Morphine Patch Abuse
Jan 02, 2016 Morphine and fentanyl are both opioid analgesic drugs, meaning that they relieve pain by binding to structures called opioid receptors in the cells of the.
Morphine is the classic opiate painkiller, the standard by which other opiates are measured. While other opiates are more often the drug of choice of opiate addicts, morphine in pill or liquid form is still sought to satisfy cravings.
When a person is either abusing morphine or even taking it properly, they are likely to be constipated. All opiates tend to slow down the ability of the body to eliminate solid wastes so some people on painkillers seek medications that will help them fight constipation. Opiates tend to make a person nauseated and they may vomit after taking the drug. Opiates slow breathing, which is what usually kills a person who has taken too much of the drug. A person on these drugs tends to be sleepy and they may dope off.
There are certain symptoms that mean that a person may have taken too much morphine.
These include:
Shallow breathing - it may feel like the person s chest is barely moving and there may be few breaths each minute
Feeling faint or dizzy
Confusion
Low blood pressure, especially when a person is also taking other medications that cause a drop in blood pressure
Constricted pupils
Loss of normal muscle tension
Cardiac arrest
Cold and clammy skin
Circulatory collapse
Coma
Morphine: What to Look For
If a person is abusing morphine, in addition to physical symptoms of abuse, you may find pill bottles or pills or syringes. Morphine also comes in a liquid form so you may find small bottles of morphine sulfate liquid. There are dozens of different pills and capsules that contain morphine. By brand name, Avinza capsules are half white and the other half may be blue, dark green, light blue, yellow or red. Kadian capsules are all one color and may be light blue, turquoise, purple, brown or pink, depending on the dosage. MS Contin are small round pills in gray, light blue, purple, or orange. Oramorph SR sustained release are round white pills but may also be supplied in a patch. Generic morphine comes in a variety of colors and shapes.
A person using morphine according to a doctor s instruction can still become addicted to the drug, sometimes in a little as a few weeks.
If he or she tries to discontinue the morphine, he will manifest some or all of these signs of withdrawal that are common to opiates:
Sweating
Chills
Tearing eyes
Runny nose
Restlessness
Muscle aches
Backache
Dilated pupils
Irritability
Trouble sleeping
High blood pressure
Rapid heart rate
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Stomach cramps
Some people who have been taking morphine a little while may go through these symptoms briefly and think that they have come down with the flu. This may happen when a person comes out of the hospital for treatment of an injury for which they received morphine. In actual fact, they are going through opiate withdrawal.
Morphine During Pregnancy
A woman taking morphine while she is pregnant is likely to cause her baby to be born addicted to this drug.
Infants going through morphine withdrawal will show the following signs:
The baby may have trouble breathing right after birth
They will be irritable and inconsolable
They will sleep poorly and be very active
They may shake with tremors and have a high-pitched cry
They may have difficulty growing and gaining weight due to diarrhea and vomiting
They may run fevers
Leaving Morphine Addiction Behind
Opiate addiction is a cruel master as the drugs cause strong cravings, strong enough to drive a person to commit acts he or she would never otherwise commit. A family may be torn apart as a person s true personality becomes hidden by the compulsions and manipulations required to continue the addiction. Unless a rehab program addresses the damage done by an addiction to morphine or other opiates, each try at achieving sobriety may end in relapse.
The Narconon drug rehab program has isolated the points where a person experiences damage, such as loss of personal integrity, dim perceptions, cloudy thinking, inability to communicate clearly and honestly, and loss of the ability to successfully deal with problems in life. Step by step, the Narconon program addresses each point with effective program features. It takes longer than the 28 days of most short-term programs to bring about a real recovery from morphine addiction.
This is an innovative program that works. The program works because it has everything to do with the ability to restore personal integrity and brightened perceptions. It also has to do with the life skills-training that teaches a person how to make healthy decisions and stay away from negative influences.
