OxyContin?

[BCCA]

I have a roommate who seems to be pretty into the pain killers. He has to drive like an hour away to get these Oxy pills from his dealer, but he still goes almost every day. Sometimes, he stays home and does nothing because he is so out of it, and there have been times where I cant even understand what hes saying because hes so F'd up.

 

I've taken a couple extra vicodin here and there, but these things seem to be on another level all together. I've never seen a drug that could turn people into zombies, and he seems to be addicted.

 

My question is, how bad is this addiction and can people shake it? My concern is that, since we live together and all, he has access to all my stuff and could easily steal/pawn it to get pills (which he told me before are like $40 EACH). Do I have a real concern, or is this an addiction like weed? (I would never have stolen even a dime for some weed).

[Sweetcheripie]

Oxycontin addiction is very serious. Your roommate needs professional help.

[BCCA]

Oxycontin addiction is very serious. Your roommate needs professional help.

 

Pardon my ignorance, but I really have no experience with this stuff at all. When I was growing up, it was weed, coke, X, etc...pain killers weren't even on the map, really.

 

The only caveat to this story is that he has money from a wealthy family, so I almost feel like him stealing wouldnt really be an issue. Problem I have now is that I just dont know what to expect (is he going to get violent?), and I would obviously like to help him.

 

I've spoken with him about it, and he seems to be perfectly fine with his life, but I cant see how. I went out to get something to eat with him the other day, and he looked like a bum, and when I mentioned it, it was like he didnt even care any more.

[Sweetcheripie]

I'm hoping it is ok to post a link but here is a good start to get info on the addiction.

 

Several kids in our local high school started with Vicodin and then bumped up to Oxy - it is not easy to stop the habit and yes it can be expensive.

 

http://www.recoveryconnection.org/drug_index/oxycontin.php

[melodymatters]

Another name for it is Hillbilly Heroin, and it has the same addictive properties as H and is easier to get.

 

My friend who is an MD's older brother who was a respected cardiologist, lost his home, business and family after getting so addicted that he prescribed it for his patients, then drove them to the pharmacy in his porsche and waited outside for half the script. He was a multi millionare.

 

 

On the other hand, a friend who's wife had just died gave me enough liquid oxy to kill an army once, and I just did it recreationally a few times, used it for pain management for friends, pets and family and never got addicted, so I'm not going to jump on the "OMG everything is so scary and addicting" train either.

[LakesideDream]

I have "pain management" issues.. and try to stay away from meds. Fairly successfully.

 

I had a wonderful friend who got onto the OXY merry go round. She had a doctor that was very .. "liberal". She passed from an overdose in July. I miss her, she was a wonderful friend. Her three daughters, brothers, and grandchildren miss her as well.

 

OXY took away her problems... rather enough OXY kept her from caring that she had problems. Now she doesen't have any more problems. That stuff is very powerful and addictive.

[Brady_to_Moss]

First time i have admitted this..but i use to buy a few here and there 2 years ago...60 a piece....not proud at all.

 

They made me not care about anything..all of my problems went away. I just sat there and slept or watched TV. I was so content with where i was. I had a stretch of 3 days where i did them. I did nothing those 3 days...slept for about 18 hours a day those 3 days.

 

This stuff is SOOO addictive. I can see how people overdose...it makes you feel amazing..but at the same time..it kills you

Edited November 2, 2009 by Brady_to_Moss

[LakesideDream]

First time i have admitted this..but i use to buy a few here and there 2 years ago...60 a piece....not proud at all.

 

They made me not care about anything..all of my problems went away. I just sat there and slept or watched TV. I was so content with where i was. I had a stretch of 3 days where i did them. I did nothing those 3 days...slept for about 18 hours a day those 3 days.

 

This stuff is SOOO addictive. I can see how people overdose...it makes you feel amazing..but at the same time..it kills you

 

 

You dodged a bullet B2M, As I said, my friend is dead because of OXY. She had a lot of problems. She used that stuff to escape daily, at the end, she just ground up a handful with a spoon put em in orange juice and drank em down. She was gone in 20 minutes. I miss her.

 

I have 4 of those things here in the house out of a sample "six pack". The first two made me sick to the stomach, but took away my pain. 1 of them equals about 2000mg of Vicoden. I don't think I'll ever take the ones I have.

 

Everybody kneeds to pay attention, Oxy, aka Hillbilly Heroin is the worst thing out there when used recreationally. Don't wait for it to kill someone you care about... or worse.

[BCCA]

I hope this spells good things, but a new development: the guy he was buying them from got busted, and doesnt have them anymore, and wont ever again (I didnt get the details, but it sounds like he is in serious trouble with the law, and wont be a free man for some time).

