Oxyontin has become close to an epidemic the last few years; teenagers and adolescents are a big reason why. Oxycontin is both physically addicting and psychologically and emotionally addicting as well. The oxy endemic has been ruining lives all over the country almost since its introduction. Teenagers addicted to oxy are unstable, and can easily turn very volatile. This behavior- outbursts, threats- will make family members in the home nervous. A young person addicted to Oxy’s can make life at home feel unsafe. If this is your story, you need to commence planning an intervention immediately.

The chances are that you won’t hear your teen say oxy or Oxycontin.  Street slang is used by  teenagers  to talk about getting high. Generally they are referred to simply as pills, but you  might also hear your teenager refer to them as “blues” or as that “deaf”. If you overhear your adolescent say “got any pills” or “want to get some medicine” you can be sure he or she is not talking about vitamins or allergy tablets.

If you discover they are addicted to Oxycontin, you need to take action right away.

Taking stock of the lengths adolescents and teenagers will go to use Oxycontin could surprise you. Some teens smoke the substance by crushing it on aluminum foil and heating it with a lighter from underneath. The smoke causes a fast, bitter euphoria and the harsh chemicals are exceptionally damaging to the lungs. Other teens also crush the time-release pills, but then go a step further and snort the drug which is now a fine powder. Still others get hooked abusing Oxycontin Intravenously; using needles to shoot up the drug. This is even more dangerous as it lowers the “what is okay/what is not okay” standards and can easily lead to heroin use. Heroin is cheaper, and much more inconsistent- even from one drug dealer to another. In addition, any drug use that requires injection with needles and syringes can often lead to viruses including hepatitis and AIDS.

When you are hooked on opiates, all of you is addicted. With a large percentage of other drugs there is a psychological addiction. With opiates, the psychological addiction can be considered stronger than other drugs, but in addition to that the user gets physically addicted. And a sudden stoppage from using Oxycontin and other opiates will send the user’s body into violent withdrawal symptoms, including nausea, stomach cramps, diarrhea, leg “kicks”, back spasms, sweats, chills, depression, lethargy and aggressiveness. Vomiting repeatedly and having the chills despite running a high fever is absolutely no ones idea of fun. While in a non-medical setting, their bodies will continue to ache intolerably and they will be in extreme physical pain and emotional torment.

A planned, professional Intervention is usually the right course of action in this situation. In a teen intervention, the teen child will be forced to realize the destruction their addiction has caused; both to themselves and to those those around them.  When faced with these truths, very often times the teen decides it is time for a change. They come to the conclusion that they are really hurting the only people that love them and most of all hurting themselves.

If your son or daughter is bringing drugs and drug abuse into the home, you need a solution. You need to a reputable consultant to guide you through the maze of Interventionists, teen rehabs and State and County resources…fast. It’s a very small window-but if you and your child can get through it, you both stand a good chance of leading sober, fulfilled and happy lives.