ACUTE PAIN: OXYCONTIN: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

OxyContin contains oxycodone, a very strong narcotic pain reliever similar to morphine. OxyContin is designed so that the oxycodone is slowly released over time, allowing it to be used twice daily. You should never break, chew or crush the OxyContin tablet since this causes a large amount of oxycodone to be released from the tablet all at once, potentially resulting in a dangerous or fatal drug overdose.

OxyContin is intended to help relieve pain that is moderate to severe in intensity, when that pain is present all the time, and expected to continue for a long time. This level of pain severity may be caused by a variety of different medical conditions.

Only a physician can determine if OxyContin is a good choice to manage your pain. If you have pain every day that lasts for a large part of the day, and the pain is moderate or severe in intensity, depending upon other factors in your medical history, OxyContin may be a good choice for you. Speak with your physician.

If you feel you only need to take a pain reliever occasionally and this adequately treats your pain, OxyContin is NOT the right drug for you. If you only need a pain reliever for a few days, for example following a dental or surgical procedure, OxyContin is not the right drug for you.

OxyContin may interfere with your ability to do certain things that require your full attention. You should not drive a car, operate heavy machinery or do other possibly dangerous activities while taking OxyContin.

Because OxyContin is a very strong medication, you should not adjust the dose without first speaking with your physician.

Combining OxyContin with some other types of medication such as sleeping pills, tranquilizers and other pain medications may be dangerous due to the risk of interactions of these medications that can result in injury or death. You should speak with your physician before taking any other medicines with OxyContin. You also should tell your physician about all prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements/herbal remedies that you are taking before starting OxyContin.

You should not drink any beverage that contains alcohol while you are taking OxyContin. This includes beer, wine and all distilled liquors. OxyContin and alcoholic beverages may have dangerous interactions that can result in serious injury or death.

OxyContin is intended for moderate to severe pain that is present on a daily basis only, and that requires a very strong pain reliever. Patients with this type of severe pain condition require daily pain treatment. Taking OxyContin daily can result in physical dependence, a condition in which the body shows signs of narcotic withdrawal if the OxyContin is stopped suddenly. This is not the same thing as addiction, which represents a situation in which people obtain and take narcotics because of a psychological need, and not just to treat a legitimate painful condition. Physical dependence can be treated by slowly under the advice of a physician by slowing decreasing the OxyContin dose when it is no longer needed for the treatment of pain. Concerns of addiction should not prevent patients with appropriate pain conditions from using OxyContin or other narcotics for pain relief.

When you no longer need OxyContin, the dose should be gradually reduced so that you do not feel sick with withdrawal symptoms. You should ask your physician for a plan on how to decrease the dose gradually and when to stop the OxyContin.

OxyContin is a safe and effective pain medication when properly prescribed and used as directed. OxyContin has been used as a drug of abuse also. You should protect your prescription and your medication from theft and never give OxyContin to anyone else. You should destroy any left over OxyContin tablets that you may have once your physician instructs you to stop taking the medication.

You should speak to your physician about the effects of drugs like OxyContin on an unborn or newborn child.

Because there is a large dose of medication in each OxyContin tablet, you must be very careful to keep OxyContin stored in a secure location, out of the reach of children. When you no longer need OxyContin for pain relief, you should dispose of the unused tablets safely.