OxyContin Abusers Switching to Heroin?
The prescription painkiller OxyContin, known to abusers as hillbilly heroin, is one of the most addictive and strong opiates being produced today—but it won’t be produced for much longer. Many local governments in the United States and Canada are starting to phase out OxyContin and other name brand drugs with the opiate ingredient oxycodone in them because so many members of their community are becoming ‘Oxy-dependent’.
Opioids can be taken orally, or the pills may be crushed and the powder snorted or injected. A number of overdose deaths have resulted from the latter routes of administration, particularly with the drug OxyContin, which was designed to be a slow-release formulation. Snorting or injecting opioids results in a rapid release of the drug into the bloodstream, exposing the person to high doses and causing many of the reported overdose reactions. The manufacturer of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, has introduced OxyNEO as a replacement and it’s apparently harder to crush or liquefy, but it’s not catching on since it still contains the main ingredient in OxyContin, oxycodone. But with so many people already Oxy-dependent, phasing out oxycodone medications is making those addicted turn to heroin for virtually the same kind of results that they got from OxyContin.
It’s unfortunately very common for people to become addicted to prescription painkillers today, but thankfully there’s excellent rehabilitation treatment available to battle these tough painkiller addictions. Individuals who abuse or are addicted to prescription medications can be treated. Initially, they may need to undergo medically supervised detoxification to help reduce withdrawal symptoms—however, that is just the first step. Options for effectively treating addiction to prescription pills are drawn from research on treating heroin addiction. Behavioral treatments combined with medications have proven effective. Finding the right treatment center can make all the difference for a patient because certain standard programs may not work. At Seabrook House, patients can take comfort in knowing that we structure individually inspired detox and rehab programs in order to fit the needs of each unique patient. Seabrook House has rehab facilities located in New Jersey (NJ) and Pennsylvania (PA) and also an outpatient office in New York (NY). If you or a loved one is Oxy-dependent then be sure to contact Seabrook House immediately for the treatment to get on the road to recovery.
