Posted by kittencat on May 28, 2004, at 5:39:21
Perhaps the wrong forum...but I'm just curious. Has anyone experienced tolerance to opiates such as Vicodin (increasingly larger doses, less effective pain relief, less of a sense of well being, etc.?) I know these effects will happen to anyone who is on any kind of synthetic opiate-based narcotic pain reliever for any extended period of time, but what I don't understand is why, when you completely taper off of the drug, & don't take it again for say, two months, the tolerance is still as high as if you had been continuously taking it when you begin again? (at least for me, it is). We all know there is a pretty enjoyable high (for most...not all) on these drugs...why does it subside, even after a long vacation from the drug? What happens in your brain that you continue to tolerate high doses & no longer feel "high", if you will? Does long term opiate use actually permanently alter the brain's chemistry?
Any thoughts, facts, or guesses? Thanks...
poster:kittencat
thread:351391
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040527/msgs/351391.html