One of the scary effects about OxyContin abuse effects is that they can crop up at any time during the addiction cycle. First time OxyContin users can easily overdose, owing to the fact that opiate naive systems can react unexpectedly to a flood of neurotransmitter binding. Thus, even in cases where abuse doesn't occur directly, side effects may include strong breathing problems, confusion, clamminess, dilation of the pupils, and weakness and fatigue.

In addition, OxyContin (or more precisely, the Oxycodone in OxyContin) changes the chemical make up of the brain and reroutes certain neural pathways. Effects on the neural pathways may wear off several months after oxycontin detox, although more scientific evidence needs to be collected about whether or not oxycodone related brain changes can ever be completely undone.

Perhaps most frightening is the fact that post-detox OxyContin addicts remember their last dosages and often persist on the belief that they will forever need high doses of oxycodone to regain the euphoric feeling. However, tolerance wears off, and the body reasserts its opiate naive state. If a recovering OxyContin addict reverts to abuse patterns weeks or months after becoming clean, a high dosage can lead to massive overdose, acute respiratory failure, and sometimes even death.

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