Pain medication...a friend is addicted to oxy cotton - don't know how to spell it -?

Question

She needs pain medication for pain, but is now hooked. Is there any other non-narcotic pain med that will provide relief?

Answer 1

Oxycodone products are common targets for both drug abusers and drug addicts. Drug addiction is characterized by a preoccupation with the procurement, hoarding, and abuse of drugs for non-medicinal purposes. "Addiction" to opioids legitimately used in the management of pain is very rare. (Some studies say less than 1%, others say less than 5%.) Drug seeking behavior is very common to addicts. Tolerance and physical dependance in pain patients are NOT signs of addiction. Preoccupation with achieving adequate pain relief can be appropriate beahvior in a patient with poor pain control. Most chronic pain patients limit their intake of opioids to achieve a balance between the benefits of the drug and the dose-limiting side effects. Abuse of opioids is characterized by misuse fro non-medical purposes, often in combination with other psychoatcive substances.

In other words, your friend may not be addicted. I take Oxycontin and Oxy IR for chronic pain management. If I were to stop taking my medication abruptly, I would feel unpleasant withdrawal effects, but that does not make me an addict. If your friend is taking the Oxycontin as prescribed by her doctor, not getting multiple prescriptions from multiple doctors ("doctor shopping"), not hoarding her pills, not continuing to use them when she does not have pain, and not using them in spite of negative consequences to herself, her life, and her family, she is not and addict. She is merely dependant on the medication. This is a natural result of needing opiates for pain relief and is not a sign of addiction. It is no different than a diabetic patient. They must take their insulin every day to treat their condition. If they don't, they have negative symptoms due to the lack of insulin in their body. Yet no one calls a diabetic, or a patient with high blood pressure, or a patient on heart medications a drug addict. It is unfaor to classify a person on narcotics as an addict if they have a genuine medical need for pain relief. We have a medical condition, just as a diabetic or a heart patient does, and we take a medication in order to control our medical condition. A true pain patient does not get "high" from their medication.... they feel no euphoria, drowsiness, or other side effects felt by those who use the drug if they do not have true pain. At the proper dose, a chronic pain patient only feels normal, like themselves, and pain free. Before I was put on Oxycontin, I was in sych debilitating pain that I was completely bedridden, unable to do the simplest of tasks-- getting dressed, sleeping, eating--- because of the pain. This drug has turned my life around. It is NOT "heroin based", it is synthesized from Thebaine, and alkaloid of the opium poppy. Other alkaloids of this plant include Morphine and codeine. Don't be so quick to judge your friend as being "hooked". Many pain patients need to be on narcotic pain relievers for all or most of their lives.... again, much the same as a diabetic or patient with high blood pressure. Addiction is a behavioral issue, and if she is not exhibiting the symptoms of hoarding, drug seeking, etc. that I have mentioned, she is not an addict. She is a person with a medical condition taking medication to treat it, and should not be judged for it.

Answer 2

First off, Oxycontin is NOT Herion based. It is an opiate, and you must be careful about the answers that you recieve here.

Depending on what kind of pain she is in, there may not be a non narcotic for her at this point. Was she prescribed the Oxy from a doctor or is she self diagnosed? Either way the best thing to do is to get her into some sort of Pain management program where they can work with her to find the right meds for her pain. They also watch her meds and will likely take a random "pill count" to make sure that she is not taking them more than prescribed. If she is buying pills on the street, that might not be so simple though.
Good Luck

Answer 3

Simple distinction between dependence and addiction. Addiction is a set of psychological behaviors that focus on obtaining a drug for non-pain purposes focusing on analgesia here). So if you have ever called in a script to a
pharmacy posing as office staff, if you have ever bought the drug on the street, if you have ever taken the drug for purposes other than for pain (to get numb, to "relax" when you aren't in pain, etc.) then you are engaging in
addictive behaviors. If you are taking the pain medication EVERYTIME because you are in pain or you are attempting to keep your blood levels up to keep pain down to a minimum BUT if you suddenly stopped the med you
suffer through opiate withdrawal, aka "jonesing", then you are dependent on the medication. You are NOT an addict. There are blood pressure meds, e.g., clonidine, that you become dependent on and can have nasty rebound
hypertension if you suddenly stopped. Are you then a clonidine addict?
BTW, it has been taught that dependence appears approximately two weeks after starting *Contin.
Now there is the condition of "pseudo-addiction". This is where the pain is inadequately being treated and the doc won't increase your meds, despite knowing that you have disabling pain with the current regimen. People with
this can engage in addictive behaviors as noted above but their ONLY goal is relieve the pain. Once the meds are increased to the appropriate levels, then the behaviors go away. If they do not, then the person was an addict.

Answer 4

When a person is addicted to a narcotic, they will not feel pain relief from a non narcotic medicine. if your friend is willing to talk to her medical doctor openly, the doctor can form a program to get her off of the heavy drugs and into something that is not narcotic. It's going to take a doctor and perhaps a pain relief clinic to help your friend. Physical therapy is very important in dealing with pain.

Answer 5

Oxycotin is Heroin based so if she is adicted she needs to talk to her doctor..withdrawals are dangerous. If she has chronic pain there are lots of ways they can help her with something that is not addictive. Oxycotin is strong.