Older people in particular may experience side effects from opioids.

The drug has no effect on those who haven't taken opioids.

Like most side effects of opioids, they usually wear off over time.

Limit your use of opioids to less than 2 weeks.

Like with most other opioids, there is a high risk of addiction.

Patients should be watched closely for side effects of opioids.

Opioids were used to treat major depression until the late 1950s.

Opioids also may be used for pain relief after surgery.

Most ultimately did resort to opioids, usually in the last few weeks of life.

At higher doses, though, opioids may affect heart rate and blood pressure.

It targets the same places in the brain that opioids do.

Opioids can reduce the sensation of pain and cause deep sleep.

In some cases, it was given with opioids to reduce nausea.

Q: Would you say that opioids are a last resort?

With strong opioids, the dose depends on the amount of pain.

It is not known how many patients need long-term treatment with opioids, particularly at high doses.

Many individuals report reduced pain levels when opioids are withdrawn.

Less than 1 percent of patients taking opioids actually become addicted."

Doctors are not the only people reluctant to venture into using opioids.

Opioids are a large group of drugs and they have been used as a medicine to fight pain for many centuries.

Q: What about the use of opioids for breakthrough pain?

The most common medicines used are opioids, also known as narcotics.

People with intense pain can take very high doses of opioids without getting side effects.

Most people take opioids until the pain goes away.

Sometimes, in severely addicted people, the opioids should not be used at all.

The drug has no effect on those who haven't taken opioids.

Limit your use of opioids to less than 2 weeks.

Sometimes one form of opioid works much better than other forms.

Older people in particular may experience side effects from opioids.

So then it is time rotate again to another opioid.

Like most side effects of opioids, they usually wear off over time.

Like with most other opioids, there is a high risk of addiction.

Opioids were used to treat major depression until the late 1950s.

Most ultimately did resort to opioids, usually in the last few weeks of life.

The main opioid we use, morphine, has been around for some 200 years.

Q: Would you say that opioids are a last resort?

Opioids also may be used for pain relief after surgery.

Patients should be watched closely for side effects of opioids.

Sometimes, in severely addicted people, the opioids should not be used at all.

It targets the same places in the brain that opioids do.

In some cases, it was given with opioids to reduce nausea.

Most people take opioids until the pain goes away.

Nevertheless, some physicians continue to use it as a first line strong opioid.

Q: What about the use of opioids for breakthrough pain?

The most common medicines used are opioids, also known as narcotics.

Age (young or old) is not a contraindication to strong opioids.

Less than 1 percent of patients taking opioids actually become addicted."

Doctors are not the only people reluctant to venture into using opioids.

It is reasonable to base the choice of opioid on other factors.

However, this problem is not limited to opioids alone.