Opioids Physical Harm From Opiates

[dirzted]

NO this isn't a "I found some pain pills from my friends surgery and really like them how much can i take without being addicted or hurting myself" kinda thread- I am genuinely wondering, DISREGARDING MENTAL DEPENDENCY AND ALL THE HORRORS OF ADDICTION- are there really any inherent negative side effects of opiates? Like hypothetically, if you were to give someone 30mg of oxy everyday and they couldn't take anything else or do anything else and they didn't have any allergic reactions would they get any nasty side effects? All my internet research doesn't show ANYthing about immediate physical harm, like it's weird.

Just curious

(Nasty side effects being like heart disease or cancer not just a minority reaction, like constipation or something of a similar severity- disregarding overdose as well btw)

EDIT: THIS IS NOT A THREAD ATTEMPTING TO JUSTIFY THE USE OF OPIATES, IF YOU ARE TRYING TO DO SO, STOP KIDDING YOURSELF- MERELY AN INTRIGUING HYPOTHETICAL TO HELP ME LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE SUBSTANCES- PLEASE SEE IV OR THE "WHY USE" MEGATHREADS BEFORE COMING HERE.

 

[Nicholai]

Long-term use of opioids can affect hormones, growth hormones, perhaps kidney function(slightly). But not I think, and not at that sort of dose. Those sort of side-effects are more prevalent with synthetic and semisynthetic opioids rather than opiates(such as morphine and codeine).

 

[Evil0ner]

I agree with nicholai. My long term opiate use had effects on my hormones. In men is lowers the amount of testosterone you produce, your serotonin levels, etc. post opiate use my mind and body took about 2 months to get back to about normal..

 

[dirzted]

I agree with nicholai. My long term opiate use had effects on my hormones. In men is lowers the amount of testosterone you produce, your serotonin levels, etc. post opiate use my mind and body took about 2 months to get back to about normal..

Well ya of course it lowers your sex drive and what not, i guess it's hard for me to be specific here, but like ya know in anti-smoking ad's it lists all these fucked up problems you can develop like heart disease, lung cancer, prostate problems etc... that's more along the lines of what i'm talking about, not to say hormonal dysfunction isn't a big deal, but it's temporary and non-lethal- i hope that makes sense.

 

[JackiePeyton]

No there are no long term effects. Of course you could go out on a limb here...for example I knew someone who didn't manage their bowels with their opiod use, and ended up with a portion of necrotic bowel which led to endless surgeries and chronic malnutrition.
But I have heard some say it ages you slower. Now that I think is glorifying its use and likely untrue. But still.

 

[star15389]

The hormonal disturbances they cause can lead to osteoporosis and bone fractures. Constipation can cause paralytic ileus and that can be fatal. At that dose they would probably cause significant weight gain, and cause cardiac trouble directly as well. The analgesic effect can make you not notice injuries or other problems and let them get worse, and they increase the risk of injuries and accidents while you're high. You can also nod out in dangerous positions and end up with muscle death which can also be fatal. These are not risk-free substances even if they're much safer than i.e. meth or alcohol.

 

[ABeautifulMind]

I don't remember where I read it, but I'll see if I can dig it up. In the UK, their equivalent of the FDA made a statement that was something along the lines of, "aside from addiction, diacetylmorphine, when taken everyday at the recommend dosage, does not pose any threat of physical harm. Etc..."
Most hospitals there use heroin, rather than morphine. There's even a country in Europe where it is entirely legal. Most of the harm comes into play when it's severely abused, (collapsed veins, abscesses, muscle deterioration, yadda yadda yadda.

 

[EP158207]

Opiates are pretty good with regard to physical side effects when compared to other drugs such as phenibut for example that can mess up your kidneys. Constipation, however is no joke. You can get fecal impaction over time, and that can lead to necrotic bowel and a host of other problems. Also in some people, like myself the histamine release is pretty intense, and even from theraputic levels of codeine, morphine I have got skin issues like rashes, and breathing issues (as I have asthma) so I would imagine if I started using opiates on the regular I would exacerbate these issues.

 

[burn out]

For me, the constipation is a complete joke. I never have any issues with constipation from opiates and even if I do, all I have to do is let myself go into slight withdrawal and its taken care of.

