The effects of morphine withdrawal are caused by physical dependence, and happen when use of the drug is stopped. Physical dependence should not be confused with addiction, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA. On its own, it does not equal addiction, but often can accompany addiction. Physical dependence can happen even when morphine is used as instructed. It occurs as the body adapts to the drug. Dependence is a natural physical occurrence that results from long-term opioid therapy, explains the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Addiction is described as compulsive use of a drug for its pleasurable effects even though it causes serious harm to health, relationships or work and the inability to stop using the drug. Whether resulting from physical dependence or addiction, morphine withdrawal has many effects.Morphine belongs to a class of drugs called opioids that includes heroin, oxycodone, methadone, dilaudid, codeine and others. All produce the same effects of withdrawal.
Early Symptoms
Early symptoms can start within several hours of the last dose, depending on how it was taken. Withdrawal symptoms from intravenous use start sooner than from oral use. According to the National Institutes of Health website MedlinePlus, early symptoms include frequent yawning, muscle aches, nervousness, irritability, agitation, difficulty sleeping, sweating and a runny nose. It reports that withdrawal symptoms are not life threatening can be very distressing.
Later Symptoms
Later symptoms of withdrawal include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, goose bumps, chills and dilated pupils. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that withdrawal peaks in 48 to 72 hours, lasts as long as 5 to 10 days, and can include shaking, flushing, sneezing, bone pain and serious depression.
Protracted Withdrawal
Addicts are at high risk of returning to drug use, and this risk has not been known to decrease with time, according to a 2009 article in the journal, "Methods of Behavioral Analysis In Neuroscience." Triggers of relapse include stress, the drug of abuse itself and the environment associated with the drug use. These triggers set off cravings or withdrawals that lead to relapse. This effect does not apply to those that were physically dependent but not addicted. Anti-craving medication can be successful at reducing this effect.
References
- Methods of Behavioral Analysis In Neuroscience: Contextually Induced Drug Seeking During Protracted Abstinence in Rats
- Medline Plus: Opiate withdrawal
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Drugs and Human Performance Fact Sheets: Morphine
- OncoLink: The Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania: Morphine Sulfate
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