Vicodin - a ruinous addictive synthetic narcotic med or a highly effective pain reliever?
Humans can enjoy life as it is, follow our habitual ways, develop our creativity and skills endlessly with only one condition - we are not in pain! Think for youself! Can you think of yummy dishes when your have a toothache? Can you dance your night away with your ankle sprained? Can you fulfill any routine task with positive attitude when your mind is clouded with pain? The answer is certain - no, you cannot! Pain is the ordeal we all have to stand from time to time. We are afraid of pain and try to avoid it but we seldom think that pain is the best friend we have, too. Astonished to hear that? Well, don’t be, because pain is what makes all living beings survive and take good care of their health!
As the main character of Hugh Laurie’s novel “The gun seller” stated, “pain is something you cause to yourself”. It is true, when something is wrong with our body, either inside or outside, our brain creates strong throbbing signals that we decipher as pain or chronic ache. This way our organism cries for help and begs us to handle the trouble as soon as possible.
When humans develop bad chronic health troubles pain can stay with them 24/7, turning their lives into a negative ordeal. certainly, the main task of modern medicine is to help those persons get rid of the pain and lead normal lives. Today narcotic medicines, both synthetic and natural, are the most efficient pain killers available.
Vicodin belongs to the class of synthetic narcotic analgesics, too. Containing Hydrocodone (synthetic opiate) and Acetaminophen (Paracetamol or Tylenol), Vicodin causes double pain soothing effect bringing you rapid relief. This glorious compound of two pain killers goes under many brand names depending on the concentrations of Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen in them. So:
- Vicodin is made up of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin HP consists of 750 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin ES consists of 660 mg Paracetamol and 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Anexsia comprises 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone or 650 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Dolorex Forte; Hycet; Liquicet; Lorcet comprises 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone; 650 Paracetamol mg / 10 mg Hydrocodone; or 650 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Lortab comprises 500 mg Paracetamol and 2.5, 5, 7.5 or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Maxidone is made up of 750 mg Paracetamol and 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Norco comprises 325 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Polygesic is 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Stagesic is 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Xodol is 300 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Zamicet; Zydone is made up of 400 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone.
Other non-active ingredients included in each pill of Vicodin are: colloidal silicon dioxide, starch, croscarmellose sodium, dibasic calcium phosphate, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, povidone and stearic acid. If you are allergic to any main or non-active components of the medicine, please, go to your physician before you order discount Vicodin and start taking it.
Vicodin, like any other narcotic analgesic, is used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain. This medicine is most commonly used for acute, chronic and/or post-operative conditions. Sometimes it can also be used to stop severe cough.
Semi-synthetic opioid analgesic Vicodin is available in different medical forms: tablets, capsules and liquid solutions. The normal dose for adults is 1-2 tablets of Vicodin with every meal 4 times a day. Actually you may take this medicine with or without food but the majority of physicians point out that full stomach protects gastrointestinal tract. So, if you suffer from nausea after taking Vicodin, it may help you to take this medication with food. Likewise, if you follow Vicodin therapy, drinking plenty of water during a day can help in avoiding constipation typical for Vicodin takers.
Please, bear in mind that each kind of brand or generic pill contains different amounts of Vicodin. That is why you should be very cautious how many tablets you take. The maximum safe quantity of Acetaminophen for adults is only 1 gram (1000 mg) per dose or 4 grams (4000 mg) per day. If you take Vicodin, 1-2 tablets each time is needed, the max number of tablets a day is 8 tablets. If you take Vicodin ES, 1 tablet each time is needed, i.e. max 5 tablets a day. If you take Vicodin HP, 1 tablet each time is needed, i.e. max 6 tablets a day. Pain relieving capsules can contain 2.5 to 10 mg Hydrocodone and 300 to 750 mg Acetaminophen. You should take Vicodin every 4 to 6 hours or 15 ml of liquid solution every 4 to 6 hours as needed. If possible, take minimal dosage of Vicodin and keep to the time span of 6 hours to avoid numerous side effects and addiction to this med.
If you miss a regular dose of Vicodin, take it as soon as you can. If it is almost time for your next dose, take only that dose skipping the previous one. Never take double or extra doses to avoid ruinous ovedose! The distressing thing is that
Vicodin overdose can be fatal.
Talking about Vicodin adverse effects, note that this medicine can make you feel dizzy or drowsy. That is why you should be careful participating in activities requiring alertness and quick reaction (driving, using complicated machinery ect).
Keep off alcoholic beverages because they increase the risk of Vicodin adverse effects. Remember that Vicodin contains Acetaminophen in it, and this substance is able of causing liver damage. If in addition to it you consume alcohol every day, it interacts with Acetaminophen and increases the risk of bad liver damage.
