Why Is Morphine Addictive?
Welcome to the topic, “Why Is Morphine Addictive?”
Even if taken on a doctor’s prescription, morphine can be strongly addictive. Here we’ll discuss how difficult it is to quit this drug.
You may start taking morphine for severe pain on your doctor’s prescription. The pain could be as severe as the kind that is felt after critical surgery or during cancer treatment. It is available in tablet and extended-release capsules, nasal solution forms, and injectables, and does a great job of reducing severe pain. But it’s significant to remember that, morphine can become addictive if used for a long time.
Statistical data on morphine show that Americans are using this drug lesser. According to a 2018 survey, the extent of morphine use in the U.S. went down by approximately nineteen percent from 2011 to 2016. It is also different from all other drugs used for the same purpose, such as “oxycodone”.
The use of this drug is more organized since it is stereotypically reserved for acute pain management in medical locales. Still, it’s essential to stick to your doctor’s suggested dosage and only take morphine according to the prescription.
How Addictive is Morphine?
This drug can lead to addiction in any form, either injectable or oral. Injectable drug has become more frequently used—and sooner or later misused—as drug makers try to prioritize other opioid pills, like “oxycodone”.
According to the experts, like other opioid drugs, it moves through your blood and sticks to certain receptors of the brain cells to decrease pain and increase feelings of pleasure. But over time, particularly if a person has risk factors for opioid addiction, the body of the user can become used to those states of pleasure even after the pain has diminished. This can automatically lead to morphine addiction.
More effective opioids than morphine have a stronger influence and may reach the brain more rapidly; hence the danger of someone taking more and developing dependence is higher. It can be more addictive than less powerful opioids, like codeine. It is less addictive than fentanyl, heroin, and oxycodone. But, it is as addictive as hydrocodone.
Although a doctor will decide the amount to be prescribed, usually, the prescribed adult dosages are written below, according to the drug experts:
- 1 extended-release capsule every 12-24 hours
- 1 extended-release tablet every 8-12 hours
- 10-20mg of morphine solution every 4 hours
Morphine Addiction Symptoms
Experts say they have seen the following symptoms in persons addicted to morphine:
- Short-term physical effects: Sweats and chills, slowed breathing, dilated pupils, sleepiness or lethargy, and nausea
- Long-term physical effects: Body tremors, kidney issues, depression, erratic sleep cycles, and severe constipation
- Behavioral changes: Withdrawal from people around you and activities you loved, sudden stealing and lying, neglecting daily tasks, becoming highly annoyed or aggressive
Don’t Wait. Get Help Now!
If you are struggling to quit the morphine drug use then ask for help. Sands treatment center is always available to help you in drug rehabilitation.
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