Opiates and Stomach Problems

First off, I'd like to say hello to everyone here as this is my very first Hip Forums post. I've been looking for a forum like this for a while now and I'm very glad to have found it. Anyway, the purpose of posting this thread is to ask about the effects of opiates on the digestive system (specifically the stomach).

Just for some background, I am 19 years old and have been recreationally using opiates semi-regularly (about six to twelve pills per month, usually ingested 2-3 at a time) for about a year now. From reading around a little bit, I'd assume that a lot of you could handle six to twelve pills in one night and probably do so frequently, so taking that amount over the span of a month probably seems like nothing (keep in mind that I am young and have only had a year's worth of experience on oxycodone, hydrocodone, tramadol, and a couple of other opiates).

The other important background point about myself is that I've been having chronic problems with my stomach and digestive system for about five years. I only recently started seeing specialists at a nearby hospital in hopes of relieving what I believe to be a bad stomach ulcer (though nothing has been diagnosed by a doctor so far because an attempted endoscopy failed a couple of months ago). I've also had an ultrasound and a CAT scan done on my abdomen, but the endoscopy is what would have really targeted the problem since those other tests are pretty general.

Anyway, to make a long thread short, does anyone here know if my use of opiates could further aggravate my stomach problems? I've heard that using Oxycodone can actually increase the size of a stomach ulcer and have very adverse effects on the digestive system as a whole. Any information is appreciated.

 

get some oxycontin and snort it? or extract the apap from the pills and drink it with milk to coat your stomach

 

If it's going to give you problems, then just don't do opiates.

That's like someone who is allergic to chocolate, and they still eat it anyways. If it makes you sick, then it's a bad thing. If it makes you worse off, it's a bad thing.

 

Taking opiates does not make me physically ill other than a little nausea sometimes (which is expected), I was just wondering if I'm doing any bad internal damage that I might not feel or realize is there for quite a while.

Snorting is not a favorite method of mine but it might have to be that or nothing. Again, any further information is appreciated.

 

Are taking an APAP containing opiate? Or an aspirin compound?

Extended over-use of acetaminophen and the liver damage it yields is a sure fire method of commiting a slow suicide.
Are you being prescribed an antibiotic for the ulcer?

 

The opiates that I most frequently use are aspirin compounds.

The only thing I was given for the stomach pain was Prilosec which did absolutely nothing. I think prescribing that medication was a way for the doctors to test if it was just acid reflux or something more serious. After several visits to a specialist, it's definitely something more serious, but nothing has been diagnosed because of the failed endoscopy. I was supposed to have another one done last month but it had to be cancelled because my father's insurance no longer covers me since I turned 19.

To explain my condition: About twice a month, I'll have an entire day where there's a severe burning pain in my stomach (right at the base of my rib cage) that is continuous for several hours and prevents me from sleeping or eating. It's been going on for about five years and is getting pretty bad lately. Everything I've read about my symptoms points to a stomach ulcer, but the doctors I've talked to at the hospital disagree. This pain is actually what caused me to start using opiates since there is nothing else I can do to ease it and it gets very severe at times. Once I take a couple of Oxycodone or whatever, the pain will completely subside within a half hour and I'm able to sleep comfortably. The next morning, the pain is always gone.

 

Sharp pain, or a dull, aching pain. Do antacids help, even temporarily?
History of heart disease?
What is/are the name(s) of the pain meds,i.e. Percodan, or Roxicodone?

 

It's a dull pain that just sits there for hours and gets increasingly worse as the night goes on. Antacids provide absolutely no relief no matter what I take or how much of it I take which is very frustrating. Heart disease is not common in my family from what I can remember at the moment.

As for what I take, it varies depending on who I get it from. My main dealer most often gives me 10mg Vicodin but also has 10mg Percocet from time to time. Other than that I've tried Tramadol, Darvocet, and a of couple others whose names escape me.

 

Probably time for an upper GI endoscopy, dude.

 

Yeah, like I said, I think that's the only test that will really solve the problem.

