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How to wean off of percocet


SAMHSA’s National Helpline | SAMHSA

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  • SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

    Also visit the online treatment locator.

SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357) (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service), or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.

Also visit the online treatment locator, or send your zip code via text message: 435748 (HELP4U) to find help near you. Read more about the HELP4U text messaging service.

The service is open 24/7, 365 days a year.

English and Spanish are available if you select the option to speak with a national representative. Currently, the 435748 (HELP4U) text messaging service is only available in English.

In 2020, the Helpline received 833,598 calls. This is a 27 percent increase from 2019, when the Helpline received a total of 656,953 calls for the year.

The referral service is free of charge. If you have no insurance or are underinsured, we will refer you to your state office, which is responsible for state-funded treatment programs. In addition, we can often refer you to facilities that charge on a sliding fee scale or accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you have health insurance, you are encouraged to contact your insurer for a list of participating health care providers and facilities.

The service is confidential. We will not ask you for any personal information. We may ask for your zip code or other pertinent geographic information in order to track calls being routed to other offices or to accurately identify the local resources appropriate to your needs.

No, we do not provide counseling. Trained information specialists answer calls, transfer callers to state services or other appropriate intake centers in their states, and connect them with local assistance and support.

  • Suggested Resources

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    It's Not Your Fault (NACoA) (PDF | 12 KB)
    Assures teens with parents who abuse alcohol or drugs that, "It's not your fault!" and that they are not alone. Encourages teens to seek emotional support from other adults, school counselors, and youth support groups such as Alateen, and provides a resource list.

    After an Attempt: A Guide for Taking Care of Your Family Member After Treatment in the Emergency Department
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    Family Therapy Can Help: For People in Recovery From Mental Illness or Addiction
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    For additional resources, please visit the SAMHSA Store.

Last Updated: 08/30/2022

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs

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Misusing alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs can have both immediate and long-term health effects.

The misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, and prescription medications affect the health and well-being of millions of Americans. NSDUH estimates allow researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the general public to better understand and improve the nation’s behavioral health. These reports and detailed tables present estimates from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).

Alcohol

Data:

  • Among the 133.1 million current alcohol users aged 12 or older in 2021, 60.0 million people (or 45.1%) were past month binge drinkers. The percentage of people who were past month binge drinkers was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (29.2% or 9.8 million people), followed by adults aged 26 or older (22.4% or 49.3 million people), then by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (3.8% or 995,000 people). (2021 NSDUH)
  • Among people aged 12 to 20 in 2021, 15.1% (or 5.9 million people) were past month alcohol users. Estimates of binge alcohol use and heavy alcohol use in the past month among underage people were 8.3% (or 3.2 million people) and 1.6% (or 613,000 people), respectively. (2021 NSDUH)
  • In 2020, 50.0% of people aged 12 or older (or 138.5 million people) used alcohol in the past month (i.e., current alcohol users) (2020 NSDUH)
  • Among the 138.5 million people who were current alcohol users, 61.6 million people (or 44. 4%) were classified as binge drinkers and 17.7 million people (28.8% of current binge drinkers and 12.8% of current alcohol users) were classified as heavy drinkers (2020 NSDUH)
  • The percentage of people who were past month binge alcohol users was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (31.4%) compared with 22.9% of adults aged 26 or older and 4.1% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 (2020 NSDUH)
  • Excessive alcohol use can increase a person’s risk of stroke, liver cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis, cancer, and other serious health conditions
  • Excessive alcohol use can also lead to risk-taking behavior, including driving while impaired. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 29 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver daily

Programs/Initiatives:

  • STOP Underage Drinking interagency portal - Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking
  • Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking
  • Talk. They Hear You.
  • Underage Drinking: Myths vs. Facts
  • Talking with your College-Bound Young Adult About Alcohol

Relevant links:

  • National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors
  • Department of Transportation Office of Drug & Alcohol Policy & Compliance
  • Alcohol Policy Information Systems Database (APIS)
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Tobacco

