Medical Conditions That Opiates Can Worsen?

[allecw]

What are some medical conditions a person can have where opiates will worsen the symptoms a person can have?

I ask this because on two different occasions I have had medical issues that seems to come as a direct result of my opiate usage.

The first time was about a year ago. Whenever I would take my oxy i would start going through what the doctors all thought were gallbladder attacks. I would get extreme pain in my gallbladder/liver area and get extremely nauseas. The attacks would happen soon after I took the opiates and only when I took the opiates. I thought maybe I had consumed too much apap and messed up my liver.

All blood test were normal and eventually these symptoms went away after a few trips to the emergency room. Symptoms lasted at least three weeks. I never really had my gallbladder or liver checked other than blood work. I wanted an ultrasound but could not afford one.

The second time I believe opiates messed me up started in November with my daily Subutex usage. It started as pretty bad constipation out of nowhere. I could deal with that. In the last few weeks I have had severe intestinal cramping. It feels like my intestines and colon are inflamed. The pain is straight through to my back. It's either inflammation or a lot of trapped gas. To go along with this I have lost my appetite and always have extreme anxiety. Also my depression has gone crazy and I have no energy.

This could be caused my something else but I just assume it's from my sub usage. My thinking is either this is all just my anxiety causing all these problems or I have a bowel condition that is being worsened by the Subutex.

My doc told me a few years ago he thought I had irritable bowel syndrome. That was before my opiate usage.

So if I had ibs, Crohns, Ibd or some other bowel problem could opiates be worsening them. What exactly do opiates do to your bowels? I feel like my rectum is swelled shut sometimes and I can't even expel gas. Could this be caused by opiates? Or also what other medical issues could be made worse my opiates?

 

[Alex000]

Opiates slow gastro-intestinal motility. They just slow it down, and as a result constipation often occurs. Severe constipation is obviously bad, and I'd think having IBS on top of it would make it worse. It has been said that opiates are pretty gentle on the mind and body, and I believe this, but constipation resulting from opiate use isn't good for the body. Opiates aren't toxic (real opiates), but some of their effects can do harm i.e. constipation.

 

[capsitan]

This exact same thing happens to me if I take opiates containing tylenol for more than a couple of days. I get a pain in my back (right side) that localizes under my right shoulder-blade. This time however I did not only have pain but I started getting nauseous after eating certain foods and having symptoms of gallbladder disease. Did they ever figure out what was wrong? I'm starting to think that opiates can exacerbate underlying gallbladder issues. I have a HIDA scan soon; I will post the results.

[EDIT]

Well I got my HIDA scan results back. Everything was normal. I'm starting to think that my condition is SOD, which opiates can exacerbate.

[EDIT 2]

Ok so now it's been a few months later and I have concluded that I have Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. Opiates can cause the Sphincter of Oddi to spasm, which causes pain in the righ backside or the upper right quadrant. There is alot of documentation out there which highlights the fact that opiates can cause sphincter of oddi spasms in many individuals.