Oxycodone - an overview
Oxycodone is an analgesic that is made from the opium that comes from poppies. It is a chemically altered, laboratory created medication. Found primarily in the form of prescription pills, Oxycodone can be taken by those that have pain which is moderate to severe and is long lasting. This medication should be taken with care, because it can be addictive even to those that take it exactly as prescribed. For those taking this medication illegally, it can be just as addictive and just as dangerous to the body as heroin.
Uses
Oxycodone is prescribed to ease pain that is moderate to severe. It belongs to the group of medications known as narcotic pain relievers. It works to change how the nervous system and brain react to pain. Oxycodone can also be found with the other active ingredient acetaminophen as in medications that follow: Percocet, Endocet, Roxicet and Tylox. Oxycodone is also combined with aspirin in medications that include: Roxiprin, Percodan and Endodan. Another commonly added active ingredient is ibuprofen as is found in the drug Combunox.
Recommended doses
Oxycodone can be found in many forms. For instance, the medication Percocet has Oxycodone levels that range from 2.5 to 10 mg and acetaminophen combined. Percodan will most of the time have a 4.5 mg level of Oxycodone combined with 325 mg of aspirin. OxyContin is the slow released formula that slowly releases an amount of 10 to 160 mg of Oxycodone over the course of many hours. There are also other forms of this medication on the market.
Secondary Effects
Some of the commonly reported secondary effects of Oxycodone include: nausea, constipation, vomiting, euphoria, sleeplessness, pruritus, as well as headache. These are common to any kind of opioid medicines. Some of the other common secondary effects of Oxycodone include: dizziness, insomnia, sweating, dysphoria, asthenia and rash as well as orthostatic hypotension. Almost all people taking Oxycodone notice some level of constipation and other gastrointestinal problems.
Other serious secondary effects with Oxycodone include: slowed breathing, stopped breathing and even death. Also, apnea, cardiac arrest, seizures and circulatory are possible while taking this medication. While most of these serious secondary effects are caused from accidental or intentional overdose, it is thought that those who are elderly or have serious respiratory problems might be at a higher risk for the breathing and cardiac secondary effects caused from Oxycodone.
Generic forms
Oxycodone is the active medication found in many different prescription analgesics. It can be found in short and long acting forms, as well as in combination medications. Many Oxycodone medicines can be found in generic versions.
