Morphine Addiction

Morphine is an opioid drug that is derived from the poppy opium plant. It is among the most powerful of all narcotic opioids. For this reason, it is considered to be the golden standard for all pain relief medications.

When you take this drug, it will block the sensations of pain in your brain. It can also calm down your CNS - or central nervous system- as well as slow down your respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure. As a result, it will create a sense of calm and peace.

However, the DEA - the Drug Enforcement Administration - also classifies Morphine as a schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act passed by the federal government. This effectively means that it comes with some medical uses as well as a high risk of substance abuse and addiction.

About Morphine

As an opioid pain relief medication, Morphine is often prescribed for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. If you abuse it, however, it can cause relaxation and euphoria - effects that will keep you abusing the drug over time.

This drug works on the brain and spinal cord receptors to decrease the sensations of pain. It can also decrease your emotional response to all pain signals that you may be feeling throughout your body.

If you use this drug over the long term, it could lead to the development of physical and psychological dependence. This means that if you suddenly stop or significantly reduce your usual dose of Morphine, you could suffer some negative withdrawal symptoms.

It is also important to remember that morphine is typically readily available, easy to obtain, and relatively inexpensive. For these reasons, it is one of the most frequently abused of all opioid medications.

In fact, studies have shown that the drug has one of the highest rates of substance abuse and addiction among similar opioids in the United States. Additionally, the rates of drug overdose involving this medication are among the highest.

If you take this drug therapeutically and exactly as your doctor prescribed, it might not lead to the development of an opioid use disorder. However, your risk of developing this disorder would be heightened if you abused the drug.

The medication can also cause various long and short term effects. These include cravings for other opioids, withdrawal symptoms, tolerance to its effects, dependence, and addiction.

Other Names for Morphine

Morphine is produced and marketed under a wide variety of brand names. These names include but are not limited to:

• Avinza
• Embeda
• Kadian
• Kadian ER
• Morphabond
• Morphine Sulfate ER
• MS Contin
• Roxanol

The drug is also known by a wide variety of street names among people who sell, traffic, buy, and abuse it. They do so to avoid detection by law enforcement officials and other authorities. Examples of these street names include:

• Aunti
• Aunti Em
• Dance Fever
• Dreamer
• Drone
• Emsel
• First Line
• God's Drug
• Goodfella
• Hows
• M.S.
• Mister Blue
• Monkey
• Morf
• Morph
• Morpho
• Murder 8
• Tango and Cash
• TNT
• Unkie
• White Stuff

Signs and Symptoms of Morphine Addiction

If you have been abusing morphine and have already developed tolerance and dependence, you may soon find yourself struggling with an opioid use disorder. This condition may be accompanied by the following signs and symptoms of addiction:

• A decrease in your metabolism
• Change of interest
• Consistently talking about quitting the drug without actually quitting
• Constant complaining of illness or tiredness
• Constipation
• Constricted pupils
• Continued morphine use in spite of your knowledge of the fact that the substance is causing and/or exacerbating physical and psychological disorders
• Cramps in stomach
• Crushing the morphine pills before injecting or snorting them
• Decreased hunger
• Doctor shopping so that you can get more prescriptions for the drug
• Dramatic changes in your priorities
• Drastic changes in body weight
• Drug use related paraphernalia like syringes, pills, or pills bottles
• Euphoria
• False bliss
• General lethargy
• Heavy and/or forced breathing
• Hiding or using morphine covertly
• Hiding the drug in multiple places so that people cannot find your stash
• Impaired mental performance
• Impaired muscle coordination
• Impaired physical performance
• Inability to pay any attention to your surroundings
• Increased aggression even without sufficient reason
• Increased irritation even over minor changes in your environment
• Interference with your menstrual cycle
• Introversion
• Irregular and acute depression
• Job loss
• Kidney failure
• Lack of will power
• Less importance to your hygiene, grooming, and neatness
• Loneliness
• Low blood pressure
• Lying about the total number of pills you take
• Nausea
• Perceptive isolation
• Personality change
• Physical weakness
• Poor judgment
• Poor mental performance
• Preoccupation with morphine
• Purchasing morphine illicitly
• Rashes on the some parts of your body
• Respiratory difficulties
• Restlessness
• Running out of your prescription for morphine long before your refill is due
• Stealing or lying so that you can obtain morphine
• Sudden change in your social circles
• Sudden social shyness
• Taking the prescription drugs with alcohol
• Tolerance
• Trying to quit but being unsuccessful
• Unexplained euphoria
• Vomiting
• Withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking it
• You use more of the drug to avoid withdrawal

