Is Oxycontin a Prescribed Drug?

Yes, medical professionals can prescribe Oxycontin.  The drug is a legal, Schedule II controlled substance, which means that with a valid prescription, patients are allowed to possess and ingest Oxycontin.  Under the supervision of a doctor, Oxycontin can be extremely beneficial in reducing or eliminating the pain of chronic diseases such as cancer and HIV/AIDS.  The drug can be administered in a variety of ways and as long as the patient is using it responsibly with regular visits to their physician, there is a good chance the medical benefits will prove to be helpful to the patient.  Although you will learn below that without proper supervision, Oxycontin can send someone past a healthy recovery and into full-blown addiction very quickly.

The drug is a pain suppressant that works due to a combination of blocking pain receptors and allowing the brain to release dopamine, which creates a euphoric feeling in the patient.  The blocked receptors can eliminate almost any degree of pain depending on how much of the drug is ingested.  Chronic pain sufferers that would be candidates for Oxycontin as a prescribed drug would include:

• Burn victims
• Cancer patients
• HIV/AIDS patients
• Heart attacks
• Patients in hospice
• Fibromyalgia
• Spinal injuries

Common forms of Oxycontin would include tablets and liquids.  Typically the tablets are prescribed to outpatients and the liquid form is administered in hospitals and clinics through an IV.  Tablets are released in 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 60 and 80 milligrams.  They have been formulated for time-release, so that patients can experience pain relief over a 12 hour period with each dose.  Oxycontin addicts frequently attempt to circumvent this by crushing the pills and snorting them or injecting them intravenously.  Those methods allow them to feel the effects much faster.  Intravenously, patients can expect to achieve their high in a matter of minutes, which is not unlike cocaine or heroin.

One of the reasons Oxycontin is so dangerous is because it can be prescribed with very little difficulty and there is little law enforcement oversight.  For this reason, Oxycontin may be given to patients who may not actually need it.  For those that do, determining the point when the original, actual pain has subsided is almost impossible to figure out for a physician.  Sadly the patient can become psychologically addicted and may believe over time that they are incapable of feeling better without the drug.  Once fully addicted, it can be a lifelong struggle to abstain from the drug, and the patient may never overcome the crippling addiction with medical intervention. Theoretically the entire downward spiral could be overseen by a physician, which really calls into question whether this drug should be prescribed outside of a hospital setting.

In terms of the dangers involved and availability of the drug in today’s society, Oxycontin can be as troubling as any drug on the market, regardless of the legality.  It is transportable, relatively cheap and can be acquired with very little effort outside of a medical facility.  These are the major reasons prescribed Oxycontin should be monitored very closely with a planned timeline for getting of the medication before dependency sets in.