Oxycontin Treatment
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. Oxycontin is commonly used as a mild to severe pain reliever for patients with chronic pain. Cancer patients are commonly prescribed with this substance and it has been acknowledged for its long lasting pain relieving quality.
Besides its pain relieving benefits, the drug could provide the body with a relaxing and euphoric feeling. The drug has a time-release structure that lasts for 12 hours. This drug is safe and nondestructive provided that it is taken properly. Once abused, addiction would always follow. Abusing it is through 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.
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. 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 consuming 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 inviting. As time would pass, continuous use of the drug would lead to dependence. The problem begins when you could not get away with the drug.
Dependents on oxycontin admits 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. Every thing always has it’s negative sides. Once the usage 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 euphoria, which 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. 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 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. Nevertheless, when addiction sets in, one should be prepared to go rehab for a treatment.
