Important Terms
Pain terms
Chronic pain
Chronic pain is pain that lasts for more than 3 months. Chronic pain isn't always the same for all patients with cancer. It often has 2 parts: persistent pain and breakthrough pain.
Persistent pain (constant or around-the-clock pain)
If your pain lasts all day it is called persistent pain, and your doctor can give you an around-the-clock opioid pain medicine that should work throughout the day.
Breakthrough pain
Even if your around-the-clock opioid medicine controls your persistent pain most of the time, you may still experience sudden flares of moderate-to-severe pain. This is breakthrough pain — pain that "breaks through" your around-the-clock medicine. Breakthrough pain often comes on quickly and in most cases does not last for more than 2 hours.
Treatment terms
Abuse
Frequent or persistent intentional, excessive drug use which is accompanied by harmful physical or psychological effect.
Addiction
A chronic disease that is characterized by one or more of the following: impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving of a medicine. Addiction does not often occur when you take medicine under your doctor's supervision.
Around-the-clock opioid pain medicine
Medicine that works throughout the day. This may also be called long-acting, controlled-release or sustained-release medicine. Around-the-clock opioid pain medicine is used to treat persistent pain.
Breakthrough pain medicine
Medicine used to treat flares of breakthrough pain. Short-acting opioids, including normal release pain medicines and rapid-onset opioids, are common treatments for breakthrough pain.
Buccal cavity
The area between the cheek and gum. A buccal tablet is designed to be placed in the buccal cavity, where it dissolves.
Constipation
Difficulty with bowel movements because of hardened stools. Constipation is a common side effect of taking opioids and often requires treatment.
Diversion
Intentional transfer of a drug from a legitimate source (i.e., distribution from a manufacturer, or storage in hospitals, pharmacies and doctors’ offices) and/or from a patient for whom the drug has been prescribed to unauthorized users and/or for illegal sale.
Opioid
Medicine that's part of a class of strong painkillers. While opioids do not take the cause of pain away, they do interfere with and stop pain messages from being sent to the brain. Opioids require a prescription from your doctor. Examples of opioids are morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone and codeine.
Overdose
Ingestion of more than the normal or recommended amount of something, usually a drug. An overdose may result in serious, harmful symptoms or death and may be the result of accidental or intentional exposures to a drug.
Pseudoaddiction
Drug-seeking behavior that appears similar to addiction but is due to a need for more medication to control pain rather than psychological dependence on a drug.
Short-acting/normal release pain medicine
A kind of medicine that starts working in about 30 to 40 minutes and usually works for about 2 to 6 hours.
Tolerance
When the body gets used to the medicine and its effects. It may mean a stronger amount of medicine is needed to maintain pain relief. It can also be when the body gets used to some of the side effects, such as nausea. This means that over time you will not feel these side effects or the side effects will be less bothersome to you. Tolerance is NOT addiction.
IMPORTANT:
- DO NOT USE FENTORA unless you are regularly using other opioid pain medicines around-the-clock for your constant cancer pain and your body is used to these medicines.
- Keep FENTORA in a safe place away from children. Accidental use by a child is a medical emergency and can result in death. If a child accidentally takes FENTORA, get emergency help right away.
Read the Medication Guide that comes with FENTORA before you start taking it and each time you get a new prescription. There may be new information. This Medication Guide does not take the place of talking to your doctor about your medical condition or your treatment. Share this important information with members of your household.
The most important information you should know about FENTORA is:
- FENTORA can cause life-threatening breathing problems which can lead to death:
- If you are not regularly using other opioid pain medicines around-the-clock for your constant cancer pain and your body is not used to these medicines. This means that you are not opioid tolerant
- If you do not use it exactly as prescribed by your doctor
- Your doctor will prescribe a starting dose of FENTORA that is different than other fentanyl containing medicines you may have been taking. Do not substitute FENTORA for other fentanyl medicines, including Actiq®, without talking with your doctor.