[Drug interaction] 25 mg Xanax and 100 mg of injected Demerol

Long story short I was given this combo before I had a MRI done yesterday morning. I was in a very uncomfortable position for the MRI so they had to give me something to keep me comfortable. I was semi out of it after I got the Xanax but then after I got the Demerol injection I was completely plastered. I basically slept from 11am to 11pm, ate, went back to bed, and woke up at 7:30am this morning. I went to work for a couple of hours then I had to come back home and sleep for 4 more hours. I am still feeling groggy from what they gave me. I already called the MRI place back and asked how much demerol they gave me to double check and they made it sound like everything was normal for the dosage and drug combo. So since I am still feeling doped up I look up Demerol and I see it significantly enhances the Xanax.

Now I am wondering if this was safe or not since I have never been this doped up from any drug before. Does anyone have any knowledge on this subject? I have tried researching it without much luck other than finding out that Demerol and Xanax do interact with one another. I am going to call them back again tomorrow and talk to a supervisor or someone just to double check to see how necessary it was to overload me with these drugs. Any help or links where I can educate myself would be appreciated.

 

Your going to be alright, you probably just have a sensitivity to one of those two drugs. I can see how Demerol could be a little freaky when pushed through an IV (strong) but sleep is the main side effect of both drugs basically so go back to bed and sleep it off!

 

Long story short I was given this combo before I had a MRI done yesterday morning. I was in a very uncomfortable position for the MRI so they had to give me something to keep me comfortable. I was semi out of it after I got the Xanax but then after I got the Demerol injection I was completely plastered. I basically slept from 11am to 11pm, ate, went back to bed, and woke up at 7:30am this morning. I went to work for a couple of hours then I had to come back home and sleep for 4 more hours. I am still feeling groggy from what they gave me. I already called the MRI place back and asked how much demerol they gave me to double check and they made it sound like everything was normal for the dosage and drug combo. So since I am still feeling doped up I look up Demerol and I see it significantly enhances the Xanax.

Now I am wondering if this was safe or not since I have never been this doped up from any drug before. Does anyone have any knowledge on this subject? I have tried researching it without much luck other than finding out that Demerol and Xanax do interact with one another. I am going to call them back again tomorrow and talk to a supervisor or someone just to double check to see how necessary it was to overload me with these drugs. Any help or links where I can educate myself would be appreciated.

 

The Demerol dosage is within normal limits of 50-100mg. It's an opioid and given for severe to moderate pain.

I can't imagine they gave you 25mg of Xanax. The usual dose is .25mg-3mg, with a max recommendation of 4mg daily/dosage and is for moderate to severe anxiety. I'm guessing they gave you .25 or 2.5mg. Many doctors don't like to give it due to the risk of dependency/addiction. The Demerol can prolong the sedative effects of Xanax, as well.

Each drug can suppress the central nervous system, leading the the symptoms you described. The two combined can enhance these effects and can definitely make you feel out of sorts, especially if you're not used to either of them.

In short, it sounds like what they gave you should be fine, assuming you're a reasonably healthy person, though in general using them together should be avoided.

My advice: stay home until you feel normal. Shouldn't be but a day, maybe two.

Oh, and here.

 

25mg of xanax? that cant be right. unless you're a heavy recreational user, that will knock you out for a week.

 

Yeah, 25mg xanax is like a prescription for a month.

 

Please tell me this isn't the next My Life, starring Michael Keaton and Nicole Kidman.

 

I hope you are OK. Not because of the reaction, but because of whatever sent you to get an MRI. Frankly, I'm envious. I have a very high tolerance for any pain medication or sedative. When I've had the kind of surgery where they don't knock you out, they have to get me a heck of a lot more than a typical patient. When I had my cataract surgery, my surgeon said that while I'd technically be "awake," so I could move my eye a certain way (whatever the reason was), I wouldn't remember the surgery after the meds wore off. After the first surgery (they do one eye at a time), I told the doctor that not only did I remember the procedure, and was very uncomfortable, I then recited to him every song he was listening to while doing it. He's a big fan of Procol Harum! The guy was amazed. For the second surgery, they really ramped up the dosage and it went like it was supposed to.

By the way, the eye surgeon I had in Austin was amazing. I've got 20-15 in one eye and 20-25 in the other, an excellent result. For the first time in my life, I wake up in the morning and can see anything. I still wonder at it, and it's been well over a year.

Best of luck, robbie!

 

what songs did procul harum have other than a whiter shade of pale?

 

(first LP.. includes Whiter Shade of Pale in the US version)

Conquistador
Cerdes (Outside The Gates Of)
Something Following Me
She Wandered Through The Garden Fence

(from Shine on Brightly, the 2nd LP)

Shine On Brightly
Wish Me Well
Rambling On
Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone)
In Held 'Twas In I : Glimpses of Nirvana (this is the first in a long series of songs ending in Grand Finale)

A Salty Dog is their next LP and I like most everything on it, so I won't pick out favorites. Expand your music realm!


Their other LPs came with some change in the band members. I'll stop here. Hope this helped a bit.

 

well i meant were any heavily played on the radio? all i know of that is played now is whiter shade of pale

 

I remember my MRI a couple of months ago. It was very uncomfortable and all I kept thinking was what if this thing breaks and I get stuck in here. At least they gave you drugs.

 

Yes, they were. Radio was much different back then. Alternative radio disc jockies could often play whatever they liked, and did. They also got play on more mainstream stations, which were also much different then, lol.

 

Hey Robbie, what you heard from the doctor's office is correct. These are pretty standard doses. Xanax is often given 0.5mg - 1.0mg before a precedure, but since you were a little shaken, they probably felt the need to give you a little more. Xanax and Demerol really do not really interact with each other (I won't provide the details unless you want to know the receptors involved), but it's their additive effects that is a cause for concern because both increases the risk of respiratory depression (shortness of breath, inadequate ventilation, etc). By what you stated in the post, it didn't seem like that was the case, so I wouldn't worry about the drowsiness and heavy sleep for the past 2 days.

 

I've had several and I know what you mean! I don't consider myself claustrophobic, but there's something about being in those things, having to keep still, and then all the damn weird noises and stuff that drives me crazy. IF I ever need another (I hope not, but you never know), I'm asking for the meds.


(and sorry for the Procol Harum derail... he asked!)

 

That's cause yer a replicant!

 

Are you some kind of "expert"?

 

There is absolutely no way you took 25 mg of Xanax. You'd still be asleep, or dead. A xanax bar is 2 mg, and that's enough to put a non-user out for about 16 hours.

Edit: Never mind, I see you meant 2.5 mg. That's still a huge dose for someone with no tolerance. Either way, I can't believe they would give you a benzo and an opiate just for a f'kin MRI. Please send me the name of your doctor ASAP.