Can you crush oxycontin

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Health Letter , July Some patients find it difficult or impossible to swallow large tablets or capsules. To cope with this problem, patients, caregivers and health care providers frequently crush tablets or open capsules and sprinkle the resulting powder, fragments or granules into food or liquids. Some patients also may resort to chewing on the pills or capsules before swallowing.

However, an important review published in Prescrire International warned that many medicines available in tablet or capsule form are not supposed to be crushed, opened or chewed before swallowing — and that doing so may have serious, sometimes deadly, consequences. Oral medications available in tablet or capsule form contain one or more active ingredients — the actual drug intended to treat a particular disease or condition — and several inactive ingredients. Inactive ingredients include coating materials, flavorings, dyes and binders that hold tablets or granules from capsules together.

Drug companies use complex manufacturing techniques to combine these ingredients into final products that are designed to release their active ingredients at a specific rate and in a specific location within the digestive tract, such as the stomach or the small intestine.

For example, some uncoated, immediate-release tablets are designed to disintegrate quickly in the stomach, whereupon the active ingredients are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream. For these drugs to work, the active ingredients must be able to withstand exposure to the strong acid found in the stomach before they are absorbed. For other drugs containing active ingredients that would otherwise be broken down by stomach acid, manufacturers have designed tablets and capsules with acid-resistant coatings often called enteric coatings.

Only when these tablets or capsules move from the stomach to the small intestine will the coating dissolve, allowing release of the active ingredients. In addition, many drugs in tablet or capsule form are designed to release their active ingredients even more slowly, over a period of 12 to 24 hours as the tablets or granules from the capsule pass through the small intestine.

This sustained-release also called controlled-release, long-acting and extended-release design provides the convenience of once- or twice-daily dosing and minimizes the variation in the amount of drug in the blood over the course of a day. This design can improve patient compliance and drug effectiveness while decreasing the risk of adverse effects.

Crushing a tablet, opening a capsule or chewing either of these can circumvent many of the protective design features intended to control when and where a drug is released in the digestive tract. Depending on the drug, this can result in overdosing, underdosing or direct toxic injury to the lining of the mouth, stomach or intestines.

The Prescrire International review highlighted examples of each of these potentially dangerous circumstances for several commonly used drugs. For some drugs, crushing, chewing or opening a tablet or capsule before swallowing can cause the rapid absorption of a large amount of the drug, potentially resulting in an overdose.

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The Hill. The Grapevine. Consumer News. Healthy Living. Is Pizza Bad For You? The solution, concentrated solution, tablet, and capsule are taken usually with or without food every 4 to 6 hours, either as needed for pain or as regularly scheduled medications.

The extended-release tablets Oxycontin are taken every 12 hours with or without food. The extended-release capsules Xtampza ER are taken every 12 hours with food; eat the same amount of food with each dose. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. If you are taking Oxaydo brand tablets, swallow the tablets one at a time with plenty of water.

Swallow the tablet or right after putting it in your mouth. Do not presoak, wet, or lick the tablets before you put them in your mouth. Do not chew or crush Oxaydo brand tablets. If you have trouble swallowing extended-release capsules Xtampza ER , you can carefully open the capsule and sprinkle the contents on soft foods such as applesauce, pudding, yogurt, ice cream, or jam, then consume the mixture immediately.

Dispose of the empty capsule shells right away by flushing them down a toilet. Do not store the mixture for future use. If you have a feeding tube, the extended-release capsule contents can be poured into the tube.

Ask your doctor how you should take the medication and follow these directions carefully. If you are taking the concentrated solution, your doctor may tell you to mix the medication in a small amount of juice or semisolid food such as pudding or applesauce. Follow these directions carefully. Swallow the mixture right away; do not store it for later use. Your doctor will likely start you on a low dose of oxycodone and may increase this dose over time if your pain is not controlled.

After you take oxycodone for a period of time, your body may become used to the medication. If this happens, your doctor may need to increase your dose to control your pain. Your doctor may decrease your dose if you experience side effects. Talk to your doctor about how you are feeling during your treatment with oxycodone. Do not stop taking oxycodone without talking to your doctor.

If you stop taking this medication suddenly, you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as restlessness, watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, yawning, sweating, chills, muscle or joint aches or pains, weakness, irritability, anxiety, depression, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, fast heartbeat, and fast breathing.

Your doctor will probably decrease your dose gradually. This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information. If you are taking oxycodone on a regular schedule, take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one. Do not take more than one dose of the extended-release tablets or capsules in 12 hours.

Oxycodone may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while you are taking this medication. Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children.

Store it at room temperature and away from light and excess heat and moisture not in the bathroom. You must immediately dispose of any medication that is outdated or no longer needed through a medicine take-back program.

If you do not have a take-back program nearby or one that you can access promptly, flush any medication that is outdated or no longer needed down the toilet so that others will not take it. Talk to your pharmacist about the proper disposal of your medication. It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily.

To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location — one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach. In case of overdose, call the poison control helpline at If the victim has collapsed, had a seizure, has trouble breathing, or can't be awakened, immediately call emergency services at While taking oxycodone, you should talk to your doctor about having a rescue medication called naloxone readily available e.

Naloxone is used to reverse the life-threatening effects of an overdose. It works by blocking the effects of opiates to relieve dangerous symptoms caused by high levels of opiates in the blood. Your doctor may also prescribe you naloxone if you are living in a household where there are small children or someone who has abused street or prescription drugs.

You should make sure that you and your family members, caregivers, or the people who spend time with you know how to recognize an overdose, how to use naloxone, and what to do until emergency medical help arrives. Your doctor or pharmacist will show you and your family members how to use the medication. Ask your pharmacist for the instructions or visit the manufacturer's website to get the instructions. If symptoms of an overdose occur, a caregiver or family member should give the first dose of naloxone, call immediately, and stay with you and watch you closely until emergency medical help arrives.