Oxycodone Addiction
Detailed information about oxycodone addiction, detox and rehabilitation.
Oxycodone is a type of pain killer that is often prescribed for severe pain or trauma. It is also highly addictive which is why doctors will only prescribe it for a couple of days. Yet this continues to be one pain killer medication that people can become highly addicted to. It is classified as an opiate and the body as well as the mind will respond well to it.
This is one of the drugs that people often get on the black market in order to take care of pain on their own. An addiction to it can occur after just a week or two of use which is why there is a concern about it. Even so, many medical professionals continue to prescribe it for pain after various forms of surgery. They agree that when it is used as directed it is very effective for healing.
The problem is that not everyone is able to fully benefit from it to that degree and then stop. What they are getting from their doctor may not be adequate enough to take care of the situation. As a result many individuals become frustrated so they self medicate. The biggest problem though is that the body ends up needing more and more of it in order to be able to gain the same effects. The risk of an overdose with an oxycodone addiction is possible due to the high tolerance that the body can build up over time.
Individuals that have had issues with addictions in the past need to let their doctor know that fact. Oxycodone shouldn’t be offered when such a problem has been there in the past due to the highly addictive properties it has. More than 2 million people are believed to have such an addiction at this time. Approximately 25% of them have struggled with some form of addiction in the past.
Many males with an oxycodone addiction will find that they become impotent as they continue to use it. This means they won’t be able to get or maintain an erection. Most of the time this situation will resolve itself after the individual stops taking the drug. Enlarged prostate problems are also another effect from it for males as well.
It is important to have trained professionals around when it is time to detox from an Oxycodone addiction. The withdrawal process is one that can prove to be very difficult for a person to handle. Once the detox process is complete, the focus can be on finding out why the person got addicted and changing their future behaviors.
The ongoing treatment in a 12 step program and with individual counseling is vital. The statistics show that about 80% of people with an Oxycodone addiction will relapse within one year. Helping people to successfully reach that period of time and beyond without the drug is very important. This is why inpatient treatments seem to work better than on an outpatient basis. For at least the first 90 days someone needs to be closely monitored.
