If the addiction keeps on going, eventual permanent brain changes can appear, which eventually adapts to the drug’s presence. Both prescription and recreational users of Opioids find that they will have to take increasingly larger doses of the drug to get the same effects, a process known as developing a tolerance. As users take greater and greater amounts of Opioids, they become progressively dependent on them. At this point, a full-blown addiction has developed. Even patients who experience chronic pain may be at risk for addiction, even though they are prescribed Opioids for treatment. 