# Oxycodone- is it a big deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213 "2010-09-27T13:37:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/41 "2010-09-28T00:21:07Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > It’s common for teens to get the pills from their parents’ medicine cabinets, and once they learn that it’s a viable substitute, they find ways to buy the pills on the street (about $45 each, or so), or across the border. > . Holy shit, I took almost a thousand dollars street value to the navy dispensary to dispose of safely? Damn .. I could have used the money [joke] ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/42 "2010-09-28T02:01:53Z")
Demerol knocks me out. Morphine and oxycodone? Nothing. I haven’t got the faintest idea how or if any of them are related - but if I were in pain I’d want something better than the last two, and I usually react strongly to low doses of medication. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/43 "2010-09-28T02:27:50Z")
Had a couple failed root canals pulled this morning. Used to get by on ibuprofen but I can’t take that any more due to the Coreg, so I’m liking my hydrocodone/acetaminophen right now. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/44 "2010-09-28T05:07:53Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Holy shit, I took almost a thousand dollars street value to the navy dispensary to dispose of safely?.. I heard they were doing that. [You know what they do with those pills](http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/SafeDisposalofMedicines/ucm186187.htm)?(.pdf)–Unholy shit. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/45 "2010-09-28T05:46:43Z")
Comparing hydrocodone to crushed up/snorted Oxycontin is like comparing being shot with a pellet gun to being shot with an ICBM. For me, in the bad old days, I was snorting an obscene amount of Oxys every day and still occasionally making it to class. I never got physically nauseous from it like some do, but I did get the itching. Of course nothing could compare to the feeling when I got the right dosage into me. At first, it was like being really buzzed but stronger. I would just float on my own little cloud and life was just something happening to someone else. Too much though and I would lie down and struggle to breathe. Like my body would forget to breathe and I would have to force myself to take a breath. I can’t even describe how scary that is-when you kind of drift off into you own world and realize after a minute that you haven’t taken a breath in over a minute. Then in another moment, the same thing happens again. This can go on for hours and you’re scared that you might just forget all together and that’ll be all she wrote. I don’t know if the high is comparable to heroin (never tried it), but from descriptions I’ve read it sounds pretty similar to what I felt on Oxy. It only took two trips to the hospital and a seizure for me to finally quit it. I don’t necessarily think I have an generally addictive personality either. I can drink regularly, but have no need to ever drink again. I don’t gamble and while at one point I was a heavy smoker, I quit that pretty much cold turkey with no need to go back to smoking. However, for whatever reason, pills are my weakness. Oxycontin and opiates in general being first and foremost. If I ever injure myself to point where I need to be on painkillers, I would do everything I could to make sure they were not opiates, even if it meant having to go without altogether. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/46 "2010-09-28T06:03:20Z")
I think it’s a body chemistry thing. Some people just don’t mesh with downers I’ve taken opioids medically and besides pain relief and making me sleepy they’ve never done much for me. I don’t really see what is so special about being sleepy- it happens to me every night, without fail. Sure. that “the whole world is comfy pillows” feeling is nice, but not really that nice. If I want to sleep, why not sleep for free without bad consequences? I’ve taken Xanax for dental-work related anxiety, and it’s made me so detached that I could have a complicated root canal and not care at all. But I didn’t find the drug particularly enjoyable. Caffeine, however, will trigger euphoria in me on occasion. I don’t dare to take stronger stimulants. Different strokes for different folks. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/47 "2010-09-28T14:28:58Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > > [@aruvqan](#): > > > > Holy shit, I took almost a thousand dollars street value to the navy dispensary to dispose of safely?.. > > I heard they were doing that. [You know what they do with those pills](http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/SafeDisposalofMedicines/ucm186187.htm)?(.pdf)–Unholy shit. I have a septic tank and a well, I dont flush anything other than toilet paper and human waste, and we use biodegradable soaps,and don’t dispose of random chemicals here. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Nene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/da6949/32.png) [@El\_Nene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Nene)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/48 "2010-09-28T14:52:52Z")
I was prescribed the stuff after my vasectomy. I took a couple and felt amazing. It scared me how much I enjoyed it so I got rid of the rest. Luckily I didn’t need anymore after the first two wore off. It seems over-dispensing the stuff is common. I was given a prescription for 20, when 5 would’ve been overkill. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/49 "2010-09-28T15:03:58Z")
