Oxycontin Dependency
Posted by Drug Abuse Help | Filed under Official Drug Abuse Hotline
Taken from the opium alkaloid, oxycontin is a white, odorless, crystalline powder. It is the brand name for a powerful painkiller called oxycodone hydrochloride. Oxycontin is commonly used as a mild to severe pain reliever for patients with chronic pain. Cancer patients are usually prescribed with this substance and it has been acknowledged for its long lasting pain relieving quality.
Oxycontin does not just lessens pain but it also gives the body a relaxing and euphoric feeling. This substance has a time-release structure that will last for 12 hours. When taken properly, which is through swallowing it whole, it is safe and not destructive. Once abused, addiction would always follow. Abusing it is through chewing, crushing, or dissolving the pill into liquid form, and then injecting the solution. Through this, the drug is released all at once and the user experiences a rush similar to heroin, thus experiencing euphoria and the like. Oxycontin addiction manifests through chronic use and increasing tolerance so that more of the drug is needed to feel the same effects day by day. Consequently, like any other addiction, life is slowly disrupted and destroyed.
Once oxycontin addiction kicks in, an individual needs to increase the dosage to avoid experiencing pain. Side effects of the addiction include insomnia, muscle and bone pain, sweats, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, stomach cramping, and muscle twitching. Severe side effects could be detrimental.
Oxycontin is a prescription drug and is prescribed to lessen pain. However, when it is abused and used for the purposes it also elicits dangerous effects maybe not sooner, but later on as the euphoric effect subsides. That is why it is called addiction because the once the person takes in the drug and gets the high feeling, he/she is, in a way, reinforced to take in more of the drug so as to get the same feeling again. One former oxycontin user testified that within a very small amount of time of taking in the tablet, he felt like superman, he could work all day, go home, and play with his kids. He felt he could do everything he wanted. Common sense would tell us that the quick effects of the drug are very appealing. As time would pass, continuous use of the drug would lead to dependence. Thus, you couldn’t get away with the drug. That’s when the problem starts.
Dependents on oxycontin admits that they have become dependent on the drug, however, it’s the physical will to stop taking the drug that is too difficult to deal with. Why is this so? One, they have become very dependent on the drug and two, stopping would mean painful side effects. Every thing always has it’s negative sides. Once the intake of the drug is stopped by an addict, he/she is more likely to experience withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal syndrome is characterized by dysphoria, the opposite of euphoriathat entails sadness, depression, anxiety, and craving. Nothing really lasts forever.
A medical professional is always needed to cure oxycontin dependency. There are a number of means to treat oxycontin addiction. This includes medication and behavioral and counseling approaches. The substance methadone is helpful in eliminating drug craving and symptoms of withdrawal. Rapid detox is also one option to treat opioid addiction. Furthermore, medication is accompanied with counseling and behavioral therapy because addiction is not only biological but psychological.
The substance oxycontin is very helpful in taking away pains especially to cancer patients. However, once abused, one may develop oxycontin addiction and thus should be put admitted to a rehab for treatment.
