Oxycodone Use and Abuse - Research Paper Example

The drug is very addictive in effect and is used by many people for reasons other than just pain relief. “Oxycodone, an opioid with known abuse liability, is misused by the intranasal route” (Middleton et al., 2012). Repeated intake of Oxycodone develops tolerance in the individual so that higher doses are needed for the same effects to be experienced. This paper discusses the uses and abuses, effects, signs and symptoms, and treatment options for the Oxycodone abuse. The most fundamental positive effect of Oxycodone is that it is a very good drug for pain management for a long time.

While common pain killers’ action lasts anywhere between four to six hours, oxycodone gives round the clock pain relief to the patient. According to Marry A. Simmonds is a cancer specialist and gave testimony on OxyContin’s value in the alleviation of pain experienced because of cancer at the 2002 Congressional hearing. OxyContin is a drug that contains anywhere from 10 to 80 milligrams of Oxycodone (Skarlunis 2012, p. 1). According to Simmonds, “If you have pain thats there all the time, four hours goes by very quickly.

…If youre not watching the clock, the pain comes back. People tend not to take their pills on time. The pain builds back up, so youre starting over. Its not very good management of pain. …For moderate to severe pain, aspirin and Tylenol arent effective. We do need opioids” (Simmonds cited in Skarlunis, 2012, p. 1). Many doctors prescribe Oxycodone as an alternative to the opiates and especially when such drugs as diphenoxylate and loperamide have been tried and found ineffective for the treatment of severe diarrhea in a particular case.

A vast majority of abusers do not take Oxycodone as a drug for abuse in the start; they are rather prescribed by the doctor to help in the pain relief, but many patients spiral out of control and start using the drug for abuse rather than pain relief. With the increase in their tolerance for Oxycodone, they need