This medication is used to help relieve severe ongoing pain (such as due to cancer). Oxycodone belongs to a class of drugs known as opioid analgesics. It works in the brain to change how your body feels and responds to pain.The higher strengths of this drug (more than 40 milligrams per tablet) should be used only if you have been regularly taking moderate to large amounts of an opioid pain medication. These strengths may cause overdose (even death) if taken by a person who has not been regularly taking opioids.Do not use the extended-release form of oxycodone to relieve pain that is mild or that will go away in a few days. This medication is not for occasional ("as needed") use.

How to use Oxycontin

See also Warning section.

Read the Medication Guide provided by your pharmacist before you start taking extended-release oxycodone and each time you get a refill. If you have any questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Take this medication on a regular schedule as directed by your doctor, not as needed for sudden (breakthrough) pain. Take this drug with or without food, usually every 12 hours. If you have nausea, it may help to take this drug with food. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about other ways to decrease nausea (such as lying down for 1 to 2 hours with as little head movement as possible). If nausea persists, see your doctor.

Swallow the tablets whole. Do not break, crush, chew, or dissolve the tablets. Doing so can release all of the drug at once, increasing the risk of oxycodone overdose.