Yeah, it is not what Carol03 is talking about, it is a definite painkiller, a major narcotic, actually it's spelled Oxycontin. It is basically prescription heroin, the addiction to it is spreading like wildfire across the country. It's about the most popular pill to buy on the streets these days too, it's extremely expensive, and people rob and kill for the stuff! My dad had very severe pain and was prescribed it for a couple of years, up until recently. He would show psychotic symptoms, but mostly only when he was out of pills and late getting his prescription filled, which made him start going into almost immediate withdrawals, physical and mental, it sometimes only took a day of being off of them before the withdrawals would come on. He would become completely CRAZY, it was horrible! I think he was also different sometimes while taking them too, sometimes you could tell his personality was different, like someone who is high or a little messed up on drugs, but he was also on other medications combined with that. Now he is off of Oxy and the doctor replaced it with Methadone, which isn't exactly too far away from what Oxycontin is, but he says he feels much better and is glad to be off of it, said he hated the stuff! Anyway, since Oxycontin is a narcotic I think that it can very easily affect someone's mental state. Many people need rehab to come off of it, it might even be wrong for some people to take in the first place, it probably affects everyone differently and might be dangerous for some people to take. Oh, does your brother in law drink alcohol? Mixing alcohol with it can cause major psychotic behavior, and it is EXTREMELY dangerous to take with alcohol! My dad took it with alcohol once and said he felt like he was going to die! So make sure he is not drinking, and unfortunately it does mean no drinking EVER while still on the medication.... Maybe he could quite possibly try Methadone or something else instead, or at least think about it as a way to transition from the Oxy someday. No matter what, he should definitely tell his doctor about his change in behavior, or if he isn't able to, then someone close to him should tell his doctor. I hope any of this helps!

Methadone is often used for drug addicts who have quite. If he is quite paranoid it is possible that he is not taking the methadone regularly or he may need to see the doc about the dose etc. My brother in law had abused drugs and finally got off and was on the methadone to help with the flashbacks etc. He was fine when he was on his medication but when he would run out or stop taking it he too was very paranoid and the voices in his head would get stronger. Needless to say he quite taking his med or didn't get the script refilled (not sure which) and the voices in his head won. He committed suicide 13 1/2 years ago. If you can get your brother to seek further treatment please do. Good Luck.