Percocet

Percocet is used to manage pain severe enough to require an opioid analgesic and for which alternative treatments are inadequate, and when other pain treatments such as non-opioid pain medicines do not treat your pain well enough, or you cannot tolerate them. This medication is a high-potency combination opioid analgesic available by prescription only.

An opioid pain medicine can put you at risk for overdose and death. Even if you take your dose correctly as prescribed, you are at risk for opioid addiction, abuse, and misuse that can lead to death.

The FDA requires a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for opioid analgesics to balance benefits against risks of addiction and misuse. Prescribers must complete REMS-compliant education, counsel patients on safe use and disposal, ensure patients read Medication Guides, and consider patient-prescriber agreements to enhance safety.

Percocet first gained FDA approval on August 31, 1976, and is available as a generic. It is a Schedule II controlled substance.

Get emergency help or call 911 right away if you take too many Percocet tablets (overdose). When you first start taking Percocet, when your dose is changed, or if you take too much (overdose), serious or life-threatening breathing problems that can lead to death may occur. Ask your healthcare provider about medicines like naloxone or nalmefene that can be used in an emergency to reverse an opioid overdose.

Taking Percocet with other opioid medicines, benzodiazepines, gabapentinoids (gabapentin or pregabalin), alcohol, or other central nervous system depressants (including street drugs) can cause severe drowsiness, decreased awareness, breathing problems, coma, and death.

Never give anyone else your Percocet. They could die from taking it. Selling or giving away Percocet tablets is against the law.

Store Percocet securely, out of sight and reach of children, and in a location not accessible by others, including visitors to the home.

Do not take Percocet if you have:

• Severe asthma, trouble breathing, or other lung problems.
• A bowel blockage or a narrowing of the stomach or intestines.
• Known hypersensitivity to oxycodone, acetaminophen, or any ingredient in Percocet tablets

Before taking Percocet, tell your healthcare provider if you have a history of:

• Head injury, seizures
• Liver, kidney, thyroid problems
• Problems urinating
• Pancreas or gallbladder problems
• Abuse of street or prescription drugs, alcohol addiction, opioid overdose, or mental health problems.

Tell your healthcare provider if you are:

• Noticing your pain is getting worse. If your pain gets worse after you take Percocet, do not take more Percocet without first talking to your healthcare provider. Talk to your healthcare provider if the pain that you have increases, if you feel more sensitive to pain, or if you have new pain after taking Percocet.
• Pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Use of Percocet for an extended period of time during pregnancy can cause withdrawal symptoms in your newborn baby that could be life-threatening if not recognized and treated.
• Breastfeeding. Percocet passes into breast milk and may harm your baby. Carefully observe infants for increased sleepiness (more than usual), breathing difficulties, or limpness. Seek immediate medical care if you notice these signs.
• Living in a household where there are small children or someone who has abused street or prescription drugs.
• Taking prescription or over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, or herbal supplements. Taking Percocet tablets with certain other medicines can cause serious side effects that could lead to death.

Common Side Effects

The possible side effects of Percocet are constipation, nausea, sleepiness, vomiting, tiredness, headache, dizziness, and abdominal pain. Call your healthcare provider if you have any of these symptoms and they are severe.

Serious Side Effects

Get emergency medical help or call 911 right away if you have:

• Trouble breathing
• Shortness of breath
• Fast heartbeat
• Chest pain
• Swelling of your face, tongue, or throat
• Extreme drowsiness
• Light-headedness when changing positions
• Feeling faint
• Agitation
• High body temperature
• Trouble walking
• Stiff muscles
• Mental changes such as confusion.

These are not all the possible side effects of Percocet. Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects. You can also report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Do not change your dose. Take Percocet exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. Use the lowest dose possible for the shortest time needed.

• For acute (short-term) pain, you may only need to take Percocet for a few days.
• You may have some Percocet left over that you did not use. See disposal information at the bottom of this section for directions on how to safely throw away (dispose of) your unused Percocet.

Take your prescribed dose every 6 hours as needed for pain. Do not take more than your prescribed dose. If you miss a dose, take your next dose at your usual time.

• Call your healthcare provider if the dose you are taking does not control your pain.
• If you have been taking Percocet regularly, do not stop taking Percocet without talking to your healthcare provider.

Dispose of expired, unwanted, or unused Percocet by promptly flushing them down the toilet if a drug take-back option is not readily available. Visit www.fda.gov/drugdisposal for additional information on disposal of unused medicines.

While taking Percocet, DO NOT:

• Drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how Percocet affects you. Percocet can make you sleepy, dizzy, or lightheaded.
• Drink alcohol or use prescription or over-the-counter medicines that contain alcohol. Using products containing alcohol during treatment with Percocet may cause you to overdose and die.

You may have breathing problems or withdrawal symptoms if you start or stop taking certain other medicines. Tell your doctor if you also use an antibiotic, antifungal medication, heart or blood pressure medication, seizure medication, or medicine to treat HIV or hepatitis C.

Opioid medication can interact with many other drugs and cause dangerous side effects or death. Be sure your doctor knows if you also use:

• cold or allergy medicines, bronchodilator asthma/COPD medication, or a diuretic ("water pill");
• medicines for motion sickness, irritable bowel syndrome, or overactive bladder;
• other narcotic medications - opioid pain medicine or prescription cough medicine;
• a sedative like Valium - diazepam, alprazolam, lorazepam, Xanax, Klonopin, Versed, and others;
• drugs that make you sleepy or slow your breathing - a sleeping pill, muscle relaxer, medicine to treat mood disorders or mental illness;
• drugs that affect serotonin levels in your body - a stimulant, or medicine for depression, Parkinson's disease, migraine headaches, serious infections, or nausea and vomiting.

This list is not complete. Other drugs may interact with Percocet, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Not all possible interactions are listed here.

• Store at 20° to 25°C (68° to 77°F).
• Protect from moisture and light.