just HOW harmful are opiates really...

[gimmevikes]

Hi...I was just wondering...

Can someone give me some info on how/if opiates are harmful to the body, besides the whole physical dependency factor..?

For example...marijuana harms the lungs, cocaine harms the nose and heart, alcohol harms the liver and brian, etc...

I heard somewhere that theres nothing really in opiate pain killers (ie: hydrocodone, methadone, oxycodone, morphine, heroin, etc...) that is bad or harmful to your body...

is the only danger physical dependency?

[~lostgurl~]

Depends on the route of administration and also the dose and frequency. Pretty much any chemical can be toxic with extreme doses. Also to be considered is how well a person looks after there physical health while taking a drug, for example when SWIM was on heroin she would chain smoke cigarettes (actually she does that on most drugs). Then there is the purity issue. SWIM is unaware of any direct health issues from opiate use though.

[umich]

This is a very interesting topic and will be looking forward to others responses. From SWIMS experiences and research SWIM did not see any major harmful effects from opiate use. There are people out there who take pain medicine everyday their entire lives and do not experience any problems. Of course the risk of addiction, constipation, water retention when urinating are there, but SWIM does not see any effects like those that smoking gives to the lungs or cocaine does to the heart and nose etc.

[Forthesevenlakes]

SWIM once heard it from a doctor that "If you don't mind constipation and impotence, there's very little thats harmful about long term use of opioids."

Now, SWIM doesnt believe thats ENTIRELY true, but opioids don't cause much brain or organ damage in and of themselves. However, there are health issues to consider, mainly addiction and overdose.

Constipation could become a problem if SWIY is backed up for several days or more, there could be resulting infections or colon problems. Also as SWILostgurl says, many people chain smoke on opiates, which can be quite bad for the lungs. Mixing opiates and other drugs can lead to complications as well.

And, this statement only applies to opioids in their purest forms. Pills with APAP in them will quickly ruin one's liver, especially if your SWIM is a drinker.

Reputation Comments on this post:

It is one of the hidden truths of Opiates.

[Nicaine]

Originally Posted by Forthesevenlakes

And, this statement only applies to opioids in their purest forms. Pills with APAP in them will quickly ruin one's liver, especially if your SWIM is a drinker.

There seems to be this idea floating around that because an OD of APAP is harmful, lesser amounts are still harmful (albeit less so). AFAIK, APAP is completely harmless in quantities below overdosage... so (barring an overdose) pills with APAP in them will NOT harm the liver.

[Pinkavvy]

Swip has always said that if one can afford their habbit, and have the self control to taper down when tolorance causes doses to get high, then opiates are a safe additction to have. lol Swip uses oxycontin almost daily, for about 3 year now, but he keeps his use to oral adminstration only and whenever he gets to the point of doing 60-80mg per day he takes a week or two to taper himself back down to 10-15mg. HOWEVER with the last couple weeks being his taper down period he would say, at this point, the physical addiction withdrawels are really not worth it sometimes. Hooray for swip though, today he was able to take 15mg and get high again . . . whereas 3 weeks ago he was up to 60mg to get high.

[BeetleJuice]

Opiates have been used for so long by peoples fathers an great gran fathers (n mothers) all the way down to our unnamable ancestors, i recon a little opiate is probebly a good thing for the body. Half the new stuff in the pharmacies could be replaced with some kind of natural opiate n ittle do the job fine.

[painfully_lost]

opiates lower testosterone production in men. My doc says most studies confirm that test levels increase after opiates are stopped, but unsure if they resume to full production if used for very extended periods.(years)

[Laudaphun]

The lifestyle that some people tend to lead while being on opiates is probably the most damaging issue. Constipation is not good either, as its no good have bodily waste lying around in your insides any longer than necessary. I once heard that heroin use was not harmful if the following 3 conditions were met: 1) The drug was free of impurities 2) Administration was done in a sanitary fashion 3) tolerance did not develop. The article I was reading went on to say that in our world, these conditions are never all met. I wish I could remember where I read this at, I remember thinking that it was a good unbiased reading on opiate use. I've always heard though that as far as opiates are concerned, the actual drug doesn't do any acute physical damage to the body... as far as we know anyways. There's always the possibility that new research could suggest otherwise someday, so I'm not ready to take it as 100% fact that this is the case.

[psyche]

Yes, there are issues of toxicity only when liver runs out of means to detoxify the toxic minor metabolite of paracetamol, NAPQI. It is responsible for toxic effects, not paracetamol. Under normal circumtances it is quickly detixified.

[baron samedi]

Isn't PURE heroin meant to be a relatively safe drug when adminestered properly? I think it was developed as a safer alternative to morphine.
Its not particularly toxic, just makes your heart and breathing stop if you OD. Its probably the impurities in street heroin which ruin your physical health.

[Nicaine]

Originally Posted by baron samedi

Isn't PURE heroin meant to be a relatively safe drug when adminestered properly? I think it was developed as a safer alternative to morphine.
Its not particularly toxic, just makes your heart and breathing stop if you OD. Its probably the impurities in street heroin which ruin your physical health.

To a large extent yes, but "little" things such as constant, severe constipation are not exactly meaningless in the long term. And other things too, such as the fact that opiates cause shallower breathing (making a person significantly more prone to pneumonia and other lung problems -- SWIM has personal experience with that one). And nodding off at the wrong times, not caring to brush one's teeth regularly, totally sedentary lifestyle, etc. etc... I could probably go on, but these things add up and all of them contribute to less-than-optimal physical health.

[baron samedi]

Yeah sorry if SWIM sounded flippant, he wasn't speaking from any personal experience.
He just meant that its not meant to be particularly toxic,in relative terms.
As you say i'm sure other aspects of the lifestyle make up for this.

[weekender2]

It's been touched on here but I believe that the lifestyle of an opiate enthusiast can be so sedentary, so bereft of ambition to accomplish - well, anything - that it could be considered harmful. When one makes that transition from chipper to honest-to-Buddha junkie, and decides to stay in the basement instead of going to work for the third straight day, could it not be said that opiates are harmful that day?

Pax,
Weekender

[oxalot]

According to SWIM's liver doc (SWIM having chronic hepC) opiates/opiods are the only viable source of pain relief (having chronic back pain also) there is available. There are no serious side effects that can not be controlled by high fibre diet, meticulous attention to hygiene, and an otherwise abstinant lifestyle free of illegal drugs, tobacco use and high alcohol usage. For most recreational user's this may seem a bit extreme, but the original question here was the use of opiates and they are safe as long as one adheres to the safe use of pure drugs. Yeah, I know, they are impossible to get so the point is probably moot. SWIY should just do tyhe best he/she can to stick to as safe a practice as possible if SWIY must take the route of opiate use. Of course staying away from them is the only sure way to be safe but if SWIY is reading this then this is probably moot also.