 

He asked me if I had any idea where to get them, and I answered honestly - no. I wouldnt have the slightest idea where to get them from, and I couldnt think of asking anyone I know.

 

On one hand, I hope this makes it difficult enough for him to stop. I just expressed my concerns again, and he seemed to take them more to heart than he had before. He hasnt done them for a couple days, and seemed more 'with it'.

 

On the other, I live in a large city and Im sure if you want them, theyre out there to be had. That leads to some fears about him going to sketchy neighborhoods, or getting busted in a sting or something. Obviously, both of these are his problem, and I suppose that could very well be the rock bottom he needs to hit. Me might just be able to easily find another dealer, though, and that worries me.

 

After more research about this stuff - wow. Im surprised they even still sell it. Its litterally a stepping stone to heroin, as tolerance will build leading up to it. Its ultra addictive, and commonly abused. I wish they would just outlaw it in the US all together. The worst thing about it is that its being bought from a pharmacy somewhere, and sold on the street. Thats a never ending supply of legally manufactured narcotics. Eek.

[Brady_to_Moss]

If you are caught with anything oxycodone and you are not prescribed them..you are going to jail for quite a while and thats not even selling them. If you are selling it...its worse then selling real heroin.

 

I wouldn't go as far as saying they should ban all of oxycodone in the US. Some people need it to live their day as in pain from cancers and such. My uncle has a bad back and he is prescribed 3 oxy 80's a day. Thats 240 MG of oxycodone as well as his 6 a day percoset. Another 60 MG...so in total he takes 300 MG a day. If i were to take anymore than 20 MG at one time..i would be asleep for hours. Its crazy what kind of meds some people take.

Edited November 4, 2009 by Brady_to_Moss

[scatterd]

Its highly addictive where im from you hear on the news all the time about people robbing drug stores.When a person takes oxy after time their body goes through with draws which are exstreamly painful and they need more

as they go.The death by doing this is also high.He will need to get help through a clinic or somewhere this is not a drug to play with.It is a big problem here and probably everywhere else.watch to see how he feels when he does not have any.Help him to get off of them Good Luck

Edited November 4, 2009 by scatterd

[BCCA]

Ugh

 

So, Im sad to report that it took all of about 4 hours on craigslist, and he found someone closer than the other guy, and he dropped them off at our house yesterday. I tried to convince my roommate that he should wait until the weekend, because we're going to a party, and he doesnt want to waste that stuff on a week night (I just figured the longer he can go without, the easier quitting will be). It was pointless, he just 'wanted to do a little', and I went to bed knowing he was going to be doing as much as he had before crashing out.

 

I dont know what else to do. I'm getting to the point where I need to tell him that I cant be around that stuff at all. He hasnt really done anything to offend me, per say, but I dont want drug dealers coming by my house, and I dont want to wake up and find he OD'd.

[Brady_to_Moss]

How much does he take..do you know?

 

 

 

I know what he is going through and you as well. I just wanted a little as well...well a little for me was 2 80's at $110 the next day. Then it was perks.....just a downward spiral....

 

 

Finding drug dealers on craigslist? I would NOT trust someone from there. Could be the police. You never know.

[BCCA]

I'm not sure what he takes at once to be honest. I've seen him buy 3-4 80's at once, but that lasted him a couple days at least. Also, they were like $40 each.

 

This guy he found is definitely not the police, he's already sold him drugs lol I agree it sounds shady, but I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures lol At least hes not walking through sketch neighborhoods, but this isnt much better.

[AliveAndKicking]

I wish they would just outlaw it in the US all together. The worst thing about it is that its being bought from a pharmacy somewhere <EDITED>

 

Millions of chronic pain patients and terminal cancer patients will thank you... /sarcasm off

 

One more law will NOT make a difference. All that will accomplish is further restrictions for those who have a legitimate need for pain management.

 

Blame the abuser/addict rather than the substance.

 

My friend D is dying from brain cancer. As of last night he was still unable to find a doctor willing to prescribe sufficient medication so that he might live his dying days in relative comfort. His doctors are afraid of being prosecuted (it has already happened) for legally prescribing a legal medication for a terminally-ill patient with a legitimate need.

 

Please rethink your stance here.

 

Thanks.

[BCCA]

I'm sorry you disagree, but Ive done a ton of research on OxyContin...and its the most widely abused pain killer out there, and its litterally dulled-down heroin. There are some people who live in severe pain, but there has to be alternatives here. Handing out pills that would put an entire building to sleep to people who become more and more dependant is not the answer.

 

I do blame the addicts. It IS there fault the abuse these pain killers.

