What should I take, Dilaudid or Morphine?

Hello. Before this occurred I considered my self to be very healthy man but now, I'm not sure is this true.
About three months ago I started to suffer from very hard and painful migraines and I just couldn’t deal with them any more.
I couldn’t understand what is causing them because I didn’t have any emotional or physical stress going on in that period.
So, I contacted my doctor and he told me that sometimes there is no obvious cause of migraines and that I shouldn’t pay too much attention on cause but to cure.
He prescribed me some pain killer called Dilaudid, in the 2mg doses.
After I started using this drug my headaches were gone but I go some other problems. I started to suffer from dizziness and drowsiness. So I was wondering should I stop using this drug or should I switch to something else? Thanks!

Well, I can tell that you are not alone with this kind of problems because most pain killers like Dilaudid, for example, have some side effects and it is up to you to decide do you want to continue using drug or not.
Typical side effects of Dilaudid usage include anorexia, anxiety, constipation, dizziness and drowsiness so it is quite normal to feel some of them. I don’t know did you ever consider to start with drug called Morphine.
Morphine is approximately 8 times less potent on a milligram basis than Dilaudid so taking some smaller doses you will probably avoid some bad side effects you felt earlier.
The drug is basically the same because Dilaudid is a synthetic form of morphine. You have also one more drug called Demerol as an option.
Most doctors will combine any of these 3 narcotics with an anti-emetic (nausea) medication to combat the nausea you already have or could potentially get from the Demerol or Morphine.
One thing you should remember- you should never change drugs on your own. Contact your doctor and tell him your attentions and he will prescribe you a proper dose of Morphine.

I would highly recommend that you get a second opinion if you should be taking an opiate at all for headaches. Today there are very effective non addictive medications to treat headaches. I get migraines from time to time. And the medication Imitrex helps me a lot.

Dude, Dilaudid 2mg??? That stuff is like what they give you after a surgery, it's like 10x stronger than morphine! For headaches? They should've given you Imitrex. It's designed just for headaches. Hope that helps.

a doctor should never put you on something like that for a migrane you could become severly addicted and then you are just screwed and will be for years. go to your doctor now and tell him you want to take something else... there are so many different medications that are not addicting.

My husband has suffered from migraines off and on since he was a teen. He's tried a myriad of migraine meds, such as Imitrex, which didn't work at all. This past month, he had the worst one he's ever had and it put him in the ER. They gave him two shots of morphine, two of dilaudid, and one of demerol--nothing touched the pain. He was given a CT scan, which came back clear. Going on a month now, he still has this headache, which is in the back of his head/neck on the right side.

We have seen three doctors. The only thing we've been told that comes close to an answer for this headache is that his spine is misaligned and pressing on the sensory nerve near the C1, C2, C3 areas of the spine. Chiropractic manipulation of the spine, along with lortabs and ibuprofen every six hours has been his only means of relief. We still have no idea why this headache started, and why the inflammation is still there. I thought that maybe what we've experienced may offer some clues for others that are suffering from migraines and none of the migraine meds work. So far, it has been going to the chiropractor to move his spine back in alignment that has worked the best.

Guest wrote:

Dude, Dilaudid 2mg??? That stuff is like what they give you after a surgery, it's like 10x stronger than morphine! For headaches? They should've given you Imitrex. It's designed just for headaches. Hope that helps.

i take dilaudid 8mg and a tylenol #4 four times a day. it helps me a little with my migraines. i recommend this regimen to anyone who has frequent severe migraines.

Dilaudid is a potent narcotic analgesic; depending on the frequency of your migraines, you may over time develop tolerance and dependence on narcotic painkillers. Have you exhausted other methods to control your migraines? Triptans such as Imitrex, Relpax, may be helpful for you, but they may not work at all leaving you with few options as far as pain control. There is a newer drug now called Migranal, which is an ergot derivative medication, in a nasal spray form, that can be used at any point during a migraine attack, unlike the triptans, which are only effective if taken prior to a migraine attack. Considering the severity of your migraines, what treatment are you taking or considering as far as preventing the frequency and intensity of your headaches? Pain management and prevention are part and parcel of coping with major impact that migraines can have on your life.

Don't people realize that triptans like Imitrex do not help everyone. Some people do have to resort to opiates. Or, you can try a prophilactic like Amitriptyline to prevent them in the first place.