If you experience moderate to severe pain due to an injury or after having surgery, your doctor may prescribe an opioid. While the body naturally produces its own version of opioids, prescription opioids reduce the ability of nerve cells to send pain signals to your brain. These drugs also create a sense of joy and make you feel happy by triggering your brain’s reward system.
Over time, people who take opioids build tolerance to the drug and may seek out higher doses to achieve the same effect. This raises the risk of developing a psychological or physical addiction that can lead to an opioid overdose. As a result, your healthcare team will closely monitor you if you need to take a prescription opioid for pain relief.
What are opioids?
Opioids are a class of drugs that relieve pain. Doctors use prescription opioids to treat moderate to severe pain after surgery or injury or for health conditions like cancer. Common prescription opioids include oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid).
Heroin, an illegally manufactured synthetic opioid, is made from morphine.
Fentanyl, a widely available synthetic opioid pain reliever, is the deadliest of all opioids.
Prescription opioids have serious side effects
While opioids are effective at relieving pain, prescription opioids can have a number of side effects, even when taken as directed. Common side effects of opioids include nausea, vomiting, constipation, dizziness, sleepiness, and dry mouth.
Physical dependence is another side effect that can lead to symptoms of opioid withdrawal when someone stops taking the medication. Symptoms include anxiety, muscle aches, insomnia, runny nose, and sweating. The most serious problem of all, however, is that using prescription opioids can lead to addiction, abuse, and overdose.
The opioid epidemic is a public health emergency
As the opioid epidemic worsened, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency in 2017. With 217 deaths per day and climbing, opioid epidemic statistics illustrate the scope of the problem:
- Pharmacies fill 125 million opioid prescriptions each year
- Almost 9 million people misuse opioids annually
- At least 7 out of every 10 overdose deaths involve opioids
- From 1999 to 2023, overdose deaths involving opioids increased 885.8%
- Almost 80K people die every year from opioid overdose
- At least 70% of all overdose deaths are linked to synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl
While fentanyl causes most overdose deaths in the U.S., three distinct waves of increases in opioid overdose deaths have occurred over the last 25 years, each caused by different types of opioids.
Opioid prevention programs, combined with education, community overdose response support, and the availability of naloxone, may help save lives.
Causes of the opioid epidemic
We all know someone who has used an opioid. Chances are, the prescription was for more medication than they needed. Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the use of prescription opioids to treat chronic back pain and osteoarthritis, despite the serious risks. It’s all too common to hear stories about people taking opioid medications after fracturing a bone or having a dental procedure.
Excess medication can be dangerous to your health and increase the risk of addiction. It also provides easy access for those who want to abuse opioids. Despite prescribing guidelines and clinical research, overprescribing continues to fuel an epidemic. To combat the overprescription of opioids, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain.
Tips for patients using opioids for pain relief
Before taking an opioid, have a conversation with your doctor to understand how the medication may affect you and how to use it safely. The American Society of Anesthesiologists recommends that you follow a few tips to educate yourself before taking an opioid:
- Consider the potential risks. If your doctor is prescribing an opioid for the first time, ask about the potential risks of taking the medication, especially if you have a history of addiction. If you’ve taken an opioid before, talk to your doctor about how it affected you. Your doctor can also determine if you have any conditions that could increase the risk of side effects.
- Take as directed. Opioids are easy to misuse, so it’s really important to follow the directions for taking them. If you take other medications or drink alcohol, ask your doctor about possible drug interactions. And, learn how to properly dispose of unused medications so others in your household don’t use them.
- Plan ahead for surgery. People who take opioids for chronic pain should discuss this with their surgeon and anesthesiologist before having surgery. Opioids can increase the risk of complications from surgery.
- Limit your use of opioids. If your doctor prescribes an opioid after you have surgery, take the medication only as long as necessary for pain relief. If you’re still in pain a few weeks after surgery, talk to a pain specialist about other options for pain control.
- Ask about combination therapy. Opioids don’t always control pain. Ask your doctor if a different treatment might be right for you. For example, you may be able to manage your pain by combining medication with natural remedies for pain relief.
- Explore non-drug therapies. Talk to a pain specialist about what options for pain control might be best for you. Non-drug therapies include meditation, acupuncture, physical rehabilitation, lifestyle changes, nerve blocks, and more.
Dispose of unused and expired medications on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
When unused prescription opioids find their way into the wrong hands, the consequences can be tragic. National Prescription Drug Take Back Day provides a safe, convenient way to clean out your medicine cabinet and dispose of unused and expired medications, including prescription opioids. Visit the official Take Back Day website to find a collection site near you.