All across the US millions of Americans suffer from some degree of pain, whether it is mild in nature or more debilitating. The mild variety, one of the many over the counter pain relievers, is usually enough to cope with the discomfort. However, for the more chronic and severe pain, more potent, prescription pain killers are normally required.
While these potent types of pain killers work for the most part to make the pain more bearable, there are drawbacks to taking them. Depending on how your body reacts to the medication it can prevent you from performing daily tasks including your job, your family responsibilities and it can keep you from any type of workout routines.
Oxycodone is one of the most common of those prescription pain killers that are being prescribed by a medical professional for chronic pain. One of the main reasons that it is so heavily used is that it is quite effective on pain and it can be prescribed in lower doses in oral form.
What is Oxycodone?
Oxycodone is a powerful narcotic drug (federally controlled substance) that is prescribed for moderate to severe pain. It is sold under a number of names including Oxycontin and is several others in tablet form in a number of different doses. It is a powerful drug that should not be taken contrary to the doctor’s direction or as printed on the label.
Oxycodone is a powerful opioid pain killer that works effectively on pain and related to other drugs suck as morphine, heroin, codeine, fentanyl, and methadone, Oxycodone must be prescribed by a doctor, but if it is abused it can lead to serious medical complications including death. It is also highly addictive and proper care should be taken in order not to take more often than prescribed.
How does Oxycodone work?
The reason why Oxycodone is so effective at treating pain, including chronic pain that ranges between moderate to severe levels is two-fold. First thing, it causes an immediate release of dopamine into the bloodstream from the brain. This produces a near euphoric like feeling and then secondly, compounds within the oxycodone bind themselves with the opioid receptors in the central nervous system to block pain sensation. The release of the dopamine helps seems like a positive thing, but it is this effect that contributes to its unfortunate severely addictive properties.
Side effects of taking Oxycodone
As with any oral medication, one of the most serious side effects that could be experienced immediately after taking it is a possible allergic reaction. The most common symptoms of an allergic reaction are; difficulty breathing, swelling of the face, throat, lips, and tongue. There are several other side effects that have been reported and are indications of possibly serious conditions. If you experience any of them you should seek emergency treatment at the nearest Emergency Room.
Most common side effects of Oxycodone
- Shallow, noisy breathing and heavy sighing
- Weak pulse rate and slower heart rate
- A feeling of losing consciousness or extremely light-headed feeling
- Unusual thoughts and behaviors or feeling of intense confusion
- Uncontrolled convulsion or seizures
A lessor condition associated with opioids like oxycodone is Seratonin Syndrome (agitation, confusion, chest pain, elevated heart rate, shortness of breath, and muscle stiffness
Are there any dependency worries?
One of the biggest concerns about prescription pain killers is that because of how they work in the body there is always will be a possibility of addiction and dependency. Pain killers like Oxycodone are extremely potent and work extremely well while you are taking them for medium to severe pain. What makes Oxycodone so effective for pain, especially chronic pain is that it can be prescribed in a form that is time-released.
However, Oxycodone is also a narcotic that is a Federally-controlled substance and the biggest concern is that before the pain relief kicks in the release of dopamine into the bloodstream and the euphoric effect associated with it has been linked to increased addiction and dependency from taking even small doses of Oxycodone.
How does taking Oxycodone affect your workout?
Oxycodone and Aerobic Exercise
If you are someone who participates in an aerobic-style form of workout such as; riding a bike which includes both regular and stationary bikes, walking (power walking) and running you should be very careful when taking a narcotic pain killer like Oxycodone. While it does relieve pain and make it possible to workout through even chronic pain, the real danger is in the way that it elevates heart rate and interferes with regular breathing patterns. The combination of erratic breathing and increased heart before you even start working out is a very dangerous combination.
Oxycodone and Weight Training
Like with aerobic-style exercise routines that raise your heart rate to a certain level in order to get the most positive gains. Your muscles need the right amount of blood and oxygen to every cell in order to grow. Unfortunately, when you take pain killers like Oxycodone can have negative effects on your breathing and elevate your heart rate to dangerous levels before you even start working out.
Conclusion on Oxycodone and physical training
Oxycodone is one of the powerful oral pain killers on the market today. It is part of a class of narcotic prescription drugs known as opioids. Oxycodone is a generic name for the drug that can be found under a number of different names, formulas, and dosages. Oxycodone is generally prescribed by medical professionals for medium to severe pain including, but not solely for chronic pain treatment.
While the reasons for prescribing this type of drug for chronic pain may seem logical, unfortunately, the side effects of Oxycodone are serious enough that you may think twice about taking it. It has been reported that may patients who have taken Oxycodone have reported elevated heart rate and breathing issues. This can be extremely dangerous for people who are active, and even potentially deadly if you workout on a regular basis. This includes aerobic and weight training routines.
It is strongly recommended that if you are suffering from some amount of chronic pain, that you consult your primary care provider before you do any type of exercise while taking Oxycodone.