Another necessary component of the recovery is the Narconon New Life Detoxification, one phase of the overall recovery program. This action combines time in a sauna with a strict nutritional regimen and moderate daily exercise. This combination triggers the body s ability to flush out old drug toxins. As the toxins leave, those in recovery talk about how much better their outlook is and how their thinking is clearer.
Step by step, building a sound, sober future has been the job of Narconon for nearly 50 years. Find out how it can benefit someone you care about.
See Also:
Effects of Morphine Abuse
Resources.
Here are some signs and symptoms of morphine abuse. Get help with morphine addiction today.
Last Updated: Mar 19, 2011
By Christine Adamec
Christine Adamec
Christine Adamec has more than 20 years experience as a professional writer, writing and coauthoring books on many topics in the health and self-help field, including fibromyalgia, diabetes, heartburn and many more. Adamec is coauthor of The Encyclopedia of Diabetes, Fibromyalgia for Dummies and many other books.
Morphine is a powerful painkiller, but the elderly may face side effects.
Photo Credit senior person image by Peter Baxter from Fotolia.com
Morphine is a powerful drug used to treat pain from cancer, multiple sclerosis, and other conditions generating pain in the elderly. According to a consensus statement by an international expert panel on opioids and severe pain in the elderly, with Dr. Joseph Pergolizzi of Johns Hopkins University as lead author, morphine is primarily metabolized in the liver and its metabolites are excreted by the kidneys. Thus, elderly patients with liver or kidney disease need lower dosages or longer dosing intervals.
Pergolizzi notes that elderly patients in general often have constipation prior to the use of opioids, and morphine makes the problem worse--morphine is extremely constipating compared with other opioids. Some elderly patients switch to a less-constipating drug because of the severity of their morphine-induced constipation. Some older patients have left clinical studies because they couldn t tolerate the constipation that morphine caused.
Dr. Ramsin Benyamin of the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign says constipation can occur with just one dose of morphine. He also says constipation is not a side effect that diminishes over time; consequently, this problem should be managed over the entire course of treatment with morphine among the elderly.
Contrary to the case with younger individuals, respiratory depression--a decreased breathing rate that may be inadequate for the body s needs--is an issue with morphine use among older people, especially in older individuals with serious pulmonary conditions, such as chronic bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Pergolizzi notes this risk is worsened if elderly individuals also consume alcohol or take drugs that are central nervous system depressants, such as barbiturates or benzodiazepines.
Pergolizzi says that the thinking abilities--cognition--of elderly patients on a stable moderate dosage of morphine is generally unaffected; however, if the dosage is increased, this can cause cognitive impairment for up to seven days.
Immunosuppression refers to the decreased ability of the immune system to fight off bacterial and viral invaders because of one or more factors. Sometimes immunusuppression is planned, as with immunosuppressants given to organ donors so their body won t reject the organ.
In general, however, immunosuppression is not desirable, and is a particular problem with the elderly. Pergolizzi notes that morphine is the most immunosuppessive opioid drug. In contrast, buprenorphine, oxycodone and hydromorphone--all opioids--are significantly less immunosuppressive than morphine.
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Mixing morphine and alcohol increases the effect of both of these central nervous system depressants. Not only is this type of drug abuse a sign of morphine.
2.1 General Dosing Considerations. Morphine Sulfate Injection is available in five concentrations for direct injection. Take care when prescribing and administering.
Learn about the potential side effects of morphine. Includes common and rare side effects information for consumers and healthcare professionals.
Apr 07, 2012 Oral Use Of Generic Fentanyl Patch Clear Choice For Painkiller Abusers by Jack Swint For at least the past 12 years, the choice of doctor.
Mar 19, 2011 Morphine is a powerful painkiller, but the elderly may face side effects. Photo Credit senior person image by Peter Baxter from Fotolia.com. Morphine is a.
Duragesic patch is a narcotic pain medicine that may become habit-forming. Misuse or abuse by placing it in the mouth or chewing, swallowing, injecting, or snorting.
