Living in pain is not something we envisioned for ourselves as young men and women growing up. However, for 75 million people, it is an unpleasant fact that they must deal with every day. This includes 25% of the American population and 1 out of 6 Europeans. There are numerous reasons for chronic pain, which includes just over 50% of cancer patients. Unfortunately, the medication that has been proven to be the best at controlling pain causes severe complications for 80% of the people who use them to control pain.

The Unfortunate Minority

The American Medical Association and its European counterpart are now taking steps to either change or eliminate oxycontin and its relatives. While this is good for the 80% who will develop these complications, the 20% who will not might be forced to try alternative medications. The unfortunate part of this is that the majority of people on oxycontin have tried every alternative before starting the oxy group of pain meds and may be forced to live their life in pain and unable to live any kind of normal life.

Forms or other names for oxycontin medications include, but are not limited to:

– Oxycontin
– Hydrocodone
– Percocet

Celebrity Killers

In recent years, many people, celebrities among them, have died from either over-dosing or mixing the oxy family of drugs with other drugs. There is a large majority of chronic pain sufferers who abuse the drug, not out of hopes to obtain a high but because they build a tolerance to the drug that requires a higher dose to conquer the pain. Often, a doctor or at the very least, a person with a CPR certification are the only hope for someone who overdoses as the respiratory system shuts down, usually during sleep. If no one is around that knows CPR, the individual usually dies before help arrives.

The Phantom Menace

Oxycontin has an unusual ability that most opiate drugs do not. When someone who has taken oxycontin over a period of time tries to wean him or herself off the drug, oxycontin creates phantom pain, causing the unfortunate person to consume more of it. This kind of behavior is unique to this particular drug, making an extremely difficult medication from which to become unhooked.

What To Expect

People who have tried to stop taking oxycontin cold turkey, meaning all at once, experienced the following symptoms of withdrawal:

– Blurred vision
– Diarrhea to the point of incontinence
– Crawling Skin
– Uncontrollable movement of the extremities
– Excruciating itch at the base of the skull or between the shoulder blades
– Phantom pain
– Vomiting or dry heaving
– Severe headache
– Inability to sleep
– Rising blood pressure
– Rapid pulse and irregular heart beat

The Dangerous Cure

This is only a partial list. Doctors who are helping someone to kick the oxycontin habit prescribe methadone, which is an extremely dangerous drug normally used to detoxify heroin addicts. In fact, it is so dangerous that most doctors insist that the patient only take methadone in an in-house medical facility as part of a rehab program. If you are addicted to oxycontin, discuss alternative treatment for your chronic pain, have someone in your family obtain a CPR certification, and if possible, have someone that you know that you can trust dispense your medication to you so that you cannot take more than the prescribed dosage.

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Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: headache,Vomiting,shoulder blades,CPR certification ,Medical Association ,Oxycontin,Chronic Pain