 

[burn out]

The hormonal disturbances they cause can lead to osteoporosis and bone fractures.

Never heard of this happening.

Constipation can cause paralytic ileus and that can be fatal. At that dose they would probably cause significant weight gain,

Why hasn't my weight ever been effected by opiates even when I was shooting massive amounts of heroin daily? None of the opiate addicts I know have experienced "significant weight gain".

and cause cardiac trouble directly as well.

What cardiac trouble? I know people who have been addicted to heroin for decades and have no cardiac trouble, nor have I ever experienced any cardiac issues from massive opiate abuse,

The analgesic effect can make you not notice injuries or other problems and let them get worse, and they increase the risk of injuries and accidents while you're high. You can also nod out in dangerous positions and end up with muscle death which can also be fatal. These are not risk-free substances even if they're much safer than i.e. meth or alcohol.

I find that tolerance prevents any of these things from happening. If only I could get high enough to nod out in a dangerous position, lol, I can't even get high enough to nod on a steady dose. I have to clean up for a while and then use again in order to get a nod. Tolerance to the analgesia is near complete as well in my experience.

 

[keeping]

smoking no.3 gave me really dry skin a couple of times.. that's about as extensive as my knowledge is.

 

[f33lg00d]

Nope nothing really other than lower testosterone levels but taking flax oil helps that. Unless your iving then there's a whole bunch of damage

 

[rhun]

The OP posted this two months ago and may not even see this, so keep that in mind when replying guys. Keeping it open though because I think this is a great HR related topic to discuss, including both our own experiences and medical information.

There are without a doubt physical side effects from chronic opioid use, though many resolve themselves when the user quits and maintains abstinence from their DOC. In the OP's post, they only mentioned mental addiction when the physical dependency is a HUGE part of the equation and probably the first thing we opioid addicts think of when one says "addiction." Because dealing with the physical aspect is the first obstacle to getting clean and what keeps many of us using.

As far as weight gain and low testosterone in men, I've only witnessed these side effects in people on methadone maintenance. My dad has suffered from both during the 10 years he's been on MMT. I, and many addicts I know, maintained normal weight on oxycodone, morphine, and heroin. When I became an IV user, I became dangerously thin which I've also witnessed in another IV users. Opioids always make me feel full even when I'm not and suppressed hunger pains so I would forget to eat.

Physical damage can also occur from the ROA you use. For IV users... abscesses, infection, collapsed veins, scar tissue, hardened or flat veins, swelling of hands and feet, nerve damage, and much more. I'm more familiar with IV complications, but I'll list a couple examples for the other ones. If you smoke, mouth and lung issues are common. Snorting can cause a deviated septum and damage to your nose in general. And even taking pills orally can cause stomach issues especially if you're taking the OP formulation of oxycodone. Speaking of oxycodone, this opioid especially can cause hypersensitivity to pain in daily users.

The biggest issue I've had physically from my heroin addiction WHILE using was severe weight loss, low heart rate (40 at my lowest), low blood pressure, fatigue, and just degeneration of my health in general. The effects were more pronounced with heroin in particular combined with IV use. Many of these health issues continued through my detox (spent it in the ER) and remained on buprenorphine and through early recovery. I also did not menstruate for almost 3 years, it stopped when I started methadone but did not come back while I was on other opioids.

A year after stopping daily use and 6 months abstinent from all opioids except bupe, most physical issues have resolved. I still have scarring from IV use and struggle with insomnia, anxiety, and depression. And daily cravings. The biggest issue though is PAWS in general, and specifically endorphin deficiency caused by excess receptors. I've been told by many medical professionals that heroin can permanently change receptors but I've been meaning to research it myself.

 

[greenpurple99]

It didn't lower sex drive in me, my balls were huge. It depends on person. I used it to manage a period of time, where the threat of death and mind exploding torture were done on me.

 

[mabzie55]

Firstly, depends on ROA. Certain ROAs can be very bad if done all the time.

If someone took orally 30mg oxy/day aside from hormone effects and constipation it wouldn't be too bad for you.

