Guest guest Posted October 26, 1998 Report Share Posted October 26, 1998 I assume that what happens with opoid receptors in chronic pain parallels what takes place in opoid addiction, since the body doesn't know your motivation in taking them. Its' basically the process called " tolerance' " where, due to the anesthetic effect of the drug, the body seems to recognize dulled perception, and to compensate, the nerve endings in your synapses (nerve junctions) grow many more fibrils (little sensors) than usual. 2 things result from this: you gradually may perceive a loss of effectiveness with the opoid, suggesting that you need more drug, and an addictive process where your body needs the drug to keep the vastly increased sensors, which result in magnified need for the pain reliever, calm & " happy. " You can have a withdrawal syndrome when dosage is reduced or stopped, because all those new nerve fibers are intensifying your perception of pain & discomfort. Eventually, after stopping the drug, the extra sensors go away, re-absorbed by the body. Having these occur does not make you a drug addict, although the physiology is similar. In landmark studies of opiods with chronic pain patients, incidence of real addiction & compulsive drug taking behavior was only present in from 1-3% of a very large sample; much less than chance odds. At 08:49 PM 10/25/98 -0500, you wrote: > > > >> >> >>Ruthie, thanks for supporting my belief that chronic pain patients >>seldom, if ever, become addicted to pain medications. Only, you said it >>so much better than I ever could! Thanks for sharing your experience in >>taking these meds with Lyn. One of the great things about this list is >>the experiences of others confirm our own experiences and help us to >>understand our situations much better. >>Ray > > >Thanks Ray. Although I really can't take all the credit for this. Last >Summer was my last struggle with this issue and I FINALLY took it to a >chronic pain support group online that I'd been off and on involved in since >December '97. EVERYONE there was so supportive, so helpful and a fount of >information! Somewhere I read a good article about opiod receptors in >chronic pain patients and how they differ from those who are not in chronic >pain. If I find the URL I'll pass it on. It was terrific! This last >struggle was the one that really got me to break through to acceptance of >the need for these meds, not temporarily, not just enough to take the edge >off, but totally and completely a part of my life now. Whatta relief that >was! > >CUL, >Ruthie > > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 26, 1998 Report Share Posted October 26, 1998 I assume that what happens with opoid receptors in chronic pain parallels what takes place in opoid addiction, since the body doesn't know your motivation in taking them. Its' basically the process called " tolerance' " where, due to the anesthetic effect of the drug, the body seems to recognize dulled perception, and to compensate, the nerve endings in your synapses (nerve junctions) grow many more fibrils (little sensors) than usual. 2 things result from this: you gradually may perceive a loss of effectiveness with the opoid, suggesting that you need more drug, and an addictive process where your body needs the drug to keep the vastly increased sensors, which result in magnified need for the pain reliever, calm & " happy. " You can have a withdrawal syndrome when dosage is reduced or stopped, because all those new nerve fibers are intensifying your perception of pain & discomfort. Eventually, after stopping the drug, the extra sensors go away, re-absorbed by the body. Having these occur does not make you a drug addict, although the physiology is similar. In landmark studies of opiods with chronic pain patients, incidence of real addiction & compulsive drug taking behavior was only present in from 1-3% of a very large sample; much less than chance odds. At 08:49 PM 10/25/98 -0500, you wrote: > > > >> >> >>Ruthie, thanks for supporting my belief that chronic pain patients >>seldom, if ever, become addicted to pain medications. Only, you said it >>so much better than I ever could! Thanks for sharing your experience in >>taking these meds with Lyn. One of the great things about this list is >>the experiences of others confirm our own experiences and help us to >>understand our situations much better. >>Ray > > >Thanks Ray. Although I really can't take all the credit for this. Last >Summer was my last struggle with this issue and I FINALLY took it to a >chronic pain support group online that I'd been off and on involved in since >December '97. EVERYONE there was so supportive, so helpful and a fount of >information! Somewhere I read a good article about opiod receptors in >chronic pain patients and how they differ from those who are not in chronic >pain. If I find the URL I'll pass it on. It was terrific! This last >struggle was the one that really got me to break through to acceptance of >the need for these meds, not temporarily, not just enough to take the edge >off, but totally and completely a part of my life now. Whatta relief that >was! > >CUL, >Ruthie > > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 27, 1998 Report Share Posted October 27, 1998 Thanks Ken, do you have any reference sites for this type of material? I could really use something in black and white that SAYS this. It makes perfect sense to me...but I want to prove it to others. Lyn ~~~~~~~~He Who Laughs,Lasts~~~~~~~~ Homepage http://home.talkcity.com/spiritcir/lynmari/index.html ArthritisWarriors http://onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/rheumathritis WomenHelpingWomen http://onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/WomenHelpingWomen FibrolandNewsletter http://onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/Fibroland DachsieHeaven http://onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/DachsieHeaven DachsieBirthdayPage http://members.tripod.com/~Lynmari/DACHSHUND Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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