Data:

  • In 2020, 20.7% of people aged 12 or older (or 57.3 million people) used nicotine products (i.e., used tobacco products or vaped nicotine) in the past month (2020 NSDUH)
  • Among past month users of nicotine products, nearly two thirds of adolescents aged 12 to 17 (63.1%) vaped nicotine but did not use tobacco products. In contrast, 88.9% of past month nicotine product users aged 26 or older used only tobacco products (2020 NSDUH)
  • Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death, often leading to lung cancer, respiratory disorders, heart disease, stroke, and other serious illnesses. The CDC reports that cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States
  • The CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health reports that more than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking cigarettes

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use data:

  • In 2021, 13.2 million people aged 12 or older (or 4.7%) used an e-cigarette or other vaping device to vape nicotine in the past month. The percentage of people who vaped nicotine was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (14.1% or 4.7 million people), followed by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (5.2% or 1.4 million people), then by adults aged 26 or older (3.2% or 7.1 million people).
  • Among people aged 12 to 20 in 2021, 11.0% (or 4.3 million people) used tobacco products or used an e-cigarette or other vaping device to vape nicotine in the past month. Among people in this age group, 8.1% (or 3.1 million people) vaped nicotine, 5.4% (or 2.1 million people) used tobacco products, and 3. 4% (or 1.3 million people) smoked cigarettes in the past month. (2021 NSDUH)
  • Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Among both middle and high school students, current use of e-cigarettes declined from 2019 to 2020, reversing previous trends and returning current e-cigarette use to levels similar to those observed in 2018
  • E-cigarettes are not safe for youth, young adults, or pregnant women, especially because they contain nicotine and other chemicals

Resources:

  • Tips for Teens: Tobacco
  • Tips for Teens: E-cigarettes
  • Implementing Tobacco Cessation Programs in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Settings
  • Synar Amendment Program

Links:

  • Truth Initiative
  • FDA Center for Tobacco Products
  • CDC Office on Smoking and Health
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: Tobacco, Nicotine, and E-Cigarettes
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: E-Cigarettes

Opioids

Data:

  • Among people aged 12 or older in 2021, 3. 3% (or 9.2 million people) misused opioids (heroin or prescription pain relievers) in the past year. Among the 9.2 million people who misused opioids in the past year, 8.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers compared with 1.1 million people who used heroin. These numbers include 574,000 people who both misused prescription pain relievers and used heroin in the past year. (2021 NSDUH)
  • Among people aged 12 or older in 2020, 3.4% (or 9.5 million people) misused opioids in the past year. Among the 9.5 million people who misused opioids in the past year, 9.3 million people misused prescription pain relievers and 902,000 people used heroin (2020 NSDUH)
  • According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Understanding the Epidemic, an average of 128 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose

Resources:

  • Medications for Substance Use Disorders
  • Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit
  • TIP 63: Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
  • Use of Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in Criminal Justice Settings
  • Opioid Use Disorder and Pregnancy
  • Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women With Opioid Use Disorder and Their Infants
  • The Facts about Buprenorphine for Treatment of Opioid Addiction
  • Pregnancy Planning for Women Being Treated for Opioid Use Disorder
  • Tips for Teens: Opioids
  • Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Grants
  • Tribal Opioid Response Grants
  • Provider’s Clinical Support System - Medication Assisted Treatment Grant Program

Links:

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: Opioids
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: Heroin
  • HHS Prevent Opioid Abuse
  • Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
  • Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network
  • Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Network

Marijuana

Data:

  • In 2021, marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug, with 18. 7% of people aged 12 or older (or 52.5 million people) using it in the past year. The percentage was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (35.4% or 11.8 million people), followed by adults aged 26 or older (17.2% or 37.9 million people), then by adolescents aged 12 to 17 (10.5% or 2.7 million people).
  • The percentage of people who used marijuana in the past year was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (34.5%) compared with 16.3% of adults aged 26 or older and 10.1% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 (2020 NSDUH)
  • Marijuana can impair judgment and distort perception in the short term and can lead to memory impairment in the long term
  • Marijuana can have significant health effects on youth and pregnant women.

