Oxycontin Essay
Oxycontin: A Painkiller, or a Pill that Kills?
To most people, pain is a nuisance. But to others, pain controls their life. The feeling discomforts us in ways that can sometimes seem almost imaginable. These feelings can lead to many different side effects if not dealt with or diagnosed. These effects can include depression, anxiety, and incredible amounts of stress. The truth about pain is that it is vital to our existence. Without the nervous system responding to pain, we would have no idea if we were touching a hot stove, being stuck by a porcupine's needles, or something else that could leave a lasting effect upon our bodies without us even knowing anything about it. This warning system helps to alert us when there is potential harm to our bodies (Stimmel 26). For those whose lives have been forever disrupted by pain, a miracle drug has been put onto the market which alleviates the pain, and allows the consumer to return to a more normal lifestyle. Since being approved in 1995, Oxycontin has become one of America's most prescribed medicines for chronic pain. It has many street names such as killers, OC, Oxy, and Oxycotton. It is proven to provide sustained relief for up to twelve hours and has few serious side effects. Oxycontin is a safe drug if used properly, but the problem that exists is that when abused, Oxycontin can become lethal (Allison 2).
Until this century, researchers and doctors have not understood how to stop pain, without introducing other side effects such as addiction. Physicians were limited to the drugs that they used to stop the pain because not enough was known in the past. This issue has recently changed from not having strong enough drugs to dampen the effects of pain, rather to deciding which degree of a painkiller to give the patient. This is in part due to the intense nature of some drugs that have been recently developed (Sanberg 82). Oxycontin is one of these drugs that are only given to patients with severe pain
To most people, pain is a nuisance. But to others, pain controls their life. The feeling discomforts us in ways that can sometimes seem almost imaginable. These feelings can lead to many different side effects if not dealt with or diagnosed. These effects can include depression, anxiety, and incredible amounts of stress. The truth about pain is that it is vital to our existence. Without the nervous system responding to pain, we would have no idea if we were touching a hot stove, being stuck by a porcupine's needles, or something else that could leave a lasting effect upon our bodies without us even knowing anything about it. This warning system helps to alert us when there is potential harm to our bodies (Stimmel 26). For those whose lives have been forever disrupted by pain, a miracle drug has been put onto the market which alleviates the pain, and allows the consumer to return to a more normal lifestyle. Since being approved in 1995, Oxycontin has become one of America's most prescribed medicines for chronic pain. It has many street names such as killers, OC, Oxy, and Oxycotton. It is proven to provide sustained relief for up to twelve hours and has few serious side effects. Oxycontin is a safe drug if used properly, but the problem that exists is that when abused, Oxycontin can become lethal (Allison 2).
Until this century, researchers and doctors have not understood how to stop pain, without introducing other side effects such as addiction. Physicians were limited to the drugs that they used to stop the pain because not enough was known in the past. This issue has recently changed from not having strong enough drugs to dampen the effects of pain, rather to deciding which degree of a painkiller to give the patient. This is in part due to the intense nature of some drugs that have been recently developed (Sanberg 82). Oxycontin is one of these drugs that are only given to patients with severe pain
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