Living Healthy 6 Stay safe when mixing antipsychotics and opioids! It’s important to be careful when you take antipsychotics with opioids. Here are some tips on how to use both safely: ■ Never stop your medicine without talking to your doctor first. Stopping suddenly can cause withdrawal symptoms. ■ Call 911 right away if you: 1. Feel sick while also feeling grumpy. 2. Feel confused. 3. Feel like your heart is beating too fast. 4. Feel like your muscles are stiff or they twitch. 5. Are sweating, have a high fever, have seizures, feel cold or throw up. 6. Have trouble breathing, feel like you might pass out, feel dizzy or have a hard time staying awake. 7. ■ Do not drive or use machines. When you use opioids and antipsychotics together, it might affect how well you move, react or make decisions. ■ Ask your doctor about getting naloxone (Narcan). You can also get it at any Alliance office. Narcan can save lives if someone has taken too many opioids. ■ Talk to your doctor about using less opioid medicine or using opioids that aren’t as strong. Common antipsychotics Antipsychotics help treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and other mental health concerns. Examples include: ■ Chlorpromazine (Thorazine). ■ Clozapine (Clozaril). ■ Olanzapine (Zyprexa). ■ Quetiapine (Seroquel). ■ Aripiprazole (Abilify). ■ Haloperidol (Haldol). ■ Lurasidone (Latuda). ■ Risperidone (Risperdal). ■ Ziprasidone (Geodon). Common opioids Opioids are strong pain medicines. If you take any of the above medicines with opioids, take extra steps to stay safe. Some examples of opioids are: ■ Hydrocodone-APAP (Lortab, Lorcet). ■ Hydromorphone (Dilaudid). ■ Morphine (MS Contin, Kadian). ■ Oxycodone (Oxycontin). ■ Oxycodone-APAP (Percocet, Endocet). Have questions? Talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
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