But the thing is, no recreational user will be able to do that, because after 3-4 weeks 30mg will stop getting you high. Then 60, 90, 120, etc.
Tolerance to opiates builds fast as hell, and if you do it long enough you will eventually IV or Smoke it if you want to keep getting high.

Not to mention an opiate addict will routinely put their life in danger just to obtain the drugs.

Basically, is it really that bad for you?
No, but at the same time, if you do it long enough, yes. Absolutely.

There's a reason every single person I know who has died from drugs has died from opiates.

Also, I haven't really researched it but I'm like 99.9% sure it's bad for your heart. I can just feel it.
When I first quit dope I developed an irregular heartbeat for a few months, it's since gone away but I can't help but think the two are related. IDK if it was present during my use and I just didn't notice it because of well... being on dope.

 

[Kittycat5]

I think the no physical effects of opiates/opioids is a bit underplayed. Yes, for most people they do not have any long term effects other than dependency or addiction but different ones have different effects. Methadone is well known to increase the QT interval which could lead to sudden cardiac arrest. There is some evidence oxycodone in high doses may do the same. Fentanyl could cause sudden acute respiratory depression. Meperidine and tramadol are known to be agents that could lead to serotonin syndrome and seizures.

Now of course, normal doses usually do not do any of this, but like mabzie said, you must increase the dose as tolerance develops which makes any of these conditions fair game.

 

[dirzted]

^^^Well now it's been a month since your response rhun so shit...
Anyway, pretty much everything you guys said was good info but not really what I meant in my question.
Once again, the question posed is purely hypothetical, anyone with a brain can realize that no one on the planet could go through an opiate addiction with all other variables untouched.
However, the conclusion I draw from those answers is that at a reasonable dose (30mg oxy), taken orally, with no strenuous activity involved when getting drug, and no allergic or possible permanently damaging side effects, one could go on unscathed.

I still get the impression you guys think I'm asking this as a way to somehow justify opiate use, which, although this may be a bad thread for someone trying to do so, is NOT WHAT I INTENDED BY ASKING THIS QUESTION. I simply wanted to become more educated on opioids immediate and direct effects on the human body, which, relative to something like marijuana, are quite benign.

IF you are trying to use this thread to justify opiate use, STOP. Take a good look at yourself, you think the way you use the drug is entirely safe?
You think you are experiencing no indirect side effects? You think your dosage is in a reasonable range? You think your activities involved around getting and paying for the drug do not harm you in anyway?

...If you can honestly answer "no" to all those questions, welp, YOU DON'T FUCKIN EXIST.

 

[Erikmen]

It didn't lower sex drive in me, my balls were huge. It depends on person. I used it to manage a period of time, where the threat of death and mind exploding torture were done on me.

From 3 x a week to approximately 5 x every 2 weeks..

 

[AbqDave]

If you look at opioids used appropriately for pain, for example in someone with cancer, it's amazing how infrequently you see serious side effects, let alone brain or organ damage. A person is way better off taking oxycodone than tylenol for instance for malignant pain. So you got potential complications of constipation (which believe it or not can get to the point where it's dangerous), occasional risk of respiratory depression (not as often as you think). QTc prolongation is not really on the radar screen in cancer therapy (although it's a genuine concern in recovery treatment).

As others have mentioned, how you take the drug adds risk. I'll add the risk of spinal cord injury with paralysis from smoking off aluminum foil. Also agree meperidine and tramadol have their issues.

But, normal pharmacological doses of good ole' morphine or oxycodone typically don't cause brain or organ damage. So if grandma has cancer and she's scared to take her oxy, tell her to quit whining and take her medicine. Or, if your friend has abandoned all hope, thinking his addiction has damaged his body beyond repair, it's OK to tell him that ain't necessarily so.

 

[black kat]

I know personally ppl who have developed some sort of lung problems after many years(maybe decades) of heroin use,more specifically sleep apnea,some kind of asthma attacks,general breathing difficulties etc..
Although most of those ppl were heavy IV users,prolly abusing the drug along with other drugs as well like benzos for sure,and prolly coke..

Personally,im an intranasal heroin user of 7 years and i had some doctor telling me that i could develop breathing difficulties,althouth up to now only chronic constipation has become an issue..