"long term constant exposure to opioids will literally begin cause the pain they purport to solve." From peronal albeit limited experience, I don't doubt that

"long term constant exposure to opioids will literally begin cause the pain they purport to solve." From peronal albeit limited experience, I don't doubt that opioids can cause pain they purport to relieve. I used to take an OTC painkiller for headaches that was a combination of 500mg acetaminophen (aka paracetamol) and 10mg codeine and whilst it was somewhat effective the frequency of my headaches actually increased. It eventually dawned on me that the painkiller and or the frequency of taking it was causing some rebound effect and that the likely culprit was the codeine - given that it was an opiate and thus potentially addictive. I then switched to acetaminophen-only tablets and although less effective as a painkiller than the combination, the frequency of my headaches decreased quite dramatically. I never exceeded the recommended daily dose nor did I take the tablets every day (as I've always been aware of acetaminophen's potential to cause life threatening liver damage on overdose), so my codeine intake would have been within acceptable limits (especially given the painkiller's OTC status). That said, I abruptly switched to the non-codeine formulation without any noticeable withdrawal symptoms. The fact that codeine could cause headache pain when taken at dose levels below that which would be considered potentially addictive has never been lost on me. I'm very surprised that the public hasn't been warned more widely about this issue.