I had a tooth pulled last Thursday and the dentist gave me a prescription for Vicodin. It makes the pain more bearable, but doesn’t make it go away completely. I’m not sure if I’m just one of those people that it doesn’t do much for, or if the pain would be _really_ bad if I hadn’t taken it. The dentist also said I can take Aleve along with it so I’ve been alternating, which may also have something to do with my reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/50 "2010-09-28T15:18:01Z")
> [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](#): > > > [@Gagundathar](#): > > > > My dear bride recently suffered a compression fracture of the L3 vertebra and she was prescribed Oxycodone. Oxycodone is not time-release. That is Oxycontin. When you crush Oxycontin, and then snort it, you get a high similar to snorting heroin. > > Oxycodone is the generic name of the drug in “Oxycontin”. Oxycontin is just formulated into an extended release form (hence why people crush them). While Oxycodone is also available in immediate release forms, such as Percocet, Percodan, Roxycet, Oxycodone IR, etc. The “high” is similar since they are both opiates and work on the same receptors in the brain. The main advantage to heroin is that it is more lipophillic so the dose crosses the blood-brain barrier faster allowing a faster onset of action, a higher peak, but a shorter duration. > > > [@](#): > > > > Both Oxy drugs are physically addictive and accompanying withdrawal symptoms. > > If you just drop Oxycontin or Oxycodone ‘cold-turkey’ you can die. > > Actually, this is not true, opiates are not one of the substances you can die from while going through withdraw. The withdraw symptoms might make you WISH you were dead, but the withdraw isn’t actually life threatening. > > Opiates are one of those substances that can affect people different ways, and the way they effect them is different at times. If you are in pain, the opiates will normally help the pain, but if you are not in pain, people will normally have more of the euphoria with them. There are also some people who really get the euphoria, and some who don’t really feel anything from them at all. It all depends on the individual. > > As for the types of opiates, they all do the same thing, the only real difference in effect is the potency of them. However, Codeine is slightly different. It is metabolized into its active form (Morphine) in the liver, and there is a ceiling effect where the liver just can’t metabolize it fast enough, and you won’t get any more of the “opiate” effect (interesting though, codeine works as an anti-tussive as the parent compound, and doesn’t require metabolism) I appreciate the correction. Her doctor was very concerned that she had gone ‘cold-turkey’ without consulting him and not because he is a control-freak (well no more than any other good doctor). ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/51 "2010-09-28T16:34:56Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > If you just drop Oxycontin or Oxycodone ‘cold-turkey’ you can die. Sorry to hear of your wife’s unpleasant experience with what was supposed to be a comfort to her. I question this statement. From my understanding the Oxy withdrawal is similar to Heroin withdrawal. You won’t die but you’ll wish that you would. You can die from an overdose of the Oxys. Perhaps there are others, but alcohol addiction is the only chemical addiction I know of which can cause death during withdrawal. ---
**Author:** ![cgg419](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cgg419/32/2847_2.png) [@cgg419](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cgg419)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/52 "2010-09-28T18:30:57Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > Perhaps there are others, but alcohol addiction is the only chemical addiction I know of which can cause death during withdrawal. Also benzodiazepines, they act on the same receptors in the brain as alcohol (GABA?) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/53 "2010-09-28T18:42:53Z")
My son was addicted to this stuff. He started taking it for back pain and a few years later I ended up doing an intervention on his behalf and keeping him out of jail. He’s been sober for two years now. Yeah, it’s a big fucking deal. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/54 "2010-09-28T23:33:13Z")
I was at a medical office manager’s convention a few months ago. One of the managers had been with her practice, an Oxy and opiate abuse outpatient treatment clinic in waaay rural West Virginia. When she started there, it was a one doctor practice. Since then they’ve gone up to four full time docs and 20-odd support staff. She said there was enough patient demand that they were looking to add one or two more docs in the coming year. I figure if there are enough people to maintain a 6-physician practice out in the hills and hollers, there’s gotta be something to the drug. Except for one demerol injection after getting a chest tube placed, I’ve never had anything stronger than percocet, but I really liked percocet. Not enough to want to get a refill or anything, but I can certainly understand the desire. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/55 "2010-09-29T02:21:52Z")
