Oxycontin Abuse

OxyContin abuse is increasing at a rapid pace and OxyContin abuse is becoming more recognized by doctors and government drug agencies. OxyContin abuse is a recent occurrence since the Food and Drug Administration approved it in 1995. One of the most powerful pain relievers on the market, perhaps it is no surprise that OxyContin abuse has become so widespread. OxyContin abuse has become a substitute for heroin for some addicts who find pharmaceutical drugs to be more pure than street drugs. Other individuals have been caught off guard as their trusted doctors prescription for pain relief developed into OxyContin abuse and soon became a consuming addiction.

The widespread OxyContin abuse has been blamed in part for the lack of educational information from it's manufacturer, Purdue Pharam L.P.. OxyContin is the brand name for oxycodone hydrochloride which is manufactured as a slow release pain reliever that can last up to 12 hours. Due to it's time-release structure, the amount of the active ingredient oxycodone is much higher than other well known opium derivatives Percodan and Percocet. When used properly as prescribed, OxyContin abuse is avoidable and the drug is a highly effective painkiller that has relieved the suffering of chronic pain sufferers and cancer patients. These individuals, unlike opioids abusers, do not experience euphoria or seek pleasure by taking more of the drug.

A study by doctors and researchers of 21 major cities in the U.S. have found that individuals are by-passing the time-release safeguards by chewing, pulverizing or dissolving the pills into liquid. Pulverizing the pills makes OxyContin abuse effective because the full effect of the dosage is felt immediately rather than slowly over a 12 hour period. Abusers feel a heroin-like rush after they eat, drink, snort or inject the new pulverized form of OxyContin. Many addicts will use alcohol, marijuana and other pharmaceuticals along with the OxyContin.

On the other hand, many people involved in OxyContin abuse are not addicts who sought out the drug for its pleasurable effects. Many patients have received legitimate prescriptions for temporary pain relief and may have underestimated the pain killers addictive qualities. Mistaking prescriptions for being safe and nothing like street drugs, individuals often begin taking more than the prescribe dosage to experience the same pleasurable feelings sought by the heroin addict. As OxyContin abuse increases, the body begins to change and chemicals in the brain begin to adapt to the increasing or continuous presence of OxyContin. Tolerance develops as the brain and bodies natural balancing system requires that more pills are needed to feel the same effect that one or two used to give. It is not unusual for addicted individuals to require dozens of pills to feel the effect that use to come with just a couple.

Herein lies the lethal effect of OxyContin abuse. The body adapts and compensates to the level of pain relief but the physical effects on the respiratory system are in full effect. For this reason it is as easy to overdose on OxyContin as it is on heroin when dosages become so high that breathing just stops and the respiratory system slows to a halt.

The good news is that complete recovery is possible but you cannot do it on your own. Spencer Recovery Centers offers the latest in medical detoxification and the most effective therapeutic techniques available. Our medical doctors will supervise you through medical detoxification and our licensed counseling staff will customize a treatment plan to fit your individual needs. Don't live a life centered on OxyContin abuse for even one more day. Give Spencer Recovery Centers a call and let us help.

Facts and figures related to OxyContin quoted from The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.