Opioids relieve pain. They also suppress your breathing. The pain system in your body gets used to the opioids faster than the breathing system. Over time, the

Opioids relieve pain. They also suppress your breathing. The pain system in your body gets used to the opioids faster than the breathing system. Over time, the difference between the amount of opioids you need to help the pain and the amount of opioids that make you stop breathing gets smaller and smaller. This has a very predictable bad end result.