The Effects & Dangers Of Xanax And Oxycodone

Xanax vs Oxycodone

Xanax, a brand name for alprazolam, is a powerful benzodiazepine that is only recommended for up to six weeks. Despite that, American physicians continue to refill prescriptions at often alarming rates. As a result, the number of people seeking treatment for primary benzo addictions continues to rise — from 6,929 in 2002 to 17,019 a decade later in 2012, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Some people who are dependent on Xanax never abused drugs before. They were suffering from anxiety and looking to the medical field for support and relief. They started using Xanax and felt a vast improvement in symptoms. Some then assumed more of the drug would produce an even greater effect, so they misused it in larger doses. Others use it for too long, often with a doctor’s permission. They don’t realize they’re addicted to it until it’s too late.

Some people may try to decrease their dose, and experience Xanax withdrawal symptoms that mirror their initial anxiety. They assume they cannot cope without the drug and keep using or abusing it. Sometimes the anxiety symptoms that resurface are caused by substance-induced symptoms that would otherwise dissipate if the drug abuse stopped.

Mixing Xanax and oxycodone (brand name OxyContin) can lead to severe respiratory depression, long-term substance use disorders, and even death. Xanax is a benzodiazepine used to treat anxiety disorders and panic disorders. Oxycodone is an opioid painkiller used to treat chronic and severe pain forms. Oxycodone and Xanax see widespread use as directed and as targets for substance abuse.

In the United States, prescription opioids and benzodiazepines have “black box” labels which warn mixing the two substances can be fatal. A black box warning is reserved for prescription drugs with serious health risks.

Can You Take Xanax with Oxycodone?

Both the illicit use of Oxycodone and Xanax, as well as overprescribing by doctors, contribute to the opioid crisis. Between 2002 and 2014, the number of patients receiving prescriptions for Oxycodone and Xanax rose by 41 percent.

Can You Mix Oxycodone and Xanax? Xanax and oxycodone cannot be taken together, as the combination can lead to oversedation, overdose, coma, or death. Xanax and oxycodone are two drugs that are frequently prescribed to people, and while they do have therapeutic benefits, some risks come with their use. The risk of adverse side effects may be even greater with the oxycodone Xanax combination.

Mixing Xanax and oxycodone can be dangerous or even deadly. Xanax and Oxycodone are some of the most abused drugs globally, and combining them is highly risky. Taking Oxycodone and Xanax on the same day increases the risk of an overdose because both medications depress central nervous system activity, specifically respiration. Because they are both central nervous system depressants, either drug may heighten the effects of any other medication taken simultaneously because they both affect vital functions such as respiration.

Mixing Xanax and Oxycodone can lead to dangerous side effects and suppress a person’s automatic breathing reflex.

Side effects that are associated with this stronger high may include:

• Impairment
• Sedation
• Numbness
• Dizziness
• Pain relief
• Drowsiness

The black box warning on Xanax labels states that taking drugs and opioids together can be fatal. In addition to this life-threatening interaction, Xanax and OxyContin have other adverse health effects.

The risk of life-threatening overdose increases when opioids are combined with other depressants, such as benzodiazepines or alcohol. In 2020, 16 percent of overdose deaths involving opioids also involved benzodiazepines, a prescription sedative commonly prescribed for anxiety or to help with insomnia. Benzodiazepines work by raising the level of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in the brain.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that mixing Xanax and oxycodone can be dangerous or even deadly. For this reason, it recommends that doctors avoid prescribing Xanax and oxycodone together whenever possible. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Black Box Warning against taking Xanax and oxycodone because it found that using either drug at high doses is associated with an increased risk of death. However, the CDC notes that patients taking low-dose stable doses of benzodiazepines may be able to take an opioid for severe short-term pain if their doctor thinks it is appropriate.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends that clinicians avoid prescribing benzodiazepines concurrently with opioids whenever possible. Both prescription opioids and benzodiazepines now carry boxed warnings on their labels, highlighting the potential dangers of using these drugs together.

Patients prescribed more than one drug for their medical and mental health conditions can be at risk of abusing them or taking them in any way other than specified, which is why they must disclose all other substances and medications they use and consult with their healthcare teams about avoiding or managing the risks of using certain medications in combination.

To answer the questions, “Can I take oxycodone and Xanax?” or “Can you take Xanax with oxycodone?”; Xanax and oxycodone, if prescribed by a doctor, can be taken together only if the patient intends to seek treatment for a medical condition. The combination of these powerful medications can lead to overdose or death.

Effects Of Mixing Xanax & Oxycodone

Mixing Xanax and Oxycodone may be an intense way of getting “high.” The combined effects of Oxycodone and Xanax may be linked to specific receptors in the central nervous system (CNS).

• Impairment
• Sedation
• Numbness

• Dizziness
• Pain relief
• Drowsiness

Opioid painkillers and benzodiazepines are two of the most frequently abused prescription drugs worldwide, although they are commonly prescribed together. Medical researchers have been concerned about this combination since the 1970s when the trend began to surface. A Drug Abuse Warning Network report shows that combining opioid medications and benzodiazepines increases the risk of overdose, leading to emergency medical care.

Another report published in the British Medical Journal suggests that, while some of these emergency room visits involve prescribing practices that accidentally mix benzodiazepines and opioids in dangerous quantities, some patients take more of these drugs than prescribed, or they get a “high” off taking higher doses than prescribed of both medications. They noted that benzodiazepines enhanced the effects of opioid painkillers, which means this drug combination has a high potential for abuse.