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OxyContin Addiction Can Lead to Heroin Addiction
By Stacy Barnes | April 22, 2011
OxyContin can do many things. It can help relieve pain, decrease anxiety…and cause euphoria, respiratory depression, constipation, and meiosis (papillary constriction). It can also cause difficulty urinating, fast or slow heartbeat, seizures, severe dizziness, unusual bleeding and bruising, lightheadedness, or fainting; slowed or difficult breathing, tremors and vision changes. So yes, while OxyContin can relieve pain, it also comes with a shopping list of dangerous side effects and is amongst one of the most addictive drugs in our country. And in addition to the plethora of side effects mentioned, the recent release of a new formula of OxyContin has now been linked to heroin addiction.
A new tablet of OxyContin, recently approved by the FDA, which contains a time-controlled release of opioids into its patients, was designed to combat the misuse and abuse of the drug. With the old formula of OxyContin, abusers could release high levels of OxyContin all at once, or break the pill into smaller pieces to share with others or split throughout the day for recreational use. To avoid drug abuse, the new formulation of the drug can not be crushed, broken, cut, or dissolved by users looking for nothing more than an immediate high. The tablets will break into chunks making them difficult to snort, when melted become gummy and are impossible to be injected.
Hearing that the drug can’t be taken incorrectly should sound like good news, but unfortunately it’s come with a major downside. Because the new form of OxyContin is harder to tamper with, those who have already become addicted to the euphoric effects of the pill are looking for easier ways to achieve a similar high. Sadly, they are turning to heroin, now widely known on the streets as OxyContin’s “cousin” drug. Former abusers of OxyContin have switched to heroin, as it is just as accessible, produces an instant high, and is significantly cheaper. Where a gram of heroin may sell for $25-$30 dollars, OxyContin goes for $60-$80 a tablet.
Now boasting the nicknames, “legal-heroin” and “hillbilly heroin”, OxyContin clearly does more damage than good. There are many less addictive pain relief medications that can be properly prescribed and monitored as well as alternative pain management techniques and options that can be taught and handled by drug rehab centers. Options not responsible for the deaths of thousands due to overdose and the destruction of life for tens of thousands due to addiction.
Topics: Drug Rehab Center, News, Oxycodone Addiction, opiates, oxycontin, painkillers, prescription drugs | Comments Off
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