When OxyContin Use Becomes OxyContin Abuse

Opioid drugs, such as oxycodone, work primarily through their interaction with the mu opioid receptors, especially in the brain and spinal cord. When activated, these receptors mediate the drugs' analgesic effects. However, they also mediate the ability to produce the euphoric state. Moreover, opioids like oxycodone have similarities to virtually every other drug of abuse, including nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, in that they elevate levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain pathways that control the experience of pleasure.
Prolonged use of these drugs eventually changes the brain in fundamental and long-lasting ways, explaining why people cannot just quit on their own, and why treatment is essential. In effect, drugs of abuse take over the brain's normal pleasure and motivational systems, moving drug use to the highest priority in the individual's motivational hierarchy, thereby overriding all other motivations and drives. These brain changes, then, are responsible for the compulsion to seek and use drugs that we have come to define as addiction. This is likely the state people are in when they are reportedly "doctor shopping," feigning illnesses, and stealing from pharmacies to obtain the drug.
Addiction to opioids used for legitimate medical purposes under a qualified physician's care is rare. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, however, many physicians limit prescribing powerful opioid pain medications because they believe patients may become addicted to the drugs. Recent evidence suggests that, unlike opioid abusers, most healthy, non drug-abusing patients do not report euphoria after being administered opioids, possibly because their level of pain may reduce some of the opioid's euphoric effects making patients less likely to become abusers.

Oxycontin Gets Black Box Warning

The Food and Drug Administration is beefing up warning labels for doctors prescribing the controversial prescription pain medication OxyContin.

In a "black box warning," the strongest type of warning for an FDA-approved drug, the agency is telling doctors not to prescribe the narcotic with addictive properties similar to morphine except for patients with the most severe, continuous pain. OxyContin "can be abused in a manner similar to other opioid agonists [drugs of its type], legal or illicit," reads the new warning, announced today. "This should be considered when prescribing or dispensing OxyContin in situations where the physician or pharmacist is concerned about an increased risk of misuse, abuse, or diversion" to illegal distribution channels.

The stern warning comes amid continuing reports of abuse and overdose deaths linked to the drug.

Why is OxyContin abused?

According to a DEA statement before the US House of Representatives, inappropriate use of OxyContin became a concern in 2000, and by 2001 it had reached "levels of … abuse never before seen. … DEA has never witnessed such a rapid increase in the abuse and diversion of a pharmaceutical drug product."

Why such an explosion in abuse of OxyContin and not of similar drugs like Percocet and Percodan? It produces a more profound high. According to the FDA, OxyContin's unique "controlled-release formulation" means each tablet contains more oxycodone than these other drugs.

Ironically, it was this very makeup that led officials to believe OxyContin would have less potential for abuse. If taken as directed, it does.

But recreational users have discovered that the tablets can be crushed and then injected or snorted, quickly turning this safe medication into a highly addictive drug. When crushed into powder and snorted, swallowed, or injected, the user receives the entire dose instantly, rather than a slow release stretched out over 12 hours. Abused in this manner, OxyContin acts more like a street drug than a pain reliever, delivering a euphoric, heroin-like high.

Once addicted, users may start shopping around for doctors who will write OxyContin prescriptions without thoroughly checking their medical histories. They may search out the drug on the streets, and may even raid medicine cabinets or steal OxyContin from pharmacies.

WORKING TO STEER KIDS RIGHT

It's never too early to think about prevention.

According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, about 30 per cent of Grade 7 students in Ontario have tried alcohol.

That's why Lambton Drug Awareness Action Committee has invited 1,100 Grade 5 students from 25 schools in Sarnia- Lambton to this year's Racing Against Drugs.

The event is scheduled for three days this week, Tuesday through Thursday, at River City Vineyard.

"We have to engage these kids and give them the right information so they can make the right decisions later on in life," says committee spokesperson Terry Easterby. "We try to get to them before they get into the situations they'll start facing in Grades 6, 7, 8 where there is a lot of peer pressure."

The Racing Against Drugs program is designed to increase awareness and understanding about the negative consequences of substance misuse.

"Marijuana is a huge issue," said Const. Mel Wright of Sarnia Police Service's community policing unit.

Results from a 2007 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey found that 3.7 per cent of Grade 7 students had smoked marijuana in the previous year and the number increases to 44 per cent by Grade 12.

Wright said he finds when talking to students that marijuana is often the most misunderstood substance.

"If you have an attitude towards something you act and react to what you believe," Wright said, using the use of seat belts as an example. "If you believe they are more dangerous than not wearing them your less likely to use them."

When marijuana use is discussed with students, says Wright, "a lot of kids talk about marijuana being a plant that grows naturally" and they question how it could be dangerous.

Wright said young people are also exposed to painkillers, such as oxycontin and oxycocet for non-medicinal use.

"What's happening is the numbers are very close for marijuana use to opioid pain killers," said Wright. "What we're finding now is kids are getting their hands on them. So, if you look at Grade 8 students, almost one in four said they had tried these opioid pain killers for non-medicinal reasons."

Racing Against Drugs is a 12-station program featuring an eight-lane, 72-foot trioval slot track sponsored by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The message is drug-free living through auto racing, an exciting high-profile sport that doesn't tolerate substance abuse.

In addition to the race track, there are 10 other pit stops ( stations ) manned by community groups promoting healthy, drug-free living.

Improper Disposal Of Medications Can Lead To Abuse and Danger

According to health officials, ineffective disposal of unwanted or expired medications can lead to abuse, pollution or accidental ingestion.

