Morphine is a very potent drug for relieving pain which is derived naturally from the opium poppy. The medicinal value and benefits of this drug have been used for several years already. It is one of the most popular drugs under the opioid class.
This drug is known by several brand names in the market depending on the manufacturer. Some of its known brand names are Roxanol-T, Roxanol, Oramorph SR, MS Contin, Morphabond, Kadian ER, Kadian, and AVINza.
Aside from that, this drug is also called by various street names to cover its real identity when an illegal transaction happens. Some of its common street names include God’s drug, Morpho, Dreamer, and Mister blue. These names can vary depending on the culture of the vicinity.
In terms of physical form, this drug is available in various forms such as a tablet, capsule, granules, liquid, suppositories, and injectables. All these have varying strengths but almost all have a similar time of inflicting its effect to the user.
The tablet forms of this drug both have a fast and slow-acting type. The fast-acting ones exist in 10 mg, 20 mg, and 50 milligram strengths. Whereas, the slow-acting tablets have a wider range of strengths: 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, 30 mg, 60 mg, 100 mg, and 200 mg.
The capsule form of this drug is in a slow-acting formulation. This physical form of the drug exists in different dosages: 10 mg, 30 mg, 60 mg, 90 mg, 120 mg, 150 mg, and 200 milligrams.
If a person has a hard time swallowing tablets and capsules, then the liquid form and suppositories of this drug are the best choice. The granules need to be dissolved in water before drinking the whole solution. The sachet granules of this medication are in 100 mg, 200 mg, 120 mg, 90 mg, 60 mg, 30 mg, and 10 mg, whereas, the suppositories are always in 10 milligrams strength.
The last option of taking this medication is through injection which is applied in the spinal cord area. This method is done in hospitals so that there will be close monitoring of the patient’s condition.
Morphine, How They Work
This drug works the same way as the other types of opioid substances in giving its pain-relieving effect. In general, it prevents the brain from receiving pain sensations from various parts of the body. Likewise, to further enhance its pain relief action, it also stimulates the secretion of dopamine to induce happy feeling and relaxation.
Among all forms of this medication, the injectable morphine sulfate has the fastest time of inducing its pain-relieving effect. After injection in the spinal cord area, the result is felt in one or two minutes while its maximum effect is reached after five to fifteen minutes.
Addiction and Dangers
This drug has a huge impact on the medical industry because of its high potency as a pain reliever. However, this drug has also proven to be dangerous because of its high addictive potential and its capacity to depress or stop breathing when dosage goes really high.
In terms of strength, this drug is 0.5 to 0.25 times the potency of heroin in giving its pain relief action. When a person starts to use this medication, the common side effects felt are drowsiness, temporary feeling of sickness, and stomach pain.
If one plans to undergo a drug test, knowledge on how long it stays in the body must be known. This drug has varying times of staying in particular parts of the body such as in the blood, urine, saliva, and hair follicles.
In the blood and urine, residues of this substance can still be detected 12 hours and 2 to 3 days after the last intake, respectively. In the saliva, traces of this drug can still be detected up to four days from the last intake. Lastly, in the hair follicles, the presence of this drug can be seen up to 90 days from the person’s last usage.
Aside from its common side effects, a person who has a very sensitive immune system tends to develop allergic symptoms upon using this medication. The common allergic symptoms of using this drug are swollen face, mouth, tongue, lips, throat, coughing, skin rashes, and early symptoms of a heart attack (chest and throat tightening).
Meanwhile, short and long-term side effects from using this drug can be readily felt despite following proper dosage. Some of its common short-term side effects are muscle cramps, short breathing patterns, lethargy, drowsiness, and low pulse rate.
The long-term effects of this drug are detrimental to one’s health and behavior. Once a person develops an addiction, this can totally damage the life of the person and his loved ones. Consequently, the person develops unhealthy behaviors such as apathy and losing enthusiasm and interest to live a happy life.
Furthermore, the worse side effects of abusing this drug for a long time are respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, paralysis, and eventually death due to organ failure.
Medications and Treatments
With the advances in the field of medicine, several treatment options are available for people suffering from morphine addiction. Each treatment program has its corresponding benefits and setbacks which is made known to the person before undergoing the treatment.
In order to ensure a high success rate for any treatment program, the patient must develop self-awareness of having the condition and accept the need for external help to recover from addiction.
The three main treatment options for morphine addiction are the following: residential treatment, non-medical detoxification inclusive of therapies, and quick detox process.
The residential treatment program includes medication and behavioral therapies applied to the patient. A major advantage of choosing this type is the close 24-hour monitoring and evaluation of the patient. Likewise, it provides a holistic environment for the patient which motivates recovery and healthy behaviors. The main setback of this option is just price.
Non-medical detoxification incorporated with therapy sessions is plainly the outpatient treatment program. It is similar to the residential treatment program where the main difference lies in the treatment cost and venue of treatment.
In this program, the patient is still able to continue one’s daily activities in their home and offices. However, the patient must religiously attend the required counseling and therapy sessions from its prescribed clinic. It is cheaper than the first option but the patient is more exposed to risk factors from the outside environment.
Last option is the quick detox session paired with behavioral therapies after. The comprehensive detoxification process lasts for about five to seven days. After completing the cleansing process, the patient undergoes therapy sessions in order to prevent relapse, develop positive coping mechanisms, and healthy behaviors.
