From: [REDACTED] at [O.M] (Sir William Osler) Newsgroups: alt.drugs.hard Subject: Re: Heroin Nausea Date: Thu, 02 Nov 95 21:26:43 GMT [p--t--r] at [petermc.demon.co.uk] (Peter McDermott) wrote: >[s--i--e] at [psuedonym.com] (Spike) wrote: >>Does anyone know why dope causes nausea?It doesn't seem to make a >I'm not sure why it causes nausea, but it may be for the same >reason that it causes constipation. Apparently, there are lots >of endorphin receptors in the stomach and gut. From Goodman and Gilman (1967) "The nauseant and emetic effects of morphine and its derivatives are ... caused by direct stimulation of the CTZ in the area of the postrema of the medulla...Certain individuals never vomit after morphine, whereas others do so each time the drug is administered. Nausea and vomiting are relatively uncommon in recumbent patients...but...nausea occurs in approx 40% and vomiting in 16% of ambulatory patients given 15mg subcutaneously....In addition to stimulating the CTZ, MORPHINE DEPRESSES THE VOMITING CENTER {of the brain...emphasis original}. Thus after therapeutic doses of morphine, subsequent doses of the drug are unlikely to produce vomiting; other emetics are also ineffective after morphine. All clinically useful narcotic analgesics produce some degree of nausea and vomiting." Don't know how I ever lived without this tome...wish I had an up to date edition... .