Posted on 07/06/2022 7:50:25 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Opioids are the gold standard for treatment of chronic and acute pain; however, their use may result in significant gastrointestinal side effects, including nausea, vomiting, and constipation. A new study is the first report of how opioids like morphine cause gastric inflammation and how this condition can be reversed through treatment with proton pump inhibitor drugs like omeprazole, an over-the-counter medication commonly used to reduce stomach acid.
Opioid users, compared with non-users, have a higher incidence of gastric dysfunction, greater levels of gastric retention, worse quality of life, increased hospitalizations, and increased use of antinausea and pain medications.
To investigate the effect of morphine on gastric inflammation, the researchers treated mice with morphine or a placebo. They found that morphine-mediated gastric damage is a consequence of the accumulation of acid in the stomach due to increased gastric acid secretion and delayed gastric emptying, thereby increasing the retention time of acid in the stomach. In vivo imaging confirmed that the morphine-treated mice had delayed gastric emptying. Dramatic gastric damage included significant disruption of the gastric mucosal cells, a reduced glandular region and increased gastric cell death.
An important novel finding of this study is that co-administration of the proton pump inhibitor omeprazole with morphine provides gastroprotection by blocking gastric acid secretion, directly reducing gastric delaying and inflammation, and improving morphine tolerance.
The study also addressed an important concern about whether the gastroprotective effect of omeprazole in any way compromises the analgesic effect of morphine. The investigators found that pretreatment resulted in a significant improvement in morphine-induced analgesic tolerance. In previous research they had found that morphine can activate proinflammatory cytokines that drive morphine tolerance. They hypothesize that omeprazole breaks the cycle of chronic morphine tolerance by reducing the level of these cytokines.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
I’m on omeprazole, but I need opioids for my pain but docs in the military and VA won’t prescribe it.
I never had any of these problems when my doctors and I decided it was best for me to become addicted to opiates for a few months before my surgery??
Nothing prevents you from just growing your own opium poppies, it is Perfectly legal to grow them, they grow wild in half of this country, you can buy the seeds off Amazon. It is only a supposed crime to harvest the Opium. Grow your own and learn how to make Tea!!
I read it’s hard to get the tea right.
You don’t want an opioid habit. I was run over by an illegal who was drunk at the time. Literally flattened, like you see in cartoons. Was on morphine for several months. Even after that short time period, including tapering to 1/8th of a tablet, withdrawals were hell.
I cant’t stand opioids, they are horrible. We need a new medication.
Jim Hogshire
Opium for the Masses
in paperback and you can download it for free
withdrawals were hell
I was only in hell for 3 days when I went thru withdrawls,Cold Turkey!! from a 50 percodan a day habit I developed over 3 months after a bad motorcycle accident. But I did it in a Hospital bed under doctors care. After 1 week I was clean and had my surgery, woke up pain free and clean. This was 1979, they don’t do this anymore
“...this condition can be reversed through treatment with proton pump inhibitor drugs like omeprazole...”
Poison. No credibility in this article.
My friend from high school got busted for growing poppies and offering them to people “to make tea”. DEA busted him, seized his farm and bank accounts, and he had a heart attack and died shortly after. Multi-part local newspaper story here.
It’s what killed the King on his throne.
In Memphis, 1977.
Opioid induced gastro problems included constipation. He blew a gasket on the crapper, to quote Paulie “Walnuts” Galtieri.
I just had surgery and was prescribed omneprazole along with opioids.
Isn't omeprazole only supposed to be taken for a limited time, and then you have to go off it?
For the record:
A month or so ago I discovered that omeprazole was last on a list of causes of low blood protein. My blood protein has been below the low for five or so years. I attributed the fact to surgery in ‘17 and inactivity for a good while.
I looked at the graph and guess what? The protein lever decrease followed precisely the start of the omeprazole. I ceased taking the drug and the next lab report showed a near vertical increase in the graph of blood protein.
Omeprazole is not a problem for most but for me it was an insidious drag on my body function
I believe it should only be taken for a short period of time.
My mother-in-law has been taking it for years, and we can’t convince her she doesn’t need it, any longer.
Sadly, as we age, our stomachs stop making much gastric acid, so further blocking it is just not good.
Strangely believe it, after I quit taking it, I realized that I no longer need it.
Minor gastric distress can be eliminated with tums as required
Supposedly, but my gerd is so bad I can’t. Doctor told me I’m stuck on it for life. I tried once to come off it and nearly choked in my sleep.
I have it sometimes. Used to not bother me, but now that I am in my mid-60’s it does. I did the Omeprazole and it helped, but I was afraid to go back on it. I take a Pepcid when I am eating something that causes problems, like tomato sauce.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.