Oxycodone Abuse, Withdrawal Timeline and Treatment

Oxycodone is the main ingredient in OxyContin and other popular painkillers. It is a powerful opiate drug. Although it can be effective for short-term pain management, it is not a long-term pain management solution. Oxycodone producers recognize its abuse potential. They regularly reformulate the drug to make it harder to crush or otherwise misuse. This does not make abuse impossible or addiction unlikely.

Oxycodone works by changing how the brain functions. It changes how the brain interprets pain and experiences pleasure. Any use can lead to tolerance and dependence. These are natural physical and psychological reactions to opiate use. They are also the reason you experience withdrawal symptoms when you try to end oxycodone use. Dependence and addiction require professional treatment.

Common Paths to Addiction

Oxycodone abuse often begins with a prescription. Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that 31 percent of people entering a treatment program for addiction to oxycodone once had a valid prescription for the drug.1 You can become addicted without ever misusing your prescription. Abuse makes dependence and addiction more likely. It changes the course of addiction development. It changes how addiction should be treated and addressed. However, regardless of whether or not you have a prescription, ending drug abuse requires treatment. It doesn’t matter if you have used a drug for fun and pleasure or simply to manage physical or emotional pain. Addiction changes the brain. It changes how you think and act. It changes the body as well. Your body begins to expect oxycodone. It adjusts so that “normal” involves the drug’s presence. When the drug isn’t there, your body becomes unbalanced. You will experience withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, muscle aches, and sweating. These can progress to nausea and vomiting. Symptoms can begin within a day of your last dose.2

Early Substance Abuse Treatment

Finding treatment before beginning detox and withdrawal ensures you have medical and personal support the entire. This means you will be as physically comfortable and as safe as possible. You will have accountability and encouragement. Immediate relapse is much less likely if you choose medically supervised detox services. Long-term relapse is also less likely if you follow these services with in-depth therapy and integrated care.

Long-term Addiction Recovery

Detox doesn’t address the thoughts, habits and mental health changes that come with addiction. Unless these are treated, withdrawal and detox are only short-term breaks in substance abuse. Addiction treatment programs offer the time, space and resources for real recovery. These programs teach you about addiction. They offer community support from recovering peers. Medical professionals on staff offer physical health care from the first day of detox on through treatment and after. Therapists help you make changes for long-term health. They help you draw on personal strengths and develop new coping skills.

Your individual treatment plan may involve Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, family therapy, and relapse prevention training. It may include supportive practices such as meditation, yoga, and art therapy. Your path to addiction was unique. Your journey to wellness will be as well. Choose a treatment program that recognizes addiction as an individual disease.

Call Black Bear Lodge to learn more about our integrated, personalized treatment plans. We offer comprehensive care so that you find mental and physical health as you recover from addiction. Black Bear Lodge is located just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. We provide the peers, professionals, and environment that can nurture your early recovery and support your long-term sobriety. Get back on track. Give us a call at 706-909-9811 and get started today.

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When a Tolerance to Oxycodone Builds: Actions to Take

Oxycodone is the active ingredient in a number of notorious drugs, including OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet. This is the substance that’s capable of delivering euphoria, and it’s the ingredient that keeps people coming back for more, even when they should be focusing on living a life that’s free of the impact of drugs.

Oxycodone is also responsible for drug tolerance, and when that takes hold, people can feel trapped in a cycle of addiction that they simply cannot stop. Thankfully, there are a number of steps people can take in order to recover from tolerance.

Oxycodone in the Body

When oxycodone hits the tissues of the body, it triggers a series of chemical reactions that bring about a tremendous shift in sensation. Users compare it to feeling sedated, happy and calm, and it can last for hours. The body, on the other hand, finds this transformation unusual, and it puts recovery efforts in place. The next dose of pills is a little less powerful as a result of the body’s response, and the user must take more of the drug to feel the same kind of effect.

Tolerance like this can lead people to the edge of addiction. They might:

  • Take doses that could kill them
  • Combine two types of drugs
  • Take doses of drugs close together
  • Shoot or snort the drugs, rather than swallowing them

Some people also transition to stronger drugs. For example, in 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that about half a million people used OxyContin pills for nonmedical reasons. When the manufacturer tweaked the formula and made the pills harder to abuse, many of these users responded by transitioning to heroin. They weren’t any less addicted, but they had shifted focus.

