There’s a bottle of oramorph in my medicine drawer.  Liquid morphine.  It’s sickly sweet, measured in a little cup or syringe.  An opioid painkiller, it’s related to heroin.  It binds to receptors in the spinal cord and brain, blocking the body’s natural response to pain.  It doesn’t necessarily take away pain, but it certainly makes you care less about it.  It’s strong.  It puts you in a woozy haze, somewhere between awake and asleep.  It’s addictive.  Tolerance levels build.  Chronic pain patients can end up taking doses that would kill someone taking it for the first time, and yet they can still be experiencing pain.  Anti-sickness tablets are an essential counterpart, as is water, lots of water, or even better a freezer full of ice-lollies.  Don’t get me started on the drug-induced hangover.Read More