In my previous post I have talked about “PAIN” relief in cancer. In this post, I will be talking about about opioids- drugs which are used to provide some relief from the constant "difficult" pain.
With each passing day, cancer becoming more aggressive, pain becomes a 'constant' part of life. The pain is not only acute but is chronic and with time, it tends to become more uncontrollable. At this stage doctors prescribe OPIOIDS.
What are opioids?
Opioids are medicines that are used to provide relief from moderate to severe pain( usually in cancer) .These medicines work on the principle of "reducing the intensity" of the pain signals being sent to the brain and affect those areas controlling these senses, and thereby considerably minimising the effects of the painful signals.
Opioids act much like endorphins- natural substances created by the body to restrict or limit pain. Some of them work better than others in terms of providing relief from terrible pain.
Opioids were once formulated from the opium poppy( plant), but today many pharmaceutical companies are creating these drugs synthetically in laboratory, though addiction to these drugs still remains a critical issue .
Types of Opioids
Severe Pain
- Morphine
- Buprenorphine
- Fentanyl and Alfentanil
- Hydromorphone
- Diamorphine
- Methadone
- Oxycodone
Moderate to mild pain
- Tramadol
- Codeine
All of the above mentioned drugs are available at drugs store strictly on prescription.
Side effects
Most of the people taking these drugs over a period of time develop a kind of tolerance to these drugs. Therefore, the doctor has to prescribe higher dosage to provide relief from pain or the other reason can be increase in pain due to the advancement of the disease.
A little increases in the dosage or a change in the type of medicine will help in relieving the pain.
Common Side-effects
- Hallucinations
- Confusion
- Vivid dreams
- Myoclonic jerks.
- Sedation
- Nausea and vomiting
- Constipation
- Dry mouth
- Itchy Skin
- Coughing,wheezing, and shortness of breath
- Difficulty in passing urine
- Blurred vision
Im my personal view these symptoms never actually go away. Though the doctor’s do prescribe some medications to control these symptoms, but they prove to be of little or no help. Eventually all the symptoms emerge. ( In case of my father, where I tried my level best to read about the symptoms before hand, so that I could "prevent" them from emerging. With absolutely no result, my father went away!)
Towards the end, when pain becomes “difficult", the body has become resistant to opioids and nothing helps- the focus should be on making life easy- good palliative care.
Because you love them, tell them, show them- be with them. They need you, for the last time!
I love you papa!
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