I went to have one done a couple of months ago and went through the entire process of being evaluated, questioned, taken into the examination room and knocked the fuck out on some strong medicine (which felt really crazy when I woke up), only to wake up an hour later to find out that they could not do the procedure because my throat muscles didn't relax enough to let the camera pass. I was so pissed.

However, I was just informed that my dad's insurance now covers me once again since 2008 arrived. The next possible appointment for an endoscopy probably won't be until at least April, so until then, I'll still be in question as to whether ingesting pain killers has made anything worse.

 

UPDATE: Cold Water Extraction is my homeboy. I was initially very skeptical but this process is awesome and might save my stomach/liver a lot of hassle and toxins.

The Hip Forums rules.

 

Ask for the "pill cam" procedure.

 

Isnt it funny though, how when going into an opiate addiction, most tend to have healthy stomachs, but once your on, the nausea that comes with the rush is a welcome pain, and when you try and quit you get stomach aches without it? :tongue: I always had slight stomach pains though, but I diagnosed myself and realize it was from meat, for some reason I couldnt digest it properly and it was causing me stabbing pains and the like

 

chew chew chew

 

just never snort fucking vic's

 

Six month bump of this thread? Why not?

I guess I'll update anyone who's interested for no reason other than having nothing better to do.

I finally got an endoscopy under general anaesthesia done a couple of months ago at the specialist I've been visiting. Unfortunately there's really not much to report other than the fact that it's definitely not a stomach ulcer. No diagnosis was given, just yet another prescription for Prilosec which is useless for my stomach pain but quite nice for the acid indigestion I used to have on a nightly basis.

I'm still using vicodin to cope with the pain every month as well as to send me into euphoric bliss on days that I don't need it. It's coming at an emotional price, however.

I've used my stomach pain as a way to get two or three pills from my girlfriend on occasions where I have cravings. I've also stolen five percocet from a good friend who was given a one hundred and eighty pill script for his back pain (which I question exists, he used to be a HUGE pill abuser) but I still feel really bad about it and even worse for decieving my girlfriend. Worse yet, her bottle of amazing vicodin is now gone and next time I get my stomach pain I'll have no way to make it subside because I no longer have a source for pills or cash even if I found another dealer.

Right now finding a job and a pill dealer sounds like an awesome time, but that kind of scares me in a way. I don't want to start making money just to spend it on pills and create an addiction that I can't break. I've always been good about not going too overboard with pills but I've been having the worst cravings lately.

Oh well.

 

S2S, I am assuming you have been evaluated for gallstones. If not, opiates will set off the type of pain you are describing. I have that pain still, and had my gallbladder out years ago, but my doc prescribed ms contin this week and I have had two attacks this week. Same thing happened after going on Norco. Also, if you are craving the vikes for the high, squash that in whatever way you can! I have a physical dependance on norco, and it just gets worse. Sometimes I wonder if the pain or the addiction is worse, and then having everyone suspect you of drug seeking behavior if an exacerbation pops up. I finally resorted to carrying around my MRI reports. Point is, I have a legal prescription, and still feel like crap on the pills, because I have a high tolerance built up over the years, and making sure I don't run out can be way too time consuming for comfort!

 

I have been taking opiates for years and i have the same problem with my stomach, i have to take a pill called protnix for acid reflux/ulcer. of course when u stop taking ur opiates and dont eat right ur stomach is goin to be more upset , its called withdrawl, and thats why opiiates make u feel better when ur sick, it calms the acid reflux and acid production. Opiates bind to ur GI tract and when you stop taking them u get the withdrawl and some people get cramps and even that would increase your acid production. If you continue it could even possible be gull stones, you really need to chill out on the opiates and try a prescribtion strength acid pill like Protonix or if u cant afford that try Prevacid.

 

yes, I do take nexium since my insurance won't cover protonix. I've had this problem since I had my gallbladder out, but I had at least one retained stone that I know of. My doc referred me to a GI specialist, so thanks for the feedback.