Opioids and Opiates : Which gives better Relaxations?
Opioids and Opiates: People carefully distinguish between opioids and opiates groups of narcotics when they speak about them. But, some people use these terms interchangeably or prefer one over the other. Opiates are a subgroup of opioids, which are medications that affect the opioid receptors of your body. All these opioids posses the risk of addiction or overdose if people do not take them exactly as prescribed by their medical professional.
On the other hand, opioids are a group of medications that interact with the opioid receptors of your body. It dulls the senses and eases the pain, and causes a feeling of euphoria. Opiates are a type of opioid.
An opioid drug is an umbrella term that interacts with the opioid receptors in the central nervous system of your body. It includes recreational medication such as prescription pain medications such as oxycodone, morphine, or codeine.
Opiates are the type of opioid that derives from the term poppy plant or opium. Both opioids and opiates drugs are used medically. They are prescribed for moderate to severe pain relief, cough suppression, anesthesia, or for treating substance use disorder.
In this blog, we will explain overviews of opioids and opiates and are the difference between opioids and opiates. It will also advise on how you can seek help for overdose and addiction to opioids and opiates.
Table of Contents
About Opioids drug
Opioids belong to the family of drugs that shares similarities with opium. Some of them are synthetic, while others come from the poppy plant. It works by interacting with opioid receptors in the patient’s brain, spinal cord, and other body parts. These receptors help control the feelings of pain and pleasure, which means these receptors can switch off the pain.
However, it also means that it can dial up pleasure, resulting in feelings of euphoria and dependence. Sometimes, an individual can overdose on opioids.
Some commonly prescribed opioids include oxymorphone, morphine, and hydrocodone. Some opioid drugs also interact with serotonin in the patient’s brain. Serotonin is a hormone that helps in stabilizing mood and boosts the feeling of happiness and well-being.
Some examples of opioid analgesics may include:
In addition to dependence, it also results in serotonin syndrome, referring to too much serotonin in the body. It is a severe condition that can result in:
- Agitation and confusion
- headache and restlessness
- Vomiting and nausea
- Sweating and shivering
Mostly serotonin syndrome can be dangerous. If you are suffering from it, consult for immediate help.
How can I take opioids safely?
According to the National Institute of Drug abuse, opioid medications are usually safe when an individual takes them for a short duration or as their health care provider prescribes them. However, an individual can sometimes misuse opioids as these drugs induce psychoactive effects and feelings of euphoria.
According to World Health Organization, psychoactive drugs are substances that a person takes and ingests that can affect mental processes, including cognition, perception, mood, consciousness, and emotions.
When an individual takes opioid drugs for a prolonged time without a prescription or in a different way than their health care provider prescribes, it may result in overdose or addiction. About 71000 people in the USA died from the overdose of the drug in 2019. Approximately 70 percent of these deaths involved opioids.
Overview of opiates drug
Opiates are the type of opioid, and all opiates derive from the poppy plants. Some of these examples include:
- Morphine and opium
- Heroin and Codeine
These drugs are sometimes synthetic or semi-synthetic, such as heroin. Your health care professional may sometimes advise morphine and codeine to treat pain. However, they may not prescribe illegal; opiates, such as heroin and opium, which people may use recreationally for the psychoactive effects.
What is the difference between opioids and opiates?
The term opioid refers to all the medications that may interact with the opioid receptors of the body, regardless of how producers make them. They can be:
- Semi-synthetic means they derive from natural opioids that producers mix with the synthetic components
- Synthetic opioids
- Natural opioids
On the other hand, opiates are a type of opioid. They naturally occur from the poppy plants and opium. Suppose a person is addicted to them or any of them, whether it is medically prescribed or illicitly obtained. In that case, they may find that switching to other opioids or opiates can help to prevent withdrawal symptoms.
Many people have heard the stories of patients will acute pain who become dependent on prescription pain medications, then switch to illicit opioids or opiates when medical supplies of pain medications run out.
Can we take opioids and opiates together?
According to FDA, it is found that the combination of opioids and opiates or other drugs that depress the central nervous system may result in severe side effects such as slowed heart rate, difficulty in breathing, or even coma. They are used to treat cough and pain. To reduce the use of opioids and opiates, and other CNS depressants together, the FDA labeled a strong boxed warning.
Health care providers should limit prescribing opioids and opiates or other CNS depressants together only to patients who do not have other alternative treatment options available. If opioids and opiates drugs are prescribed together, limit the duration and dosage of each drug to the minimum possible to achieve the desired effects.
Also, warn the people about the risk of side effects such as sedation or difficulty in breathing also avoid taking alcohol while consuming opioids and opiates drugs.
People taking opioids and opiates medications together, caregivers of them should seek medical help immediately if the person they are caring for experiences the symptoms of lightheadedness, dizziness, slowed breathing, or dizziness.
What happens if you misuse opioids?
Opioids are potent drugs only used for patients who do not respond to other treatments. So, if an individual misuse opioid, they can become depended or addicted to them, which can occur with any type of this drug, including opiates. A professional usually refer to it as an opioid use disorder.
Opioid use disorder occurs when an individual takes them for a prolonged time. As they take in heavy amounts, their body builds up a tolerance level to the opioids. It means they need to continuously increase the amount of this drug to feel the same effects, but only under consultation.
Dependence on opioids can cause the inability to cut and control the medication’s use and cause difficulties in fulfilling the obligations, whether at work, home, or school. When someone is dependent on this drug, they may experience withdrawal symptoms when they try to discontinue the treatment.
Withdrawal symptoms may include:
- Vomiting and nausea
- Anxiety, diarrhea, or insomnia
- high body temperature
- Fast heart rate
- High blood pressure
- Chills and sweating
- Pain in bones and muscles
According to a report, millions of people in the USA suffers from dependence on an opioid.
What are the risk factors for opioid and opiate addiction?
When you take opioids and opiates repeatedly over time, your body may reduce the production of endorphins. It may stop triggering such potent good feelings; you can also call it tolerance. One reason addiction to opioids is so common is that an individual who develops the tolerance level may feel driven to increase the amount so they can keep feeling good.
Nowadays, medical professionals are aware of the opioid risk; it is often difficult to get them to increase the amount or even renew their prescription. Some people using opioids need an increased supply turn. So, at this point, they illegally obtain these drugs. Some illegal get opioid is fentanyl.
If you are consuming opioids and you have developed a tolerance level, consult your health care professional for help. There are several ways to make a change and continue feeling good.
Do not stop taking opioids and opiates drugs without consulting your health care professional. Discontinuing it abruptly may result in severe side effects. Professionals can help you to taper off opioids and opiates safely and slowly.
Bottom line
An opioid is like an umbrella that refers to all the medications that interact with opioid receptors of the body. It can ease the pain but also provides the feeling of euphoria. It includes prescription pain medicine, such as tramadol, codeine, or oxymorphone, and illegal medications, such as opium and heroin. They are Schedule II drugs, which means the government controls them like other opioids, but it is not illegal.
On the other opiates are types of opioids that are derived from the poppy plant and opium. Prescription opioid drugs are safe to use when a person takes them only for a short duration and under consultation.
When an individual takes it for a prolonged time, it can develop dependence, also referred to as opioid use disorders. When you take it too much, it can result in an overdose, which can be fatal. So, if you have overdosed on opioid drugs, call for immediate medical help.