Steps to Take

People who are experiencing a tolerance to oxycodone products aren’t required to continue to up their dose of drugs or shift to other drugs. Instead, they could consider moving to a different drug for pain control. For example, a study in the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia suggests that tramadol is just as effective as opiates in handling pain, and tramadol is associated with a smaller level of addiction. If there’s a pain element driving the oxycodone abuse, this could be a wise move.

But if there’s no such pain syndrome involved and people are addicted to oxycodone products for the euphoria they can bring about, a better solution involves rehab.

When people enroll in a program like this, they have the opportunity to transition away from oxycodone in a safe and controlled manner, so their brain cells can adjust to sobriety without feeling overwhelmed. Then therapists can help people to understand their reasons for abusing drugs, as well as the skills they can use to avoid drugs in the future. All of this work might be hard, but it can help people to gain a robust level of control over their addictions, and they might be able to live a sober life as a result.

If you’d like to start your own journey toward healing, please contact us at Black Bear Lodge. We offer a oyxcodone program that can help you to grow and heal, and our counselors are adept at designing individualized programs that can address your specific issues in a caring and compassionate way. Please call 706-909-9811 and we’ll tell you more.

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OxyContin Treatment, Abuse and Withdrawal Timeline

OxyContin pills were once remarkably easy to abuse. People could simply crush the pills, reducing the contents to a fine powder that could either be inhaled or mixed with liquid and shot into the veins. These steps would allow all of the potency of the drug to hit the user at once, rather than trickling into the body in slow and steady steps as the manufacturers had intended. In 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new formulation of OxyContin that would be a little more difficult to abuse, as the pills are hard to crush and they turn into sticky goo when they’re mixed with water.

There is some evidence that this new formulation reduced the incidence of abuse. Even so, some people still abuse OxyContin, and they may be following a predictable timeline that leads to addiction.

Typical Addiction Patterns

People who take in OxyContin for the very first time report feeling overwhelmed by the side effects. They may experience intense relaxation, and no pain or discomfort. Chemical changes inside the brain are to blame for these sensations as the active ingredients in OxyContin attach to specific receptors in the brain and spinal cord responsible for pleasure and reward. This can also result in feelings of agitation and loss when sobriety returns. The length of time between the first hit of OxyContin and addiction varies from person to person. Those who snort crushed pills tend to have a more robust reaction and develop addiction more rapidly than those who take the pills orally.

As addiction develops, the body becomes accustomed to the constant presence of OxyContin. Brain cells need the substance in order to function normally, and the person might feel ill when the drug isn’t available. This issue can play a role in the recovery process, as people who attempt to get sober suffer flu-like withdrawal symptoms that last for up to a week. Medications can help to soothe this distress and discomfort due to withdrawal. But not everyone who abuses OxyContin needs this kind of therapy.

Some people find that they’re able to get through a week of detox by leaning on:

  • Warm soaks to soothe sore muscles
  • Bland, soft foods to amend digestive distress
  • Cool drinks of water, allowing toxins to leave the body
  • Soft, welcoming beds, with frequent sheet changes

In any case, the experience isn’t likely to be positive, but it can pass in relative comfort. In no time at all, people might be ready to examine how the addiction began and what might be done in order to keep it from springing to life in the future. Therapy can make that happen.

Addiction Treatment

People who abuse OxyContin may feel as though the abuse began suddenly. In reality, people who abuse drugs tend to have tiny little triggers that dot each and every day. Strong emotions, terrible memories, interpersonal conflicts, and even negative self-talk can lead to a desperation that only medication seems capable of healing. Unless the person who struggles changes his or her habits for good, addiction remains in control. Changing habits can be tricky and can take a significant amount of time. As a result, most treatment programs for addiction aren’t measured in terms of days. Instead, they’re measured in months or even years.

In addition, some people who have addictions to OxyContin need to live outside the home in addiction facilities for many months. The drug is just too easy to get in the community, and the temptation might be around every corner. Family conflicts and old wounds can also be too painful during recovery, leading people to feel an intense urge to use and abuse OxyContin.

