Morphine

Medical Use of Morphine

Morphine has been used relieve moderate to severe pain, whether in the case of a heart attack, surgery, serious injuries, cough suppression, or other pain conditions. It is also used for treating the pain and shortness of breath dying patients may experience. Before operations, morphine can be used as an anesthetic; it may also be used in an epidural injection following a major surgery to relieve pain.

Morphine works by dulling the pain perception center of the brain; this is found with all types of opiate drugs. When the central nervous system is affected, it alters the mental and physical attitudes of the user, allowing him or her to enter a state of euphoria that relieves all anxiety.

Recreational Use of Morphine

Users may abuse morphine for a euphoric “high.” Morphine can be combined with certain chemicals or drugs to create stronger effects and a more advanced state of euphoria. If morphine tablets are crushed or snorted, the effects of the drug are felt quickly. This “high” can be sought after to alleviate any type of personal pain, whether psychological or physical that causes the user distress. Some users take morphine in addition to alcohol or other drugs to produce another form of “high.” Morphine is highly addictive and dependence can develop easily. The dependence may be very difficult to break.

Morphine Addiction Help

If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction to morphine, please call our toll free number at (877) 259-5633. We are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you may have about morphine addiction treatment. We can help, so please call today.

According to the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), about 17 percent of Americans age 60 and older misuse prescription drugs, alcohol or both. With morphine being considered the standard for treatment of severe pain, it is one of the many pharmaceutical products that seniors are addicted to. With the senior population accounting for more than 14 percent of our total population, the impact of elderly drug addiction has implications in every part of our lives. As far back as 1969, health problems related to substance abuse cost Medicare alone well over $233 million per year; with that segment of the population increasing steadily, the expenditures are even more significant today.

Morphine and the Senior Population

There are many situational and emotional variables that could lead any person to abuse prescription medications. It has been proven that stress significantly increases the risk of drug abuse. It has also been proven that previous drug use in their younger life is a clear indicator for drug abuse in their senior years. For the elderly, some of these stressors include:

• Aging and retirement
• Depression and loneliness associated with the loss of loved ones and acquaintances
• Confusion and anxiety associated with not feeling a sense of purpose in life
• Chronic pain

Causes of Morphine Abuse

While each individual case of senior drug addiction is unique, there are some trends or indicators for the group as a whole, including:

• Incorrectly following the instructions on the medication bottle, either because they do not fully understand the instructions or because the prescribed dosage is not offering the results they want
• Mixing medications or forgetting to take medicines
• Striving to appear independent and thus not asking for assistance

Identifying Morphine Abuse in the Elderly

Family members and physicians often struggle with identifying prescription drug abuse in seniors. Many times, seniors will hide their abuse by visiting several different doctors and not fully informing the doctors of their current prescription intake. If they are successful in acquiring multiple prescriptions from different sources, the senior may send different family members to retrieve the medication and reduce the chance that any one family member has a complete picture of the drug use.

Get Help for Morphine Addiction

Identifying someone with a prescription drug addiction, including morphine, is difficult to do, especially if the person is a family member or friend. However, it is possible and we can help. Please call our toll free number today at (877) 259-5633. We are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you might have about Morphine addiction treatment. We are here to help.

The most notable derivative of morphine is heroin which was synthesized from morphine in the 1870s. Since Bayer first brought heroin to the market in the 1890s, substantial pharmaceutical research has ensued. Prior to the introduction of heroin, morphine had been the mostly commonly abused narcotic analgesic in the world.

Morphine Uses

While initially thought to treat opium and alcohol addiction, it was later discovered that morphine was actually more addictive than either opium or alcohol. Even with its addictive and tolerance characteristics, morphine continues to be a component of, or a foundation of, many current pharmaceutical products from A (Avinza) to Z (Zomorph).

In 1930, János Kábay, a chemist determined a method for deriving morphine from poppy straw, thus increasing its availability and use. Today, more than 230 tons of morphine is used each year for medical purposes including pain relief for patients with chronic pain or advanced medical illness and post-operative analgesia.

