While most effects of morphine that are well known include variations on your state of mind---such as hallucinations and euphoria---there also are physiological effects from the opium-derived medicine. Morphine originally was administered exclusively through injection when it first gained medical acceptance in the 1850s. It still may be introduced into your body intravenously, but now it also is available by prescription as a pill or capsule with immediate effectiveness or in delayed-release form.
Killing Pain
The most common effect of morphine, and the reason it gained wide acceptance in the medical field of the mid-19th century, is its ability to kill pain. It was used extensively in soldiers during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865 to help them cope with the pain from lost limbs and other wounds. Because of this, approximately 400,000 veterans of that war had "soldier's disease," which actually was morphine addiction. That is why it became a controlled substance, although not until near the end of the 19th century. Since then, it has been used for both war wounds and for other serious pain from injuries or diseases.
Impairment
Morphine was derived from opium in 1804, according to Narconon Drug Rehab Center. Opium already was known to alter people's consciousness and cause them to become impaired in their thought processes, and morphine has the same effect. This also leads to impairment of physical ability. It can make your reflexes react less efficiently and can make it more difficult to do routine things, such as driving a car.
Digestion
Another common physiological effect of morphine is to reduce your need to eat. Appetite loss is common among people who take morphine. Constipation is an unwanted effect associated with morphine common to all varieties of the drug, from intravenous administration to pills to extended release capsules.
Addiction
Addiction to morphine is not just a psychological need to re-experience the euphoria of taking the drug. Addiction is an actual physical need, because your body builds up a tolerance to morphine, which means you need to continually take more of it to get the same effect that lower doses once produced. When you stop taking morphine after becoming addicted to it, it can cause physiological effects such as sweating, chills, yawning, eye tearing and nausea. According to the Narconon Drug Rehab Center, these effects can last as long as three days.
Member Comments