Is OxyContin Addictive? Understanding Risks and Dependence Elevations Health: Addiction Recovery Programs & Services

Other safe choices are available to help you make a change and keep feeling well. Don’t stop opioid medicines without help from a healthcare professional. Quitting these medicines suddenly can cause serious withdrawal symptoms, including pain that’s worse than it was before you started taking opioids. Your healthcare team can help you gradually and safely reduce the amount of opioids you take.

Reach Out for Support

The risks and consequences of oxycodone addiction are undeniably deadly. Staging an intervention for someone struggling through an addiction is the first step toward potentially saving their life. If you are worried about how your loved one will react to an intervention, it is recommended to hire an intervention specialist. Many extended release versions now have film coatings or beads that make injecting or snorting the drug either very hard, almost impossible, or at least less desirable and feasible.

How Long Does Oxycontin Stay In Your System?

Oxycontin addiction means losing control despite consequences piling up. With that said, it cannot be denied that oxycodone is highly addictive, and even regular courses of treatment run the risk of causing addiction. Professional treatment increases the likelihood of achieving and maintaining sobriety by equipping you Substance abuse with the necessary skills to manage cravings and avoid triggers. This approach helps restore individuals’ health, relationships, and overall quality of life. Understanding the addictive nature of oxycodone is crucial in ensuring its safe and effective use in pain management.

• If you feel that the medicine is not working as well, do not use more than your prescribed dose.
• Many other treatments are available, including less addictive pain medicines and therapies that don’t involve medicines.
• Another main difference between opiates and opioids is their legality.
• From the chemical effects it has on the brain to the immediate relief and euphoria it provides, as well as the psychological and emotional factors that come into play.
• When consumed over extended periods of time, this can alter the brain chemistry, making the user dependent on it to achieve that state of mind.

Can You Die From Heroin Withdrawal?

In this study, the authors observed that many genes regulated by oxycodone have previously been reported to be modulated by morphine as well (43, 45). Both drugs are powerful opioid painkillers that are available via prescription only. They both work in a similar way by stopping the body from sending pain signals to the brain.

John’s story underscores the perils Substance abuse of increased tolerance and highlights the importance of closely monitoring medication use to evade addiction. An inpatient facility combines physical and mental healthcare away from your home environment. After you undergo a detox, you engage in individual and group therapy to address the root cause of your addiction to oxycodone.

Oxycodone is a powerful pain medication that is commonly prescribed to individuals suffering from moderate to severe pain. However, it is important to recognize that oxycodone can also be highly addictive, leading to substance abuse and addiction issues in some individuals. Sensitization is a phenomenon in which a specific behavioral, physiological, or cellular response increases over time following repeated exposure to a particular drug of abuse.

The big risk with taking these is the serious side effects and risk of developing dependence if you abuse or combine them with other substances. Those addicted to oxycodone commonly abuse the drug by crushing and snorting or dissolving and injecting the pills to get an instant, intense high. When you’re addicted to oxycodone, you experience intense cravings and severe withdrawal symptoms when you try to quit.

• When people receive these prescriptions for issues where a less potent medication would be effective, it exposes an individual to the risks previously mentioned.
• The over-prescription of opioid analgesics is a growing problem in the field of addiction, which has reached epidemic-like proportions in North America.
• In addition, Black people also were more likely than White people to have misused opioids in the past year.
• If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.
• This risk is compounded by its high bioavailability and rapid onset of effects, making it one of the most commonly misused prescription opioids.

But now that you’ve filled a few prescriptions, you notice your tolerance has increased. You’re experiencing withdrawal symptoms and thinking about oxycodone more. Cutting back doesn’t seem like an option — in fact, it feels downright impossible. The Recovery Village at Palmer Lake offers comprehensive addiction treatment for drug and alcohol addictions and co-occurring mental health conditions. OxyContin is a highly addictive narcotic painkiller, as evidenced by the Schedule II classification under the Controlled Substances Act. This means it has the highest potential for addiction and dependence of all drugs that can be prescribed.

The issue is that in the past 20+ years, OxyContin has been over-prescribed and over-sold as a low-risk opioid. The risks of OxyContin were downplayed as much as possible for the new drug to play well on the market. Yes, oxycodone is a highly addictive prescription medication that must be monitored closely under the supervision of a prescribing doctor. Often, prescribed use and misuse can both lead to addiction rather quickly.

Over time, the brain’s natural ability to produce dopamine is diminished, leading to dependence on the drug for normal functioning. One of the first signs of an OxyContin addiction is developing a tolerance, meaning a user requires more of the substance to achieve the desired effect. Someone prescribed OxyContin may become dependent on the drug due to chemical changes in the brain after prolonged use, causing the user to experience withdrawal symptoms if use is ceased or reduced. In many cases of OxyContin addiction, users will turn to illicit means of obtaining the drug once the doctor’s prescription runs out. Medication-assisted treatment gives people their best shot at recovery. These medications let people focus on rebuilding their lives instead of just surviving each day.The Canadian Centre for Addictions specializes in comprehensive recovery programs that actually work.

Long-term Side Effects Of Oxycodone Abuse

• If you need opioids for severe pain, work with your healthcare professional to take the lowest dose possible, for the shortest time needed, exactly as prescribed.
• Combining CNS stimulants like cocaine and oxycodone is also very dangerous and increases the risk of an overdose.
• Addiction, or opioid use disorder, is when you keep using Oxycontin even as it messes with your life.
• While that is still true, many of the addicts who first began their abuse in the 1990s have only grown in age.

In addition to relieving pain, oxycodone can also cause patients to experience euphoria, leading to oxycodone abuse and, later, addiction. Simply put, Oxycodone was a drug initially created to reduce pain in individuals. Oxycodone is the primary ingredient in several name-brand prescription opioid painkillers.