• UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine
UCLA Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

UCLA Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

UCLA Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine
  • About Us
    • Chair's Welcome
    • In the News
    • Our Expert Team
    • Our E-Magazine, Open Circuit
    • Our Class Yearbook
    • For Alumni
    • Academic Positions
    • Quality and Innovation
    • Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
    • Wellness Initiative
    • Community Outreach
    • Global Healthcare Initiatives
    • Contact Us
    • Maps & Directions
    • Giving
  • Our Specialties
    • Acute Pain and Regional Anesthesiology
    • Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology
    • Critical Care Anesthesiology
    • Liver Transplant Anesthesiology
    • Neurosurgical Anesthesiology
    • Nurse Anesthesia
    • Obstetric Anesthesiology
    • Ophthalmologic Anesthesiology
    • Pain Medicine
    • Pediatric Anesthesiology
    • Perioperative Medicine
    • Thoracic Anesthesiology
    • Vascular Anesthesiology
    • UCLA Comprehensive Pain Center
  • For Patients & Families
    • UCLA Surgery Patients: We are ready to take care of you
    • Preoperative Evaluation and Planning Center
    • Types of Anesthesia
    • Preparing for Surgery and Anesthesia
    • Preparing Your Child for Surgery and Anesthesia
    • Which Medications Should I Take?
    • When to Stop Eating and Drinking
    • Anesthesia for Labor and Delivery
    • Enhancing Your Recovery
    • Pain Relief After Surgery
    • Using Opioids Safely
    • Anesthesia and Child Development
    • Quality and Innovation
    • We're Listening!
    • Contact Us
    • Maps & Directions
  • Education
    • Residency Program
    • Fellowship Programs
    • Medical Students
    • MOCA Simulation Course
    • UCLA Simulation Center
    • ASA Annual Meeting
    • UCLA Annual Scientific Evening
    • Grand Rounds
    • Visiting Professor Program
    • CME Programs
  • Research
  • For Referring Physicians
    • Risk Stratification
    • Requesting In-Person Preoperative Consultation at PEPC
    • Requesting Preoperative Telephone Screening
    • UCLA Requirements for the Preoperative History and Physical Examination
    • Criteria for Outpatient Venues
    • Guidelines for Preoperative Laboratory Testing
    • Guidelines for Preoperative Cardiac and Pulmonary Testing
    • NPO Guidelines
    • What Medications Should Patients Take Before Surgery?
    • Requesting a Pre-Surgical Pain Medicine Consultation
    • Referring a Patient For Chronic Pain Consultation and Management
  • Our Physicians
    • Faculty Physicians
    • Attending Physicians
    • Basic Science Faculty
    • Affiliate Faculty
  • UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine

UCLA Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

For Patients & Families

For Patients & Families

For Patients & Families

  • UCLA Surgery Patients: We are ready to take care of you
  • Preoperative Evaluation and Planning Center
  • Types of Anesthesia
  • Preparing for Surgery and Anesthesia
  • Preparing Your Child for Surgery and Anesthesia
  • Which Medications Should I Take?
  • When to Stop Eating and Drinking
  • Anesthesia for Labor and Delivery
  • Enhancing Your Recovery
  • Pain Relief After Surgery
  • Using Opioids Safely
  • Anesthesia and Child Development
  • Quality and Innovation
  • We're Listening!
  • Contact Us
  • Maps & Directions
  • UCLA Surgery Patients: We are ready to take care of you
  • Preoperative Evaluation and Planning Center
  • Types of Anesthesia
  • Preparing for Surgery and Anesthesia
  • Preparing Your Child for Surgery and Anesthesia
  • Which Medications Should I Take?
  • When to Stop Eating and Drinking
  • Anesthesia for Labor and Delivery
  • Enhancing Your Recovery
  • Pain Relief After Surgery
  • Using Opioids Safely
  • Anesthesia and Child Development
  • Quality and Innovation
  • We're Listening!
  • Contact Us
  • Maps & Directions
  1. Home
  2. For Patients & Families
  3. Using Opioids Safely

Using Opioids Safely

Share this
Opium Poppy

Opioid medications, also known as "narcotics", are powerful medications used to control pain. The earliest of these medications was opium, which has been extracted for more than 5,000 years from the opium poppy. Today, we have many different opioid medications available, including morphine, meperidine (Demerol), hydromorphone (Dilaudid), and oral medications such as hydrocodone (Vicodin) and oxycodone (Percocet).

While opioids are very useful medications for severe pain, they can cause addiction and they have been responsible for thousands of death by overdose during America's current opioid epidemic. They may also be associated with unpleasant side effects including nausea and constipation. If your doctors prescribe opioid medication for pain after surgery, these short videos will help explain how to use these medications safely and dispose of them properly if any are left over.

If you have further questions about the medical treatment of persistent or chronic pain, please visit the website of our UCLA Comprehensive Pain Center. 

Using Opioids Safely

Opioid Medications

Opioids – Common Side Effects

Tapering Opioid Use Safely

Disposing of Opioids

Side Effects of Long-Term Opioid Use

Opioids – Physical Dependence and Addiction

Opioids and Chronic Pain Management

Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest
UCLA Health hospitals rank among nation's best in U.S. News survey
  • UCLA Health
  • Find a Doctor
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • UCLA Campus
  • Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Subscribe
  • Patient Stories
  • Giving
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • International Services
  • Privacy Practices
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Billing
  • Health Plans
  • Emergency
  • Report Broken Links
  • Terms of Use
  • 1-800-UCLA-MD1
  • Maps & Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Your Feedback
  • Report Misconduct
  • Get Social
  • Sitemap
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest

Sign in to myUCLAhealth

Learn more about myUCLAhealth