1. Can I take my friend’s opioid pain medications? I hurt myself and I need some.

Opioid medications can be dangerous: the wrong dose could cause respiratory depression and death. Opioid therapy is always started with a low dose which is then increased gradually. Tolerance develops and the risk of respiratory depression decreases in a regular user.

If someone you know is taking a high dose of opioids and does not develop a respiratory problem, it means they have developed tolerance over time. If you take these medications and you weren’t taking them before, the dose might be too high and cause serious problems. Other side effects or drug interactions must not be underestimated either.

To make sure treatment is safe, opioids must be prescribed by a doctor. The doctor will also assess the cause of the pain. He may order examinations or tests in order to make a diagnosis. Also, the appropriate treatment may not be treatment with opioids at all, but with a medication from another family of drugs, surgery, physiotherapy, etc. Remember also that opioids only act on the pain, not on the cause of the pain.