Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with GoogleGet your health question answered instantly from our pool of 18000+ doctors from over 80 specialties
Bloating In Stomach. Stopped Taking Morphine Pills. Withdrawal Symptoms Or Related To Stress?
My wife reduced and has now eliminated the number of morphine pills her pain doc prescribed. But in the past 4 weeks has an increasingly bloated stomach. Can morphine narcotics withdrawal and/ or related anxiety/stress cause her stomach to bloat so much that she now feels she looks pregnant.
Thanks for your response!
(Rabbi Dr Ed weinsberg)
Thanks for your response!
(Rabbi Dr Ed weinsberg)
Wed, 28 Aug 2013
Hello,
Thank you for the query. I have gone through your query and understood your concerns. The symptoms you have mentioned seems like withdrawl symptoms but we are not sure until and unless we examine the patient. I advice to go for a scan abdomen to rule out organic causes. After stopping morphine we will have weight loss first and after that you will have trouble in weight control. Most of the symptoms will be psychological so its better to consult your treating doctor for examination. Thank you.
Thank you for the query. I have gone through your query and understood your concerns. The symptoms you have mentioned seems like withdrawl symptoms but we are not sure until and unless we examine the patient. I advice to go for a scan abdomen to rule out organic causes. After stopping morphine we will have weight loss first and after that you will have trouble in weight control. Most of the symptoms will be psychological so its better to consult your treating doctor for examination. Thank you.
I find this answer helpful
Hi,
Thanks for writing to us,
Morphine is an opioid that has significant effects on the bowel and the chronic regular use, dose escalation or withdrawal following chronic use can cause abdominal symptoms. Pain is usually the predominant symptom and others like nausea, bloating, vomiting, abdominal distension and constipation can also be seen. There are drugs to reduce the withdrawal symptoms like Clonidine which have found to be useful in these cases. Anxiety is also a common cause of the symptoms but it is unlikely that it presents with no other symptoms of anxiety and bloating of stomach alone.
It is advisable you visit your doctor for relief of the symptoms.
Hope this helps,
Dr A Rao Kavoor
Thanks for writing to us,
Morphine is an opioid that has significant effects on the bowel and the chronic regular use, dose escalation or withdrawal following chronic use can cause abdominal symptoms. Pain is usually the predominant symptom and others like nausea, bloating, vomiting, abdominal distension and constipation can also be seen. There are drugs to reduce the withdrawal symptoms like Clonidine which have found to be useful in these cases. Anxiety is also a common cause of the symptoms but it is unlikely that it presents with no other symptoms of anxiety and bloating of stomach alone.
It is advisable you visit your doctor for relief of the symptoms.
Hope this helps,
Dr A Rao Kavoor
I find this answer helpful
Disclaimer: These answers are for your information only and not intended to replace your relationship with your treating physician.
This is a short, free answer.
For a more detailed, immediate answer, try our premium service
[Sample answer]
Related questions you may be interested in
Recent questions on Withdrawal symptoms?
Loading Online Doctors....