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Opiate overdose symptoms and signs can be referred to as the "opioid toxidrome triad": decreased level of consciousness, pinpoint pupils and respiratory depression. Other symptoms include seizures and muscle spasms. Sometimes an opiate overdose can lead to such a decreased level of consciousness such that the person will not wake up.
[56] [78] As a result of downregulated signaling through these proteins, opiates cause VTA neuronal hyperexcitability and shrinkage (specifically, the size of the neuronal soma is reduced). [56] It has been shown that when an opiate-naive person begins using opiates in concentrations that induce euphoria, BDNF signaling increases in the VTA. [79]
Opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH) or opioid-induced abnormal pain sensitivity, also called paradoxical hyperalgesia, is an uncommon condition of generalized pain caused by the long-term use of high dosages of opioids [1] such as morphine, [2] oxycodone, [3] and methadone. [4] [5] OIH is not necessarily confined to the original affected site. [6]
The terms 'opioid' and 'opiate' are sometimes used interchangeably, but the term 'opioid' is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain. [4] Opiates are alkaloid compounds naturally found in the opium poppy plant Papaver somniferum. [5] [6]
There’s no single explanation for why addiction treatment is mired in a kind of scientific dark age, why addicts are denied the help that modern medicine can offer. Family doctors tend to see addicts as a nuisance or a liability and don’t want them crowding their waiting rooms. In American culture, self-help runs deep.
Severe pains in the bones and muscles of the back and extremities occur, as do muscle spasms. At any point during this process, a suitable narcotic can be administered that will dramatically reverse the withdrawal symptoms. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 h and 96 h after the last dose and subside after about 8 to 12 days.
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Less common side effects include: delayed gastric emptying, hyperalgesia, immunologic and hormonal dysfunction (hypogonadism is often seen in men taking chronic opioids, but is not always clinically evident), muscle rigidity, and myoclonus. [32] Opiate use for pain is widely accepted in the healthcare system.