What are opioids?
Opioids are powerful prescription-only drugs such as morphine and other drugs that produce morphine-like effects.
When are opioids prescribed?
Opioids are used to treat severe short-term pain in certain circumstances, such as the first few days after an operation, and long-term (chronic) pain caused by cancer.
Can opioids reduce long-term pain that is not caused by cancer?
Because opioids can help reduce short-term pain and cancer pain, some people think opioids will reduce their long-term pain, but unfortunately this is not right.1
If you do take opioids for long-term non-cancer pain, you might see a small improvement in your ability to do some day-to-day tasks, but the improvement is small and will be temporary, and there are many potential harms from taking opioids that outweigh the benefits.2
What are the harms of taking opioids?
Taking opioids can result in harms that range from mild (eg drowsiness and constipation) to severe and can result in hospitalisation and, sometimes, death.1,3
In addition, the longer you take opioids, the less pain relief you actually experience, because your brain gets used to the dose (this is known as ‘tolerance’). Taking opioids can even increase your pain because opioids can make your nerves and your brain more sensitive to pain.1 This is a condition called ‘opioid-induced hyperalgesia’.
- If you stop taking opioids suddenly, you can also experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.