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If you are in an immediate emergency, call 911. If you are looking for more information on substance abuse treatment and it is not a medical emergency, call our 24/7 Morphine Helpline at 407-680-1226.
Morphine is an opiate pain medication that affects the central nervous system by decreasing pain signals and the emotional response a person has to pain. Morphine can be prescribed to patients for acute and chronic pain. However, this pain relief can also come with feelings of euphoria or pleasure, which give morphine a high risk for abuse and addiction. Morphine addiction is part of an opioid epidemic in the U.S., but addiction treatment is available for those who need it.
Morphine is used to treat many different medical conditions, including:
People abuse morphine in different ways. Some may take the drug without a prescription or more often than prescribed. Others may attempt to use morphine in ways other than intended, such as crushing the drug into a powder and snorting or injecting it. However, drug manufacturers have developed abuse-deterrent morphine formulations to counteract this. This makes the morphine more difficult to cause a high when injected or snorted.
Although some dosage forms of morphine are available as generic drugs, morphine is also available under a variety of brand names. These include:
Morphine doses are highly individualized. The dose a doctor prescribes is often based on how opioid tolerant a person is. For example, for a person who does not regularly take opioids, a typical morphine starting dose is 10 mg by mouth every four hours as needed for pain. However, a person who regularly takes opioids may be prescribed a higher dose of morphine.
To lower the risk of addiction and overdose, doctors generally prescribe the lowest effective morphine dose for the shortest possible period of time.
Morphine comes in a variety of dosage forms so that it can be given to a person in different ways. Although morphine can be used in many healthy patients who need an opioid, the drug is strongly associated with end-of-life care. For this reason, it is available in more dosage forms than other opioids. These dosage forms can, in turn, be easier to administer to a person at the end of their life who has trouble swallowing.
Brand names | Short-acting or long-acting? | Reserved for hospital use or | |
Morphine Tablets | |||
Oral tablets | – Oramorph, MS Contin | Short-acting Long-acting | Available for outpatient use Available for outpatient use |
Oral dissolvable tablets | – | Short-acting | Available for outpatient use |
Morphine Capsules | |||
Oral capsule | Avinza, Kadian | Long-acting | Available for outpatient use |
Morphine Drip | |||
Injection | Astramorph, Duramorph , Infumorph | Short-acting | Reserved for hospital use |
Other Morphine Forms | |||
Oral liquid | – | Short-acting | Available for outpatient use |
Rectal suppositories | RMS | Short-acting | Available for outpatient use |
Yes. As a Schedule II controlled substance, morphine carries a high risk of addiction. The drug is addictive because it triggers the brain’s reward pathways, leading you to keep seeking morphine even when it is not medically necessary.
Beyond addiction, you can also become physically dependent on morphine, where your body feels like it needs morphine to function normally. People who are dependent on morphine also experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking it, which further encourages their addiction.
Morphine is a prescription opiate that plays a part in the opioid epidemic currently happening in the United States. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse and SAMHSA:
The potential side effects of morphine are like other opioids. Some of the common short-term side effects of opioids include:
Morphine can also cause more dangerous, even deadly, side effects. This includes the possibility of an overdose. An overdose is a medical emergency; if you witness any of the following symptoms, administer naloxone (Narcan) if available and call 911:
Morphine slows the central nervous system as it binds to mu opioid receptor sites in the brain. Because the brain controls breathing and heart rate, if someone takes too high a dose of any opioid, including morphine, their breathing can slow to a deadly point.
If morphine is combined with other central nervous system depressants, the risk of overdose increases. For example, if someone takes morphine with another opioid, a benzodiazepine like Xanax or combines it with alcohol, the risk of an overdose increases significantly. For this reason, morphine carries a Boxed Warning against using benzodiazepines and opioids together.
If you stop an opioid like morphine cold turkey or significantly decrease your dose all of a sudden, you will likely experience withdrawal symptoms. Morphine withdrawal symptoms can be very uncomfortable, which often tempts the person to start using morphine again. Undergoing a medical detox can ensure you have support to address withdrawal symptoms, making the process as comfortable as possible and ensuring you don’t relapse during detox.
Morphine withdrawal symptoms are similar to other opioids and include:
If you take a short-acting form of morphine (which are generally dosed “as needed”), withdrawal symptoms may start as little as 8 to 24 hours after the last dose and can last for up to 10 days.
If you take a long-acting form of morphine (such as Kadian, MS Contin or Avinza), withdrawal often starts between 12 and 48 hours after the last dose and can last between 10 and 20 days.
Long after morphine’s pain-relieving effects wear off, the drug can remain detectable in your system. How long it is detectable depends on what is being tested:
These timeframes are rough estimates of how long morphine can be detected. Other factors can influence whether morphine shows up on a drug test, such as:
The first step in stopping morphine use involves detox. Morphine detox is the process by which your body removes the morphine from its system. Medical detox programs exist that offer around-the-clock supervision from doctors and nurses so you can recover from morphine in the most comfortable way possible and avoid an immediate relapse. While in a medical detox, the medical team monitors and treats you for withdrawal symptoms as they occur.
However, detox is merely the first step in the lifelong process of overcoming morphine. Detox is typically followed by addiction treatment in a rehab program. In rehab, you can examine why you relied on morphine in the first place and learn coping skills to avoid morphine use in the future.
Multiple addiction treatment programs are available, including:
Morphine, like other opioids, is very potent and can quickly lead to abuse and addiction. If you or your loved one is struggling with morphine abuse, contact Orlando Recovery Center. Our licensed team of addiction professionals provide evidence-based compassionate care to start your life without opioids.
The Recovery Village aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with a substance use or mental health disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral health conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider.