After alcohol, opiate addictions have remained one of the longest and most widespread drug problems to date. According to Harvard Health Publications, over one million people suffer from opiate addictions in the United States on an annual basis. Oxycodone exists as one of many different opiate drugs on the market.

Much like heroin and morphine addictions, oxycodone addiction treatment requires ongoing treatment for both the physical and mental complications resulting from drug use. Oxycodone addiction treatment uses a combination of medication and therapy treatment approaches. The treatment process offers recovering addicts a new lease on life without the need for drugs.

Oxycodone Addiction

Oxycodone, also known by its brand name OxyContin, is a prescription medication commonly used to treat conditions involving pain. As part of the opiate family of drugs, oxycodone slows activity in the body’s central nervous system, according to a University of Delaware report. It does this by causing the brain to increase endorphin secretions throughout the brain and body. As the body’s natural pain-relief chemicals, excess levels of endorphins in the body cause all major systems to slow down. It also slows the rate in which pain signals travel across nerve cells.

In the process of slowing down body processes, oxycodone also “rewires” the brain’s reward system. Over time, the “high” effects produced by the drug become part of how the brain’s reward system operates. This in turn affects a person’s motivations and behaviors, which becomes the driving force behind the addiction.

Whether taken as a treatment for pain or taken for recreational use, long term use of oxycodone will inevitably cause a person to become addicted to the drug. As the brain and body become adapted to oxycodone’s effects, normal endorphin secretions gradually stop working on their own. Oxycodone addiction treatment works to undo the effects of the drug on the mind and body.

Reversing Oxycodone’s Effects

It wasn’t until the 1970’s when scientists discovered the brain contained actual opiate receptors. Though not specifically designed to react with opiate medications, these receptors nonetheless respond to its own natural endorphins and opiate drugs in the same way. The brain also has a fail-safe mechanism that automatically reduces the amount of endorphins secreted based on “opiate availability.” In effect, the brain stops producing endorphins when opiate effects from drug like oxycodone become regularly available.

Oxycodone addiction treatment provides the types of medication therapies needed to eliminate the brain’s dependency on the drug. Oxycodone addition treatment also addresses the psychological dependence that develops as a person’s addiction grows.

Medication Treatments

Medication therapies make up a large part of the oxycodone addiction treatment process. Once a person starts using oxycodone, brain and body processes are left in a state of disarray. The brain’s reward system, nerve cell transmissions and cognitive functions are just some of the areas left unable to function normally without oxycodone’s effects. Medication therapies used in oxycodone addiction treatment help by weaning the brain and body off the drug’s effects.

Three of the medications commonly used in oxycodone addiction treatment include:

• Naltrexone
• Buprenorphine
• Naloxone

Naltrexone neutralizes the effects of oxycodone, which helps prevent the likelihood of relapse. Buprenorphine actually mimics oxycodone’s effects, which helps to reduce withdrawal symptom effects. Naloxone works by directly counteracting the effects of oxycodone, which makes it an effective treatment in cases where a person overdoses from the drug.

Behavioral Therapy Treatment

While medication treatment addresses the physical aspects of addiction, behavior therapy deals with the psychological aspects of oxycodone addiction treatment. The drug-seeking behaviors characteristic of addiction have become the norm in the mind of a recovering addict. In effect, these behaviors result from how oxycodone rewires a person’s brain reward system. Oxycodone addiction treatment uses behavioral therapies to help a person replace drug-seeking behaviors with healthy coping skills.

Oftentimes, people turn to drug abuse as a way to deal with inner conflicts and life challenges. Cognitive behavioral therapy approaches help a person better understand the underlying issues that drive addiction behaviors. Interpersonal psychotherapy approaches help a person work through interpersonal problem areas involving past and present relationships.

Treatment Settings

Oxycodone addiction treatment settings vary in the level or intensity of treatment provided. In general, the severity of a person’s addiction determines which level of treatment is needed. Someone coming off a long-term oxycodone addiction would best benefit from an inpatient treatment program. Inpatient programs offer a form of residential care where recovering addicts can devote all their time and energy to getting well.

Someone in the early stages of addiction may want to consider an outpatient treatment program. Outpatient treatment provides the same treatment services as inpatient care only participants live off-site and have more freedom to carry out everyday living activities.

Call  800-934-1582(Who Answers?) now to find oxycodone addiction treatment programs near you!