Taken from the opium alkaloid, oxycontin is a white, odorless, crystalline powder. It is also called oxycodone hydrochloride which is known as a potent painkiller. This drug is 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. The drug 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. 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 shows 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. 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. 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 addict 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 has the notion that he could do everything he wanted. Common sense would tell us that the quick effects of the drug are very inviting. As time would pass, continuous intake of the drug would lead to dependence. Thus, you couldn’t get away with the drug. That’s when the problem starts.
An oxycontin addict may admit that they have become dependent on the drug, however, it’s the physical will to stop using the drug that is too complicated to deal with. Why is this so? One, an individual becomes 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 substance is ended 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.
Treatment for oxycontin addiction is done with a medical professional. There are many ways to treat oxycontin addiction. This includes medication and behavioral and counseling approaches. Methadone can be used as an effective medication that eliminates withdrawal symptoms and relieves drug craving. Another way of treating opioid addiction is through rapid detox. Moreover, medication is accompanied with counseling and behavioral therapy because 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.
