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Understanding Percocet

What is Percocet?

Percocet is known commercially under many different names including percodan, oxycontin, roxycondone and oxynorm. It is also primarily known as oxycodone, which is a semi synthetic pain killer used primarily to treat acute pain.
There was a great increase in the recreational use of this product from the mid-90s when high dose and prolonged released Oxycontin was released and marketed.
The chemical composition of Percocet is oxycodone and acetaminophen. Acetaminophen can also known as paracetamol.
A Brief History of Percocet
Oxycodone was originally synthesized in Germany in 1916 and has been used therapeutically since then. It has been available in the United States since the late 1930s, with its use soaring during the 1950s. Prolonged released oxycontin has been available in the United States since 1995 and was widely accepted by the medical community as a less addictive alternative to morphine.
Over ten years later in 1995 the US Food and Drug Administration recommended that its sale be limited due to its association with liver damage. The FDA also pointed out that acetaminophen combined with narcotics is responsible for over four hundred deaths every year. Around the year 2001 the United States government with the DEA and the FDA start becoming worried at the amount of illegal Percocet use.
What is The Typical Dosage?
Percocet tablets come in six different presentations with different dosages of oxycodone and acetaminophen within then. There are oral tablets of five, ten, fifteen and twenty milligrams and prolonged released tales of ten, twenty, forty and eighty milligrams.
Typically a prescribed adult dose tends to be five milligrams every six hours or so. However tolerance is developed very quickly in individuals that take Percocet and those that need it every day have to increase its use for it to be effective.
Some users grind the prolonged release tablets and inhale them for a more intense effect or 'high.' This is particularly dangerous when the high dose prolonged released tablets are used.

How Much Does it Cost?
In the United States it costs between four and seven dollars for a forty milligram tablet with a medical prescription, being cheaper in Canada. On the streets the drug goes for about one dollar per milligram, making it between twenty and forty dollars for a forty milligram tablet.
What is the Pharmacology?
Oxycodone is an opiate analgesic with a very close chemical relationship to codeine and morphine. Like most opiates whatever causes its effects on the body are unknown. It is generally thought that it affects particular receptors in the brain which creates all the effects an individual might feel while taking it.
What are Percocet's Main Effects?
The primary effects of Percocet usage are pain relief, sedation, anxiety reduction, relaxation and euphoria. These effects can start being felt between twenty and thirty minutes after using the drug but it can be up to one hour before all effects are felt. When taking the tablets the effect lasts up to four or five hours. With prolonged released tablets the effects can last up to twelve hours.
In less than one percent of the oxycodone using population there has been some changes in visual perception or abnormal vision.
What About Its Side Effects?
The side effects of Percocet are extremely varied depending on the individual and their body's and brain's chemical composition. They can range from nausea, constipation, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, itching and fatigue to less common effects like difficulty concentrating and thinking, nervousness, insomnia, fevers and fainting.
Side effects that individuals should watch out for are abdominal pain, seizures, breathing difficulty and shock.
Combining oxycodone with alcohol or any other depressor can lead to a very dangerous central nervous system and respiratory system reaction.
Is Percocet Addictive? What is it's Addiction Potential?
Percocet is extremely addictive both physically and psychologically. Anyone who takes it, whether it is medically or recreationally, can become an addict. People who are especially at risk are those who take it every day. Some mental health professionals say that addiction starts three weeks after someone starts using Percocet. After a few weeks tolerance is developed so doses will likely be increased.
When someone stops taking Percocet they can expect general pains and feeling unwell, nausea, tiredness, diarrhea, headaches, fevers, runny noses, tremors and shaking, sweating, difficulty sleeping and anxiety.
What is Going on With Percocet Today?
An US Food and Drug Administration panel during the year 2010 made a proposal. The FDA wanted the total prohibition of Percocet because the combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen can produce liver damage that leads to death. This would have meant that doctors would not be able to prescribe this particular drug to patients.
Additionally, Percocet has one of the highest rates of diversion of prescription drugs. This means that it is frequently shifted from the legitimacy of doctors and patients, along with a legitimate pharmaceutical supply, intro street use. This is done by stealing or buying the drug from individuals with legitimate prescriptions. According to the same source over eleven thousand people died from overdosing or poisoning with prescription narcotics in 2008. Percocet is, however, currently schedule two in America. This, in turn, means that doctors can still prescribe it to patients in acute pain but anybody who is found with it to distribute or for personal recreational use is liable to be prosecuted by law.
Although Percocet can be tested for, this is not the standard. If the amount of usage is enough that there is plenty of morphine in the body traces of it could be found while doing ordinary drug tests. Additionally traces of Percocet are easily found in blood toxicology reports.
Being addicted to Percocet is a common problem that many people who needed it for the pain currently have. Millions of people are currently addicted or dependent on this dangerous drug.
If you or a loved one are currently in this situation seek the help of a health professional who specializes in prescription drug addiction. They can help you find a treatment that is right for you taking into account your individual circumstances including your physical and psychological needs.