How can you tell if someone is addicted to oxycontin?

[Ashes5595]

I have a very close friend who I am worried may be way worse than he wants to admit. I know that he is using them more than he will admit and the other day I caught him in a lie about it. He is snorting them, sometimes 2 30's at a time. He is buying 10 at a time. He is acting strange, he is up then down all the time now. Some times he is full of energy and very talkative and loud! other times he is so quiet and not himself and he just stays home by himself... When he is loud and up...he is sweating and his face is red, he says it is from the red bull but I do not believe that.He has mood swings now, he used to not be this way. How do I know if this is recreational or a problem?

[Lauriebell82]

There is no such thing as "recreational oxy use." I am an addictions counselor and work with opiate addicts everyday.

 

Yes, your friend is addicted to oxys. Hot sweats are a sign of opiate withdrawal, so are mood swings. He is isolating because the withdrawal symptoms are so intense.

 

Ask him if he wants to talk and encourage him to get help. But he will not get clean until he absolutely is ready to do so.

[Ashes5595]

I have tried to talk to him about it, he says he does not have a problem, I even told him I would not judge him or think less of him, but this is a topic of conversation he does not want to talk about. He used to not hide it from me, until I told him I thought he may have a problem, now he tries to hide it and lies to me about it. I am very worried about him, I have family memebers who have fought this addiction and I do not want to see him go down the same road. Is there anything eles I can do other than wait for him to fall apart or go to jail behind this, because I know the pattern and where he is headed if he continues and it is never a good place.

[Brady_to_Moss]

Beginning of this year i was addicted to them for 5 months...i would buy 3 80's a week....bank account dropped and thats all i could think about..i would be at work waiting to get out to go and get high. It felt so amazing that i never wanted to stop...then i saw where my money was going and is this really what life is about? Sitting home and getting high every night and passing out?

 

I still think about them but have been off for a month or so. They make you very happy to start with..but after they wear off i would feel depressed and would need another line...idk if this helps or not but hopefully your friend can get help.

[Ms. Red]

There is no such thing as "recreational oxy use." I am an addictions counselor and work with opiate addicts everyday.

 

Yes, your friend is addicted to oxys. Hot sweats are a sign of opiate withdrawal, so are mood swings. He is isolating because the withdrawal symptoms are so intense.

 

Ask him if he wants to talk and encourage him to get help. But he will not get clean until he absolutely is ready to do so.

 

I totally agree with Laurie. If he doesn't want to talk then drop it. Otherwise, he will just avoid you.

 

I have tried to talk to him about it, he says he does not have a problem, I even told him I would not judge him or think less of him, but this is a topic of conversation he does not want to talk about. He used to not hide it from me, until I told him I thought he may have a problem, now he tries to hide it and lies to me about it. I am very worried about him, I have family memebers who have fought this addiction and I do not want to see him go down the same road. Is there anything eles I can do other than wait for him to fall apart or go to jail behind this, because I know the pattern and where he is headed if he continues and it is never a good place.

 

IMO, there is nothing you can say to help until he is ready. (As Laurie posted.) The more you say to him the more he will lie and hide it from you. You cannot have a rational discussion with someone who is high or withdrawing. He is either one of the two.

 

I cannot think of any advice to give you except to be there as a friend. Let him know he can always come to you and feel free (open and honest) to discuss anything with you.

 

Maybe when he's sick and tired of being sick and tired, he will come to you because he knows you will allow him to be open and honest with you.

[melissaevans]

As a recovering oxy addict, I know that we will not admit we have a problem until we are ready to get help. We will deny it till the end. Your friend is in great need though. Please just let him know that you are there for him no matter what and that when he is ready to talk about it or to get help that you will do what you can. He needs to know that you are on his side because addicts feel like noone understands them and they are extremely lonely. Just offer support, it's all you can do.