Does OxyContin Cause Constipation?

Comparatively, immediate-release opioids usually reach their peak effectiveness level at around 30 minutes to an hour after taking them and then last for anywhere from three to six hours.

OxyContin and other opioids work by binding to central nervous system opioid receptors. This reduces the experience of pain for the user, but it also has other effects on the functionality of the CNS. For example, OxyContin slows respiration, and it can also slow heart rate. This effect is one of the reasons people have to be so careful with their use of it and follow dosing instructions exactly as directed by their doctor.

It’s believed that around one in five people have constipation when they take OxyContin, based on clinical trials. There have been other reports looking at opioids in general showing that constipation is a symptom of use in 30% to 35% of patients. This result is a high occurrence for a side effect of a medicine.

The level of OxyContin constipation a person might experience can depend on the dose they take and also how much they take, but since OxyContin is meant as around-the-clock pain medicine, it may be more likely that constipation occurs in people taking this specific drug, although it’s not known for sure.

OxyContin constipation may ultimately become diagnosed as chronic constipation. There are certain criteria and symptoms that a patient must have for this diagnosis, including fewer than three stools passed per week.

So why does OxyContin constipation occur?

There are a few different ways doctors and researchers believe constipation from OxyContin occurs. First, OxyContin can cause an increase in the water absorbed from the colon into the body, which dries out stools. Opioids also change how the bowel functions, because of its overall effects on the central nervous system. There are certain actions and reflexes that are needed for a healthy bowel movement, and OxyContin and other opioids slow the movement of food through the digestive tract they can prevent actions and reflexes from occurring.

So, there are several ways constipation from OxyContin can occur, but what are the treatment options?

Doctors will usually start trying to prevent constipation from occurring when they prescribe opioids, and mild to moderate constipation can be treated with osmotic laxatives, oral stimulant laxatives and other similar medications.

However, stimulant laxatives stop working because tolerance develops over time. In some cases, patients may require an enema, or they may have to have stool un-impacted manually by a physician, which can be painful.

In a patient who has a high risk for constipation, or is experiencing it at severe levels, they may have to change to another type of medicine. A doctor may determine that because of OxyContin constipation, it’s just not the right drug for that patient. Constipation will often go away very soon after someone stops using OxyContin, and symptoms like diarrhea are often something that occurs with withdrawal from OxyContin and other opioids.