Resources:

  • Know the Risks of Marijuana
  • Marijuana and Pregnancy
  • Tips for Teens: Marijuana

Relevant links:

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse: Marijuana
  • Addiction Technology Transfer Centers on Marijuana
  • CDC Marijuana and Public Health

Emerging Trends in Substance Misuse:

  • Methamphetamine—In 2019, NSDUH data show that approximately 2 million people used methamphetamine in the past year. Approximately 1 million people had a methamphetamine use disorder, which was higher than the percentage in 2016, but similar to the percentages in 2015 and 2018. The National Institute on Drug Abuse Data shows that overdose death rates involving methamphetamine have quadrupled from 2011 to 2017. Frequent meth use is associated with mood disturbances, hallucinations, and paranoia.
  • Cocaine—In 2019, NSDUH data show an estimated 5.5 million people aged 12 or older were past users of cocaine, including about 778,000 users of crack. The CDC reports that overdose deaths involving have increased by one-third from 2016 to 2017. In the short term, cocaine use can result in increased blood pressure, restlessness, and irritability. In the long term, severe medical complications of cocaine use include heart attacks, seizures, and abdominal pain.
  • Kratom—In 2019, NSDUH data show that about 825,000 people had used Kratom in the past month. Kratom is a tropical plant that grows naturally in Southeast Asia with leaves that can have psychotropic effects by affecting opioid brain receptors. It is currently unregulated and has risk of abuse and dependence. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that health effects of Kratom can include nausea, itching, seizures, and hallucinations.

Resources:

  • Tips for Teens: Methamphetamine
  • Tips for Teens: Cocaine
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse

More SAMHSA publications on substance use prevention and treatment.

Last Updated: 03/22/2023

✅ Why is it necessary to treat addiction to Percocet?

Attention! The material contains information about substances, the use of which can cause serious harm to your health!

Percocet, which contains oxidone, is a well-known pain reliever. The drug has gained wide popularity among drug addicts due to the strong effect that causes euphoria. In the article, we will understand how Percocet affects the body, consider the stages of drug addiction formation, and also talk about treatment.

Prices for treatment:

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Percocet and its analogues

Percocet is actively used in medicine and is prescribed for patients with severe or moderate pain syndrome caused by diseases in the chronic or acute phase. The drug is often used in conjunction with analgin and paracetamol.

Percocet has shown positive results in the suppression of withdrawal symptoms when drug withdrawal. But experts do not recommend the use of this drug in the fight against withdrawal symptoms, since dependence on it also quickly develops.

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Pharmacy drugs

Sometimes psychoactive substances can be bought not only from a drug dealer, but also in a regular pharmacy, and sometimes even without a prescription from a doctor. Some medicines are already ready...

The drug Percocet has a large number of alternative names, among which the most common are:

  • Oxy.
  • Tilox.
  • OxyContin.
  • Percodan.
  • Percocet.
  • Roxicet.

How Percocet affects a person

The active substance causes a feeling of lightness and improves mood. The drug effectively relieves pain.

Its action is expressed as follows:

  1. Relaxation. Self-criticism decreases, indifference to everything that happens around develops.
  2. Drowsiness. With the development of dependence, drowsiness is replaced by hyperactivity.
  3. Euphoria, which gradually leads to depression with increasing tolerance.

Doctors strongly advise not to use the drug if a person works in a hazardous industry or drives a car. When taking Percocet with alcoholic beverages, a condition may develop that poses a danger to health and even human life: suffocation, respiratory arrest, death.

Formation of addiction

How quickly drug addiction develops depends primarily on the individual characteristics of the human body. One is enough to drink 3-4 tablets to "get hooked" on the medicine, others may take the drug regularly for a month or even two.

Dependency period may depend on:

  • Weight.
  • Age.
  • Dosages.
  • Reception regularity.

