involving methylene blue).

This medication cannot be renewed. Call your doctor if your discomfort persists after you’ve finished the hydromorphone suppositories.

You should keep a written record of every medication you take, including any over-the-counter (OTC) items, prescription drugs, and dietary supplements like vitamins and minerals. This list should be brought with you whenever you see a doctor or are admitted to the hospital. You should always have this information with you in case of emergencies.