Pentazocine

Pentazocine, sold under the brand name Talwin among others, is an <a href="/facts/Analgesic/xLj4XBcq">analgesic</a> medication used to treat moderate to severe <a href="/facts/Pain/70E79oUn">pain</a>. It is believed to work by activating (agonizing) <a href="/facts/Kappa_opioid_receptor/zJRo3NoF">κ-opioid receptors</a> (KOR) and <a href="/facts/Mu_opioid_receptor/8a3wdeTc">μ-opioid receptors</a> (MOR). As such it is called an <a href="/facts/Opioid/EGnE2x99">opioid</a> as it delivers its effects on pain by interacting with the opioid receptors. It shares many of the side effects of other opioids like <a href="/facts/Constipation/l4DHHM6L">constipation</a>, <a href="/facts/Nausea/dyhkcbeD">nausea</a>, <a href="/facts/Itch/MBWq6SPc">itching</a>, <a href="/facts/Drowsiness/mIlFhyf0">drowsiness</a>, and <a href="/facts/Respiratory_depression/ruqIr4oa">respiratory depression</a>, but, unlike most other opioids, it fairly frequently causes <a href="/facts/Hallucination/5eUvLcnp">hallucinations</a>, <a href="/facts/Nightmare/EhJvEEc2">nightmares</a>, and <a href="/facts/Delusion/cNsg7R41">delusions</a>. It is also, unlike most other opioids, subject to a ceiling effect, which is when at a certain dose no more pain relief is obtained by increasing the dose any further.
Chemically it is classed as a <a href="/facts/Benzomorphan/NCwB5tRT">benzomorphan</a> and it comes in two <a href="/facts/Enantiomers/wjPv5J3y">enantiomers</a>, which are molecules that are exact (non-superimposable) mirror images of one another.
It was patented in 1960 and approved for medical use in 1964. Usually, in its oral formulations, it is combined with <a href="/facts/Naloxone/M2GxfKzL">naloxone</a> so as to prevent people from crushing the tablets, dissolving them in a solvent (like water) and injecting them for a high (as orally administered naloxone produces no opioid-negating effects, whereas intravenous or intramuscular administration does).

Pentazocine open-in-new

Pentazocine