Oxycontin Withdrawal

Because it is a time-released version of oxycodone, Oxycontin is usually only prescribed for twice daily use.  The benefit of time-released prescription medications is that patients do not need to take them as frequently as their immediate-release counterparts; however, time-released drugs, including Oxycontin, are produced in much higher doses.  This means that abuse of Oxycontin (including taking it more frequently than one has been directed by a doctor and crushing it to administer by snorting or injecting) can quickly lead to tolerance, dependence, and addiction.  For this reason, many Oxycontin addicts find themselves in a never-ending pursuit of enough of the drug to keep themselves from experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

Oxycontin Withdrawal Symptoms

All opiate substances (i.e., those derived from the opium poppy including heroin, morphine, and Vicodin) produce similar withdrawal symptoms, the severity of which depends significantly on the dose, frequency, and length of time that the person has been taking it. Among the potential Oxycontin withdrawal symptoms are joint pain, muscle pain, nausea, depression, diarrhea, cold sweats, dilated pupils, and goose bumps.

Oxycontin Withdrawal Treatment

Oxycontin withdrawal does not usually represent a threat to the patient’s health and safety although the symptoms can be highly unpleasant and may exacerbate other physical and mental health conditions.  For these reasons, medical supervision in a detox program is recommended to make the patient more comfortable, which can also increase the likelihood of success.  The method of treatment in a detox program for Oxycontin addiction is to address each symptom with another medication that is not an opiate.   For example, anxiety will be treated with one drug, diarrhea with another, and nausea with another.  Additionally, Oxycontin withdrawal can produce an increase in a derivative of adrenaline, and this will be decreased with another medication. In this way, the patient is more comfortable than if he or she were to quit “cold turkey” – ironically, a phrase originally used to describe the goose bumps and sweating from opiate withdrawal – and will also complete the process more quickly than if he or she would have instead opted for substitution therapy.

Oxycontin Addiction and Substitution Therapy

In simple terms, substitution therapy involves replacing or “substituting” one drug for another.  In this case, Oxycontin would be replaced with either methadone (a full opioid agonist) or suboxone (a partial opioid agonist).  When methadone bings to the brain’s opiate receptors, it consistently activates them whereas suboxone, because it contains buprenorphine, only does so about half the time and in the remaining instances it has no effect. Both of these drugs activate the opiate receptors that are in the brain like Oxycontin does, but, unlike Oxycontin, they are present in the person’s system for a much longer period, which facilitates the person’s ability to participate in everyday activities that were previously compromised by Oxycontin addiction.  Methadone and suboxone are commonly tapered after the patient’s life has stabilized and it becomes realistic to do so; tapering decreases the severity of withdrawal symptoms but does not eliminate them entirely, especially when the process is near completion.