Why does oxycodone cause euphoria

Psychological dependence, or addiction, results from changes in brain structure that occur when someone takes opioids for a while. Physical dependence is a condition in which the body becomes so accustomed to the presence of a drug that it begins to rely on it to feel normal.

When someone stops taking oxycodone, the body tries to adjust to the change in chemistry. This results in uncomfortable—and often dangerous—withdrawal symptoms. The presence of withdrawal symptoms is a clear indication of physical dependence. If someone has been taking oxycodone for more than a few weeks and then feels sick when they stop, they have likely become dependent on it. Detoxification is a slow process, and a significant shock to the body, so withdrawal symptoms can be severe and last a long time.

Severe and prolonged withdrawal symptoms often lead people to relapse, especially without professional support and treatment. Because addiction and dependence often occur together, treatment for opioid addiction usually begins with a medically supervised detox program. It can be difficult for someone to focus on mentally healing from addiction while their body continues to crave the drug.

At Vertava Health Ohio , our team of medical professionals monitors each individual through the withdrawal process. But mounting research suggests that the average person doesn't actually reach this euphoric state on opioids, particularly not the first time they try it.

In fact, people who are not addicted to opioids may feel subjectively worse after taking the drug, according to cognitive neuroscientist Siri Leknes. An individual's reaction to opioids depends on many interwoven factors, such as where the person is, their mood, previous drug exposure, genetics and metabolism, she explained. If scientists assume that opioids spark euphoria in most people, they run the risk of overlooking important differences in how individuals react to the drugs, whether on the operating table or in the addiction clinic.

Leknes presented her preliminary findings on Oct. Specifically, her new work investigates the effects of the drug remifentanil, an opioid commonly given before minor surgical operations to relieve pain, ease anxiety and boost the effects of anesthetics, according to the Mayo Clinic. Once administered, remifentanil flips switches in the body and brain known as mu-receptors, according to the U.

National Library of Medicine. Mu-receptors sit within networks of cells that regulate pain in the body. Opioid drugs can relieve pain by tampering with the signals that race through this circuitry. But cells bearing mu-receptors also link up to the brain's reward system and can spark feelings of intense pleasure, or euphoria, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Addiction to opioids is a very complex disease process, involving many different variables. Opioids have a high likelihood of abuse, simply because they impact key areas of the brain responsible for positive reinforcement and reward. The long-term effects of opioids on the brain remain unclear. Physical and structural function may return to baseline following long-term use.

However, opioid use may have profound psychological effects that can continue for many years following discontinuation.

Fortunately, through counseling and medication-assisted treatment programs, recovery is possible. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Opioids and the Brain Opioids are powerful drugs that act on the central nervous system in order to provide pain relief. The genetics of the opioid system and specific drug addictions.

Hum Genet. Epub May 1. Trends Pharmacol Sci. Alterations in brain structure and functional connectivity in prescription opioid-dependent patients. Family life is also a risk factor. Young people in an unhealthy or precarious living situation, especially if they are exposed to addiction and associated behaviours, are at high risk of developing an addiction. Peer pressure from friends and age when drug use begins are also significant factors. Method of delivery plays a large role in addiction.

Snorting oxycodone results in faster onset of action than oral consumption. Injecting oxycodone intravenously causes more extreme and rapid mood changes. Smoking oxycodone also results in rapid onset of action, but the effects wear off very quickly. Teen OxyContin abuse is a growing problem. After consuming this drug, teenagers report believing that they are invincible. The areas in the brain related to making good decisions and risk evaluation do not fully develop until people reach their early 20s.

Teenagers do not try oxycodone believing they will become addicted. Unfortunately, teenagers are even more at risk of addiction than adults. Addiction is more likely for people who begin using at young ages. Faster metabolism also means the effects wear off quickly.

