Opioid use disorder symptoms | Why are opioids addictive?

The tear of the poppy, Opium (Lachryma papaveris), the extract of the poppy’s capsule, can relieve pain and induce pleasure.

Ever since the discovery of poppy’s chemical compound, we have a bigger issue “Opioid use disorder” for the world.

Pain – Killing pain and Addiction.

Morphine has been widely used as the ingredient for painkillers medications or even illicit drugs like heroin. Especially, Morphine acts directly on the central nervous system (CNS) to induce analgesia and alter perception and emotional reaction to pain.

Other medication on the list of Narcotic Analgesics (Opioid Pain-killer med) includes hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone, codeine, and fentanyl.

Since 1980, the opioid industry has developed rapidly and profitably for the big pharmaceutical business, so they have been actively advertising opioid medications to medical professionals and the general public. As a result, the number of patients prescribed this type of pain medication has increased dramatically. Especially, it has caused “the crisis of opioid addiction” (Opioid use disorder) until the present time. 

Opioid use disorder

The word “opioids” refers to any chemical compound that affects the opioid receptors in the neurological system.

Although opioid compounds are manufactured differently, they all have the potential to traverse the blood-brain barrier and activate histamines, a chemical substance in our bodies that assists in the immune and inflammatory responses.

When we are in pain, our bodies release endorphins organically, a hormone that communicates between the brain and nervous system to activate opioid receptors for an analgesic effect. Therefore opioid drugs can bind stronger and longer to the opioid receptor, and it helps to manage severe pain more than endorphins. As a result, Opioid use disorder develops because it is harder to get rid of the frequency of usage of this pain reliever medication.

Opioid receptors can impact our emotions and how our bodies operate. Opioid medicines also cause the release of dopamine, which is why many people get hooked on them. An opioid high is when the feeling of pleasure lead.

Opioid use disorder develops when Opioids can be harmful to our body because block Norepinephrine (NE), also called noradrenaline (NA) or noradrenalin, which is an organic chemical in the catecholamine family that functions in the brain and body as both a hormone and neurotransmitters. The interference of noradrenaline can cause drowsiness, breathing difficulties, digestive problems, constipation, and blood pressure troubles. As a result, an overdose case of opioids is the leading cause of heart failure, which made sufferers difficult to take in oxygen, causing them to lose their consciousness and even leading to death. 

Our bodies will sometimes respond to new environments, particularly new cell development, and learn from their mold that they need to improve their opioid receptors. As a result, our bodies start to experience some tolerance for opioids. 

Any frequent changes in our body will teach our brain to accept new behavior. Even if it is good or bad, the behavior that we teach here is the ability to “don’t want to feel pain”. 

 our body will start to develop a new tolerance for opioids. To experience the same dopamine release and mood effects as previously, people must take higher and larger doses, a cycle that leads to physical dependency and addiction.

Patients’ noradrenaline levels decline when they take more opioids to adjust to their pain tolerance, possibly impairing their physiological functioning. Noradrenaline receptors must rise in this circumstance to detect the new level of noradrenaline. Because of our new adjustment, the correct amount of noradrenaline is more complicated to balance. 

The extra receptors cause our body becomes more sensitive to pain without the help of opioids. When the cycle gets disrupted, it causes “the withdrawal symptoms” that result in muscle aches, stomach pains, high fever, and vomiting. In this case, patients must rely more on opioids to function correctly, which causes the opioids crisis. 

Opioid use disorder symptoms Drug-free therapy, addiction recovery Utah

A severe case of Opioid use disorder is opioid withdrawal symptoms make the sufferers incredibly ill for days or even weeks. In the future, the withdrawal patients going back to opioids can result in overdoses, because they have to take in large doses of opioids at the beginning which results in the past treatment. 

Sufferers of severe opioid withdrawal symptoms get extremely sick for days or even weeks. In the future, withdrawal patients who return to opioids may experience overdoses because they must take big dosages of opioids at first, which is the consequence of the previous treatment.

One of the leading causes of death in the world has been tied to opioid overdose from opioid use disorder patients. Due to the tight regulation of opioid medication, cheaper and easier alternative access such as heroin or illicit synthetic opioids got introduced to the public.

Opioid use disorder, Opioid overdose has been linked to one of the world’s top causes of death. Due to the strict restriction of opioid medications, cheaper and easier alternatives like heroin or illicit synthetic opioids have been available to the public. Especially, younger generations are the easier target market for either opioids or their derivatives. 

How is the opioids addiction, Opioid use disorder crisis start?

The abuse of prescription opioid drugs such as oxycodone and its derivatives is a serious health problem across the Western world. 

The first event started when a patient got prescribed opioid pain medication.

Then the dependent start to become physically attached to the usage of the drugs.

The second concern is the black market for opioids derivatives. Oxycontin, a powerful opioid pain reliever that is only available for cancer patients, has been distributed illegally to normal people.

According to the CDC, 15,000 individuals died as a result of opioid prescriptions in 2015. Furthermore, one out of every 48 individuals who receive opioid prescriptions will become long-term users. Since 2010, the prevalence of opioid overdose, misuse, and abuse has escalated at a rapid rate, resulting in an opioid epidemic crisis.

If you’re looking to receive effective treatment for ANY health condition, we recommend you start looking for a TCM practitioner in your area. If you’re within the state of Utah, don’t hesitate to reach out to  Lotus Spring Acupuncture & Wellness to receive the best holistic healthcare and acupuncture treatments.

Dan Clark has years of highly specialized training and experience in the field of acupuncture in Utah. With been in business for over 18+ years, we’re the ones who can give you personalized treatment to help you attain your personal health goals.

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