After I published “Could Your Brain Be Wired for Alcoholism?” last month, a number of my followers requested some similar information on how pain meds (opiates) affect the brain. As I was putting that together I realized that with pain meds there are some safety concerns for all. So while this blog post does talk about the science of opiates in the brain, it also raises the question of whether or not these medications are safe for long term pain management. How Opiate Pain Meds Work You may be surprised to know that there are already naturally occurring opioids in the body. They are meant to calm the body down, and they manage the reward and pleasure systems of the brain. When you take sy