Do some people just not get the euphoric feeling from opiates? Why might this be?
Disclaimer: Asking here because other subs' automods get puritanical about it. I am not considering doing drugs recreationally, nor am I asking for medical advice. Purely curious.
I've never done opiates recreationally, and don't ever plan to, but I do find the science behind it all interesting. Now a little while ago I had a kidney stone, and they loaded me up on opiates. Morphine, Dilaudid, Percocet, all at the max strength they were willing to give me. I didn't get even a hint of euphoric feeling for it, and it did nothing for my pain. What it did do is make me feel extremely sedated yet couldn't sleep a wink, head heavy and clumsy, too tired to even eat, very strange racing imaginative thoughts when I closed my eyes that were nightmarish and not at all pleasant. Absolutely hated it, couldn't wait for it to wear off, and if I end up in the ER with pain again I plan to decline it. I also remember being prescribed Percocet once as a preteen after a surgery and my response was similar.
This experience just got me wondering, why might this be? Could it be an individual variation on opioid receptors? I figured maybe the context of being in horrible pain just colored the experience, but then I've read lots of people say it made them feel euphoric even in a similar medical context. I also have MS, so the bad neurological reaction could have had something to do with that. Not asking for advice since the kidney stone passed a long while ago, and I figure it's a good thing anyhow, but just intellectual curiosity. Having trouble finding info on this cause when you search for it you just get addiction-related stuff.