What is Morphine?

Listed as a Schedule II controlled substance, morphine is a strong opiate medication that is most commonly used to treat moderate to moderately severe chronic pain in patients.  This analgesic has been prescribed for chronic pain for over 200 years, since its development in the early 1800s.  Morphine is a fast-acting pain reliever that is used to treat post-surgery pain, kidney stones, illness and trauma, as well as chronic pain experienced with conditions like cancer.  Considered to be effective at suppressing coughs and stopping chronic diarrhea, morphine is sometimes prescribed for ailments involving these symptoms.

Brands

Morphine is marketed under a myriad of generic and name brands.  These include Oramorph SR, MS-Contin, MSIR, Morphine IR, Kadian, AVINza and Roxanol.  The traditional form of morphine is as a liquid, injected into the blood, but over the years many new ways have been developed.  From syrups and suppositories to immediate and extended release tablets and capsules, all of these can be found, bringing morphine into the future.

The Morphine Affect

Still considered to be one of the strongest pain relievers ever created, morphine is used as a standard by which all opiates are compared for potency rating.  Morphine has an extremely high potential for both physical and psychological addiction, which is why it is not usually prescribed until a patient shows a tolerance towards other opiate medications.  Morphine addiction can be almost as devastating to the body as a heroin addiction.  With similar effects, withdrawal symptoms and overdose side effects, morphine is a very dangerous substance to abuse.

Morphine is a tolerance building opiate, and this is one of the main reasons that it is so habit-forming.  When a patient builds a tolerance towards a medication, they will have start taking more and more to feel the same effects as you once did.  This is usually why the patient begins to overuse and abuse the substance, and overuse and abuse will in turn lead to dependency on morphine.  And as their tolerance grows, the daily cost of their addiction grows as well, leading the morphine addict to do things that they would not normally do.  Nothing is beneath an addict, stealing from and lying to their loved ones, committing crimes to gain capital for their habit, or any other type of dangerous behavior that assists them in getting their fix.

Morphine Addiction

In just a few short weeks of starting to take it, you could end up with a morphine dependency.  Once a person begins to start feeling dependent on morphine, they cannot stop taking it without feeling withdrawal symptoms.  The withdrawal symptoms associated with morphine are very similar to that of heroin and any other opiate withdrawal.  They can include a variety of unpleasant symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting, uncontrollable diarrhea, hallucinations, restlessness, sleeplessness, and pain throughout the entire body.  The only safe way to detox from morphine is through a medical detox program.  Morphine detox at home is a bad idea and should not be attempted.