Rehab for Oxycodone
Percocet. Percodan. Tylox. OxyContin. From cancer to arthritis, from the after-effects of surgery to nagging chronic back pain, a variety of conditions can lead doctors to prescribe drugs containing oxycodone, a semi-synthetic opiate, to patients. While the drug is quite effective in combating all different kinds of pain, it is also extremely easy to become addicted to. Within a surprisingly short period of time, unwitting patients can go from taking prescribed medication as their doctor advises to finding themselves in need of rehab for oxycodone.
Prescription drug abuse is on the rise. In 1996, federal government data blamed 49 deaths across the United States on oxycodone. By 1999, the number had jumped to 262, and has continued to rise. During the late 1990s, drugs containing oxycodone, most notably OxyContin, enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity, starting first in the central Appalachian portion of the country, gaining OxyContin the nickname “Hillbilly Heroin,” then fanning out across the rest of the country. Now, more than 10 years since the spread of the problem began, the problem has gone nationwide. Alongside clinics readily prescribing the addictive medications, rehab centers aimed at curing users’ ills have sprung up across the country.
Users have developed a myriad of nicknames for products containing oxycodone, referring to Percodan and Percocet as “Percodoms” and “Percs,” referring to OxyContin as “Oxy,” “OC’s,” “Oxycet,” “Oxycottons,” “Oxy 80s,” and “Killers.” While some make their way to pain medications through legitimate medical applications, others seek out the drugs solely for the euphoric effects reported by users. When the drugs are used illicitly, not under the care of a physician, the risk for developing dependency skyrockets.
Prolonged abuse of medicines that include oxycodone cause actual physical changes to the brain, altering the way it produces dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked with pleasure. It is those changes in brain chemistry that cause physical withdrawal symptoms, which can include flu-like symptoms like fevers and muscle pain along with anxiety, nausea and insomnia. In extreme cases, attempts to drop the drug without medical assistance can lead to fatal side effects, including disruptions in cardiac activity.
Once an addiction is established, treating it isn’t easy. Not every patient responds to the same addiction treatment methods. That means the best rehab for oxycodone for you might be completely different from the best option for another user. Most rehab facilities start with one of the toughest parts of the process — detox. Detoxing is not pleasant, and can actually lead to serious medical complications for many patients, which is why many treatment programs provide inpatient services for that portion of the recovery process. Other programs step down users using medical detox approaches, replacing and inhibiting oxycodone by introducing other drugs into the user’s system in a highly regulated fashion.
Many rehab facilities, both inpatient and outpatient, rely on 12-step programs as a part of the addiction treatment process. Through 12-step programs, which are described as spiritually based but not religious, participants identify their addiction as a compulsive behavior they do not have the power to drop on their own. In most programs, patients rely on a higher power to draw strength in their recovery, although different programs offer a variety of options to meet addicts’ differing theological perspectives. Once the founding principles of a 12-step program are in place, participants work through steps that lead them to identify the mistakes they have made in life and do what they can to correct them. These programs often involve establishing a relationship with a “sponsor,” or an experienced group member who has been successful in his or her bid to beat addiction.
For many patients, 12-step programs are not enough. Holistic rehab programs attack the problem on a variety of fronts, offering not just medical support and guiding participants toward 12-step programs, but also addressing personal issues through individual therapy and even alternative medicine practices like yoga, acupuncture and meditation. Other rehab programs treat mental disorders that tend to coexist with drug addiction alongside the drug problems themselves. Recovery Hub also works with Christian drug and alcohol treatment programs.
If you are ready to enter some kind of rehab for oxycodone, the first step is reaching out for help. No matter what time it is, no matter where you are or what your circumstance might be, treatment is a mere phone call away. Trained professionals are at the ready in every state to help guide those who are suffering into a treatment system tailored to meet very specific and individual needs. Even if you have tried treatment before and suffered a relapse, that does not mean there is not an option out there in the myriad of treatment methods that will work for you. From the most intensive in-patient facility that keeps patients for weeks on end to outpatient clinics that offer counseling and medicine tailored to meet your schedule, there is an option that will work.