Opiley Quotes

Opioids, such as Vicodin, Oxycodone Percocet relieve pain, but are known to be physically addictive. Dependence is often accompanied by tolerance, or the need to take higher doses of a medication to get the same effect says the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIH). When tolerance occurs, it becomes difficult for a physician to determine whether a patient is developing a drug problem, or has a real medical need for higher doses to control their pain.

Opioids as you stated affect participation in therapy many times due to drowsiness. Along with that behavior the risk of falls, injuries and fractures, increases too. In a study comparing the risk of fractures with initiation of opioids versus non-steroidal anti inflammatory medications, it was demonstrated that the fracture incidence was the greatest in older adults during the first two weeks after using short acting opioids (Miller, Stürner, Azrael, Levin, & Solomon, 2011). This incidence increased when the person had a preexistent balance problem causing lifelong disability and even death. Other study conducted in Sweden, reflected similar findings, but this time falls were more prominent in individuals between 18 and 29 years old

Assessing whether someone is addicted to pain killers or not is a difficult task. The issue with opiates such as Vicodin, Morphine and Oxycontin is they serve a useful purpose in the treatment of pain. Unfortunately, opiates are also highly addictive. It can happen in a relatively short period of time, which is why so many people get addicted without even realizing it. Before they know it, they are caught in the cycle of addiction, facing the prospects of a opioid detox.

Individuals who use Opioids are Addicts. The history of this very debatable topic is very educational and interesting. Opioids are drugs that are prescribed for severe to chronic pain, some examples of opioids are: morphine,?methadone, Buprenorphine,?hydrocodone, and?oxycodone.?Heroin?is also an opioid and is illegal. Opioid drugs sold under brand names include: OxyContin?,?Percocet?, Palladone?(taken off the market 7/2005),Vicodin?, Percodan?, Tylox? and?Demerol? among others. These drugs are also classified as a schedule II drug.

Opioid addiction is a condition that is preventable as well as one which individuals display several noticeable risk factors before the actual addiction prognosis to the point of causing death. There is a strong correlation between the early misuse of prescription opioids, which are prescribed for non-cancer pain management, and the development of a dependence on such opioids. Early detection of risk factors such as the misuse of opioids that are prescribed will help indicate that a patient is developing an addiction.1 Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers must closely monitor patients and the rate at which opioids are consumed as well as refilled.

So how do opioids work and what makes them so addictive? We all have millions of pain receptors throughout our body called nociceptors that send information about pain to our brains. These pain receptors are on our skin, within our organs, and our spinal cord. Opioids are given for pain because they block the signals from the nociceptors to our brain. In addition to this, opioids cause a sense of euphoria which is the “high” that accompanies the medication (Healthcare Triage, 2016). Our bodies actually produce their own opioid chemicals that many people know of as endorphins. However, long-term use of opioids can make the body stop producing endorphins which can lead to dependence on medications (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). The way people take or abuse these drugs varies as well. Opioid pills such as hydrocodone or oxycodone are taken by mouth while heroin is typically injected. However, people that abuse the drugs are now crushing the pills to snort or inject which increases the intensity of the “high.” This method is also more dangerous because the risk of respiratory

Analysis: Opioids are a class of drug that are medically used as very effective painkillers, like fentanyl and morphine, however, they are highly addictive and produce a feeling of euphoria (“Opioids”). This combination leads do a lot of abuse and dependency, where people take more than prescribed in order to feel better. People start off taking the opioid painkillers in order to not feel pain as prescribed by their doctors. Then, they end up getting addicted to them. There are also illicit opioids, such as heroin, that are also highly addictive and also lead to dependency and death (“Opioids”). These illicit versions are taken for recreational reasons, and are also often mixed with other drugs. The combination of taking an unregulated drug in conjunction with other drugs leads to a lot of overdoses.

“Opioids are a class of drugs made from opium, as well as synthetic or semi-synthetic drugs that resemble these opium-based drugs.”

Last year there were over 64,000 reported opioid-related deaths in the United States – making it the leading cause of accidental death in people under the age of 50 in this country (Katz). Opioids, also referred to as painkillers, have become a growing problem over the past two decades particularly in rural communities all across the country where the death rates are higher per capita compared to the death rate in cities (“America’s Opioid Epidemic is Worsening”). These narcotics, such as codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, morphine and oxycodone are extremely addictive and, as a result, this silent killer has quadrupled the overdose death toll since 1999

Opioids are a class of drugs that are designed to relieve pain. They are synthetic forms of the naturally occurring opiate opium along with morphine and codeine, which are parts of the opium poppy. Prescription opioids include the painkillers hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), fentanyl (Duragesic), meperidine (Demerol), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid), amongst others. Opioids of this variety are prescribed for a variety of reasons ranging from severe acute pain resulting from injury to post surgery pain relief. Illicit opioids include heroin and any opioids that are not taken are prescribed. While helpful in treating pain that needs immediate attention, prescription opioids are not ideal to treat chronic pain. Opioids, both prescribed and illicit, are highly addictive and potentially dangerous.

The use of opioids and other drugs continues to gradually increase in the United State. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of overdose deaths involving opioids has quadrupled since 1999” (CDC website). Individuals are abusing prescription opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone. Prescriptions opioids that are supposed to be used as pain relievers, cough suppressants and for withdrawal symptoms are being use by individuals in order to feel relaxed or for the overwhelming effect of euphoria. These types of drugs are to be taken orally, but people are snorting, smoking, and injecting them in order to get a better high. I have personal encounters with opioid drugs and opioid abuser on a regular

Opioids are pain relievers that bind to opioid receptors on nerve cells throughout the body. They produce feelings of euphoria, tranquility and sedation. However, opioids are “considered the most harmful of all illicit drugs” (Amato et al., 2005, p.321).

Opioid addiction is so prevalent in the healthcare system because of the countless number of hospital patients being treated for chronic pain. While opioid analgesics have beneficial painkilling properties, they also yield detrimental dependence and addiction. There is a legitimate need for the health care system to provide powerful medications because prolonged pain limits activities of daily living, work productivity, quality of life, etc. (Taylor, 2015). Patients need to receive appropriate pain treatment, however, opioids need to be prescribed after careful consideration of the benefits and risks.

Opioids are compounds that adhere to the opiate receptors. The term, however, is often used to describe the alkaloid opioids, which are extracted from the opium poppy. Such alkaloids include codeine and morphine. Moreover, opioids include the drugs that are manufactured from the naturally occurring opiates. Such semi-synthetic opiates include heroin, which is prepared from morphine, and oxycodone, which is synthesized from thebaine. Synthetic opioids, however, include methadone, propoxyphene, and fentanyl (Rosenblum, Marsch, Joseph, & Portenoy, 2008).

Codeine is an opiate and has many uses in medicine. “Opiate” is the term used to refer to the drugs that are naturally occurring and derived from the opium poppy. Opioid refers to a substance with an opium-like effect on the body and is generally the term used for the synthetically produced substances that mimic opiates [1]. An opiate can be extracted from a species of Papaveraceae; Papaver somniferum, commonly known as the opium poppy.