Arymo ER Dosage

Important Dosage and Administration Instructions

ARYMO ER should be prescribed only by healthcare professionals who are knowledgeable in the use of potent opioids for the management of chronic pain.

A single dose of ARYMO ER greater than 60 mg, or a total daily dose greater than 120 mg, are only for use in patients in whom tolerance to an opioid of comparable potency has been established. Patients who are opioid tolerant are those receiving, for one week or longer, at least 60 mg oral morphine per day, 25 mcg transdermal fentanyl per hour, 30 mg oral oxycodone per day, 8 mg oral hydromorphone per day, 25 mg oral oxymorphone per day, 60 mg oral hydrocodone per day, or an equianalgesic dose of another opioid.

• Use the lowest effective dosage for the shortest duration consistent with individual patient treatment goals [see Warnings and Precautions (5)].
• Initiate the dosing regimen for each patient individually, taking into account the patient’s severity of pain, patient response, prior analgesic treatment experience, and risk factors for addiction, abuse, and misuse [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)].
• Monitor patients closely for respiratory depression, especially within the first 24-72 hours of initiating therapy and following dosage increases with ARYMO ER and adjust the dosage accordingly [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3)].

Instruct patients to take ARYMO ER tablets whole, one tablet at a time, with enough water to ensure complete swallowing immediately after placing in the mouth [see Patient Counseling Information (17)]. Instruct patients not to pre-soak, lick, or otherwise wet the tablet prior to placing in the mouth [see Warnings and Precautions (5.11)]. Cutting, breaking, crushing, chewing, or dissolving ARYMO ER tablets will result in uncontrolled delivery of morphine that could lead to overdose and death [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)].

ARYMO ER is administered orally every 8 or 12 hours.

Initial Dosing

Use of ARYMO ER as the First Opioid Analgesic (opioid-naïve patients)

Initiate treatment with ARYMO ER with 15 mg tablets orally every 8 or 12 hours.

Use of ARYMO ER in Patients who are not Opioid Tolerant (opioid-non-tolerant patients)

The starting dose for patients who are not opioid tolerant is ARYMO ER 15 mg orally every 8 or 12 hours.

Use of higher starting doses in patients who are not opioid tolerant may cause fatal respiratory depression [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3)].

Conversion from Other Oral Morphine to ARYMO ER

Patients receiving other oral morphine formulations may be converted to ARYMO ER by administering one-half of the patient’s 24-hour requirement as ARYMO ER on an every-12-hour schedule or by administering one-third of the patient’s daily requirement as ARYMO ER on an every-8-hour schedule.

Conversion from Other Opioids to ARYMO ER

Discontinue all other around-the-clock opioid drugs when ARYMO ER therapy is initiated.

There are no established conversion ratios for conversion from other opioids to ARYMO ER defined by clinical trials. Initiate dosing using ARYMO ER 15 mg orally every 8 to 12 hours.

It is safer to underestimate a patient’s 24-hour oral morphine dosage and provide rescue medication (e.g., immediate-release morphine) than to overestimate the 24-hour oral morphine dosage and manage an adverse reaction due to an overdose. While useful tables of opioid equivalents are readily available, there is inter-patient variability in the potency of opioid drugs and opioid formulations.

Close observation and frequent titration are warranted until pain management is stable on the new opioid. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of opioid withdrawal and for signs of oversedation/toxicity after converting patients to ARYMO ER.

Conversion from Parenteral Morphine or Other Opioids (Parenteral or Oral) to ARYMO ER

When converting from parenteral morphine or other non-morphine opioids (parenteral or oral) to ARYMO ER, consider the following general points:

Parenteral to oral morphine ratio: Between 2 to 6 mg of oral morphine may be required to provide analgesia equivalent to 1 mg of parenteral morphine. Typically, a dose of morphine that is approximately three times the previous daily parenteral morphine requirement is sufficient.

Other parenteral or oral non-morphine opioids to oral morphine sulfate: Specific recommendations are not available because of a lack of systematic evidence for these types of analgesic substitutions. Published relative potency data are available, but such ratios are approximations. In general, begin with half of the estimated daily morphine requirement as the initial dose, managing inadequate analgesia by supplementation with immediate-release morphine.

Conversion from Methadone to ARYMO ER

Close monitoring is of particular importance when converting methadone to other opioid agonists. The ratio between methadone and other opioid agonists may vary widely as a function of previous dose exposure. Methadone has a long half-life and can accumulate in the plasma.

Titration and Maintenance of Therapy

Individually titrate ARYMO ER to a dose that provides adequate analgesia and minimizes adverse reactions. Continually reevaluate patients receiving ARYMO ER to assess the maintenance of pain control and the relative incidence of adverse reactions, as well as monitoring for the development of addiction, abuse, or misuse [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)]. Frequent communication is important among the prescriber, other members of the healthcare team, the patient, and the caregiver/family during periods of changing analgesic requirements, including initial titration. During chronic therapy periodically reassess the continued need for the use of opioid analgesics.

Patients who experience breakthrough pain may require a dose increase of ARYMO ER, or may need rescue medication with an appropriate dose of an immediate-release analgesic. If the level of pain increases after dose stabilization, attempt to identify the source of increased pain before increasing the ARYMO ER dose. Because steady-state plasma concentrations are approximated in 1 day, ARYMO ER dosage adjustments may be done every 1 to 2 days.

If unacceptable opioid-related adverse reactions are observed, the subsequent doses may be reduced. Adjust the dose to obtain an appropriate balance between management of pain and opioid-related adverse reactions.

Discontinuation of ARYMO ER

When the patient no longer requires therapy with ARYMO ER tablets, taper the dose gradually, by 25% to 50% every 2 to 4 days, while monitoring carefully for signs and symptoms of withdrawal. If the patient develops these signs or symptoms, raise the dose to the previous level and taper more slowly, either by increasing the interval between decreases, decreasing the amount of change in dose, or both. Do not abruptly discontinue ARYMO ER.