How Do Doctors Decide Between Prescribing Oxycodone or OxyContin?
There are many different kinds of opioid analgesics, or pain medicines, on the market today, with each having a certain primary use or treatment plan. It can be confusing to get the details straight about the list of opioids strongest to weakest. Still, each can have a very different potency, duration of effects, and potential interactions or side effects. Taking the time to get to know the difference between oxycodone and OxyContin and other prescription opioid painkillers can help you learn about their potential dangers and stay safe.
Table of contents
» How Does the Duration of Action Differ Between Oxycodone and OxyContin?
» Do Oxycodone and OxyContin Have Different Risks of Side Effects?
» Which Has a Higher Risk of Misuse or Addiction—Oxycodone or OxyContin?
» What Should Patients Expect if They Are Switched From Oxycodone to OxyContin?
» Key Takeaways on the Difference Between Oxycodone and OxyContin
» Resources
How Does the Duration of Action Differ Between Oxycodone and OxyContin?
Some of the most addictive prescription drugs in use today are opioids, a category of substances that are derived from the poppy plant or made synthetically that bind to certain neurotransmitter receptors in the brain to change how the person perceives or feels pain. While they pretty much all work the same way and are often very similar in chemical structure, opioids can vary quite a bit in terms of their potency, potential use cases, and even how long they will remain in effect after being ingested, injected, or administered.
Consider, for example, the difference between oxycodone and OxyContin. Let’s start by exploring what these drugs are:
- Oxycodone: This is a type of opioid analgesic, otherwise known as a pain medicine, that depresses and acts on the central nervous system, providing pain relief to users with severe pain. It’s a semi-synthetic opioid, meaning it is made in a lab but uses chemicals that are naturally derived. In this case, it’s synthesized from thebaine, an alkaloid that’s found in the resin of poppy plants. Oxycodone is the active ingredient in many common painkillers today, including brand names like Percocet and OxyContin.
- OxyContin: This brand-name medication has oxycodone as its active ingredient. It’s often designed to be a controlled-release medication, also known as extended-release, which means it provides a continuous amount of the medication over a long period of time to provide round-the-clock pain relief and management. Because of their long duration of effect, controlled-release medications contain a relatively high total dose of their active ingredients, which is why controlled-release formulations of OxyContin are considered to have an especially high risk of misuse, dependence, and even addiction.
So, it’s easiest to understand the difference between the drugs like this: Oxycodone is an active ingredient in many different opioid prescription drugs, including some brand-name prescriptions like OxyContin.
The difference in duration of effect between the two drugs will completely depend on how they’re formulated. For example, an immediate-release oxycodone medication like Roxicodone will start to relieve pain quickly—often within 10 to 30 minutes—and provide pain relief for three to six hours. A controlled-release medication, such as OxyContin, will instead slowly release its dosage of the active ingredient oxycodone over a long period of time, usually 12 hours.
These take a while longer to start to relieve pain, with patients starting to feel pain relief about an hour after they get the medicine. In one study published in 1998, cancer patients were given either immediate-release oxycodone or controlled-release oxycodone tablets. Researchers found controlled-release formulations were just as effective as managing moderate to severe pain while being associated with fewer adverse effects.
Do Oxycodone and OxyContin Have Different Risks of Side Effects?
The difference between oxycodone and OxyContin really comes down to how it’s formulated to provide pain relief. While oxycodone is a type of opioid painkiller, and it’s the active ingredient in OxyContin, the two can carry different risks of side effects and the potential for misuse, dependency, and addiction due to how they’re formulated.
In general, oxycodone can cause a variety of side effects, such as:
- Dry mouth
- Drowsiness
- Mood changes, such as anxiety
- Itching
- Headaches and stomach pain
Severe side effects are also possible:
- Nausea or vomiting
- Fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat
- Agitation
- Hallucationatons
- Appetite loss
- Chest pain
- Seizures
- Swelling of the limbs
- Difficulty breathing or swallowing
Even though they contain the same active ingredient, OxyContin is considered to have a much higher risk of overdose and even death if misused because the extended-release drug has a much higher and potentially fatal dose of the opioid. If a tablet that is designed to give a controlled release of medication over a long period of time, such as 12 hours, is crushed or chewed instead of swallowed, users will get a large dose of oxycodone all at once and that can lead to severe medical problems, overdoses, and death.
Which Has a Higher Risk of Misuse or Addiction—Oxycodone or OxyContin?
As previously stated, OxyContin is generally considered to have a much higher risk of misuse or addiction than oxycodone due to how much of the opioid is in these extended-release medications. If they’re used other than intended, such as crushed up and snorted or chewed up rather than swallowed whole, the user will get an immediate rush of a large dose of oxycodone. This can lead to powerful effects, including a strong feeling of euphoria, that can become habit-forming and lead to a cycle of addiction in a short amount of time.
It’s important to watch out for the symptoms of addiction to pain pills, which can include things like:
- Constipation
- Nausea
- Euphoric feelings when taking the drug
- Slow breathing
- Poor coordination and confusion
- Extreme drowsiness
- Needing to take more and more of the drug to feel the same effects
- Worsening sensitivity to pain as the dosage increases
Both oxycodone and OxyContin are controlled substances due to their potential for misuse, dependency, and addiction.
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What Should Patients Expect if They Are Switched From Oxycodone to OxyContin?
If you’re wondering about the difference between oxycodone and OxyContin, it largely comes down to how the active ingredient of this opioid is formulated to be delivered to patients. Someone on immediate-release oxycodone medications will get three to six hours of pain relief from each dosage of the drug, with a much faster onset of effects. This means someone with chronic, round-the-clock pain could take as many as four doses of oxycodone each day to relieve their pain.
OxyContin, meanwhile, is designed to provide 12 hours of pain relief from one dosage, providing all-day relief of severe and chronic pain with fewer doses. Being switched from one to the other could mean taking fewer pills each day. Still, it could also come with the risk of a higher potential for misuse due to the stronger amount of oxycodone that is found in extended-release drugs like OxyContin.
Key Takeaways on the Difference Between Oxycodone and OxyContin
- Oxycodone is a semi-synthetic opioid used to relieve and manage severe or chronic pain.
- Oxycodone is the active ingredient in many brand-name painkillers, including OxyContin.
- OxyContin is a controlled-release drug, meaning it provides pain relief for about 12 hours instead of three to six hours like an immediate-release version of oxycodone.
- Both oxycodone and OxyContin are controlled substances due to their risk of misuse, dependency, and addiction.
- OxyContin can have a higher potential for misuse due to having more of the opioid active ingredient in each extended-release tablet.
The difference between oxycodone and OxyContin is many, but these two drugs are more similar than dissimilar, and both can lead to problems with dependency and addiction. The team at WhiteSands Treatment knows just how powerful the chains of addiction to opioids can be, and we understand how to help you get better. Call us at 877-855-3470 today to get started on the road to recovery.
Resources
- Mayo Clinic – Oxycodone (Oral Route)
- National Library of Medicine – Comparison of Controlled-Release and Immediate-Release Oxycodone Tablets in Patients with Cancer Pain
- MedlinePlus – Oxycodone
If you or a loved one needs help with abuse and/or treatment, please call the WhiteSands Treatment at (877) 855-3470. Our addiction specialists can assess your recovery needs and help you get the addiction treatment that provides the best chance for your long-term recovery.
About the Author
Jackie has been involved in the substance abuse and addiction treatment sector for over five years and this is something that she is truly eager about. She has a passion for writing and continuously works to create informative pieces that not only educate and inform the public about the disease of addiction but also provide solutions for those who struggle with drug and alcohol abuse.