Others in recovery find help through a sober home where people live in a community with others who are also in recovery. All residents agree to keep the home free of drugs and alcohol. The person is in a new environment, so the urge to use might be lessened when fewer temptations are available. Some people choose to live in facilities like this for six months or even longer before they feel capable of returning to their homes without the use of OxyContin.

Personalized Care

The therapies needed and length of treatment is unique for each person. That’s why personalized care is so important.

In a customized program, experts can tailor the care they provide based on:

  • The length of time the OxyContin addiction has been in play
  • The presence of mental illnesses that might complicate recovery
  • The personal preferences of the person in care
  • The person’s past experiences with the recovery process
  • The family’s availability to participate in care

Research shows that treatment programs lasting 90 days or more are typically more effective than shorter programs. The important thing to remember is that recovery requires a one-day-at-a-time commitment to a lifelong journey.

Finding Help for OxyContin Addiction

This is the kind of care we offer at Black Bear Lodge. Our clients aren’t just numbers to us, and we never try to make our clients conform to a plan that might not be best for them. Instead, we draw up detailed treatment plans before providing any care. We check with our clients at each step of the journey, ensuring that they’re happy with the help they’re getting. It’s a comprehensive approach, and we’d like to tell you more about it. Call us at 706-909-9811 to speak to an admissions coordinator about options. We are here to help!

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Common Signs of OxyContin Abuse

One of the most often abused class of drugs in the United States includes opiate painkillers, and the most commonly abused opiate painkiller is OxyContin. Called “hillbilly heroin,” “beans,” “80s,” “OCs,” “orange crayons” and more, these little extended-release pills are highly addictive when abused. If they are crushed before being ingested, they are even stronger, more addictive and deadlier.

What constitutes OxyContin abuse? Any or all of the following

  • Any use of OxyContin without a prescription (also called non-medical use)
  • Taking more OxyContin than prescribed or dosing more often than recommended by the doctor
  • Combining the use of OxyContin with other prescription drugs, street drugs or alcohol
  • Crushing pills before swallowing, snorting or injecting them

If you believe your loved one is struggling with an OxyContin abuse issue, don’t wait to help them seek treatment. At Black Bear Lodge, we can assist you and your family.

Don’t Mistake Side Effects for Signs of Abuse

OxyContin, and any form of the drug oxycodone, is a highly potent medication. This means that in many users it will have effects other than just the intended relief from pain. According to Medline Plus, some of the most common side effects include the following:

  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Lost appetite
  • Sweating
  • Itching
  • Flushed skin
  • Constipation
  • Lightheadedness
  • Feeling tired or weak
  • Pinpoint pupils
  • Headache
  • Changes in mood
  • Bloodshot eyes

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that some of the physical and other signs of abuse of OxyContin, with or without a prescription, include:

  • Extreme mood changes
  • Periods of inability to hold a conversation characterized by nodding out or seeming to fall asleep
  • Constant complaints of not feeling well or being tired when loved ones show concern
  • Lying about how many pills they have taken or when their last dose was
  • Repeated needs to refill their prescription due to supposedly lost pills
  • Doctor shopping or seeking the same or similar prescriptions from multiple doctors in order to stay ahead of their physical tolerance to the medication
  • Stealing in order to afford more pills

Report Overdose Immediately

Death due to overdose when abusing OxyContin is a highly common occurrence. In fact, in many states, the number of deaths caused by opiate overdose is higher than the number of deaths caused by car accident.

If your loved one is nonresponsive after taking too many pills or exhibiting any of the symptoms below, call 911 immediately.

Signs of overdose include:

  • Not breathing or breathing very shallowly
  • Slowed heart rate
  • Bluish tint to lips, skin or fingernails
  • Cold, clammy skin
  • Limp or weak muscles

The 911 operator will direct you as to whether or not you should turn your loved one on his or her side or perform CPR. Make sure that you can provide them with information about the substances your loved one has taken, including type of medications or other drugs as well as dose and the time that they took the drugs, if you know.

Address the Signs of OxyContin Abuse Through Effective Treatment

If you believe that your loved one is struggling with a dependence upon OxyContin or any other opiate painkiller, don’t wait to seek assistance. Call us at 706-909-9811 now and learn more about how we can help here at Black Bear Lodge.

Sources

Substance Abuse

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