Opioids Morphine and nausea

[tommygirl]

I took a 30mg morphine pill about 6 hours ago. Fell asleep and woke up feeling a bit sick. I haven't actually puked, been lying very still in bed which helps. Anyone know how long it will take for the pill to stop affecting my tummy and/or any ideas to feel better (besides just staying still)? Also to prevent this in future, is it best to take morphine on a full stomach or an empty one?

 

[Keif' Richards]

Noticeable physical effects shouldn't last more than 6 hours. Being that you're naive, this could potentially be extended to as long as 10 hours, with annoying symptoms like residual nausea lasting up to about the 12-14 hour mark. These are rough estimates of course and I'll reiterate that these times I've provided are for somebody who is almost completely naive to opiates.

You've got the right idea in remaining prone to control the nausea. As you would with all nausea, drug-related or no, you should attempt to eat something like bread or crackers. I would highly advise against drinking any fluid on an empty stomach. If you are to drink, make sure you are swallowing with a mouthful of food, otherwise it'll hit your gut like a rock and come right back up.

Just wait it out and you will be fine. Morphine has a higher incidence of annoying side-effects that say, heroin or oxycodone. It's common to be made ill the first few times indulging in opiates, morphine especially.

 

[Ksa]

I took a 30mg morphine pill about 6 hours ago. Fell asleep and woke up feeling a bit sick. I haven't actually puked, been lying very still in bed which helps. Anyone know how long it will take for the pill to stop affecting my tummy and/or any ideas to feel better (besides just staying still)? Also to prevent this in future, is it best to take morphine on a full stomach or an empty one?

It's better to take it with Gravol if you experience nausea...full stomach empty stomach matters fkall. Also, Keif' Richards, how is it possible for you to write 3 paragraphs and not mention Gravol? Like, if it weren't for Sekio you would all OD and the site would close.

 

[TheLostBoys]

What's your tolerance to opiates? I've always taken morphine 30 minutes after ive eaten a meal......

Morphibe is very sedating as well, 30mgs of morphine is equal to 30mgs of hydro, but IMO, its definitely stronger.....it also matters how your body chemistry breaks it up.

 

[pbuilder]

It's better to take it with Gravol if you experience nausea...full stomach empty stomach matters fkall. Also, Keif' Richards, how is it possible for you to write 3 paragraphs and not mention Gravol? Like, if it weren't for Sekio you would all OD and the site would close.

Sometimes I read your posts and just scratch my head. Some of the stuff you say is just so random and odd.

IMO gravol can kill the opiate euphoria and some of the good effects of the high, you are better off just dosing less to avoid nausea, and laying down helps tremendously. I agree with the other dude, some saltine crackers help a lot with the nausea as well.

 

[tommygirl]

Update: About 12 hours after taking the morphine, I decided I wasn't feeling too terrible and really couldn't just lie in bed all day, so I got up. Bad. Decision. VERY. Bad. Decision. The minute my feet hit the floor, what had been a "slight icky feeling when I turn over" turned into a full-on pukefest. I didn't even make it to the bathroom but thankfully *TMI Alert* what came up was just clear to whitish mucus/liquid. IDK if Gravol is the same thing, but in the same bag of tricks where I found the morphine (drugs my mom was prescribed after a hospital stay but didn't finish or discard) I also found some Zofran which they prescribed HER to take with the morphine for nausea. I'd considered taking them together as she was instructed to, but thought I wouldn't need it.

I'm pretty new to morphine, having started about a month ago (I have a toothache that's been driving me crazy but can't get to the dentist in a timely fashion for complicated reasons I'll only go into if ppl want to know, so on my mom's advice I called my GP and got cleared to "borrow" some of mom's pain medicine, split into quarters of a 30mg tablet). So I've been doing that off-and-on for the past month, some days had little to no pain and didn't need anything, others I was taking 3 or 4 quarter-tablets (7.5mg doses) a day. Being an inquisitive soul and addictive personality type, I decided some experimentation was in order, and began taking a whole half tablet now and then. This didn't feel particularly different from the quarter tab, so I upped it to 3/4 once and did get a nice dreamy buzz and no nausea or other bad effects. So I expected the whole pill would feel similar, just a bit better. Yeah, not exactly.

I mean, it did feel good, for awhile, in a soft, relaxed sort of way. This doesn't seem to be a "get out there and dance"-type drug, more of a "snuggle down in bed and float off to dreamland on a fluffy cloud"-type drug, not to say either kind is worse or better. One thing, for me anyway, is morphine takes a long time (can be over an hour) to really kick in, noticed this with the pain-relieving aspect earlier. Which is prolly good, had I gone into this with NO experience whatsoever I likely would've waited a few mins and been all "nothing's happening, re-dose!" and ended up in even worse shape than I am now.

17 hours and 2 doses of Zofran later, I'm still not feeling 100%. It's OK as long as I'm sitting still, but as soon as I start moving around my tummy starts doing somersaults, in that way it's a bit like the kind of nausea that comes with being dizzy, though I didn't notice much if any dizziness at any point in this experiment (I felt like I may have been a bit dizzy during the peak of the high, but my room was dark so couldn't really see if it was spinning or not). I think my not having eaten since last night before I took the pill might be a factor too though, I'm one of those weird ppl who can actually get sick to my stomach from hunger, crazy as that sounds. But I'm scared to eat anything until I'm sure the morphine has completely cleared my system.

