Opioids Morphine and Crying

[Foreigner]

I feel like a wimp for asking about this, but I have to know. Every time I take morphine for pain, as the morphine kicks in, I start to cry. I'm not feeling emotional about anything in particular, I just start feeling overwhelmingly sentimental or something. It wells up inside of me and just bursts out. It doesn't matter if I'm at home, in the hospital, trying to go for a walk, if I'm alone or with a friend. When it starts kicking in I just well up with tears.

Once I have a good cry it goes away in about 10 minutes and then it's just standard pain relief.

Is this a normal opiate reaction? I have never heard of it. Most people talk about feeling euphoria, but I get emotional.

 

[kaosisallwesee]

Yes I experience the same thing. Like I just want to cry for no reason. It goes away shortly after come up but I know exactly what you mean. I always just assume it was just a standard thing, maybe not...

 

[negrogesic]

Is this just with morphine and not other opioids?

 

[Nurse Ratched]

I wonder if your emotional release via crying as the opioid kicks in is because you are starting to feel better and the pain is eased up a bit. It being such a relief would make one emotional. It is kind of like when women cry after sex. That flood of emotions comes out as crying even though they are not sad. If I was in pain, and then I felt relief when it kicked in, I might cry too. I know I have cried after sex. Ya know what....go ahead and cry because like you said you aren't sad. It's just your body releasing all those feel good chemicals which can be overwhelming at times.

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

I've never heard of this, but I would definitely cry if someone gave me morphine. Seriously though, i'd like to hear more people chime in on this.

 

[MsDiz]

I have heard of this before. It’s a reaction some people have. Strange maybe but it’s not something to be concerned about.

 

[Foreigner]

Yes I experience the same thing. Like I just want to cry for no reason. It goes away shortly after come up but I know exactly what you mean. I always just assume it was just a standard thing, maybe not...

This is exactly what happens. On the come up I feel sorrow. I don't know how to describe it.

I wonder if your emotional release via crying as the opioid kicks in is because you are starting to feel better and the pain is eased up a bit. It being such a relief would make one emotional. It is kind of like when women cry after sex. That flood of emotions comes out as crying even though they are not sad. If I was in pain, and then I felt relief when it kicked in, I might cry too. I know I have cried after sex. Ya know what....go ahead and cry because like you said you aren't sad. It's just your body releasing all those feel good chemicals which can be overwhelming at times.

I thought about that, but it's really non-specific. My mind might latch onto things to cry about in that moment, but really the emotion seemingly has nothing to do with anything. Maybe you're right and it's just an endorphin thing, I don't know.

One theory I have is that it might be limbic or vasovagal. I'm thinking this because sometimes when people are in pain (physical or emotional), when they cry they feel better. The crying releases endorphins and does a nervous system reset. I wonder if maybe the morphine does this, except out of order. Rather than the crying releasing the endorphins, the morphine acts like the endorphin and incites the crying.

I don't know though.

 

[magickmarck]

I wonder if your emotional release via crying as the opioid kicks in is because you are starting to feel better and the pain is eased up a bit. It being such a relief would make one emotional. It is kind of like when women cry after sex. That flood of emotions comes out as crying even though they are not sad. If I was in pain, and then I felt relief when it kicked in, I might cry too. I know I have cried after sex. Ya know what....go ahead and cry because like you said you aren't sad. It's just your body releasing all those feel good chemicals which can be overwhelming at times.

Came to say this

 

[tubgirl.jpg]

It does the opposite for me. Crying becomes as doable as shitting out a four year old kid. Just clogged up.

 

[GetMeOutOfThisCRAP]

Opiates are an odd drug. They in theory make the meanest ole man be a nice boy. But people often note the opposite (angry highs). Regardless of painkilling properties, opiates are a powerful endorphin rush. It's easy to become emotional or at times almost someone you don't recognize yourself to be while the high kicks in. I feel like they make me a much nicer person, as long as I'm not out of the stuff. It's weird that I'm saying this probably. However, sometimes when I was so locked into my use I would become emotional because in part they are known to feel good to a legendary degree--but something about how hopeless and impossible it can feel to break free from using opioids (especially long term) is something every pain patient/junkie feels. It's very powerful and I definitely think painkillers alone even are always stronger than any one person. Fun stuff though!

Better a cryer than an angry itchy type.

 

[Asante]

Isn't it like coming home to momma after having biked against the ice cold hailstorm and you get a big warm hug and you can smell THERE ARE PANCAKES?

Maybe you get choked up because you have a mental homecoming experience to the euphoria that comes after prolonged exertion, thats what endorphines are all about.

Cry man, cry, cry, let your emotions run freely. Isnt it a beautiful feeling to have a pharmacological homecoming after serving a tour of duty in Sobriety?

What you describe is probably a sign that you are on your way to getting opioid additcion issues. You like it too much.

 

[TheFrogEffect]

It's been a long time since I've had morphine, but I remember it being incredibly similar to heroin in that it makes me completely numb emotionally. I couldn't cry on morphine or heroin if I wanted to.