Pain is a subjective sensation that affects all aspects of an individual's life. When inadequately treated, pain leads to lost productivity, needless suffering and increased medical costs. For severe or chronic pain, drugs called opioid analgesics, also called narcotic analgesics, effectively work on the opiate receptors of the brain in order to reduce pain. Opioids also produce potentially adverse side effects.
Gastrointestinal Problems
Pharmacists John M. Swegle and Craig Logemann reported in the online journal American Family Physician that constipation is the most common side effect of long-term opioid use. This occurs as a result of the drug binding to opiate receptors of the large intestine. Opioids slow the motility of bowel movements and decrease secretions and blood flow in the gastrointestinal system thus leading to constipation.
Another stomach-related side effect of opioid use is nausea, which is reported to occur in 25 percent of individuals using the drug, according to Swegle and Logemann. Several factors may lead to nausea including decreased intestinal motility but the side effect usually remains short-lived.
Central Nervous System Depression
Opioids depress the central nervous system (CNS) resulting in effects such as decreased consciousness including sleepiness, fatigue or complete sedation, euphoria, confusion, dizziness and potentially fatal respiratory depression. These CNS effects result from the drug affecting the brain stem and limbic system, according to the Davidson College Biology Department. CNS side effects usually present upon starting opioid therapy or with dosage increases, usually remaining transient. The Department of Pain & Palliative Care at Beth Israel Medical Center states that lethal overdose of opioids may completely cease breathing, although this happens rarely if the drug is administered in an appropriate manner.
Urinary/Sexual Problems
Other side effects of opioid analgesics may include urinary retention or sexual dysfunction. In general, other underlying physical conditions and medications can play a role in intensifying all side effects of opioids. Therefore, the health care provider must weigh the pros and cons of opioid therapy in regard to adverse side effects.
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