Coping with the Adverse Side Effects of Morphine

Morphine, a highly potent opiate that acts directly on the nervous system to help relieve pain. In the management of intense pain, no other narcotic analgesic is more effective. Unfortunately, Morphine is highly addictive when compared to other substances, so tolerance and psychological dependencies develop very quickly and the adverse side effects of morphine use can be deadly.

It has been proven by research that morphine can alter the expression of certain genes in human DNA. The drug affects two major groups of genes for proteins involved in mitochondrial respiration and for cytoskeleton related problems. In addition to many other adverse side effects of morphine use, long-term use of morphine also causes severe cases of constipation.

In the 1970's and 1980's there was evidence that showed that people who use morphine for prolonged periods of time have their risk of infections increased such as pneumonia, TB, and HIV. Scientists believe from these studies that other adverse side effects of morphine include damage to the immune system.

The most concerning adverse side effects of morphine use is its addictiveness. The abuse potential is highest of all the drugs known to man outnumbering the use of cocaine and heroin! Compared to other narcotic pain relievers such as codeine, hydrocarbon, oxycodone, morphine is considerably more liable for abuse and dependence. Physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms are just a few of the side effects of morphine which can appear after only five days of use.

Withdrawal symptoms that are associated with morphine addiction are felt just before the time of the next dose, and can be as early as six to twelve hours after the initial administration of the drug. The side effects of morphine can cause severe psychological dependence. Psychological withdrawal from morphine is a long and painful process. People often suffer severe depression, anxiety, insomnia, forgetfulness, low self-esteem, paranoia, and other psychological disorders when they become addicted to morphine. Morphine addicts, along with heroin addicts, have the highest rate of relapse rates of all drug users.

Luckily, there are many ways that the adverse side effects of morphine can be dealt with. First, one must maintain sobriety to achieve the maximum benefits of decreased drug use! Next, remember that only time can tell how long the adverse side effects of morphine will actually last. For some people, the side effects of morphine may be minimal and last a short period of time, but for others the complete opposite may be true! The side effects of morphine and the amount of time that these effects last will differ from person to person as well as based on the amount of time that the drug was used.