Medications and Pain: Opioid Quiz
TRUE OR FALSE?
If I stop using my opioids suddenly, I will feel a lot of pain.
TRUE – long-term opioid use leads to a dependence. If you stop the medication suddenly, you will feel withdrawal effects. This includes a lot of pain. However, this pain is not necessarily the original pain you were treating with the opioids. The problem with withdrawal is that it tricks you into thinking the opioids were working. When you take the opioids again and the pain improves, it may actually be helping your withdrawal symptoms instead! It is best to taper off opioids under the supervision of a healthcare provider, so you can minimize withdrawal symptoms.
If the opioids are not helping my pain anymore, I need a larger dose.
FALSE – it is normal for opioids to become less effective over time. Opioids are not meant for long-term use in most cases. Your body builds a tolerance, so a higher dose is needed for the same effect. However, the downsides to higher doses are that it increases the likelihood of more side effects, and can lead to “opioid-induced hyperalgesia”. This means that a drug meant to manage pain can actually cause more pain in the end!
If I receive larger doses of opioids, I will be able to manage my pain better and it will improve my function.
FALSE – increasing opioid use just increases your tolerance levels, which means you may experience more and more side effects. This can lead to less function over time. To improve function, most people actually find tapering off opioids and using non-pharmacological therapies to manage pain helps the most!
If I do not notice side effects on my opioids, it means I am one of those who do not experience any.
FALSE – there are side effects to opioid use that may not be noticeable, such as fatigue, “brain fog”, changes to breathing while sleeping, and changes to hormone levels. It is only when the medication is stopped that you may notice positive changes to how you feel overall.
Did you know that pain is very deceiving? Almost everyone on opioids develops a dependence on them. When gradually tapering off opioids, you may begin to question how it could possibly be better for you to not use them. After all, the pain comes back! The positive effects of not using opioids are not seen or felt immediately. In fact, you may feel worse before you feel better. In the weaning process, you may be asked to delay or miss a dose. You will likely feel pain and think your original pain is back. However, this can be (and likely is) withdrawal pain. Logically you take another dose and the pain is better, so you conclude that the medication is effective. In reality, you have just managed the withdrawal pain!
To learn more about medications and pain, click here.
Against All Pains 