When taken as prescribed, OxyContin is safe. However, when it is taken in other ways, the OxyContin effects can be very dangerous. This drug contains oxycodone, which is an opioid drug, like morphine, codeine, heroin, and methadone. Oxycodone is the same opioid that is in similar prescription drugs that go by the brand names of Percocet, Oxycocet and Endocet.

OxyContin is a central nervous system depressant that relieves pain and induces sleep. It produces a dreamlike state of warmth and well-being. It may also cause constricted pupils, nausea, and respiratory depression. In extreme cases, respiratory depression caused by OxyContin effects may result in death.

Problems with this drug start when people looking for a “rush” are able to get around OxyContin’s time-release mechanism. They often crush or chew the pill to bypass the controlled release of the drug. When OxyContin is crushed or chewed, all the oxycodone is released at once, as happens with Percocet. But with OxyContin, there is much more oxycodone, and no acetaminophen to make you sick if you take a lot.

OxyContin effects activate brain regions that produce euphoric sensations as well as physical dependence. This drug is notorious for its ability to produce both psychological and physical addiction. OxyContin’s addictiveness is characterized by persistent craving for the drug, tolerance (the need for larger and larger doses to get the same results), and painful and dangerous withdrawal symptoms.

When you take OxyContin without a prescription or not as prescribed, OxyContin effects could include:

• Overdose. Signs of overdose include difficult or slow breathing and extreme sleepiness. The risk of overdose increases if you take OxyContin with other opioids, alcohol, or tranquillizers. An overdose of OxyContin can lead to brain damage or death. If you think someone has overdosed on OxyContin, call 911!
• Addiction. If you take OxyContin regularly to get high, soon it gives you less and less pleasure. And if you stop taking it, you go into withdrawal and feel terrible. Before long, getting the drug to avoid sickness takes over your life. How long it takes to reach this point varies from person to person, but it can happen very quickly.
• Feeling lousy. Apart from withdrawal sickness, taking OxyContin can have side-effects such as constipation, sexual problems, swelling, nausea, sweating, itching, and sleepiness.
• Getting infected. OxyContin effects from injection come with the same risks as injecting heroin—people who share needles can get HIV, hepatitis, and other life-threatening infections or they can infect other people.
• Going to jail. Just having someone else’s OxyContin is a crime - you risk arrest, conviction, and a criminal record.
• Making things worse. Taking OxyContin to “self-medicate” for physical pain or to numb emotions only adds to your problems. OxyContin effects often seem to make things better at first, but once you’re hooked on it, your life will become much worse. Covering up what you’re feeling with OxyContin prevents you from dealing with your problems, and gets in your way of finding help when you need it.