Pines Recovery Life · Blog

How a morphine addiction develops

Published April 30, 2021 · Reviewed by Sergey Litvinov, MD · ~664 words

Morphine is one of the strongest opioids there is, and outside a hospital or a prescription it has no legal use. It comes as pills, liquid or injectables. Nobody plans on a morphine problem. It usually starts with real pain and real medicine, and like most opioids it turns habit-forming once it is taken outside what the prescription says. Someone with a morphine addiction needs medical support to get through it. Pines Recovery Life Detox runs the detox and the therapy that help people break free of morphine.

What is morphine?

Like most natural opioids, morphine comes from poppy plants. Doctors use it for severe pain. It blocks pain receptors and slows the central nervous system, so breathing and heart rate slow down and blood pressure drops. Because it is so habit-forming, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifies morphine as a Schedule II controlled substance and regulates it tightly.

On the street it goes by dreamer, morpho or blue. Part of the reason for the strict rules is that people addicted to heroin will substitute morphine for it. It is sold as MS-Contin, Kadian or Oramorph.

How can you become addicted to morphine?

Morphine sets off brain chemicals that produce pleasure, and at higher doses, euphoria. Given to someone in severe pain, it mostly just lets them function again and rarely produces a high. Doctors use it for cancer pain, for recovery from major surgery, and for breathing trouble at the end of life.

That feeling is where dependency starts. Your brain gets used to the dose and stops giving you the same effect. Addiction sets in when a person chases larger amounts to get back what the first doses did.

Morphine interferes with the brain’s normal dopamine production, and dopamine is the chemical that carries the feeling of pleasure. People start doing whatever it takes to keep the supply coming, past the point where they can weigh what happens next.

What are the signs of morphine addiction?

The signs are hard to spot at first, especially when the morphine is prescribed. As the addiction progresses you may see:

Inability to focus
Slurring speech
Lack of interest in old interests
Seeming to nod off all the time
Dilation of the pupils
Constantly trying to find new doctors to obtain a morphine prescription
Sudden mood swings
Irritability

Continuous use of morphine can lead to long-term side effects, including:

Compromised immune system
Constipation
Depression
Fogginess and confusion

Is morphine recovery possible?

People with a morphine addiction often do not see it. Family usually names it first. Getting the drug out of your body may take a stay in a detox program, where medical staff and addiction professionals carry you through the physical side of morphine withdrawal. That can include:

Nausea
Runny nose
Aching muscles
Anxiety
Vomiting
Lack of appetite
Constant irritation
Rapid heart rate
Problems concentrating

Once the worst of withdrawal is behind you, the real work of recovery starts. At Pines Recovery Life Detox you learn how to handle the triggers that lead back to a relapse.