What is OxyContin®?
OxyContin® is a brand name for a specific
formulation of oxycodone, a prescription analgesic (pain reliever) that
is derived from opium. Oxycodone is a cousin of morphine, a drug used
for severe pain relief -- and abused by addicts -- for almost 200
years.
In the past, oxycodone has been sold
under the brand names Percodan®, Percocet®, and Tylox®.
OxyContin® is different from other
varieties of oxycodone for three reasons: It contains no other active
ingredients (such as aspirin or acetaminophen); it is available in 10,
20, 40, and 80 milligrams tablets, whereas the other common varieties
are available in 2.5 and 5 milligram tablets; it has a timed-release
coating that allows patients to take it only twice a day, avoiding many
side effects. The drug is prescribed for patients with severe pain that
is expected to last for an extended period, such as cancer patients.
A patient can take up to 80 milligrams of
oxycodone in one dose, which enters the bloodstream gradually, over 12
hours. Other brands of oxycodone have about 5 milligrams per pill, so
patients need more pills more often.
The timed-release coating, which makes
OxyContin® convenient for real patients, is what Oxy abusers see as the
“problem” with the drug.
Drug abusers can be creative. Whoever
first decided to abuse OxyContin® learned how to “get around” the
timed-release and got a large dose of oxycodone all at once. That person
taught other drug abusers how to do it, and an epidemic was born.
Addiction
The Mechanism of
Addiction
The two primary markers of addiction are
dependence and tolerance.
Dependence occurs after a period of using
OxyContin®/oxycodone (or another opiate.) The brain’s function is
adapted to its presence. The drug has been inhibiting the release of
various neurotransmitters, and when the drug is taken away, the
neurotransmitters are rapidly produced again. The sudden chemical
imbalance in the brain leads to withdrawal.
Tolerance is the user’s progressive need
to have more and more of the drug in order to feel the same effect. The
reason for this seems to be that when the drug abuser’s brain is
constantly exposed to a drug, it begins to “fight back,” releasing more
of a certain neurotransmitter, for example, to counteract the effects of
the drug. A user seeking a high will continue to increase his or her
dose to get past the “set point” the brain has established and get to
the high.
Withdrawal
When abusers try to quit using OxyContin®,
they face a new enemy: withdrawal.
Opioid withdrawal is horrible. About six
hours after the last dose, the abuser has abdominal cramps, nausea,
diarrhea, anxiety, insomnia, sweating, and runny nose and eyes. The body
shakes and the legs ache terribly. The addict experiences extreme muscle
cramps and spasms. The person has chills and breaks out in goose bumps
all over the body. Depression sets in. The person’s thoughts race wildly
and every little sound drives him crazy. Addicts in withdrawal will do
anything to get more of the drug.
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