Why do some people get easily addicted to opioids?

[banksock]

I had surgery to remove scalp lesions (Cysts) and they gave me pain pills and it never did anything for me the pain was still there. If i took two pills i'll get nauseous and dizzy, if i took store brand tylenol or Morton the pain would go away.

Same with alcohol i can drink it but after 2-3 drinks it starts getting nasty and i hate the tipsy feeling.

I used to be a nurses aide at the hospital and we used to know who the "Pain Seeking" patients were they always wanted Dilaudid and Benadryl to get high.

[Frostnip]

The thing about NSAIDs (asprin, ibuprofin, etc.) is that they can be more effective for pain in some circumstances because they actually reduce inflammation as opposed to just masking pain signals. So if reducing swelling will help reduce pain or discomfort, a strong NSAID can do more than a mild or low dose opioid when it comes to pain relief.

[ihatetodust]

I didn't even think they helped for pain much less a high. Made me care less that I had nerve pain but didn't really take it away. I never took more than a couple pills and threw them out. (This is back when they were easy to get). Ibuprofen is like eating jelly beans or something it does nothing for me either. IDK. Bodies are weird.

[Submariner]

I delivered some bags of groceries to a neighbor [Richard] today. He has been on dialysis 3X a week for over a year, and he has had a long history to diseases [kidney cancers, deterioration of his Vagus nerve, etc] and heart problems. Last week he went to the ER for chest pains, he has a few stents in his heart [they were checked and are all good], his cardiologist says there is nothing else to be done for Richard.
The bottom third of his heart is not getting blood, his heart is in atrophy. They told him he should have another six months, and they prescribed hydromorphone.

Richard is very conservative, he has never touched drugs.

When he got home with this hydromorphone, he googled it and learned that it is even more powerful than morphine. Now that he has been on it for a week. He tells me that it makes him feel 'normal' again. Except that he must take this pill every four hours, he is now getting restful sleep and he can sleep through the night. It is not making him 'high' in any manner.

I have had other friends, who have been put on morphine for their last few months alive. I suspect that as time goes by, he will require gradually increasing dosages, and as that happens he will get groggy. And not be as clear headed as he is now.