What Is Demerol?

Demerol is a brand name for pethidene, and is a narcotic pain reliever. Like morphine, Demerol inhibits the brain’s perception of pain by quieting the areas in the brain responsible for such functions. A stronger drug, this prescription-only narcotic is used to treat pain classified as moderate to severe and can present immediate health problems when used with alcohol and other narcotic medications. Demerol was the first synthetic opioid, made in 1932.

Demerol can be administered either as a tablet, liquid or vascular injection. It was an immensely popular drug in the 20th century and was often prescribed typically for acute pain, although many doctors also prescribed it for intense chronic pain.

Demerol was considered a safe alternative to morphine, another popular medicine to treat pain that was notorious for its addictive properties. Demerol was also thought to be better suited for gallstones and kidney stones, but these claims have since been proven untrue.

Effectiveness

Demerol has been proven to be no more effective than morphine in treating pain in general. Neuropsychological effects such as seizures, a low potency and its short duration have turned many off to Demerol. It also has serious interactions with various anti-depressant medications, with side effects including delirium, convulsions and hyperthermia.

The exact cause of these side effects is still not certain to doctors and scientists, but many believe it’s due to an increase in cerebral serotonin concentrations. There have also been reported deaths from taking Demerol with certain anti-depressants.

Deaths

Libby Zion was an 18-year old woman admitted to a hospital in New York for agitation and jerking-like muscle spasms. She was known to suffer from chronic depression and was regularly on anti-depressants.

She was administered Demerol to calm and sedate her by an intern and a resident who has since been determined overworked. Due to a very busy hospital, more prescriptions were sent to her without physical re-evaluations being administered in between.

She had been in the hospital about six or seven hours before her fever spiked at a hazardous 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit, and about an hour later she died of a heart attack. It is accepted that she died due to the combination of her anti-depressant drugs and the Demerol she received in the hospital, and her death set a precedent for determining how many hours a week health officials can work.

Side Effects

If the drug is used over a longer period of time, side effects can increase. Since Demerol is a habit-forming drug, this can pose a significant problem. Vomiting, sedation, dizziness and constipation are more common effects of the drug that occur with regular use and intensify with prolonged use.

However, it has been noted that abuse of this drug has decreased significantly in the last decade. Although drugs like morphine and oxycodone are on the rise, fewer doses of Demerol were lost or stolen between 1997 and 2002, a meaningful way of guessing how popular the drug is recreationally.

Overdoses

Taking too much Demerol can also cause serious problems—effects seen in individuals who have overdosed include weak/softened muscles, hypoventilation or lack of sufficient oxygen due to slowness and weakness of breath, cold and clammy skin and hypotension. Overdose can also lead to coma.

Once a popular drug for pain, Demerol has fallen out of favor and although still used by some doctors, is much less prevalent in the medical world.