Teenagers can develop a tolerance to oxycodone in a relatively short period of time. Peer pressure plays a significant role in teenage drug use. Old prescriptions may contain a remnant of the drug from a past surgery or injury. Sometimes older prescriptions have been completely forgotten by adults in the home, but teenagers will still find them, even if by chance.

The biggest source of OxyContin, and challenge for parents and rehabilitation professionals, is friends at school. Parents cannot control substances offered to their teenage children at school or social events.

Friends offer drugs for free, at first. Once addiction sets in, teenagers may begin selling drugs to pay for their own use. Instead of a friendly offering to share, they pressure friends and peers to buy the drugs. Teenagers often believe that prescription medications are safer than street drugs such as cocaine or heroin.

Heroin, oxycodone and other opiates or opioids travel through the bloodstream to the brain. They attach to receptors on the surfaces of opiate-sensitive neurons, or brain cells. Attaching to the receptors activates them and triggers biochemical processes that release dopamine and other neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are part of a rewards process when people engage in pleasurable activities such as eating or sex.

The motivation for compulsory use of the drug is twofold. People taking medication for pain relief feel much better when the pain is suppressed, but everyone feels the pleasurable, euphoric effects from opioids.

The brain creates a long-lasting record, or memory, associating good feelings with the circumstances and environmental factors surrounding drug use. This creates conditioned associations that cause cravings for oxycodone or other drugs. The cravings can become strong enough to drive users to seek more drugs, regardless of negative consequences or obstacles.

The mesolimbic, or midbrain, system in the brain is activated by opioids. The mesolimbic system generates signals in the ventral tegmental area VTA of the brain. The VTA triggers a rush of dopamine in another area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens , or NAc. Oxycodone addiction is often accompanied by other mental health disorders. This is known as dual diagnosis or co-morbidity. Anxiety and depression are the two most frequent co-occurring disorders with oxycodone addiction.

Post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD , bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder are also common co-occurring disorders. A mental health disorder increases the risk of addiction. It is important to treat both substance abuse and the co-occurring disorder. This can be challenging because the symptoms of addiction and other mental health disorders overlap. The underlying condition may be missed entirely if a person does not receive help until addiction is already underway.

People use oxycodone and other drugs to relieve guilt, shame, anxiety or depression. Depression causes sombre feelings and sometimes leads to feeling hopeless. People use oxycodone to relieve the feelings of depression. Self-medication is dangerous.

Depressive symptoms may be more severe for a person coming down from a high. The increasingly severe symptoms trigger more substance use, and it becomes an unrelenting cycle. People are at risk of suicide when tolerance builds and oxycodone no longer triggers euphoria. It is also a risk during untreated withdrawal. Oxycodone is a pure agonist opioid like hydrocodone, codeine or fentanyl.

Increasing doses produce stronger effects. Opiates affect the medulla of the brain. These effects are responsible for respiratory depression and cough suppression.

Patients with end-stage lung disease or similar conditions benefit from respiratory depression to a limited extent, but doses are managed carefully by medical professionals. Respiratory depression is the most common cause of death from oxycodone overdose for recreational users. Intravenous use carries the highest risk of fatal overdose, but overdose can occur through other methods of administration too. Once the medication is in the body and binds to opiate receptors in the brain, respiratory depression continues until effects of oxycodone wear off.

Medications like naltrexone can sometimes reverse effects of an overdose by forcing oxycodone molecules out of the opiate receptors. Symptoms of oxycodone withdrawal vary between individuals. The most common symptoms are watery eyes and a runny nose, irritability and anxiety, nausea and vomiting, yawning, sweating , chills, body aches and loss of appetite. People in withdrawal may also experience insomnia , difficulty staying asleep, rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, weakness and panic attacks.

Severe cases of withdrawal can cause elevated blood sugar, low blood pressure and dehydration. Almost everyone experiencing oxycodone withdrawal has intense cravings for oxycodone or any other opioid. The dosage and duration of oxycodone use determine the severity of withdrawal symptoms.