Oxycontin is a white, odorless, crystalline powder derived from the opium alkaloid. 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 praised 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 lasts for 12 hours. When taken properly, which is through swallowing it whole, it is safe and not destructive. However, the drug becomes abused and people are more likely developing an addiction to the drug. Abuse is done by chewing, crushing, or dissolving the pill into liquid form, and then eating the solution. When the drug is released, the effect is similar to heroin. 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. This will start making a person’s life to go on complications.
Once oxycontin addiction kicks in, an individual needs to increase the dosage to avoid experiencing pain. Oxycontin addiction also has side effects this includes insomnia, muscle and bone pain, sweats, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, stomach cramping, and muscle twitching. Severe side effects could be highly dangerous.
Oxycontin is a prescription drug and is prescribed to lessen pain. Yet it’s not as innocent as it seem. It also brings detrimental effects once exploited. Once an individual experiences the “high” brought on by oxycontin, the person is reinforced to take in more to achieve the same “high” feeling. This condition is now called addiction. One former oxycontin user testified that within a few minutes 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 immediate effects of the drug are very attractive. 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 discontinue using the drug that is too complicated to deal with. Why is this so? One, they have become very dependent on the drug and two, discontinuing usage would mean painful side effects. Every thing always has it’s negative sides. Once the usage of the drug is ended by an addict, he/she is more likely to experience withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal syndrome is characterized by dysphoria, the opposite of euphoria, which entails sadness, depression, anxiety, and craving. Nothing really lasts forever.
Treatment for oxycontin addiction is done with a medical professional. There are a number of means to treat oxycontin addiction. Treatments include medication and behavioral and counseling approaches. The substance methadone is helpful in eliminating drug craving and symptoms of withdrawal. Another way of treating opioid addiction is through rapid detox. Moreover, medication should go hain in hand with counseling and behavioral therapy since addiction is not only biological but psychological.
Oxycontin is a drug prescribed by doctors to eliminate mild to severe pain and it is used among cancer patients who experience extreme pain. However, once abused, one may develop oxycontin addiction and thus should be put admitted to a rehab for treatment.
