Oxycodone withdrawal symptoms may occur when people stop taking oxycodone hydrochloride, an effective, but addictive, opioid pain reliever that is usually only available by prescription. Specific symptoms tend to vary by the individual and also depend on length of dependency. Abrupt withdrawal by long-term users is usually associated with highest number of unpleasant and difficult symptoms, while people who take the drug for a brief period without establishing dependency may not experience any symptoms at all when stopping. Physicians need to take care that tapering of the drug occurs when it has been used for a long time, and if the drug has been taken illegally, people may need medical support to discontinue it without encountering severe withdrawal symptoms.
There are many different ways that oxycodone withdrawal may be evident to a person who has suddenly stopped taking the medicine. Some of the symptoms that can be associated with withdrawal include different types of stomach upset. People may have poor appetite, severe bouts of diarrhea, nausea and/or vomiting, or a stomachache. A number of folks feel like they have not only stomach but seasonal flu, and the skin could feel clammy or crawling skin, aches and pains might affect the joints and the muscles, or people might run a fever.
Additional oxycodone withdrawal symptoms include excess sweating, insomnia or disturbances while asleep (parasomnias), and nasal congestion. Some have more aggravated symptoms upon oxycodone withdrawal. The most severe of these may be experiencing visual, auditory or tactile hallucinations that can cause great fright or disorientation.
There isn’t a defined time of when oxycodone withdrawal completes itself. People who are only slightly dependent might note symptoms for a day or two. Those who have taken the drug for a long time may experience withdrawal symptoms to a certain degree for several weeks or even months. Getting through this experience can be extraordinarily difficult, especially when people don’t have adequate support.
Perhaps the best way to get assistance during oxycodone withdrawal is to ask for help from the prescribing physician. The physician and patient can come up with a method of tapering that allows patients to gradually reduce dependency on the drug. This same method is not always useful to those who have been using the drug without a prescription. In these cases, help from a drug treatment center may be of most use in alleviating some of the discomfort of withdrawal and in providing support to end an addiction to an illegal substance.