 

With that said, what is 'adequate' medication? You can start taking a very small dose, but your tolerance builds so fast, in a couple weeks it would do next to nothing for you. Then you would need more and more, and higher MG doses, etc...

 

Listen, my grandfather died of liver cancer, and spent the last few months taking Percocets by the handful. He was a zombie, Id hardly call what he did 'living'.

[deux ex machina]

...With that said, what is 'adequate' medication? You can start taking a very small dose, but your tolerance builds so fast, in a couple weeks it would do next to nothing for you. Then you would need more and more, and higher MG doses, etc...

 

I took a Xanax once and it knocked me out for 12 hours.

 

Admittedly, I'm not into drugs. Might be different if I was. I'm one of those people who doesn't like to take an aspirin unless I get to the point I have to - usually once a headache built up to a head-pounding migraine.

 

 

...My question is, how bad is this addiction and can people shake it? My concern is that, since we live together and all, he has access to all my stuff and could easily steal/pawn it to get pills (which he told me before are like $40 EACH). Do I have a real concern, or is this an addiction like weed? (I would never have stolen even a dime for some weed).

 

You're a good friend for caring about him.

 

A neighbor of mine got hooked on pills - it all started with Xanax for anxiety. Then she had an operation, and had to take Vicodin. She's in bad shape now, and is taking morphine.

 

When she talks and laughs now, it is very creepy. She sounds like Courtney Love, it's uncanny.

 

The big drug issue right now are legal drugs being abused.

There's so much money behind it though, isn't there?

 

People need pain management, and trying to figure out what to do to make certain that patients get the relief they so vitally need vs. the danger of abuse is a huge problem.

 

I wish you the best in dealing with this, it's not easy to see this happen to a person you care for.

[AliveAndKicking]

I'm sorry you disagree, but Ive done a ton of research on OxyContin...and its the most widely abused pain killer out there, and its litterally dulled-down heroin.

 

Heroin and Oxy-Contin are both opiates. Heroin is derived directly from Morphine whch comes from the "opium poppy" Papaver Somniferum. Ox-Contin is a trade name. The active ingrediant is Oxycodone which is a synthetic opiate. As an aside: The Percosets (another trade name) you mention below containe three active ingredients. Oxycodone, Acetominophen, and caffiene.

 

There are some people who live in severe pain, but there has to be alternatives here. Handing out pills that would put an entire building to sleep to people who become more and more dependant is not the answer.

 

Tell that to my friend D who will be dead, pain meds or not, in the very near future. Please tell me, so I can tell him, what the alternative is. You seem to know what the answer isn't- please, enlighten us, D and I, as to what IS the answer? What can I tell D will help him? What alternative is available to him, today, that will alleviate his pain so that he might die in a state other than screaming in agony for his long-dead mother?

 

I do blame the addicts. It IS there fault the abuse these pain killers.

Yes it IS their fault that they abuse whatever substance they choose to abuse. Some people abuse cookies and are grossly overweight. Perhaps cookies should be banned?

 

With that said, what is 'adequate' medication? You can start taking a very small dose, but your tolerance builds so fast, in a couple weeks it would do next to nothing for you. Then you would need more and more, and higher MG doses, etc...

 

My dear dying friend D is not concerned with a slightly increased tolerance in a couple weeks nor is he concerned with becoming physically dependant over the course of many months as HE WILL BE DEAD after having suffered in EXTREME PAIN in the weeks leading up to his death. He'll be lucky to make it to Thanksgiving. You're worried he might become dependant? He's LOVE to be around long enough to become dependant. He's a goner and all he wants, the ONLY thing he begs and cries for, all day every day now, is for someone to stop the pain.

 

 

Listen, my grandfather died of liver cancer, and spent the last few months taking Percocets by the handful. He was a zombie, Id hardly call what he did 'living'.

 

Your grandfdather, God rest his soul, took the same medication that you wish to ban! They contain the SAME ACTIVE INGREDIANT: Oxycodone. Look it up.

 

Are you telling me that you would rather your grandfather suffered in pain, without his "dulled-down heroin"? Of course not. As I suggested in my first response: PLEASE think about this stuff with an open mind before calling for a ban. There ARE legitimate uses for Oxycodone.

 

Food for thought here: The medicine my mother takes to thin her blood is the same thing used in rat poison: Warfarin. AKA Coumadin. Dangerous/deadly as well as helpful depending on the use.

 

 

I think we can agree to disagree at this point but you are entitled to a rebuttal.

 

I understand that your heart is in the right place. Perhaps you can see that mine is as well. I'm very passionate about this topic as it hits very close to home. Sometimes that is what it takes to open my mind and change my opinion. Perhaps the same applies to you.