Morphine Addiction in the 1930s

Morphine’s use during the Civil War and World War II has been widely documented. During the Civil War, over 400,000 people presented with morphine addiction that was referred to as “soldier’s disease.” During World War II with the invention of the syrette, medics administered morphine to alleviate pain. A notable precaution on the part of the medics was to pin the syrette to the casualty’s collar to prevent overdose.

While morphine was accepted as the standard against which all new medications for postoperative pain relief are compared, many people were abusing the drug. One of the most noted instances of abuse during that period was when Sigmund Freud’s physician administered three doses of morphine over many hours that resulted in his death in 1939.

In the 1930s, the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) took responsibility for drug policy enforcement. The FBN spearheaded anti-drug crusades to criminalize narcotics possession. In 1951, the Boggs Act imposed a mandatory minimum two-year sentence for possession. The Narcotic Control Act of 1956 raised the minimum sentence for a third offense to 10 to 40 years and permitted death sentences for drug sellers who dealt to minors.

Side Effects of Morphine Use

Most side effects associated with monitored morphine use are mild and often require no treatment, including:

• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Constipation
• Nausea or vomiting
• Sweating

Get Help for Morphine Addiction

Recovering from morphine with proper medical supervision and support services is possible. If you or someone you know is addicted to morphine, call our toll free number today at (877) 259-5633. We are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you might have about morphine addiction treatment. We are here to help.

Morphine is one of the easier drugs to obtain, so many people will turn to it when they need to escape from reality. Often, a morphine addiction happens accidentally when someone really needs the medication for an ailment they are suffering from. Many celebrities have become addicted to some form of prescription medication to help cope with the stress of being in the limelight.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Morphine

When Jamie Lee Curtis was 35 she began taking prescription medicine after a cosmetic operation on her eyes. From there, she became addicted to prescription painkillers. She wrote in a blog for the Huffington Post that she used the morphine to escape from reality. Fortunately, she was able to escape her addiction. Many celebrities fall so deep in the hole and do not want anyone to find out about it, so they hide it until it eventually kills them. Curtis was able to overcome her addiction.

Michael Jackson

Although Jackson’s death was not solely due to his prescription drug problem, it was definitely prevalent in his life. He began his addiction in 1984 while filming a Pepsi commercial when his hair caught on fire. Jackson was in pain for a while after that and began taking prescription medications. As time went on, it kept getting worse. It began to affect his career; he would be too medicated to perform at times. Before his death, he was said to have been overly medicated.

Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger, 28, died January 22 in his apartment from an accidental overdose. He was taking prescription painkillers, anxiety medication as well as sleeping pills. No illegal drugs were found in the apartment, it was all prescription drugs. None of the medications were taken in excess, it was simply the mixing of different prescribed medicines.

More about Morphine

Morphine is in a group of drugs called narcotic pain relievers. It is a potent analgesic drug and the primary active agent is opium. It is used to treat moderate to severe pain. Morphine works by dulling the pain perception center in the brain.

A patient can use short-acting formula morphine on an “as needed” basis for the pain or an extended-release formula when using morphine for around-the-clock patients who are constantly in pain. Often times, your doctor will not prescribe morphine unless your body has already built up a tolerance to other opioid medications because morphine is highly dependent drug.

Morphine can be habit forming, so it is important to only take what is prescribed to you by your doctor so that your body does not build up a tolerance quickly. It is also important to keep it in a safe place away from children and those who have had addiction problems. Morphine is popular for teenagers who want to do drugs because it is easily accessible in their parents’ medicine cabinets. Morphine should be stopped gradually in order to not experience withdrawal symptoms.

Morphine Help

If you or a loved one is addicted to morphine, it is important to seek help. Morphine is a highly dependent drug. Once addicted, the effects are devastating. Many lose their jobs, dreams and ambitions. But, there is hope. If you are interested in receiving information on morphine detox or rehab, please call our toll free number.

