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Humans can enjoy life as it is, follow our usual ways, develop our creativity and skills endlessly with only one condition - we are not in pain! Give it a closer look! Can you think of delicious dishes when your have a toothache? Can you dance your night away with your ankle sprained? Can you fulfill any routine task with delight when your brain is clouded with pain? The answer is obvious - no, you cannot! Pain is the torture we all have to bear 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. Amazed to hear that? Well, don’t be, because pain is what makes all living beings fight for life and take good care of their health!

As the antagonist 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 mind creates strong throbbing impulses that we perceive as pain or chronic ache. This way our body cries for help and pleads us to handle the problem as soon as possible.

When people develop serious chronic health disorders pain can torture them twenty-four hours a day, turning their lives into a negative nightmare. certainly, the major task of modern medicine is to help those people relieve the pain and lead normal lives. Today narcotic drugs, both synthetic and natural, are the most effective pain relievers available.

Vicodin belongs to the class of synthetic narcotic analgesics, too. Consisting of Hydrocodone (synthetic opiate) and Acetaminophen (Paracetamol or Tylenol), Vicodin causes double pain diminishing effect bringing you instant relief. This glorious compound of two pain relievers is know by many brand names depending on the concentrations of Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen in them. So:

- Vicodin comprises 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin HP has 750 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin ES comprises 660 mg Paracetamol and 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Anexsia consists of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone or 650 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Dolorex Forte; Hycet; Liquicet; Lorcet consists of 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 is made up of 325 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Polygesic consists of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Stagesic comprises 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Xodol has 300 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Zamicet; Zydone comprises 400 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone.

Other non-active components 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, call your MD before you get Vicodin and start taking it.

Vicodin, like any other narcotic analgesic, is recommended to cure moderate to moderately severe pain. This medication is most commonly recommended for acute, chronic and/or post-operative states. Sometimes it can also be recommended to cure severe cough.

Semi-synthetic narcotic analgesic Vicodin is available in different medical forms: tablets, capsules and liquid solutions. The safe dose for adults is 1-2 tablets of Vicodin with every meal 4 times a day. Actually you may take this med with or without food but the majority of GPs state that full stomach protects gastrointestinal tract. So, if you experience nausea after taking Vicodin, it may help you to take this medicine after a square mealafter a substantial meal. Likewise, if you follow Vicodin therapy, drinking plenty of water during a day can help in preventing constipation usual for Vicodin takers.

Please, remember that each sort of brand or generic pill contains different amounts of Vicodin. That is why you should be very careful 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 adverse reactions and addiction to this medicine.

If you miss a scheduled dose of Vicodin, take it as soon as you remember the fact. If it is almost time for your next dose, take only that dose skipping the previous one. Do not take double or extra doses to avoid dangerous ovedose! The distressing truth is that
Vicodin overdose can be ultimate.

Talking about Vicodin adverse effects, note that this med can make you feel dizzy or drowsy. That is why you should be careful taking part in activities requiring alertness and quick reaction (driving, using complicated machinery ect).

Keep off alcoholic beverages because they increase the risk of Vicodin adverse reactions. Remember that Vicodin contains Acetaminophen in it, and this substance is able of causing liver damage. If in addition to it you consume alcohol daily, it interacts with Acetaminophen and increases the risk of severe liver damage.

Just as all synthetic opioid medications Vicodin can cause serious side effects, which are rather seldom. If you face a severe sign seek medical help immediately! Severe 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 causes 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, personalities allergic to Vicodin can have bad allergic reaction:

- itching, skin rash or hives,
- unusual swelling of the mouth, tongue and throat, wheezing and breathing difficulty.

If you take Vicodin therapy and feel uncomfortable when you have to rise from a seated or lying position you can minimize dizziness and lightheadedness doing it slowly.

If you are rather old great caution is advised when taking this medicine - you may be more sensitive to the side effects of the medication, especially decreased breathing and drowsiness. It is forbidden to prescribe Vicodin to people under 18! Children should never be prescribed 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 ahead of time. This medication weakens the effect of narcosis that is why you may need to stop using Vicodin for a short time.

The topic of Vicodin, pregnancy and lactation is important, too. The effects of Vicodin during pregnancy and breastfeeding are not properly studied. To be on the safe side, avoid taking Vicodin if you are pregnant to keep your fetus safe. Discuss with your physician all pros and cons before purchasing Vicodin without a prescription and taking 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 sometimes used 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 killer. The point is that although Hydrocodone that controls 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 these days - 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 troubles 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 need 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 call their medical man 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 personality and prepares him or her for further treatment.

Why is Vicodin so habit-forming? The fact is that the regular use of Hydrocodone causes certain changes you brain - in the way it handles opiates. The longer you take 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 decreasing effects.

If an opiate-tolerant man or woman tries to stop taking Vicodine, he or she will experience bad opiate withdrawal symptoms. Vicodin addicts 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 health trouble 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 personalities who are taking Vicodin for its analgesic effects develop 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 horrible Vicodin withdrawal symptoms. The best way to avoid 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.