Oxycontin Addiction

1. Oxycontin Addiction Oxycontin addiction became a very common problem in certain areas of America in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is a form of opioid addiction, which has seen continually increasing rates in America. Oxycontin is now a much less frequently abused drug but is still part of a greater problem of opioid addictions. Oxycontin addiction was thought to be unlikely when the drug was created in the 1960s. It is a form of Oxycodone, which is somewhat stronger than morphine as a painkiller. These substances can be made from naturally extracting the active ingredients from the Opium plant, or by synthetically producing the chemicals in laboratories. Oxycontin is a semi-synthetic version of the chemical and was designed for slow release and calmer, less extreme effect on the body. Oxycontin addiction is often developed when the user inappropriately administers the drug. It is possible to revert the drug back to a fast acting formula by crushing it and consuming it. This leaves the user more apt to overdoses and becoming mentally addicted to the slight euphoric effects. Opioids work by actually altering how the brain perceives pain. In this way, it is very mentally addictive because it can have a strong influence on the reward center of the user’s brain. Oxycontin addiction became such a common problem in Maine, Western Virginia, eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, and Alabama from 1998 to 2001 that several executives from pharmaceutical companies were taken to trial. A total of $634 million dollars in fines was allocated to these companies. The problem had gotten so bad that specifically in southwest Virginia, an increase from 23 Opioid overdose deaths to 215 was seen from 1997 to 2003. Oxycontin addiction was labelled as “very rare” when the drug was advertised initially in 1996. This FDA approved label was made to be revised in 2001, but simply cited a lack of significant data to judge its addictive potential, despite the strong increase in overdoses across the country.

2. In line with other Opioids, Oxycontin cause symptoms such as headaches, nausea, low blood pressure, heart failure, dizziness, and seizures. One of the lesser described effects is on the body’s endocrine system. Oxycontin addiction can lead to a string of health problems that can last even if the individual moves passed their use of the substance. The endocrine system controls our hormones, which play a part in every aspect of our body’s functions. It is very difficult and time consuming to regulate back to normal functioning. Under medical supervision, the drug would never be cut cold turkey from a patient. However, with recreational use, this often happens and can lead to further problems such as fevers, muscle weakness or pain, insomnia, panic attacks, nausea, and other flu-like symptoms. Source: http://ii-smile.com/oxycontin-addiction/