In this article, I’m going to answer the question: Is oxycodone the same as Percocet? Many people are confused in this area, and I get asked this question a lot. Thus, I’m going to state the differences and similarities between oxycodone and Percocet and make it all crystal clear.
Is oxycodone the same as Percocet?
The short answer…
No.
Oxycodone is not the same as Percocet.
However, Percocet does contain oxycodone as the main ingredient.
Let’s get right into the breakdown of this subject, shall we?
Is Oxycodone the same as Percocet? Oxycodone Overview
I totally understand why so many people are confused about this subject. But I promise to make everything crystal clear for you.
Here is a bullet-point breakdown of oxycodone:
- Oxycodone is an opiate painkiller that is prescribed for moderate to severe pain.
- Oxycodone is a generic drug.
- A brand name drug that contains time-released oxycodone is called OxyContin, but oxycodone itself is just a generic drug name and not a brand.
Notice above how I didn’t capitalize the word “oxycodone?” In writing, you don’t capitalize the names of generic drugs, but you do capitalize the names of brands, such as Percocet, which I’ll talk about below.
Is Oxycodone the Same as Percocet? Percocet Overview
Now that you know oxycodone is an opiate painkiller that is prescribed as a generic drug, let’s talk about the composition of the brand name drug Percocet, which is very similar to oxycodone.
Here is a bullet-point breakdown of Percocet:
- Percocet is a brand name drug that contains a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen (Tylenol).
- Percocet is also prescribed for the treatment of moderate to severe pain.
- Other brand names that contain the oxycodone/acetaminophen combination are Roxicet and Endocet.
- Since brand name drugs are much more expensive than generics, many people are prescribed generic equivalents of this oxycodone/acetaminophen combination drug. They have the same drugs and dosages as the brand names, but they are less expensive, and many people that are on generic versions just say they are taking “Percocet.”
Is Oxycodone the same as Percocet? Risks of Acetaminophen
Now you can see why this is a confusing subject for many people. Percocet and other brand names and generic equivalents are almost identical to oxycodone, but they do have the difference of the addition of acetaminophen.
In my opinion, pure oxycodone prescriptions are often much healthier for your body than Percocet and other brand names and generic equivalents containing oxycodone/acetaminophen.
Why?
Taking acetaminophen daily in even moderate doses, and especially high doses have been shown to have adverse effects on the liver and kidneys.
Furthermore, the maximum daily dose humans are told not to go over is 4,000 mg of acetaminophen.
When I was abusing Percocet back in the day, a lot of the time I bought pills from drug dealers that contained 5 mg of oxycodone plus 500 mg of acetaminophen.
Thus, to stay within the safety limit, I could use no more than 8 Percocet pills in a 24 hour period. The problem with this is my tolerance got very high, and I would often need to use more Percocet than this, and there were several times where I ingested 5,000 mg to 8,000 mg of acetaminophen per day.
I’ve also had several clients that have done this as well.
The truth is, there is a superabundance of people addicted to opiates that are poisoning their livers and kidneys by using more Percocet or Vicodin (hydrocodone/acetaminophen) than they are supposed to.
But what is a person supposed to do once their tolerance gets so high? Sometimes it takes 150-200 mg a day just to keep a person from going into opiate withdrawal.
Cold-Water Extractions for Harm-Reduction
If you’re using a lot of Percocet daily and thus consuming massive amounts of acetaminophen, you may want to talk to your doctor about switching to oxycodone instead (if you get it from a doctor and not from a drug dealer). But don’t just take my word for it.
Do your own research on the potential negative consequences of taking even moderate dosages of acetaminophen daily long-term. And when you mix acetaminophen with alcohol on a regular basis it’s much, much worse still.
If you don’t want to switch to oxycodone mono-drug or you can’t do so, there is another way to help keep your body much healthier while you take Percocet.
There is a method called a Cold Water Extraction (CWE) where you can actually separate the oxycodone from the acetaminophen. I’ve had a few coaching clients that did this because they knew it’s healthier for your body to just use oxycodone alone, rather than taking so much acetaminophen daily.
Some of my clients did the CWE method with Percocet, and some did it with Vicodin. I wrote an article that has a YouTube video on how to do the CWE method for Harm-Reduction and you can check that out by clicking here.
Is Oxycodone the same as Percocet? Key Concepts
Now you know the answer to the question: Is oxycodone the same as Percocet? Additionally, I went off on an unplanned tangent on why I believe taking oxycodone is healthier than Percocet or other brands or generic equivalents that contain acetaminophen.
I’m not against taking acetaminophen every once in a while. But taking moderate to high amounts daily is just not good for you, especially if you have 1-2 alcoholic beverages from time to time.
Here are the key concepts to remember:
- Oxycodone is not Percocet.
- Oxycodone is a generic opiate drug.
- Percocet is a brand name drug that contains a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen.
- There are other brands and many generics that contain oxycodone/acetaminophen.
- Acetaminophen is okay to take every once in awhile, or in low doses daily, but many opiate users have large tolerances and consume a large amount of acetaminophen daily.
- Finally, some people use so much Percocet that many times they go over the daily limit of 4,000 mg acetaminophen, and this is extremely bad for their health.
- Many people that know about the potential health risks of daily acetaminophen choose to do Cold Water Extractions to separate the oxycodone from the acetaminophen from home, so they only put oxycodone in their body and never have to worry about taking too much acetaminophen that could damage their liver and kidneys.
If you have any comments or questions about the topic Is oxycodone the same as Percocet, please post them in the comment box below. Stay safe, and take care of yourself.
my father has stage 4 bladder cancer. He had a reaction when he took 2 percocet. He was told to reduce to 1 and a half every 4 hours. He is still hurting so the doctor said he could take oxycocone instead. He said dad could take 2,3,4 every 2,3 or 4 hours. Whatever he needs to stay comfortable. My mother worries he will have the same reaction as he did on the percocet. So she just gives him 1 and a half of the oxycocone every 3 hours. Do you think he will have the same reaction or do they work differently?