Because they may have been concerned about children or others accidentally ingesting unwanted or expired drugs, many consumers have traditionally disposed of them by flushing them down the toilet or a drain. Donna Artery, a pharmacist with the Wyoming Department of Health, said this may cause pollution in wastewater that can harm fish and other aquatic wildlife. "Unintentional human exposure to the chemicals found in medications can also happen when the water is eventually reused," she said.

"The trash is really the best way to get rid of the medicines you don't need anymore to ensure no one swallows them either by accident or on purpose," Artery said. "And it's a good idea to modify the contents to discourage consumption."

Anything for a Pill

Oxycontin addiction has come a long way from being a miracle drug to what it is today. Oxycontin abusers have been having a hard time getting any oxycontin lately especially from pharmacies and doctor's offices. But that doesn't stop them.

They have become very imaginative and aggressive as well. The effect? They are straining the ERs! Previously, they were armed bandits, cat burglars, forgers to name a few but this is new. The great lengths that they go for oxycontin is incredible to say the least. Some of the drug abusers go to extraordinary lengths to convince doctors they are legitimate patients in need of the drug, sometimes even endangering those doctors, and ultimately even keeping legitimate patients from getting it.

Looking for Prescription Drugs? Sign a Contract

Yup, some doctors in Franklin County are trying to combat the abuse of prescription drugs by, get this.... making the patient sign a contract! What good is that? Well, according to them, the patients who sign are then required to undergo random urine testing and provide information about their medical care.

According to the doctors, this so-called "narcotics contract" will be able to help in finding people who are seeking to abuse powerful pain drugs such as oxycontin.

"It's one thing for us to try and diagnose a problem but to try to figure out whether a patient is actually telling the truth. It becomes not a diagnosis but an investigation," said Dr. Edward Haak, director of emergency medicine at Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans.

Haak said he's witnessed the effects of prescription drug abuse in the hospital's emergency department.

"We've had more holes in the walls from people kicking because they weren't getting meds," he said. "I had to do something, and I couldn't do it myself."

The hospital boosted security because of the increased risks from people struggling with drug addiction, said JoAnn Manahan, the head nurse in the emergency department.

Eventually, the goal of this "contract" is to build a database for physicians and pharmacists that will track drug prescriptions.

Prescription Drugs Kill 300 Percent More Americans than Illegal Drugs

A recent report indicated that prescription has overtaken illegal drugs as a major cause of death in the US. As sad as this report is, it is actually worse since prescription drugs have taken over illegal drugs by as much as 300 percent.

An analysis of 168,900 autopsies conducted in Florida in 2007 found that three times as many people were killed by legal drugs as by cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines put together. According to state law enforcement officials, this is a sign of a burgeoning prescription drug abuse problem.

Across the country, prescription drugs have become an increasingly popular alternative to the more difficult to acquire illegal drugs. Even as illegal drug use among teenagers have fallen, prescription drug abuse has increased. For example, while 4 percent of U.S. 12th graders were using Oxycontin in 2002, by 2005 that number had increased to 5.5 percent.

It's not hard for teens to come by prescription drugs, according to Sgt. Tracy Busby, supervisor of the Calaveras County, Calif., Sheriff's Office narcotics unit.

"You go to every medicine cabinet in the county, and I bet you're going to find some sort of prescription medicine in 95 percent of them," he said.

Adults can acquire prescriptions by faking injuries, or by visiting multiple doctors and pharmacies for the same health complaint. Some people get more drugs than they expect to need, then sell the extras.

"You have health care providers involved, you have doctor shoppers, and then there are crimes like robbing drug shipments," said Jeff Beasley of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. "There is a multitude of ways to get these drugs, and that's what makes things complicated."

To think that these were previously hailed as miracle drugs. Today, they are a nightmare for friends and family members of victims.

Suicide rate climbs among middle-age adults

Recently, suicide rates have been on a climb again, after falling for more than a decade. It was found that virtually all of the increase was attributable to a nearly 16 percent jump in suicides among people ages 40 to 64, a group not commonly seen as high risk.

One possibility is thought to be the concurrent increase in abuse of prescription pain pills, such as OxyContin. Studies have shown that people who abuse drugs are at greater risk for suicide. Another possible explanation is the drop in hormone-replacement therapy after it was linked to health risks in 2002. Women who gave up the drugs or decided not to take them might have been more susceptible to depression and, potentially, suicide.

This item really shows the potential danger of oxycontin, not just physically but mentally as well. It's high time to really make a change for the better and it starts by quitting the addiction that has led many to perish.

"Broken Heart Syndrome" Can Result From Opioid Withdrawal

Oxycontin is also an opioid and the withdrawal symptoms can be just as hard and risky. Based on a study about opioid withdrawal, it shows that the abrupt withdrawal from high-dose opioids or the use of cocaine increase the risk of cardiac event.

The findings shed light on "broken heart syndrome," a still somewhat uncommon disorder first described in Japan 15 years ago that mimics a heart attack. Patients may experience shortness of breath and chest pain and, upon hospital admission, go through extensive tests to determine a diagnosis and rule out heart attack.

Opioids such as OxyContin are becoming increasingly common for pain management, the report's authors say. Given the drug's prevalence, physicians should proceed with caution when removing patients from high-dose opioids in order to avoid serious complications and hospitalizations, says Juanita Rivera, M.D., an anesthesiologist with Mayo Clinic Rochester and lead author of the report.

Pills For Sex

An 82 year old man allegedly exchanged his oxycontin for sexual favors from two young women. This is really sad but true nowadays. With the oxycontin addiction going full scale, nothing seems to be stopping it and worse, abusers seem to be getting more and more creative.

The old man has since been charged with trafficking in a controlled substance. I think that there needs to be more control for this because it seems to going haywire. As much as these people are going to hate it, it seems that the only way for them to be in control is to be controlled.