For those who are using morphine, it may be tricky to understand how it is working within your body. Morphine, which is a powerful type of pain medication, is a depressant. That means the medication works to slow down the response of the central nervous system, helping to stop the pain signals going from various areas of your body to the brain. By doing this, it helps eliminate the pain you feel. If you are using this drug consistently and unable to stop using it, you may need morphine addiction treatment.
How Does Morphine Work in the Body?
Morphine impacts the sedation level of a person. It can also cause impairment or a lack of proper function of the brain. It may also slow down the breathing rate, helping to calm your breathing. Morphine also slows how fast your heart is beating. All of this helps to reduce pain within the body. The drug is often used to treat chronic or severe pain, such as in the hospital after a surgical procedure. However, like other opioids, morphine carries a high risk for addiction.
How Do You Know If You Have a Morphine Addiction?
Morphine also triggers the reward center in the brain. This is the area of the brain where it recognizes pleasure. Because this drug can create a slight euphoric effect, especially when it is misused, it can trigger this area of the brain. When that happens, the brain learns to recognize the drug as a good thing and wants more of it. Over time, this can lead to an addiction, where a person recognizes that they should not continue to use it, but they feel compelled to do so anyway.
Over time, morphine can also lead to dependence. You may be dependent on the substance if you find yourself craving it when you do not have it. Some people also feel physical withdrawal symptoms when they stop using it – which could indicate that you are unable to stop using the drug without help. When dependence occurs, it is often necessary to seek out morphine addiction treatment.
Some common signs that you may need this type of addiction treatment include the following:
- The need to use morphine consistently, often more frequently than it is prescribed to you
- Experiencing intense cravings or thinking about the drug often when you are not using it
- Developing tolerance, which means you need to use more and more of the substance in order to get the same relief from it
- Increasingly focusing on your drug use rather than other responsibilities and needs, often putting the use of the substance ahead of anything else
- Overdosing on the drug
If you find yourself facing these types of symptoms, do not put off seeking treatment. A trusted treatment team can help you.
The Depressant Side Effects of Morphine
It is very important to recognize the side effects of morphine and the risks they carry. This drug can cause drowsiness and extreme fatigue, sometimes putting a person at risk of falling asleep behind the wheel.
In addition to this, it can drop the body’s temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate significantly. This, along with the lowering of the breathing rate, can mean that you enter a risk of becoming unconscious from using the substance. This puts a person at risk for overdose, where their brain and other organs begin to shut down.
What Happens in Morphine Addiction Treatment?
As an opioid, morphine addiction is not uncommon when the substance is misused. Yet, when this does occur, it is quite important to seek out professional treatment for your use. Doing so may be the best way for you to see improvement in your health and in breaking your addictive behaviors.
Morphine addiction treatment may include the following:
- Detox: Detoxing from the substance will enable your body to stop depending on the substance, allowing you to regain more control over your cravings.
- Medications: There are some medications that may help to trick the brain into no longer desiring morphine without the side effects.
- Talk therapy: This may include working with a therapist to understand your addiction and to work through it. This may include the use of various therapies to help you to recover.
In addition to this, your therapy may include the use of holistic and experiential therapies to help you heal fully from the addiction.
Should You Get Help for Morphine Addiction?
If you believe you or a loved one may be at risk for morphine addiction, please contact us today. You can also reach out to our admissions team by call or text today at (866) 971-5531 to discuss your options for treatment. We are also here to help if you have questions regarding how to pay for rehab with insurance or about insurance verification. You can learn about your addiction and get help in overcoming your dependence on this substance. Morphine addiction treatment can be very effective when obtained through the help of a professional.