After some time, the first signs of stable physical dependence appear, accompanied by withdrawal.

In order to become intoxicated, addicts take Percocet orally, by injection into a vein and under the skin. The drug works for six hours. A person develops inhibition of movements, relaxation, a dreamlike state, thoughtfulness, detachment from the outside world. This is due to the fact that Percocet, like other opiates, has a pronounced sedative effect.

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When Percocet is used frequently, drowsiness, loss of strength are replaced by hyperactivity. This is the first symptom that a person has developed addiction to the drug. You need to urgently consult with your doctor and find out how to stop using the drug. Percocet is considered a strong psychoactive drug that can form physical and mental dependence in the shortest possible time.

How is the treatment

Treatment of unhealthy addiction to drugs and Percocet should be comprehensive. With a stable dependence, a person is not able to independently overcome cravings for a psychoactive substance. Often, the addict decides to abruptly stop using the drug, which provokes the development of a strong withdrawal syndrome, which cannot be overcome on its own. With the development of withdrawal, the following symptoms occur:

  • Oppression
  • Anxiety
  • Anxiety
  • Muscle weakness
  • Tremor of limbs
  • Fever
  • Unbearable thirst and dry mouth

To get rid of addiction to the drug, contact the Zdravnitsa professional treatment and rehabilitation center, where the addict will undergo a comprehensive course of treatment and get rid of addiction to the drug. Only the joint efforts of doctors, addicts and relatives will help a person overcome addiction.

Call the 24-hour hotline 8-800-200-27-23 to make an appointment with a narcologist.

Addiction treatment is a complex and multi-step process. If your loved ones need help in the treatment of addiction to alcohol or drugs, then sign up for a free consultation by calling the hotline of the Zdravnitsa Center for Professional Treatment and Rehabilitation: 8-800-200-27-23. We will select a rehabilitation plan and help you go through the stages of recovery with the support of specialists.

Pain Relief Addiction - HealthInfo

Back pain keeps you on your toes and simple medications don't bring relief.

The doctor wants to prescribe a strong prescription-only pain reliever, but you are hesitant. Do you think painkillers can be addictive?

Indeed, this kind of addiction is becoming more and more common. But problems tend to arise when the patient is taking these medications for other than medical reasons. Dependence on painkillers such as Vicodin and OxyContin is increasingly common in adolescents. However, if taken as a prescription pain reliever, addiction is very unlikely.

Patients who are prone to some type of addiction or have relatives suffering from such problems should be especially careful. They are more likely to develop addiction, as are people who are depressed, anxious, or lonely. If you belong to one of these groups, ask your doctor to prescribe a pain reliever that is less addictive. In such cases, the doctor will also monitor your condition more closely.

How do painkillers work?

Painkillers (opiates, or opium derivatives) block receptors in the brain and spinal cord that transmit signals that make a person feel pain. The most common opiates are:

  • Hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab)
  • Oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet, Percodan)

Opiates such as Darvon, Demerol and Dilaudid are also widely known. Opiates also include medicines containing codeine and morphine.

Opiates not only block pain, but also affect the pleasure centers in the brain. That is why they are addictive. For example, if you chew an OxyContin tablet, inhale the powder, or give yourself an injection, a person ceases to be aware of ordinary reality. A large dose of this drug can cause a state of euphoria ... as well as serious respiratory problems and even death.

However, not taking painkillers when you really need them can lead to other problems. Severe pain causes fatigue and hypertension. It can lower immunity, slow recovery from illness, cause depression or disability.

Safe use of drugs

If you take painkillers as prescribed and in strict accordance with them, then even long-term use of the drug will not cause dependence. The body can become accustomed to the action of the drug, and it will be necessary to increase the dose to relieve pain, but this is not the same as the development of dependence.

Moreover, do not stop taking painkillers when you feel better, because the body has already become accustomed to the drug, and unpleasant withdrawal symptoms may occur. Your doctor will help you to gradually and correctly stop taking the medicine.

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