So basically in my experience morphine is like a sexy but abusive lover, the kind who bangs your brains out at night and then beats your brains out in the morning cause you didn't make breakfast to their liking. Alcohol reacts on me in a similar way, except alcohol does definitely make me dizzy and screws with my vision, and the onset of action is quicker with alcohol. So taking a page from my old hangover handbook what I did to try to comfort myself today (besides be still as much as possible and take Zofran) was pretty simple, really there are only two major points (these are all assuming the user overindulged on a weekend/holiday and is spending the day at home with no work/school/etc. responsibilities). One is, brush your teeth and take a shower, and the other is, go easy on yourself. No matter how crappy I've felt, I've found that as long as I can manage to crawl to the bathroom, cleaning myself up so I feel and smell fresh really makes me feel better, even when I feel like all the moving about isn't worth it, in the end I'm always glad I did it. So if you're in my predicament, go on and drag your drugged butt into the shower or tub, or at the very least take a sink bath. Indulge yourself and use bubbles or that favorite scented body wash or shampoo you save for special occasions (the candles and steamy novel should prolly wait for another time though, and don't do this if you're still really out of it, we don't need any more tragedies like what happened to Whitney). Afterwards, cuddle up in your favorite soft gown or pj's and bathrobe.

Having a nice fresh taste in your mouth is comforting too, especially after throwing up, of course. Mint toothpaste and mouthwash are the obvious choices, but cinnamon, citrus and salty tastes (here's lookin' at you, saltines!) can be good too. Strong mint and cinnamon especially because there's a kind of tactile distraction to the mouth and throat as well as the taste and scent. And for me at least, nice smells often help soothe nausea, though by that I mean crisp, clean smells (again, citrus-y or spicy is good, baby powder too as long as the messy diaper connection isn't too strong in your mind), extremely sweet smells and anything food related apart from the ones I mentioned are prolly best avoided.

Then as for going easy on yourself, realize you won't be good for much the next few hours anyway, so don't force any unnecessary work or worry on yourself that can wait. Like with any illness really, but it's especially doable here since you should be back on your feet the next day (unless you're physically dependent and in withdrawal, that is beyond my scope). Don't force yourself to eat if you don't want to, do try to keep fluids going as much as you can though. And if you do feel like eating, eat whatever you like (throw the diet out the window just for today), unless it's something you know doesn't agree with you and will just make things worse.

Sit on the couch and veg if you like. Watch your favorite TV shows/movies. Listen to some good music. Take a nap (however I've been disappointed to discover that "sleeping it off" isn't always a miracle cure, sometimes you wake up feeling as bad or worse. Time is the real magic here). And on that note, keep reminding yourself that you WILL feel better soon; with notable exceptions, bad drunks/highs (not actual ODs) and hangovers (not actual withdrawals) are mercifully short-lived. Oh, and don't underestimate the power of slow, deep breathing, in thru the nose and out thru the mouth, in combating nausea.

 

[Ksa]

Sometimes I read your posts and just scratch my head. Some of the stuff you say is just so random and odd.

IMO gravol can kill the opiate euphoria and some of the good effects of the high, you are better off just dosing less to avoid nausea, and laying down helps tremendously. I agree with the other dude, some saltine crackers help a lot with the nausea as well.

What about when you dose too much and HAVE nausea, like the OP? Do you "enjoy the high" or take Gravol? Random.

 

[pbuilder]

What about when you dose too much and HAVE nausea, like the OP? Do you "enjoy the high" or take Gravol? Random.

I usually puke and feel better, or lie down and chill.

 

[dez79]

Promethazine 30 mins before or some maxalon bit herder to get but even more effective

 

[EphemeralOutlet141]

IME, eating some fatty/filling foods along with a glass of ginger ale works wonders. I generally take my opiates on an empty stomach and follow it with the aforementioned snacks about 30 minutes later.

 

[paranoid android]

Promethazine 30 mins before or some maxalon bit herder to get but even more effective

I would advise against Metoclopramide (brand names Maxolon, Reglan, etc) as it has a rather high incidence of causing Tardive Dyskinesia. Though this is usually only a problem if taken long term. Promethazine is one of the best drugs i have taken for any kind of nausea opiate related or not. Also as it is a good anti-histamine it will help any of the itching caused by Morphine or any other opiate. As it is also very sedating Promethazine will also add to the nod from Morphine and i use Promethazine alot to potentiate Morphine.

 

[Lorne???]

^^^ Finally. 50mg of diphenhydramine, or any similar 1st gen antihistamine is best . (12.5-25mg doxylamine, 3-4mg chlorpeniramine, and as mentioned, RX's are the best( hydroxyl one really, but promethazine is good too.

But generally, Zofran and the few other serotonin-based anti-emetics seem useless for opioid induced nausea(personally, I think they are ineffective, period).

And remember, a 30mg morphine tablet is almost certainly ER, he took it whole, that's why the effects are lasting so long.

And he's been taking them for a while now, which is why it's hitting harder, with chronic administration, oral morphine is 1.5-2x as potent as a single dose.

You'll be fine soon, take an antihistamine(low dose) if your still sick, otherwise time will heal.

(Edit; Didn't realize gravol was another brand name for dimenhydrinate(which is 50% diphenhydramine anyway.

Most people find H1's to potentials opioids, but in his case simple treating the nausea is top priority over salvaging a buzz that simply isn't there.

 

[BeachBum4u]

FYI, If you are being prescribed the Morphine by a PM doc, he/she should have told you about it's side-effects. It can take up to 1 -2 weeks for them to subside. It is very common when starting out on Morphine to feel nauseous and also tired. Your body will adjust in a week or two and from what I've been told, it is a pretty good pain med all in all. Personally, a doc from years ago tried me on MS-Contin and I told him to "bag it" and I tossed them and went back on OxyContin. I not only couldn't take the side-effects but I wasn't getting the pain relief I was from the OxyContin. Check back with your doc (if that's where you got them from). Good Luck!