Just as all synthetic opioid meds Vicodin can cause severe side effects, which are rather seldom. If you face a serious sign seek medical help immediately! Serious Vicodin side effects include:
- bad drowsiness,
- severe abdominal pain and constipation,
- slow heart rate,
- hyperventilation, troubled or slow breathing,
- hallucinations and altered mental status,
- confusion, anxiety or fear,
- unusual fatigue,
- hearing loss,
- decreased urination,
- cold and clammy skin,
- bluish tinge on the skin,
- blood disorders,
- low blood pressure,
- seizures,
- kidney and liver problems including failure.
Liver failure produces jaundice and a number of symptoms like pain in the upper right side of the abdomen, yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes and dark urine.
What is more, humans allergic to Vicodin can have strong allergic reaction:
- itching, skin rash or hives,
- unusual swelling of the mouth, tongue and throat, wheezing and breathing difficulty.
If you follow the course of Vicodin therapy and feel uncomfortable when you have to get up or go to bed you can minimize dizziness and lightheadedness doing it slowly.
If you are elderly great caution is required when taking this medication - you may be more sensitive to the adverse reactions of the medicine, especially decreased breathing and drowsiness. It is forbidden to prescribe Vicodin to personalities under 18! Children should never be given Vicodin, as its safety and effectiveness in children has not been established till now.
If you have to undergo any type of surgery, tell your surgeon that you are using Vicodin beforehand. This medicine weakens the action of narcosis that is why you may need to stop using Vicodin for a short time.
The topic of Vicodin, pregnancy and lactation is essential, too. The effects of Vicodin during pregnancy and lactation are not properly studied. To be on the safe side, avoid taking Vicodin if you are pregnant to keep your unborn baby safe. Discuss with your practitioner all pros and cons before purchasing cheap Vicodin online without prescription and starting it. Although some medical reports state that this drug is safe for pregnant women, you should use it only if obvious positive effects outweigh the possible risks. Remember that if Vicodin is regularly taken in the time before delivery, it may cause respiratory depression and withdrawal symptoms in the newborn baby because the fetus becomes Vicodin addicted within the mother’s womb! Nursing mothers should not use Vicodin because Paracetamol and Hydrocodone easily gets into human milk effecting your baby.
Vicodin is occasionally prescribed in veterinary for dogs if they are allergic to Carprofen (Rimadyl Rx) or Etodolac (Etogesic Rx). But frankly speaking it is not the best choice of a pain reliever. The point is that although Hydrocodone that decreases pain is well tolerated but Tylenol is toxic to dogs and it causes numerous liver problems. All the same, Vicodin is sometimes the only option for chronic arthritis troubles in older dogs.
Present-day medicine is rather careless about Vicodin addiction now - addiction to illicit street drugs and/or alcohol is considered to be a far more dangerous condition. To tell you the truth, Vicodin is not really viewed as a drug able of causing the same awful risks as other drugs! No wonder that this attitude of professionals often leads Vicodin addicts and their nearest and dearest to the idea that everything is under control and they do not require the withdrawal treatment. What a shame!
If you feel any withdrawal symptoms after you stop taking Vicodin, seek drug abuse treatment immediately! Humans who have a problem with drugs or alcohol must be particularly careful and go to their practitioner regularly. If you have to undergo Vicodin addictin treatment, be ready for the initial phase - the detoxification process. It cleanses the physical body of a individual and prepares him or her for further treatment.
Why is Vicodin so habit-forming? The point is that the regular use of Hydrocodone causes certain changes you brain - in the way it handles opiates. The longer you stay with Vicodine and the higher is the dosage you apply daily, the sooner you develop an opiate tolerance. Consequently you require increasingly greater doses of the medication to feel the same pain controlling effects.
If an opiate-tolerant person tries to give up taking Vicodine, he or she will experience strong opiate withdrawal symptoms. Vicodin dependent persons experience the first withdrawal symptoms within 6-24 hours following their last dose. They experience:
- runny nose, muscle aches and other flu-like symptoms;
- nausea;
- diarrhea;
- anxiety;
- depression;
- insomnia;
- irritability;
- chills;
- drug cravings;
- increased pain of the disease that forced them to take Vicodin.
Secondary Vicodin withdrawal symptoms that can last for months with varying degrees of intensity are:
- insomnia,
- lethargy,
- depression.
The withdrawal peak is located within 72 hours of the last Vicodin dose and it lasts for 4-5 days. Pain individuals who are using Vicodin for its analgesic effects experience increased sensitivity to pain during the withdrawal period.
Probably the best and the most realistic illustration of severe Vicodin withdrawal nightmare is the episode from the “House M.D” serial where the main character Greg House survives the most awful Vicodin withdrawal symptoms. The best way to avert Vicodin addiction is taking 1 tablet of Vicodin 3 times a day after meals and never prolonging the period of Vicodin therapy, then you will get back to normal painless life and will be able to enjoy every delightful moment of it with the people you love and care for.
Tags: opioid, order Vicodin, pain reliever, Paracetamol, severe pain, Vicodin addiction, Vicodin overdose, Vicodin without prescription