What Helps With Oxycodone Withdrawal
The best way to cope with the harsh withdrawal symptoms of Oxycodone is to undergo a detox treatment that is closely supervised by a team of medical experts. As soon as the substance wears off from the body, the impact would strike on the physical, mental, and psychological disposition of a person. Without medical help, conditions could be unbearable.
There are a lot of advantages when it comes to a medically-supervised treatment. One, there is a proper evaluation of one’s overall health before and during detox and this is essential in designing their treatment plan. Two, medical prescriptions and psychological interventions are given to cater to one’s needs, making withdrawal safe and more tolerable.
What are FDA-Approved Drugs for Alleviating Withdrawal Symptoms
The pain of the withdrawal can range from being bearable to intensely painful, depending on how much you abused the substance. There are times when the withdrawal symptoms can be life-threatening, so you need medical supervision for your detox treatment. Also, your doctor will give you medicines that will ease the discomfort from experiencing these withdrawal signs. Here are the main kinds of drugs they can prescribe:
Opioid Receptor Agonist
These substances bind to the opioid receptors in your nervous system where they prohibit cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Opioid Receptor Partial Agonist
This works similarly with the above drug, except their effects are just half as effective as the potent opioid receptor agonist.
Opioid Receptor Antagonist
It works to stop your cravings and feeling high upon using opioids and alcohol. That helps prevent relapse and helps make your detox process more effective.
Adrenergic Receptor Agonist
This substance works on the adrenergic receptors of your brain. Their function is to help ease discomfort from experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
What Makes A Safe Oxycodone Withdrawal
Oxycodone is a highly addictive substance that is why when a person quits cold turkey with the drug, the results could be extremely painful especially when a strong physical dependence has been reached. One can also be most vulnerable to extreme withdrawal discomfort when one has a history of substance abuse.
This painful disposition leads to nothing but making patients return to substance use since that is the only way to relieve their pain on their own. This situation marks a withdrawal that is doomed to fail. The cycle is simply a trap that will make future treatments more complex due to multiple failed attempts.
After a thorough assessment about how much or how long a person has used Oxycodone, physicians would set a particular dosage and carefully monitor their response until an effective taper schedule is formed. In line with this, medications can be given to limit the severity of the withdrawal symptoms.
Another thing that is likely to happen with an unsupervised treatment is experiencing a tough battle against intense cravings which results in occasions of restlessness and agitation. These conditions can escalate to serious mental health problems which are very difficult to overcome when going detox alone.
Relapse is also another common outcome if a person gives in to the cravings for the drug.
It is a recurring habit of abusing the drug at a more intense level. The body will seek a more extreme dosage than the usual to function normally again. The higher the dose taken, the higher the chances of overdose can occur.
Overdose is a serious case since it can lead to death. This has been the reason for thousands of deaths in the United States. On top of that, more than 100, 000 hospital admissions in the country have been associated with Oxycodone abuse. These are digits that add up to the alarming conditions of the opioid epidemic the country is facing up to now.
Overall, there are three things to keep in mind to attain a safe withdrawal. First, quitting cold turkey must be avoided. Second, medical prescriptions must be followed. And most importantly, one must entrust their treatment to professional care. Anything done otherwise will only expose one to an unending loop of substance abuse.
How To Cope With Oxycodone Withdrawal
Medication is a primary option to help a person cope with the symptoms of withdrawal to Oxycodone. The popular ones are those which act the same way as the substance but are long-acting. These are Methadone and Buprenorphine. Clonidine is used to treat hypertension but can also be used off-label to treat withdrawal symptoms of the drug.
Methadone
Methadone has been known to effectively treat opioid withdrawal symptoms for over 40 years. It is a slow-acting substance that acts similarly to Oxycodone with minimal tendency to produce high. With this, the body continues to function with minor withdrawal symptoms because after all, the element of the drug still seems to be present in the body.
Methadone is a synthetic opioid that still possesses an addictive risk, however; with proper prescription and care, one can certainly benefit from its function. Since it is also known to prevent cravings for the drug, the risk of relapse becomes limited. This is indeed a promising treatment although only qualified clinics are capable of dispensing the drug.
Buprenorphine
Buprenorphine is equally effective as the previously mentioned drug as it aids in
limiting the severity of withdrawal symptoms. It also cuts off the tendency of cravings without any occasion of feeling high. Unlike Methadone, Buprenorphine is more accessible to any treatment providers, and it is usually paired with Naloxone to achieve recovery.
As a partial opioid agonist, Buprenorphine’s impact on the body is not as strong as that of full agonists such as Oxycodone. Thus, the addictive potential of the drug is pretty weak. This is the reason why it can be safely and effectively administered to anyone who needs it. However, a careful prescription of the dose and length of treatment is still highly required.
Clonidine
Clonidine is originally approved to treat high blood pressure, however; studies have found its high potential to alleviate withdrawal symptoms from Oxycodone since it acts on the brain by blocking the compounds which stimulate its activity. Its benefits include limiting the physical symptoms as well as the psychological ones.
One great element about Clonidine is that it does not contain an addictive factor, and it can make withdrawal less uncomfortable, increasing the chances of a successful detox treatment. Its dosage is carefully based on the withdrawal symptoms one is experiencing and this must be directed by a physician. Typically, symptoms will improve within 7 days.
Anti-opioid Antagonist
Anti-opioid antagonists function by preventing the stimulation of the body’s natural opioid receptors. As a result, when a person intends to use the substance again, it will have no impact on the body. This function is very much ideal in preventing relapse. In addition, it also helps in reducing cravings for the drug.
Examples of anti-opioid antagonists are Naloxone and Naltrexone. These can be used long-term under the supervision of a physician to shield a person throughout the treatment until they reach sobriety. This has been proven to be a safe and effective medication for withdrawing this substance.
