Oxycontin Dependency
Posted by National Crystal Meth Help | Filed under National Crystal Meth Hotline
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 commonly prescribed with this drug 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. This drug is safe and nondestructive provided that it is taken properly. 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 snorting 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.
Addiction to this drug forces the person to take in more dosage otherwise they would experience physical 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 use to lessen pain. Yet it’s not as innocent as it seem. It also brings detrimental effects once exploited. 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 addict testified that within a few minutes of consuming 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 inviting. 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 drug, however, it’s the physical will to stop using the drug that is too difficult to deal with. Why is this so? One, they have become very dependent on the drug then stopping would mean painful side effects. Every thing always has it’s negative sides. Once the intake of the substance is stopped 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. So as they say nothing 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. 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.
