Regularly taking more medicine than prescribed and needing early refills.Take opioids for reasons other than pain control, such as to feel intense happiness and confidence, sometimes called a high, or to relax.Behave in a way that causes concerns about opioid misuse or opioid use disorder.Have poor pain relief from the same dose of medicine over time.Have serious side effects from taking the medicine.Choose to try another pain relief treatment.If you've taken opioids for more than 7 to 10 days, you may need to stop using these medicines to keep from having possible serious problems. Ask your healthcare team if you're not sure when you can stop your opioid medicine. If you've taken opioids for less than 7 to 10 days, you should be able to simply stop these medicines as soon as you've finished the pills your healthcare professional ordered, if not before.
Rarely, opioids may be used to treat long-term pain that's not caused by cancer when other treatments have not worked. Opioid medicines also can play an important role in treating pain from cancer. Your healthcare professional may prescribe opioids to help you get through a few days of severe pain after surgery or a serious injury.
