Oxycontin: Stopping The Pain Essay example

Opioids are a class of drugs used to help an individual’s pain perception. They include prescriptive and nonprescriptive medications: morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, and fentanyl. Heroin is also an opioid, but it is a classified Schedule 1 illegal drug.

Typically, the drug would be prescribed after a major surgery, or traumatic event. When Oxycontin was originally designed, the makers intended for the outer shell to release medicine over time. The time release formula ensured users pain relief for hours on end; eliminating the need to be popping pills every few hours.

Pain not only involves the physical reaction to damaged tissue, but also involves an emotional and cognitive response by the person experiencing the pain (Backer, 1994). A person's prior experience will influence how pain is managed. Pain is a signal that something is not

OxyContin is a controlled drug containing oxycodone, the active ingredient responsible for eliminating the pain associated with: injuries, bursitis, dislocation, fractures, neuralgia, arthritis, lower back pain, and pain associated with cancer. When taken according to the proper dosage, the oxycodone runs on a perfectly timed release in the body’s system in order to manage the pain. This narcotic, when abused, produces heroin like effects and can enable the user to develop a tolerance, forcing an increase in dosage per intake in order to achieve the desired effects. Though OxyContin is

Opioids are a type of pain medication prescribed in pill form, with the most commonly used opioid medications being OxyContin and Vicodin (Gholipour).

Opioids are prescription drugs that deal with reducing pain when taken. There are various types of prescription drugs that can classify as opioids such as morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, or Demerol, to name a few. The drugs originally are synthesized and derived from the opium poppy, Physicians will prescribe this medication as a painkiller, but many others turned to purer doses of these medications and started turning to more potent drugs like heroin or Percocet. The one thing that these brand name drugs have in common is that they contain opium, an extremely addictive narcotic drug. In many cases, many patients receiving pain killing medication from doctors become dependent on the drug, leading them to use it recreationally instead

OxyContin is a painkiller available in America by prescription for moderate or severe pain and is short for the full names of this narcotic, which is oxycodone hydrochloride (justice.gov, 2003). Serious illnesses and conditions like bursitis, neuralgia, arthritis, and cancer are generally reasons why this drug is prescribed; it also has a controlled release factor which means the pill, when swallowed keeps pain at bay for hours in a gentle, continuous manner when taken every 12 hours (justice.gov, 2003). For drug addicts and those who abuse the OxyContin, a euphoric effect is produced and maintained, when individuals find a way around the controlled release formula, through crushing the pills and snorting them or by dissolving the pills in water and injecting them with a needle. The euphoria produced by OxyContin is euphoric and is compared to heroin (justice.gov, 2003).

Pain is a prevalent symptom among patients in general and in cancer patients. The treatment and control of pain have been through the years one of the most significant concerns of health workers and a constant inspiration for the scientific community in the search for the ideal drug to treat pain with the least possible amount of adverse reactions.

Through the use of social construction of expertise, OxyContin became a medicine for daily use similar to taking an aspirin. The fame of OxyContin did not arise overnight and it was not natural. Accredited pain specialists spoke describing that there was few long term side effects and that OxyContin was a gift from nature, and that it was a medical myth about concerns of addiction. Seeing qualified doctors in lab coats promote a drug, people began to believe that this drug was not only a viable option but also safe. Additionally, the Sackler family created many advertisements designed to create more widespread use of OxyContin by introducing it as a great acute pain drug. The result of targeted advertising combined with backing by doctors created

Narcotics are central nervous system depressants that relieve pain without causing the user to lose consciousness. It is this reason many people choose to abuse prescription narcotics.

Oxycodone, often sold as OxyContin, is an opiate drug that come is an opioid that comes from the poppy plant. Sometimes, Oxycodone will be combined with over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen or ibuprofen to increase the effective and potency of the drug. In all of its forms, Oxycodone changes the way the central nervous system responds to pain by creating a euphoric and sedative effect. This time-released painkiller meant for patients who need of moderate to severe pain relief after surgery or a major

Painkillers like OxyContin shouldn’t have a negative connotation when taken as prescribed because they treat the pain. Many say that

The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage” (1979). Pain is actually the culprit behind warranting a visit to a physician office for many people (Besson, 1999). Notoriously unpleasant, pain could also pose a threat as both a psychological and economic burden (Phillips, 2006). Sometimes pain does happen without any damage of tissue or any likely diseased state. The reasons for such pain are poorly understood and the term used to describe such type of pain is “psychogenic pain”. Also, the loss of productivity and daily activity due to pain is also significant. Pain engulfs a trillion dollars of GDP for lost work time and disability payments (Melnikova, 2010). Untreated pain not only impacts a person suffering from pain but also impacts their whole family. A person’s quality of life is negatively impacted by pain and it diminishes their ability to concentrate, work, exercise, socialize, perform daily routines, and sleep. All of these negative impacts ultimately lead to much more severe behavioral effects such as depression, aggression, mood alterations, isolation, and loss of self-esteem, which pose a great threat to human society.

There are multiple drugs that are classified as narcotics. Narcotics are defined by Merriam-Webster’s medical dictionary as, “a drug that in moderate does dulls the senses, relieves pain, and induces profound sleep but in excessive doses causes stupor, coma, or convulsions.” This is an issue when these narcotics are being abused or taken out of context. There are prescription narcotics, but there are also the street drugs that are being illegally produced and sold. Prescription pain medications are not a bad thing when they are prescribed and used correctly. Some examples of prescription narcotics are codeine, fentanyl and hydrocodone. While there are beneficial elements to these medications, there are also side effects. Medline Plus explains a few side effects as drowsiness, impaired judgement and a strong desire, or craving, for these medications. This is how the addictions begin to occur.

Pain is a type of fuel that someone can resort to too keep going. Pain is a useful tool to get what you want. You can crush a person’s soul with pain or you can free it. You can be at the top of the world if you use