After brutal molar extraction Oral Surgeon put me on opioids. After 3 days I developed extreme itching. Why??

https://anesthesiaexperts.com/uncategorized/opioids-itching-connection/ says

Why does opioid use cause itching?

“Opioids such as oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), codeine, and morphine are valuable medications for treating moderate to severe pain. However, they can cause physical side effects, such as itching, even when an individual takes them as prescribed.

“Itching is extremely common among people using opioids. One 2021 study found that between 60–90% of individuals experienced itching following the use of lipophilic opioids, such as fentanyl. After morphine use, 60–85% experienced itching as a side effect. 

“Opioids cause itching because they can trigger an immune system response that affects receptor proteins on the surface of mast cells.

“Mast cells are a type of white blood cell found in connective tissue throughout the body, particularly in the skin and nerves. These cells help the immune system respond to pathogens, such as bacteria and parasites, and control other types of immune responses.

“Most cells contain chemicals, such as histamine and cytokines, that they release during allergic reactions and some immune responses. This helps the body widen blood vessels, allowing more blood to the area. However, this can also cause itching and inflammation.

“It seems that when individuals use opioids, their mast cells may respond as if it were an allergic reaction.

“An individual may also feel itchy due to the effects of opioids on the nervous system. The itch sensation can transmit from the skin to the brain via the nerves due to opioids interacting with skin receptors.”

This is not superstition about money. No rash. No bumps. Just a screaming itch.. And I am lucky enough to have the experience! There is also research linking pain to itch sensations in the body.

If you did not live with me you might think I make this stuff up! Oi! If only that were true and I did not have to experience all of this.

“Opioid use for severe pain may trigger mast cell reaction with itching.” Did I mention itching? My palms itch with no reasonable solution.  No lotion, cream or ointment helps. Ice pack doesn’t really dull it. Breathing into it? Well, that means being willing to truly feel it. Not willing yet as I have been battling it for several days. Cut back my dosage and added Benadryl. Still there, but less so.

Paul wrote about his thorn in the flesh. Perhaps this has been one of my thorns? As I child I had such itching all over my back that doctor thought perhaps I was allergic to oranges. Not so. It seems as if I have always been itchy. During my first pregnancy I had itching. Went through a tube of Cortizone in about a week. Doctor was aghast. Later in life I had an allergic reaction to Prolia with rash and itching from shoulders to thighs for 3 months. All they could do was sedate me until the drug was out of my system.

This is over the top though. Today I have had no opioid. Over 24 hours now since I swallow 1/2 tablet. Just Tylenol and I am clawing my hands. Oh Lord, have mercy, I pray.

C. S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain.” I hear your shouting God, help me to understand what You desire of me. Perhaps He simply wants me to write about all this and publish it on this blog so others can be comforted?

Use my writing to Your glory, Father.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5