Chapter 33: Endorphins - Natural Morphine

I had my tonsils removed in August of 1977 when I was 24 years old.  I was teaching first grade students at the time, and was getting repeated upper respiratory infections with a painful sore throat.  I was so frustrated with being sick, I told my doctor the surgery would be worth it to me if there was any chance it would end the infections.

I had some people tell me the pain I would feel after surgery might not be as bad as the pain I felt with the sore throats.  Well, for me the pain after surgery was millions of times worse!  I was in the hospital for a few days, a tonsillectomy was not an outpatient surgery 33 years ago.  While I was in the hospital I was given morphine, by injection, which made the pain bearable.  

After I left the hospital I was given a prescription for a pain killer, I don't remember which drug it was, but it was definitely not as effective as morphine!  I slowly recovered from the surgery and fortunately soon after the repeated infections stopped.  After that experience I knew morphine would be by drug of choice if I was in pain, and in the hospital!

Part of my treatment plan from the Amen Clinic is to do aerobic exercise everyday for 30-40 minutes.  The positive effects of endorphins last for 24 hours, so my doctor recommended I replenish them every day.  Some patients are encouraged to workout at least 5 times per week.

These are my exercise instructions from my treatment plan:  "The health benefit from physical exercise is truly amazing.  Solid research has shown that regular exercise helps protect brain cells against toxins, including free radicals and excess glutamate; helps repair damaged DNA; reduces the risk of cognitive impairment, heart disease and stroke; improves cholesterol and fat metabolism, plus improving blood, oxygen and glucose delivery to tissues; reduces risk of diabetes, osteoporosis, depression , colon and breast cancer.  Regular exercise is one of the best natural treatments for ADD and depression.  I recommend you exercise 30 minutes a day 5 times a week.  In order for the exercise to be aerobic you must have a sustained increased heart rate."

I was doing regular aerobic exercise before I went to the Amen Clinic.  I know I feel better when I work out, but it has been hard for me to be consistent in exercising every day!  I decided I would do some research on endorphins, hoping this will help me start on a daily exercise habit.

CTER - Endorphins

http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Endorphins

"According to Rathus and Nevid, the word endorphin comes from the words endogenous morphine. Endogenous means developing from within. Endorphins are similar to the narcotic morphine in their functions, and we produce them in our own bodies. They occur naturally in the brain and bloodstream.

According to the Houghton Mifflin Dictionary, an endorphin is any of a group of peptide hormones that bind to opiate receptors and are found mainly in the brain. Endorphins reduce the sensation of pain and affect emotions.

According to the 2001 Columbia House Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, endorphins are neurotransmitters found in the brain that have pain-relieving properties similar to morphine. There are three major types of endorphins: beta endorphins, enkephalins, and dynorphin. Beta endorphins are found primarily in the pituitary gland, and enkephalins and dynorphin are both distributed throughout the nervous system. Endorphins interact with opiate receptor neurons to reduce the intensity of pain. Among individuals afflicted with chronic pain disorders, endorphins are often found in high numbers. Many painkilling drugs, such as morphine and codeine, act like endorphins and actually activate opiate receptors. Besides behaving as a pain regulator, endorphins are also thought to be connected to physiological processes including euphoric feelings, appetite modulation, and the release of sex hormones. Prolonged, continuous exercise contributes to an increased production and release of endorphins, resulting in a sense of euphoria that has been popularly labeled "runner's high."

       Types of Endorphins

• Beta-endorphins are produced by the pituitary gland and are believed to produce a greater "high" than the other types of endorphins. The beta-endorphin is generally believed to provide a considerable amount of natural pain relief. Some scientists believe it is due to beta-endorphins that some people who experience a traumatic injury, such as the loss of a limb, experience little or no immediate pain.

• Alpha-endorphins have been studied since the 1970's, but little is known about how they affect the body. Some research suggests that alpha-endorphins may stimulate the brain in ways similar to amphetamines and others claim that they may help treat anaphylactic shock and similar conditions.

• Gamma-endorphins have also been researched since the 1970's, but most of the information on how the substance affects the body is pure speculation. Some studies show that they have antipsychotic effects on patients suffering from disorders such as schizophrenia, while others show that they may help regulate blood pressure.

How Do Endorphins Work?

Endorphins act by locking into receptors in the nervous system for chemicals that transmit pain messages to the brain. Once the endorphin, or the "key", is in the "lock," pain causing chemicals are prevented from transmitting their messages (Rathus and Nevid 2003). Endorphins interact with the opiate receptors in the brain to reduce our perception of pain, similar to the drugs morphine and codeine. The body's release of endorphins, however, does not lead to addiction like morphine and codeine might. 

              RELEASING ENDORPHINS

The release of endorphins is different based on each individual. Certain foods such as chocolate and chili peppers can lead to enhanced production of endorphins. Laughter is thought to release endorphins into the brain. Strenuous exercise, exposure to ultraviolet light, massage therapy, and acupuncture can also activate endorphin production. 

Okay, morphine is still my drug of choice for pain even after trying Oxycodone and Lortab years later after other surgeries. =)  Endorphins are like morphine in their functions and I produce them in my own body.  They occur naturally in my brain and bloodstream.  Yes, this is motivating for me to work out more often even if I don't take advantage of the endorphin "runners high" every day!  I like to do aerobic exercise on an Elliptical Cross Trainer in my basement.  I do not have the excuse that working out is inconvenient.

How endorphins were discovered:

COLIN BLAKEMORE and SHELIA JENNETT. "endorphins." The Oxford Companion to the Body. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (December 4, 2010). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O128-endorphins.html

© The Oxford Companion to the Body 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001. 

endorphins During the 1960s and early 1970s, it became apparent that opioid drugs such as morphine and heroin produced their profound actions in the body by interacting with specific receptors on the outer membrane of nerve cells. This raised the intriguing question of why the body goes to the trouble of synthesizing such receptor proteins. Surely it was not just on the off chance that a drug such as morphine might be administered. In 1975 the group in Aberdeen, Scotland led by Hans Kosterlitz and John Hughes, isolated from the pig brain two related molecules, the enkephalins, which bind to and activate opioid receptors. These enkephalins are short peptides, each comprising five amino acids. Although at first glance the enkephalins did not look similar in chemical composition to morphine, they proved to have a crucial component in common. We now know that the brain contains as many as thirteen such endogenous (internally generated) opioid peptides, which have come to be referred to collectively as ‘endorphins’. 

Well, I definitely believe adding more aerobic workouts to my schedule will help my depression symptoms.  The hard part is depression symptoms make me not want to do anything.  This is what I need to push through and workout anyway.

If you are interested in reading more about endorphins, this website is a good one.  It has photos expressing the molecular structure of different kinds of endorphins, called the Endorphin Collection.  It also has good information.

http://microscopy.fsu.edu/micro/gallery/endorphin/endorphins.html