12 May 10 Oxycontin Addiction, inside view

What is OxyContin? OxyContin (Oxy or OC on the street) is a time-released pain medication. It was developed in 1995 for people needing around-the-clock pain relief, so they dont have to take pills as often. OxyContin contains oxycodone, which is an opioid drug, like morphine, codeine, heroin and methadone. Oxycodone is the same opioid thats in Percocet, Oxycocet and Endocet. Whats the difference between Percocet and OxyContin? Both Percocet and OxyContin relieve pain, but while Percocet gives relief for about five hours, the effects of OxyContin last for about 12 hours. Percocet contains five milligrams of oxycodone, which is all released when the pill is taken. Percocet also contains acetaminophen (the drug in Tylenol), which makes people sick if they take a lot of it. OxyContin doesnt contain acetaminophen. It is pure oxycodone in amounts much larger than in Percocet. In Canada, OxyContin pills come with 10, 20, 40 or 80 mg of oxycodone. Just one OxyContin pill can have the same amount of oxycodone as 16 Percocet pills. With OxyContin, only part of the oxycodone is released when the pill is taken. The rest of the oxycodone has been coated so that it is released into the body slowly. This is how OxyContin relieves pain for so many hours.

Tags: percocet, same, substance-abuse