 

In any case...

 

Best wishes.

[Brady_to_Moss]

A neighbor of mine got hooked on pills - it all started with Xanax for anxiety. Then she had an operation, and had to take Vicodin. She's in bad shape now, and is taking morphine.

 

 

 

This is kind of how i started. I have a few operations and had precoset for a few weeks after each of my operations. Latest surgery was this summer and i was given about 40 of them for the pain. Man did i love it but those are 2 weeks of my life i didn't do a thing and will never get back. Its sad.

[tigressA]

I've known a guy for more than 3 years who's hooked on Oxy. He learned how to 'cook' it and inject it into himself. Once he did it in his arm but got an infection; it swelled up and discolored. He came this-close to needing an amputation, but even then he still didn't quit. He's been in and out of rehab. I don't think anything but his death will stop him.

 

He also got another friend of his--an acquaintance of mine--hooked on it; he offered it to her and she accepted. She got kicked out of the college we all go to after paraphernalia was found in her desk at her work-study job. She had only one year left before she graduated, was on the dean's list. Now she works as a janitor for a church in her hometown. I once heard rumors that she traded sex for Oxy. I still hope that isn't true.

[Brady_to_Moss]

My good friend use for snort an 80 and then drink...i thought he was going to die one time. It was scary. Drinking while on Oxy...i think is the deadliest combo out there. heroin coke ect...drinking with oxy...death waiting to happen. Thank god he's still around and cleaned his act up after a DUI he got last month.

[batinhell66]

Where I live, 80s used to be $20 a year ago. We used to say 80s or babies, referring to 80 mg oxycontin brand pills and 30 mg roxycondone (sp?) pills. My preference was the 30s. The 30s didn't have any coating and I think were instant release/dissolved quickly. So it hit faster.

 

Honestly, that drug can be used every day under normal circumstances during any time of day which makes it so damn addicting. Pretty soon the high wears off (if you stop upping the dose) and you just start to use it to function. It becomes, in a strange sad way, almost normal.

 

I was addicted for a year. I kept getting free pills from my friend/co-worker and we would rail those during work just to make life bearable (I constantly fought with my bf after work about work /backstory). I played Zelda high and nauseous, I danced high, I studied for midterms high, I copulated high, etc.

 

I guess my only redeeming factor (ironically) was that I acknowledged my addictive personality. By doing so, I enjoyed the addiction but started to gradually (over the time period of almost five months!) shave down on my dosage so as not to shock my system, never snorted or ate before 7:00 PM (seriously), and never got greedy (helped me not to OD).

 

OP: Oxy is serious stuff to shake. The withdrawals (that I did not experience because of my strict tapering off schedule, but that my good friend's army boyfriend is now experiencing) is horrible. He pukes, can't sleep, and shakes uncontrollably at times. Apparently the physical and mental withdrawal from this drug feels like death.

 

As for the shifty crackhead-like nature that involves stealing and strange behavior, I think that ice abusers are way worse. But that's still like comparing two similar objects. I would advise caution around this person until you can figure him out.

 

Hope that helps, and I hope he recovers soon.

[frozensprouts]

not sure if it is in the same league as oxy-contin, but i take Ms-Contin ( a controlled continuous dose of morphine) when the pain in my back gets really bad ( I ahve adult onset scoliosis- too late for surgery, or so I have been told)- most of the time I'm okay, but when it gets bad, it's worse than the pain from kidney stones or having child ( both of which I have experienced).

The odd thing is when I take the Ms-Contin, i don't feel "stoned' or out of it at all- it just controls the pain enough that I can function. I used to take demerol, ( meperidine) but that made me really sick, and tramadol did too.

 

I have been told that, in all likelihood, I may find that the MS_contin won't be enough any more to control the pain without the dosage causing side effects. I hope that doesn't happen.

 

About the only side effect I've noticed is nausea, but gravol controls that, and I can still do everything I need to do in the run of a day.

[kizik]

I enjoy drugs occasionally, and smoke weed every night.

 

That said, I took an OxyContin 15mg the other day and HATED it. It made me itchy as hell, paranoid, depressed and zombie-like. I did not feel like myself and felt like I had lost a piece of my soul.

 

No more oxies for me.

[LakesideDream]

As I said, I lost a dear friend to OXY this year, and I'm biased. I also have very serious pain problems, which I have dealt with for decades. Over the decades the medications I take have become more powerful.

I don't take them every day. Sometimes I can go a week without.

 

If a pair of Advil's is enought... I'm happy.

 

I won't lose my life to OXY. Some people may need it. If so pray it's not abused.