Purpose of the Drug
Opioids fall in the category of drugs that include pain relievers such as meperidine, morphine, and methadone. The main purpose of opioid usage is to reduce acute pain especially after surgery in patients. There are risks associated with the drugs if abused or wrongly used. When medications of opioids access the body cells, the cells release signals that communicate to the brain that a patient is not in pain hence boosting feeling of pleasure ( Miller et al., 2015).
The recommended dosage of the drug
The recommended dosage of opioid drugs is as per the doctor’s prescription. For example, methadone dosing guideline should be 2.5mg to 5mg, one day for patients who are naive to opioids. Patients who have severe chronic pain require larger doses in a day for example 10mg to 20mg in a day. The doses are increased or reduced slowly depending on the side effect they have on a patient.
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Potential side effects of opioids
Large doses of methadone and morphine can cause drowsiness, respiratory problems, nausea, constipation, hypertension, and even death if not taken cautiously. Long-term usage of opioids can lead to addiction due to pleasure instilled after taking the drug ( Miller et al, 2015).
Functional groups of the drug
Opioids drugs have three major functional groups which include phenylpiperidines belonging to fentanyl; epoxymorphinan such as morphine, oxymorphone, and hydromorphone. The third chemical structure include diphenylheptylamines such as methadone. The compounds have different chemical structure but have one common feature which is the relationship with the opioid receptor. Major differences in the clinical responses of toxicity and safety are seen between classes of opioids.
The mechanism in which drug works
Opioids drugs produce their pharmacological actions by acting on receptors located on the cell membrane. The drugs act on both central and nervous system. Once the drug penetrates the bloodstream, opioid medication attaches itself to receptors in the brain which signals perception of pain and boosts feeling of pleasure.
References
Miller, M., Barber, C. W., Leatherman, S., Fonda, J., Hermos, J. A., Cho, K., & Gagnon, D. R. (2015). Prescription opioid duration of action and the risk of unintentional overdose among patients receiving opioid therapy. JAMA internal medicine , 175 (4), 608-615.
