Oxycontin Addiction Symptoms

Oxycontin: Legitimate Use

Oxycontin is available by prescription as a pill or liquid. When used in controlled circumstances for the management of moderate-to-severe pain, the drug can have a profound effect on how well people are able to conduct their lives. Unfortunately, as with many drugs that derive from opioids, there are some people who become addicted when initially using the medication for legitimate reasons. However, some people obtain the drug via illicit methods in order to use Oxycontin as a recreational drug.

Legitimate and careful use of Oxycontin should be problem-free. However, people are often reissued a prescription for the drug with a less-than-adequate assessment of genuine ongoing need. Oxycontin addiction symptoms may be subtle at first, and some users begin to have problems with addiction without their physician's knowledge.

Oxycontin Addiction Symptoms: Know the Signs

For those who embark on taking a drug such as Oxycontin for pain relief, adjusting to unpleasant side-effects such as sleepiness, nausea and constipation can be difficult. However, the level of pain relief can be profound.

It is important to be aware of the potential addictive signs. For some people who reap the benefits of legitimate pain relief, the thought of becoming addicted would seem ridiculous, but virtually any Oxycontin user is at equal risk for addiction regardless of socio-economic background. For this reason, it's especially beneficial for anyone living with someone who is taking Oxycontin to be aware of possible signs of addiction.

One of the initial signs that an addiction is forming is when a user begins to decrease a dose or attempts to cease taking the drug following instructions from the physician. At this point as well as feeling physical pain due to a lack of the drug, the addict will feel a sense of panic and urgency to commence treatment again. For some, this feeling alone can be enough to force an individual into obtaining the drug via illicit (non-prescribed) methods.

Some of the wider recognized Oxycontin addiction symptoms include:

• Sleep disturbance/insomnia
• Joint and muscle pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Nervous anxiety/irritability (particularly if the drug is withheld)

With most of these Oxycontin addiction symptoms, the longer a person is depended on the drug, the more the symptoms are likely to appear. What starts out as a legitimate use of a drug for pain relief becomes an integral addiction of both a physical and psychological nature.

Addiction Level of Oxycontin

Oxycontin is prescribed at various dosage levels, predominantly dependant on the nature and severity of pain being treated. For those taking the drug strictly as prescribed, the doctor's recommended dosage should be adequate to relieve the pain for which the drug was prescribed.

Addiction levels tend to increase when the prescribed dose seems to lose its effect, and a patient decides to take an additional dose to regain the level of pain relief previously enjoyed. This self-medication often leads to overuse, and the prescription subsequently runs out early. In an effort to hide what has essentially become an abuse of the medication, users often seek out other sources for Oxycontin. Some visit other doctors hoping for a fresh prescription for the pain reliever. Others go on to purchase the drug at "street level" in order to feed the increased habit. It is a known risk that serious abusers may even go on to take Heroin as a next stage drug because it's often easier to obtain than the Oxycontin.

It's very difficult to gauge an addiction level of Oxycontin. However, physicians are often able to ascertain how serious the addiction may have become by monitoring a patient's use, dependence and behavior. Detoxification is required in all cases of chemical addiction. Withdrawal symptoms associated with a decreased dose or discontinued use of the drug can be unbearable and need to be handled by medical professionals in a suitable environment.

Getting Back on Track

It is possible to revert back to a normal life following an addiction to Oxycontin. The important factor is recognizing that an addiction exists at all, and this can be a problem for many people who begin using the drug for legitimate medical purposes. Denial of addiction often gets in the way of seeking help. Addiction is often viewed as a negative and "dirty" word that people have great difficulty associating with themselves. Often, it is only when the problem becomes unmanageable that those who have become addicted seek help. By this time, in-depth treatment is required by means of physical detoxification and psychological input.

There are alternative treatments to using Oxycontin for pain relief, although opioid drugs do tend to offer the best overall relief from pain. If individuals are aware of the risks for addiction, they can be on guard for signs they are developing a dependency. This gives them the opportunity to speak with their physician at the first sign of a problem. Unfortunately, once an opioid addiction has formed, a patient should never be prescribed this class of pain relievers again, and less effective medications and alternative pain therapies will have to be used in future.