Due to chronic kidney stones, I’ve been on oxycodone (Percoset) many, many times. Sometimes for as long as two to three weeks. I can certainly see how it could be addictive. The only time I’ve _enjoyed_ watching _Teletubbies_ with my youngest daughter was when I was in full-on kidney-stone mode, strung out on Percoset and Phenergan (an anti-nausea drug). The first time I ever had IV morphine (again, kidney-related), I thought “Gee, I can understand how people can get hooked on this”. As others upthread have said, it’s not so much ‘pain relief’ as ‘I’m in pain but I don’t really give a damn’. But I don’t think it’s a ‘big deal’. If you need it, you need it. That’s between you and your doctor. As for junkies, they’re going to find _some kind_ of fix, no matter what we do. In the mean time, when I have serious pain, I’m grateful for my Percoset! ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/56 "2010-09-29T02:33:23Z")
I must be one of those people that opiates don’t do much for – yeah, Vicodin has helped a few times with various sorts of pain, but it also makes my head buzz in an unpleasant way and makes me queasy as hell, so I only take it if I really think I’m going to need it. Last year was the last time, after a somewhat involved tooth extraction; I only took one when I got home that afternoon and one more at bedtime that night. If I’m hurting enough I don’t get as queasy but it’s still not much fun. Thankfully no nausea after the extraction, vomiting under those circumstances would have been somewhere way beyond unpleasant. From what I’ve heard, I’m perfectly happy with this. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/57 "2010-09-29T03:33:26Z")
I took a percocet (5mg oxycodone/325mg acetominophen) about an hour ago. I just spent a day in the emergency room passing a kidney stone and got the prescription along with my t-shirt and decoder ring. I am taking it as prescribed. No crushing, snorting, or increasing my dose. There is no way I am going to ask my doctor for a refill. This stuff is way too good. Thankfully I only have enough for a few days. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/58 "2010-09-29T10:32:07Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > I took a percocet (5mg oxycodone/325mg acetominophen) about an hour ago. I just spent a day in the emergency room passing a kidney stone and got the prescription along with my t-shirt and decoder ring. Hey, what ER do I have to go to in order to get my t-shirt and decoder ring?? 😉 Actually, _because_ of kidney stones (dozens of them in the past 33 years), my tolerance is so high (for opiates) that if the Percoset isn’t _at least_ 7.5mg (and preferably 10mg) it won’t do anything for me. But doctors do seem to understand this. They look at my medical records, see that I do indeed seem to grow kidney stones the way some lawns grow dandelions, see no history of drug seeking, and will cooperatively prescribe for the 7.5 or 10mg. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/59 "2010-10-01T03:27:06Z")
> [@FallenAngel](#): > > I was at a medical office manager’s convention a few months ago. One of the managers had been with her practice, an Oxy and opiate abuse outpatient treatment clinic in waaay rural West Virginia. When she started there, it was a one doctor practice. Since then they’ve gone up to four full time docs and 20-odd support staff. She said there was enough patient demand that they were looking to add one or two more docs in the coming year. That doesn’t surprise me. Drug addiction is a huge issue in rural areas nowadays too…I used to see an unbelievable amount of meth addicts when I was working in a rural midwestern locale (not quite as far out as the one you’re talking about though). I’ve been following [the writings of a blogger whose son died several months ago from his addiction to opiates](http://mamapundit.com/2010/09/more-than-the-drugs/). The human cost of prescription pain medication abuse is enormous. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213/60 "2010-10-01T20:44:10Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > > [@FallenAngel](#): > > > > I was at a medical office manager’s convention a few months ago. One of the managers had been with her practice, an Oxy and opiate abuse outpatient treatment clinic in waaay rural West Virginia. When she started there, it was a one doctor practice. Since then they’ve gone up to four full time docs and 20-odd support staff. She said there was enough patient demand that they were looking to add one or two more docs in the coming year. > > That doesn’t surprise me. Drug addiction is a huge issue in rural areas nowadays too…I used to see an unbelievable amount of meth addicts when I was working in a rural midwestern locale (not quite as far out as the one you’re talking about though). > > I’ve been following [the writings of a blogger whose son died several months ago from his addiction to opiates](http://mamapundit.com/2010/09/more-than-the-drugs/). The human cost of prescription pain medication abuse is enormous. In the same session someone asked her why they only did opiate abuse. Her answer was both funny and sad: “If we took in meth patients, too, we’d need 20 docs and 80 support staff, and you’re not going to get that many people to move to middle of nowhere West Virginia to deal with tweaked out hillbillies for state minimum reimbursements.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oxycodone-is-it-a-big-deal/555213.md?page=4)