Endogenous Opioids And The Placebo Effect

Opioids (including natural and synthetic) work by binding to opioid receptors in the CNS sending inaccurate signals to the brain about the intensity of pain being experienced, which results in a sedating feeling. Opioids affect how brain feels pleasure. In the event of consuming opioids while not experiencing pain, a person would experience elation, intense joy and comfort. Both aforementioned feelings act as positive reinforcement of opioids. The bodily response of using opioids weakens after a while of use, and the user starts to build up a tolerance. The continual usage of opioids changes how the brain works, where the brain learns to crave opioids when opioids are not available to maintain a ‘normal’ stable state. The CNS starts to send

By attaching to opioid receptors in the brain, spinal cord, and other areas of the body they reduce the sending of pain messages to the brain and reduce feelings of pain. The part of the brain that controls emotions are also changed and cause a person to feel relaxed and extremely happy, a euphoric state of being. This is when a person starts to crave the drug, the brain is saying it wants more. Natural endorphins are produced by a healthy brain on its own. Powerful cravings and physical dependence are due to the brain no longer producing the natural kind of endorphins because after

The use of opioid-based prescription medications to treat non-terminal chronic pain can cause side effects from short term use, and is overly common and ineffective. Firstly, opioid usage can induce negative short-term effects. According to William A. Darity, Jr., short-term opioid usage causes negative effects such as “euphoria, drowsiness, and impaired motor and cognitive functioning” (“Drugs”). The short term effects of the opioids may cause the patient to isolate him or herself socially due to being self-conscious about his or her friends and peers seeing the individual in their current condition. Due to his or her fragile emotional state, however, if the patient isolates him or herself during a time in which he or she should have increased

While these effects can be helpful for patients who are struggling with serious pain, they can also inspire people to use opioid drugs who don’t need them.

When using, only a few of the minority feel good or truly well while using opioids. Usually when prescribed opioid pain medication the individual does not experience a high. It can prove to be successful and an effective pain management alternative (Canada, 2009). Drug abusers only feel well to the thanks to their non-medical or non-therapeutic use or recreational purpose.

Endogenous opioids work together to modulate pain by activating different types of opioid receptors (μ, δ, κ, ORL1). In contrast, most exogenous opioids are primarily using μ receptors to dampen pain. T exogenous opioids will disproportionately activate feelings of euphoria and breathing by activating every μ receptor in the brain/spinal cord to successfully diminish the sensations of pain. There is a relationship between this disproportionate activation and our problems of addiction, dependence, and overdosing.

Opioids are effective for the treatment of acute pain, such as pain following surgery. They have also been found to be important in palliative care (hospice) to help with the severe, chronic, disabling pain that may occur in some terminal conditions such as cancer. In many cases opioids are successful long-term care strategies for those with chronic cancer pain (CCP). There are not many alternatives for those with CCP like there are for those suffering acute or chronic non cancer pain (CNCP). In one study, conducted by Furlan et al. (2006), opioids were effective in the treatment of CNCP overall; they reduced pain and improved functional outcomes better than placebo. Strong opioids (oxycodone and morphine) were significantly superior, to naproxen and nortriptyline (respectively) for pain relief but not for functional outcomes. Unfortunately, Weak opioids (propoxyphene, tramadol and codeine) did not significantly outperform NSAIDs or TCAs for either pain relief or functional outcomes. Overall, if opioids are

Patients with any type of a mental health issue or substance disorders are at a high risk for an addiction from medical based opioids. With knowing how opioids affect the brain, it is easily to say that it can be highly addictive by repeatedly using them over time. Now with those patients who have any pain or mental health issues may get addicted to opioids since it relieves them from the level of pain they are in. This induces tolerance which happens when the person's body no longer responds to that pain reliever as strongly as they may have in the beginning; thus, the only way to get that same effect they will take a higher dosage. Patients with chronic pain who use opioids with stronger potent along with benzodiazepines are at a higher risk to overdose (Volkow). In 2015, the opioid epidemic affected the nation by killing more than 33,000 people (Brauer). Four in five new heroin users started out misusing opioids. The main advantage of opioids is controlling the level of pain. Opioids produce some type of “high”; the faster acting they are, the more the intense of the high. The side effects of opioid abuse varies and includes drowsiness, paranoia, nausea, and depression (Patterson). A lot of people are suffering from prescribed drugs. Ms. Steen is a witness of this epidemic. She is 46 years old and one of many people who get suboxone from two doctors who are licensed to prescribe it (Scott). What is suboxone? It is a type of narcotic that

