Drug Profile: What Is Percocet? Addiction, Withdrawal Symptoms & Treatment

The United States is currently in a third wave of an opioid overdose epidemic. Opioids are a family of manufactured drugs that are chemically similar to opiates derived from the opium poppy plant. Many opioids have medicinal uses for the relief of acute and chronic pain, including the drug Percocet. So, what’s perc, and why is it abused?

Used for treating moderate to severe pain, Percocet or “Perc” is a Schedule II prescription drug that contains the opioid oxycodone and acetaminophen, an analgesic drug. Unfortunately, overuse or abuse of Percocet and other opioid-based prescription pain medications may lead to drug dependence and addiction. CDC data shows that in 2022, the abuse of prescription opioids resulted in 6,416 drug overdose deaths in the United States.

Here’s everything you need to know about Percocet, including how it works and why people may get addicted to prescription opioids.

What Are Percs?

Percs are narcotics. Percocet is the brand name for the medication that contains the narcotic oxycodone mixed with acetaminophen. It’s a powerful pain reliever. Generic alternatives exist, although they’re often referred to as Percocet as well.

The drug falls into the opioid category of drugs that includes heroin, morphine, fentanyl, and others. More specifically, Percocet belongs to a class of similar pain relievers with Vicodin, OxyContin, Codeine, and others labeled as prescription opioids.

While opioids such as Percocet aren’t as powerful as morphine and fentanyl, they share a Schedule II classification under the Controlled Substances Act. In the past, perc and its alternatives weren’t heavily regulated, and prescriptions were relatively easy to obtain. However, in 2018, the FDA imposed stricter requirements for such prescriptions, including that an opioid analgesic Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) should be applied before a physician prescribes these drugs.

How Does Percocet Work?

Percocet was developed primarily as an effective painkiller, particularly for people and situations where non-opioid painkillers aren’t indicated or don’t work. Like other drugs of the same family, Percocet binds to opioid receptors in the brain, suppressing the body’s feelings of pain and also prompting the release of the hormone dopamine. Dopamine is a feel-good hormone that regulates the pleasure response in the body.

When used correctly for acute and chronic pain, and with careful medical observation, Percocet is effective as a painkiller and not necessarily habit-forming. But when a person uses Percocet to boost feelings of pleasure, especially in the absence of pain, the brain reduces the amount of dopamine it releases. To get the same high, it’s necessary to take increased doses of the drug. This is when dependence begins to set in and is eventually followed by full-blown addiction.

Why and How is Percocet Prescribed?

In the 1990s, pharmaceutical companies introduced reformulated opioids, such as OxyContin, as being less addictive when used as painkillers for chronic pain. They based their reasoning on the apparent success of using small doses of narcotics for treating pain in hospitals.

In the late ’90s, prescribing rates for pain relief with narcotics were relatively low, and the drugs were only used in cases where patients were experiencing the absolute highest pain levels. Over the early 2000s, in response to deceptive marketing from pharmaceutical companies, physicians started writing an increasing number of prescriptions for patients experiencing lower pain levels. The CDC reported that prescription opioid use rose by a factor of four between 1999 and 2010.

As the extent of the abuse of prescription opioids became clear, physicians started to cut back. The number of opioid prescriptions peaked in 2012 and has dropped significantly, helped in many ways by the FDA requirement for REMS introduced in 2018.

Today, Percocet and other prescription opioid pain relievers are prescribed for moderate to severe pain, both chronic and acute. This includes cases of severe pain associated with cancers and pain after surgery.

How Is Percocet Abused?

People misuse Percocet for the sense of euphoria it produces in the user. In 2024, The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry reported that 12.1% of American adults misused prescription opioids, and 7% had a prescription-related opioid use disorder.

Because of the high number of misused prescriptions, a large amount of opioid prescription pain pills are on the streets at any given time. For at-risk abusers, this does two things:

• Continued abuse. Percocet abuse continues until the user is addicted to the drug.
• Move to other drugs. The user stops being able to get access to the drug and moves to more accessible (and dangerous) drugs, such as heroin and fentanyl.