And because morphine begins with the letter “m,” Miss Emma or Aunt Emma has become a common slang for morphine due to the “em” sound of the name.

Other slang names for morphine include:

• Mister blue
• Morpho
• Dreamer
• God’s drug

Effects of Morphine on the Mind

Morphine is a painkiller, but as a derivative of the opium poppy, it has many effects on the mind. One particular effect is the absence of pain and sometimes a heightened sense of pleasure.

There are many reasons why morphine is a controlled substance. For one, it has many dangerous side effects. Some of these side effects include:

• The slowing of heartbeat
• Difficulty in breathing
• Severe headache and dizziness
• Seizures
• Convulsions

More about Morphine

Morphine is a naturally occurring substance in the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. It is a potent narcotic analgesic, and its primary clinical use is in the management of moderately severe and severe pain. After heroin, morphine has the greatest dependence liability of the narcotic analgesics in common use.

Morphine has had a long history of usage as a painkiller. Since it was first isolated in Germany in 1803, it has been used medically to treat various illnesses, particularly for pain relief and for controlling opium addiction. Today, the drug is available in many generic forms and can be bought from a pharmacist with a prescription. It is also used in hospitals as a means to manage pain.

Morphine is infrequently encountered in the North American street drug culture. However, mainly because of its availability in hospitals, there have been several documented cases of morphine dependence among health professionals.

The relative availability of morphine has made it one of the more commonly abused drugs in some parts of the world. If a user does not get it through illicit means, he or she can take a few tablets from a friend who uses it for medication. It can also be easy for a person to steal a few tablets from a member of his or her household who happens to be taking medicine based on morphine to manage an illness.

Prescribed Morphine

Often when people think about prescribed medication, they assume their physician is knowledgeable about the drug, its side effects, dosage recommendations and contraindications. They also assume that the physician has thoroughly reviewed the patient’s medical condition, other prescribed medication usage and overall ability to tolerate a medication. Under these assumptions, a patient may accept the doctor’s recommendation and prescription without reservation.

While most physicians are extremely effective diagnosticians and professional, knowledgeable, and compassionate caregivers, there is no way that they can be conversant on every prescribed medication that the pharmaceutical industry produces. Therefore, they rely on pharmaceutical guides when selecting and dosing a medication, as well as the experience of their other patients’ results with the medication.

That strategy is effective but not when a person starts abusing the medication by doing one or several of the following:

• Increasing the prescribed dosage to get the results they want
• Mixing drugs
• Doctor/pharmacy shopping
• Obtaining the prescription through illegal means

If you or someone you now is presenting any of these behaviors, you need to seek help for this abusive and addictive behavior.

Morphine Addiction Variables

Most often a person is prescribed morphine to treat extreme pain. People, who have experienced this pain because of an event that might cause the pain to persist for a relatively short period of time, should give consideration to weaning from the prescribed medication almost from the onset of its usage. Realizing that the patient’s focus is exclusively on relieving the pain, this is when a family member or a friend can play a key role.

Making sure that the person is only taking the prescribed amount is key in helping that person eventually wean off the medication. Pain is not just a physical condition; it also brings about emotional, psychological and mental concerns. Being aware of all aspects of the patient’s state of being is also very helpful because you can seek assistance to treat these other conditions that are often associated with pain.

Addiction to morphine occurs primarily because of tolerance or physical dependency. By monitoring the morphine consumption, you can assist the patient not to become tolerant. If you notice that the prescribed dosage is not giving the person the same benefit it once did, seek professional help from the physician to determine if there is a solution other than increasing the dosage.

Physical dependency most often occurs if a person is taken off the medication too quickly, which is why a weaning process is recommended.

While scientists and medical professionals hold morphine as the standard for the effective relief of pain, the patient and her/his support system need to be diligent so that morphine addiction can be avoided.

Morphine Help

If you or someone you know has access to morphine and is abusing it beyond the medically prescribed reason, please contact our toll free number at (877) 259-5633. We are available 24 hours a day to answer your questions on morphine addiction and treatment.