Opiate addiction can cause many negative changes in the brain. This leads to the structure and functioning of the brain to perform lower than usual. As a result of constant consumption of the opiate medications, addicts lose most of their ability to cope with pain naturally without taking use of pain medication (Torres, 2014). This low tolerance of pain leads to the addict experiencing a higher level of pain since they consistently have high levels of opiates in their system (Torres, 2014). Opiates have the ability to produce withdrawal symptoms in a few hours after the last dose (Opiate Withdrawal Timelines, Symptoms and

Drug dependency, drowsiness, confusion, constipation, depressed respiration and nausea have been causes of an opioids intake, but many people consider that just another excuse to up the intake of the medicine (NIH). Aside from those physical set-backs there are psychological mental effects too, which include the inability to make immediate decisions, control behavior or react in a stressful moment. This type of mental errors could cause a person to have an overdose or not realize the deadly effects of the tablets. The same effects of the intake of heroin in the body, the mind seems to separate from the body causing to view the world from far away where anything harmful cannot happened. Even while trying to avoid the hectic side-effects of withdrawal from opioids, or heroin, the doctor could prescribe a slow drug taper pills to combat the unwanted uncertainties, or the patient can stop cold-turkey and find other methods to deal with the persistent pain. To this present day there are various medical surgical procedures, low-dose meditation, trying acupuncture or ancient, home remedies are available to the entire world with the world wide

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).

The opioid pain inhibition pathway is heavily influenced by estrogen (Dawson-Basoa & Gintzler, 1993; Gordon & Soliman, 1996; Smith et al., 2006). For example, pregnancy analgesia is caused by high estrogen and progesterone concentrations but is mediated by the spinal κ- and δ-opioid receptors via activation of both the dynorphin and met-enkephalin pathways (Dawson-Basoa & Gintzler, 1993). In the brain hippocampal dynorphin is elevated in the presence of estrogen (Torres-Reveron et al., 2009), and may play a role in inhibiting the formation of long term potentiation via KOR activation (Terman, Drake, Simmons, Milner, & Chavkin, 2000). Estradiol alters dynorphin/KOR tone in some areas of the brain (Mostari et al., 2013) and KOR activation by

The problem with opioids as a sole source of relief is that not only are they physically and psychologically addictive, but the user also begins to build a tolerance to the therapeutic effects. Eventually one requires higher doses in order to achieve the initial levels of pain relief. As the dose increases, so does the level of dependency and addiction. If a doctor refuses to increase the dose for the patient’s safety, the pain returns and patient may begin to feel the effects of opiate withdrawal. In worst-case scenarios people begin to abuse alcohol or seek out prescription pain medication illegally. Illicit and less expensive street drugs are often sought out if the afflicted can no longer afford their medications or cannot find a source of pain and addiction relief anywhere else. Purchase of street drugs becomes common when addiction begins to affect someone’s ability to keep a steady source of income. As a result, there has been a surge of opioid, heroin, and alcohol abuse and eventual overdose. (Dart, et al., 2015)

Many opioids are initially prescribed for pain management, but for many patients, the intake of opioids then becomes an addiction that

According to Hanson, Venturelli, and Fleckenstein (2015) opioids are described as the “nation’s fastest-growing drug problem” (p. 276) and are also known as narcotics. Opioids originated from the opium poppy and have been chemically altered throughout the years in order to create more potent drugs such as hydrocodone (e.g., Vicodin), oxycodone (e.g., OxyContin, Percocet), morphine (e.g., Kadian, Avinza), and codeine. Known for analgesic properties, opioids are seen to be the most commonly used drugs among clinicians. Although these narcotics are legally prescribed to patients, there are many, even adolescents, that not only abuse prescribed narcotics, but also abuse another form of opioid, heroin. In adolescence, the structures of the brain are not fully developed and are therefore more likely to acquire severe consequences for abusing opioids. There are many ways to use and administer narcotics, but misusing opioids may lead to signs and symptoms of drug abuse, annoying side effects, dependency, abuse, and in worse case situations, death.