Opioids are medicines that help relieve pain. They affect your brain by blocking
or reducing pain signals and interacting with its reward system. They’re available legally as prescription painkillers like hydrocodone and oxycodone, and illegally as heroin.
Prescription opioids can be very addictive and dangerous if they’re not used properly. Your body makes its own opioids, called endorphins. Using opioids over time can cause your body to stop making its own and become dependent on the opioids you take. This dependence causes withdrawal when you try to stop using the drugs. You can also develop tolerance to opioids over time. This means you have to keep taking more and more of them to get the same feeling.
You can experience side effects from prescription opioids, even when you take them as directed by your doctor. Opioid painkillers can cause:
- constipation
- nausea, vomiting and dry mouth
- confusion
- depression
- fatigue and dizziness
- itching and sweating
Long-term use can lead to side effects like:
- tolerance
- dependence
- increased sensitivity to pain
- addiction
- overdose