Short and Long-Term Effects of Morphine Abuse

Doctors are often careful when they are trying to determine the morphine dose to give you. This is because the drug is known to cause some side effects that might be severe especially in high doses.

If you take the drug exactly as your doctor prescribed, it can relieve pain, decrease coughing, and deal with your hunger. However, it can also lead to the following short and long term side effects if you abuse it:

• Calm feeling
• Circulation problems
• Constipation
• Constricted pupils
• Cramps
• Decreased responsiveness
• Dehydration
• Difficulty swallowing
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Dry mouth
• Euphoria
• Fever
• Headache
• Increased blood pressure
• Increased thirst
• Inhibited cough reflex, which could lead to choking
• Loss of appetite
• Low blood pressure
• Muscle pain
• Muscle spasms
• Nausea
• Pain relief
• Reduced anxiety
• Reduced sex drive
• Relaxation
• Respiratory distress
• Sleep apnea
• Sleepiness
• Slowed breathing
• Swelling
• Unusual drowsiness
• Unusual or false sense of well-being
• Weight loss

If you take this drug, it will stay in your system for several days. However, its effects will typically wear off after a couple of hours. The duration of time that the drug spends in your system will depend on the route of administration as well as the dose you took.

Morphine Overdose

Often, tolerance for morphine tends to develop relatively fast. This means that you may start abusing it in dangerous doses much earlier than if you were abusing another drug. This could increase your risk of suffering an overdose that could be accompanied by the following side effects:

• Adverse changes in some vital body signs
• Blue or gray tint to the skin
• Choking
• Constricted pupils
• Decrease in respiration
• Decrease in body temperature
• Delusions
• Drowsiness
• Extreme lethargy
• Fever
• Fluid accumulation in the lungs
• Hallucination
• Incessant gurgling
• Lowered or irregular pulse rate
• Markedly slow breathing
• Mentally confusion
• Purple or blue lips and fingernails
• Respiratory complications
• Slurred speech

If you display any of these symptoms of morphine overdose, you should call 911 or your local poisons control center as soon as possible. This is because the situation could turn out to be potentially fatal.

Morphine Withdrawal Symptoms

Withdrawing from morphine can turn out to be uncomfortable. This is particularly true if you have been abusing the drug heavily or for a long term. The symptoms of withdrawal will also vary in terms of intensity based on your health and wellness, metabolism, tolerance for the drug, and duration and frequency of use. These symptoms may include:

• Agitation
• Anxiety
• Body aches
• Chills
• Decreased or increased need for sleep
• Depression
• Diarrhea
• Disorientation
• Excessive sweating
• Fear
• Fever
• Headaches
• High blood pressure
• Increased appetite
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Joint pain
• Muscle aches
• Nausea
• Negative mood
• Pains
• Rapid heartbeat
• Runny nose
• Sweating
• Vomiting
• Watery eyes

Often, these symptoms tend to be so painful that they could cause you to suffer a relapse. To ensure that this does not happen, you should consider going for medical detox services.

The Best Options for Morphine Addiction Treatment

After you have been through a medically supervised detox program to manage your withdrawal symptoms, drug cravings, and physical dependence, you should seek additional addiction treatment and rehabilitation services. These services are provided by both inpatient and outpatient drug rehab centers, and they can help you overcome your morphine abuse and addiction.

CITATIONS

http://www.morphineaddictionhelp.com/morphine-abuse-problem

http://www.morphineaddictionhelp.com/morphine-addiction-statistics

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https://www.morphineaddictionhelp.com/category/morphine/page/11

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