Facts about Opioid Drugs!

Basically, addiction is not just only severe issue with opioid drugs. These drugs have been regarded as the perfect painkillers, but with one price: your sex life. These chemicals vary from morphine and heroin to papaverine, noscapine, cocaine and ephedrine. Their name comes from the fact that opioid drugs bind to specific opioid receptors in the central nervous system and in other tissues. The organism produces its own internal opioids, like endorphins, endomorphins.

Opioid treatment is aimed to decrease patients’ pain, and to allow physical and social functioning, in case of chronic or acute pain like in cases of cancer, post-operative pain but also non-malignant pain.

Many researchers suggested that long-acting opioids used daily for over a month can decrease hormonal function in both men and women. The effects of this hormonal unbalancing are sexual dysfunction, weight gain, fatigue, depression, osteoporosis, and irregular menstrual cycles. In time, these issues may exceed the positive effects of this analgesic. These issues could be treated, but men and women require different approaches.

The patients must be informed first, before starting the therapy, about the hormonal disturbances caused by higher dose, long-term opioid treatment. During the treatment, they must routinely be evaluated for symptoms of hormonal issues, including sexual dysfunction. So, be vigilant enough while having your opioid treatment!