Two medicines, side by side
Dexamethasone vs methadone
Dexamethasone and methadone are both labeled for pain. Drugs@FDA records approvals of dexamethasone since 1958 and of methadone since 1947. Pharmacies paid $0.193 per dexamethasone 4 mg tablet and $0.177 per methadone HCl 10 mg tablet (NADAC, October 7, 2026); the strengths differ, so the two prices are not like for like. In FDA's classes, dexamethasone is a corticosteroid and methadone an opioid agonist.
Check it at the source: the dexamethasone FDA label on DailyMed (effective June 6, 2025); the methadone FDA label on DailyMed (effective December 8, 2025).
Highlights of the dexamethasone record
Dexamethasone (Decadron) · label of June 6, 2025
Used for
From the label: indicationsAllergic States Control of severe or incapacitating allergic conditions intractable to adequate trials of conventional treatment in asthma, atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, drug hypersensitivity reactions, perennial or seasonal allergic rhinitis, and serum sickness. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- October 30, 1958
- Generic labelers
- 60 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.193 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- In shortage
- Recalls
- 8
Highlights of the methadone record
Methadone (Diskets) · label of December 8, 2025
SERIOUS AND LIFE-THREATENING RISKS FROM USE OF METHADONE HYDROCHLORIDE TABLETS: Addiction, Abuse, and Misuse Because the use of methadone hydrochloride tablets exposes patients and other users to the risks of opioid addiction, abuse, and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death, assess each patient's risk prior to prescribing and reassess all patients regularly for the development of these behaviors and conditions [ see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ].
Used for
From the label: indicationsMethadone hydrochloride tablets are indicated for the: 1. Management of severe and persistent pain that requires an opioid analgesic and that cannot be adequately treated with alternative options, including immediate-release opioids. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- August 13, 1947
- Generic labelers
- 18 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.177 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- No current entry
- Recalls
- 4
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA (Dexamethasone label of June 6, 2025, Methadone label of December 8, 2025); NDC Directory, Drugs@FDA, NADAC, FDA shortages and recalls (October 8, 2026)
How do dexamethasone and methadone differ on the record?
In FDA's classes, dexamethasone is a corticosteroid and methadone an opioid agonist.
Only the methadone label carries a boxed warning.
Generics: dexamethasone since 1971; methadone since 1981 (Drugs@FDA).
DEA schedule: dexamethasone none; methadone CII.
| Dexamethasone | Methadone | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Asthma, Eczema (atopic dermatitis), Leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, Herpes and shingles, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, Multiple sclerosis, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriasis, Allergies, Anemia, Pain | Pain, Opioid use disorder |
| Pharmacologic class | Corticosteroid | Opioid Agonist |
| How it works (label) | n/a | Methadone hydrochloride is a mu-agonist; a synthetic opioid with multiple actions qualitatively similar to those of morphine, the most prominent of which involves the central nervous system and organs composed of smooth muscle. |
| Half-life (label) | n/a | Published reports indicate that after multiple dose administration the apparent plasma clearance of methadone ranged between 1.4 and 126 L/h, and the terminal half-life (T 1/2 ) was highly variable and ranged between 8 … |
| Earliest approval on file (Drugs@FDA) | October 30, 1958 | August 13, 1947 |
| First generic approved | October 20, 1971 | May 22, 1981 |
| Generic labelers (NDC) | 60 labelers | 18 labelers |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC, each one's most listed form; strengths differ) | $0.193 per tablet (Dexamethasone 4 mg tablet) | $0.177 per tablet (Methadone HCl 10 mg tablet) |
| 12-month price change | -26% | -7% |
| Boxed warning | No | Yes |
| Shortage now | In shortage | No current entry |
| Recalls recorded | 8 | 4 |
| FAERS reports (a report is not proof of cause; counts follow how widely a medicine is used) | 304,163 | 45,988 |
| DEA schedule | none | CII |
Source: Drugs@FDA, FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026, FDA shortages and recalls, FAERS via openFDA (FDA files October 8, 2026)
What do the labels say about using others of their kind?
Methadone label, warnings and precautionsRisks from Concomitant Use with Benzodiazepines or Other CNS Depressants Profound sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death may result from the concomitant use of Methadone hydrochloride tablets with benzodiazepines and/or other CNS depressants (e.g., alcohol, non-benzodiazepine sedatives/hypnotics, anxiolytics, tranquilizers, muscle relaxants, general anesthetics, antipsychotics, gabapentinoids [gabapentin …
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA
What next?
- Alternatives to dexamethasone
- every medicine labeled for the same conditions