Oxycodone dosage to be taken depends upon several factors, including the patient’s condition and the body’s response to the medicine.
Use of pain relievers is the mainstay of treatment of diseases that trigger moderate to severe pain. Visiting a drug store, one will find plenty of medications, labeled as pain killers. One such effective pain reliever, that has also been used to treat cancer and arthritis pain, is oxycodone. The drug is narcotic and thus provides sleep inducing effects. Hence, it is an important ingredient of many painkillers. Although a pain reliever, it reduces the discomfort by increasing our ability to withstand pain. With oxycodone, the body does not respond to pain, the way it should. Hence, patients put on oxycodone are able to tolerate pain easily.
Oxycodone Dosage
Oxycodone dose for pain will vary from person to person and most importantly the medical history of the patient will be taken into consideration, while determining the exact dosage. For instance, people who had suffered from liver and kidney disease are often asked to stay away from this drug. The doctor will also inquire about the medications, the patients is currently taking. Drug interactions can bring side effects, hence there is a need to know whether the patient is undergoing any medical treatment.
Oxycodone is generally mixed with acetaminophen and sold under different brand names such as percocet and magnacet. Thus, percocet 5/325 means the tablet contains 5 mg of oxycodone and 325 mg of acetaminophen. On the whole, this drug can be taken orally or administered intravenously. Whatever may be the mode of administration of oxycodone, taking it in the required dosage, is very important to get the desired result. The 5/325 mg and 2.5/400 mg tablets of oxycodone are commonly prescribed to treat pain. One can take these tablets twice or even 4 times a day for effective pain relief. In other words, the patient should ingest 1-2 tablets every 6 hours as per the severity of the pain. Thus, for moderate pain, just 1 tablet of 325 mg (oxycodone 5/325) or 400 mg (oxycodone 2.5/400) taken every 24 hours can help to get rid of the discomfort. However, in case the pain is severe, the dosage of 5 mg may be increased to 4 tablets a day. Oxycodone recreational dosage is anywhere between 2.5 to 5 mg.
The drug oxycodone is also sold in liquid form. So, those preferring to have oxycodone as a solution, can take a maximum of 4 teaspoons in a day. A time interval of 6 hours between every teaspoon dose of oxycodone is necessary. Depending upon the amount of pain the patient is experiencing, the doctor will decide the number of teaspoons of oxycodone, that need to be taken everyday.
Also, oxycodone tablets available at various drugstores are formulated as immediate release or controlled release. Tablets labeled as ‘immediate release formulations’, release their content into the body in a very short amount of time. Hence, its effect such as pain relief is immediately noticed after taking the medicine. Immediate release oral oxycodone dosage will vary between 5 mg and 30 mg. A gap of 6 hours is kept in between every dosage.
On the other hand, controlled release tablets are formulated to deliver their content for a specified period of time (usually several hours) in a controlled fashion. As far as dosage of controlled release oxycodone is concerned, a 10 mg strength tablet is often recommended and is taken after every 12 hours. Controlled release tablets are usually recommended for chronic pain, whereas the immediate release ones are useful to treat acute pain.
Oxycodone Dosage to Get High
Many teens are on the look out of medicines that give them a high feeling. When painkiller dosage exceeds the prescription (overdose) it may give that ‘high feeling’ (a state of happiness). However, this is nothing but abuse of drugs that can cause life-threatening side effects. So taking an overdose of oxycodone which is equivalent to more than 4 teaspoons or tablets per day may bring that feeling of ‘great elation’ but will predispose a person to some terrible side effects (coma). So staying away from oxycodone overdose would certainly be beneficial. Keep in mind that the medicine is not a way to get high.
Withdrawal Symptoms
If you have been using oxycodone for quite some time, then discontinuing it abruptly is not advisable. As the drug is habit-forming, stopping it suddenly after prolong ingestion can cause a wide range of physical and mental issues, commonly referred to as withdrawal symptoms. Hence, one should refrain from stopping or decreasing the dosage drastically. A better option is to slowly reduce the dosage over a period of time. This gradual reduction of dosage works to minimize the impact of oxycodone withdrawal symptoms.
Keep in mind that the dosage when taking oxycodone has to be strictly followed, as prescribed by the doctor. As with any other medicine, oxycodone can produce side effects. But the chances are minimal and decrease drastically, when it is taken in the recommended dosage. The most common oxycodone side effects are nausea, constipation or dizziness. Therefore, people taking anti-diarrheal medicines along with oxycodone are likely to feel severely constipated. One of the side effects associated with oxycodone usage is respiratory depression. So, people with lung problems need to get a clearance from a qualified doctor before taking this medicine.
