Opioid drugs include:
• Codeine — can relieve milder pain
• Fentanyl (Actiq, Abstral, Duragesic, Fentora) — a powerful synthetic opioid used to treat severe pain, especially after surgery
• Hydrocodone/acetaminophen (Hysingla, Zohydro ER, Lorcet, Lortab, Norco, Vicodin) — taken orally to treat pain; may act as a cough suppressant
• Hydromorphone (Dilaudid, Exalgo) — extended-release medication used to treat long-term, severe pain
• Meperidine (Demerol) — used less frequently because of its severe side effects
• Methadone (Dolophine, Methadose) — used to treat extreme, round-the-clock pain; it may also be prescribed to relieve withdrawal symptoms for those trying to recover from an opiate addiction
• Morphine (Kadian, MS Contin, Morphabond) — frequently prescribed to alleviate severe pain after surgery
• Oxycodone (OxyContin is an oral, controlled-release form of the drug) — used to treat moderate to severe pain for extended periods of time
• Propoxyphene (Darvon) — used to treat mild to moderate pain