Taken from the opium alkaloid, oxycontin is a white, odorless, crystalline powder. It is the brand name for a powerful painkiller called oxycodone hydrochloride. This drug is used as a mild to severe pain reliever for patients with chronic pain. Cancer patients are commonly prescribed with this drug and it has been praised for its long lasting pain relieving quality.
Besides its pain relieving benefits, the drug could provide the body with 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. However, the drug becomes abused and people are more likely developing an addiction to the drug. Abusing it is through chewing, crushing, or dissolving the pill into liquid form, and then eating 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 shows 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.
Addiction to this drug forces the person to take in more dosage otherwise they would experience physical 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 detrimental.
Oxycontin is a prescription drug and is use 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 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 has the notion that 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.
An oxycontin addict may admit that they have become dependent on the drugbut it’s the physical will to stop taking the drug that is too complicated to deal with. Why so difficult? One, an individual becomes very dependent on the drug and two, discontinuing usage would mean painful side effects. Yes, the drug may be man’s best friend but once you turn your back on it, it becomes a snake that poisonously bites it could kill you. Once the intake 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.
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. Another way of treating opioid addiction is through rapid detox. Furthermore, medication is accompanied 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.
