Morphine Rehabilitation and Treatment

This guide was written to provide an overview of the morphine rehabilitation process, as well as to offer helpful resources for persons recovering from morphine addiction.

Morphine rehabilitation is a multi-step process that begins with an orientation to the rehabilitation facility. The individual has an opportunity to meet the treatment staff and find out what services are available. Orientation is usually followed by an individual assessment that covers the person’s health history, family history, addiction triggers, and history of substance use. This assessment helps treatment staff develop a plan for addressing the individual’s physical and psychological needs throughout the rehabilitation process.

The individual then goes through an initial detoxification period, which is medically managed to ensure morphine is eliminated from the body safely. Once the detoxification period is complete, the individual participates in therapy programs and receives other services to ensure that any underlying issues are addressed. These services also give the individual access to a support network, which can be helpful for avoiding relapse.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) classifies controlled substances according to their potential for abuse. Morphine is considered a Schedule II controlled substance, which means DEA officials consider it to have high abuse potential. Misuse of morphine is especially prevalent in the Middle East. According to the 2019 World Drug Report, drug-enforcement officials seized more than 63,000 kilograms of morphine in Afghanistan in 2017. Officials seized more than 15,000 kilograms in Iran and just under 7,300 kilograms of morphine in Pakistan during the same year.

It is difficult to recover from morphine addiction due to the way morphine affects the brain. Taking morphine triggers the release of dopamine, a chemical that enhances an individual’s sense of well-being. Dopamine is responsible for the calm, euphoric feeling a user experiences after taking morphine. The rush of dopamine is interpreted by the brain as a reward, reinforcing the behavior and making it even more difficult to recover from morphine addiction.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimated in 2015:

• 697,000 individuals 12 years of age and older — 0.3% of the population — misused morphine products.
• 124,943 individuals 12 years of age and older in need of treatment enrolled in a rehabilitation program for misuse of opiates other than heroin, which includes morphine products.

Recovery from morphine addiction begins with an initial detoxification process that clears morphine from the user’s body. Morphine has a relatively short half-life of two to three hours, which means about half of the substance will be eliminated from the body within this time frame. The initial detoxification process typically lasts about 72 hours, but it may take up to a week in heavy users.

Post-acute withdrawal symptoms are withdrawal symptoms that persist for more than two weeks after the individual stops using morphine. Depending on how long the user has been addicted to morphine, how much morphine the user had been taking, and other factors, these post-acute symptoms may last for several months.

One of the most positive aspects of morphine detoxification is that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several types of medications to ease withdrawal symptoms and make the detoxification process safer for opioid users. These medications include Methadone, Naltrexone, and Buprenorphine. Methadone is used to make withdrawal symptoms less severe. Naltrexone is used to help prevent relapse in people who use morphine and other opioids. Buprenorphine may reduce the amount of time it takes to detox from morphine. A medication called clonidine can be used to treat some of the physical symptoms of morphine withdrawal, including muscle aches, cramping, sweating, and runny nose.

For more information about withdrawal, read our guide on morphine addiction.

Medication-assisted treatment and behavioral therapies are both used to treat morphine addiction. Medication-assisted treatment combines medications with behavioral therapies to improve the individual’s chances of recovery and reduce the risk of relapse. Medications reduce withdrawal symptoms and help with cravings, while behavioral therapies help individuals change their attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors.

Within either an inpatient or outpatient setting, treatments such as detoxification services, behavioral therapies, and medication-assisted treatments are offered for varying lengths of time.

Inpatient treatment involves living full-time (including overnight) at a treatment facility for a set period of time. Outpatient treatment involves scheduled appointments at a facility for which you are free to come and go. Within each category, there are several distinctions.

Behavioral therapy for substance addiction seeks to identify and manage addictive behaviors that lead to substance use and prevent relapse. Behavioral therapy is based on the concept that all behavior is learned. Thus, unhealthy behavior can be changed through learning coping skills and increasing awareness of negative thoughts and beliefs that contribute to substance abuse.

When seeking out a treatment facility for morphine addiction, looking for facilities that offer supervised detoxification can help the individual avoid some of the most uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms and eliminate morphine from the body in a safe manner. During this detoxification period, experienced treatment professionals are available to help meet the individual’s medical and psychological needs.

Rehabilitation centers offering both behavioral therapies and medication-assisted treatment can help individuals get to the root of their addictions and develop better coping skills, both of which can help prevent relapse once the initial rehabilitation process is complete. Facilities that use cognitive-behavioral therapy and 12-step facilitation therapy may be the most effective, as both have proven to be effective in treating opioid addiction.

Inpatient rehabilitation is especially helpful for individuals with co-occurring mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Inpatient facilities offer much-needed structure, access to experienced counseling professionals, and the social support individuals need to gain sobriety and prevent relapse when they return home.

Our directory of rehab programs includes a comprehensive list of available treatment centers and programs as provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In the directory, you will find tools to filter the programs by setting, price, and location.