Drug Interaction Concerns

Taking certain other medications with Percocet may be dangerous. You should never combine Percocet with benzodiazepines, such as Valium and Xanax, or muscle relaxants, such as Soma or Flexeril. Other drugs to use with caution when taking Percocet include sleeping pills, such as Ambien and Lunesta. When you need pain medication, inform your doctor if you’re taking any form of sedative, antianxiety, relaxation, or antidepressant medications. The CDC recommends you never drink alcohol while taking prescription opioids.

Potential side effects of mixing the above drugs or alcohol with prescription opioids include the risk of developing:

• Drowsiness
• Breathing problems
• Compromised awareness
• Coma
• Respiratory failure
• Cardiac arrest

What Are Symptoms and Side Effects Of Percocet Addiction?

One result of abusing Percocet is an addiction that resembles heroin addiction and dependence on other opiates. Opioid addicts typically experience some or all of the following symptoms:

• Confusion
• Mood swings
• Sleep disorders
• Low blood pressure
• Shallow breathing
• Depression
• Sweating

What Are Percocet Withdrawal Symptoms?

Percocet withdrawal resembles the withdrawal from other opioid drugs of the same category. Addicts experience the following symptoms when they stop using the drug:

• Fever
• Difficulty breathing
• Sweats
• Nausea and vomiting
• Intense agitation
• Elevated blood pressure and heart rate
• Depression

Some of these symptoms are inevitable. They occur because of the chemical damage the body incurs as a result of abusing the drug. The symptoms that accompany Percocet withdrawal can’t be avoided, but they can be managed and treated.

Opiate withdrawal isn’t generally life-threatening but is known to be one of the more difficult withdrawals in the treatment community. For this reason, trying to detox from any opioid substance without help or medical oversight is unlikely to be successful in providing sustainable sobriety. Therefore, Percocet withdrawal must occur with medical help to maximize the chances of success in sobriety.

curs with medical aid to maximize the chances of success in sobriety.

The Danger of Opioid Tolerance

Because opioids cause the user to build a tolerance to the sensations the drugs create, users find themselves needing to take higher doses to produce the same effects. The danger is that the physical side effects of the drug don’t lessen, even though the feelings of euphoria or high decrease. Since opioids depress human respiratory function, this leads to a high risk of severe health effects.

What Happens During a Percocet Overdose?

An overdose of Percocet occurs when a person takes a dose of opioids high enough to be toxic to the body. This may be due to taking excessive doses of Percocet or the combination of more than one opioid or other drugs.

Recognizing an Overdose vs. Being High

It may be difficult to determine whether a person is suffering from an overdose or is simply very high. Regardless, if you believe someone may have taken an overdose, it’s best to assume this is the case, as neglecting an overdose could lead to the user’s death.

Signs of a Percocet Overdose

Signs of a Percocet or other opioid overdose include:

• Slow breathing. The person’s respiratory rate is very slow, and breathing is shallow.
• Unresponsiveness. The person is conscious but doesn’t respond to stimulation.
• Unconsciousness. The person is unconscious.
• Clammy skin. The skin is cold to the touch.

What to Do in an Overdose Emergency

In such situations, call 911 for help. Follow these instructions for responding to an opioid overdose:

1. Check for responsiveness, and try to wake the person by rubbing their chest with your knuckles.
2. If they aren’t breathing, start rescue breathing and CPR.
3. If you have naloxone or Narcan, administer it.

If you or a loved one is abusing Percocet or another drug in this family of illegal prescription pain medications, you may think it’s harmless, but it isn’t. An opioid habit that seems controllable can turn into addiction or overdose in no time at all. It may happen to you. Whether you think you have a problem or not, abusing pain pills is never safe or risk-free.

Why Seek Help for Percocet Abuse?

If you misuse your prescription medications or pills you acquired from someone else, don’t wait to get help. The statistics surrounding opioid addiction and overdose are dire, and unless you speak to a professional about your issues, you could become just another number.

At FHE Health, we treat addiction to prescription pain relievers with a comprehensive approach, combining proven therapies with counseling and medical intervention. If you or a loved one is struggling with Percocet abuse, contact us today.