Oxycontin abuse has been growing at a rapid clip. More and more individuals are using this particular drug and not for pain relief. There has been a huge increase in the use of prescription painkillers such as Vicodin, OxyContin and Dermerol. These are prescribed by physicians for patients that require pain maintenance. Sometimes these individuals end up become addicted to them. Other individuals simply like how Oxycontin makes them feel. Subsequently, they begin to abuse it. Unfortunately for some, this also results in an addiction.

Oxycontin abuse has become a serious problem that health officials and law enforcement officers are committed to confronting and hopefully reducing. Individuals that are addicted to these drugs exhibit the same behaviors as those addicted to street drugs. They can easily cause persons to lose the ability to care for them selves, keep a job, become employed and take care of their family and property. Individuals can quickly deteriorate and become unrecognizable to their families and friends.

One of the biggest problems with Oxycontin abuse is that it can occur for a good length of time without anyone knowing. When a person is able to keep their addiction a secret, there is no one there to pressure them to seek help. Also, an addict may fail to realize that they have a problem because they have been able to fool everyone. However, this is inaccurate. An individual may in fact be an addict, just a functioning one.

Because someone who abuses Oxycontin can get the drug legally, it is also easy for him or her to abuse the drugs and no one, not even their family members or friends, suspect a thing. It is typically after a person is caught taking a large quantity of the drugs, begin to act high and “out of it,” takes the drug even when they are not injured or overdoses, before there is a realization that there is a problem. Often by this time, the individual is deep in the throes of Oxycontin abuse.

Oxycontin abuse can be treated in a drug rehabilitation center. Drug rehab programs provide treatment to those addicted to both illegal and legal drugs. A person can choose a regular program or they can enter a medicinal based one. The later would include the use of methadone or buprenorphine. These drugs are given to addicts in lieu of the Oxycontin. The amount given is tapered off until the individual is totally off of the methadone or buprenorphine. This makes the quitting process much easier. There are fewer and less severe withdrawal symptoms which gives the user a greater chance of sticking with the rehab process.

Many people will quit only a few days after attempting to quit because they can not make it through the withdrawal period. Usually this lasts just a few days but it can be the roughest days of a person’s life and causes many people to quit the rehab and recovery process even before they really get started.