Opioid Use Disorder

“Opioid use disorder (OUD) is also referred to as opioid addiction. It's a treatable medical condition that changes your brain and body in ways that make it hard to stop using opioids. This is because your body gets used to a regular supply of the drug. With OUD, you crave the opioid and continue using it despite its harmful effects on you and others. The opioid dominates your feelings, thoughts and activities. However, not everyone who uses opioids will develop OUD.”

— Health Canada, 2024

DSM-5 Definition of OUD

  • using more than planned and longer than intended

  • desire to cut down or quit but unable to do so

  • spending a lot of time and effort getting, using and recovering from opioids

  • cravings or strong desire to use opioids

  • failing to fulfil obligations at home, work or school

  • continuing to use even when it causes problems in relationships

  • giving up social, recreational or occupational activities because of opioids

  • using opioids again and again, even when it puts you in danger

  • needing to take more to get the same effect (tolerance)

  • feeling sick when use suddenly stops (withdrawal)

  • continuing to use despite physical or psychological problems

At least 2/11 symptoms above= OUD
2-3 = mild OUD
4-5 = moderate OUD
6 or more = severe OUD

“Addiction cannot be understood from an isolated perspective. It is a complex human condition, a condition rooted in the individual experience of the sufferer and also in the multi-generational history of his or her family and—not least—also in the cultural and historical context in which that family has existed.”

- Gabor Maté, 2014

Common Opioids

  • Hydromorphone

  • Fentanyl

  • Heroin

  • Codeine

  • Oxycodone

  • Hydrocodone

  • Percocet

  • Morphine

  • Demerol

Opioid Withdrawal

Withdrawal is a symptom of addiction. Opioid withdrawal involves a range of extremely uncomfortable psychological and physical symptoms, including:

  • Restlessness

  • Insomnia

  • Fatigue

  • Sweating

  • Runny Nose

  • Chills

  • Nausea / Vomiting

  • Diarrhea / Stomach Pains

  • Muscle pain

  • Cravings