If you find that you cannot quit using Vicodin in spite of all your efforts to stop, you may want to seek a professional treatment program to help you with your dependence. Don’t try to quit using Vicodin on your own after heavy or prolonged use. Contact your healthcare providers and tell them you want to detox from Vicodin. They can recommend one of several regimens used to help with the detoxification process. The biggest danger from detoxing from Vicodin and other pain medication takes place when someone decides to start taking the drug again. Depending on how much and for how long you have been taking Vicodin, the withdrawal symptoms can range from mild to very severe.
Some people develop a dependence (having withdrawals and tolerance to Vicodin) to their prescription and don’t realize it until they stop taking it. Dependence can lead to addiction, which is marked by the compulsive urge to use despite negative consequences. One of the negative complications of Vicodin abuse is liver damage or failure caused by the Acetaminophen in the drug. Typical cases of liver damage involve doses of 4,000 mg or more a day of Acetaminophen. Leah has worked in several treatment settings, including inpatient, outpatient, and in-home therapy, both as a therapist and a clinical supervisor. She currently serves as a Director of adult outpatient services in a community health center.
Other side effects of Vicodin
Reach out to your loved one’s healthcare professional if your answers point toward a possible addiction. The healthcare professional is an important partner if you decide it’s time to take action. Since it is an opiate-based drug, Vicodin withdrawal is similar to withdrawing from heroin, morphine, methadone, or codeine.
Further help comes in the form of relaxing assists that help each person focus on the present, alleviating the negative emotional reactions that can occur during this time. This could be the most positive withdrawal experience a person ever has. Vicodin is made of a combination of hydrocodone, a synthetic opiate, and acetaminophen, a non-steroidal pain reliever. Aside from the euphoric and addictive effects of hydrocodone, there is about half a gram of acetaminophen in each pill, and two to four grams of acetaminophen in a day can start to damage the liver. Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products.
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These groups can be a powerful support network for those who find that they aren’t able to quit using opioids despite their best efforts. Talking with your religious or spiritual advisor may help too. Opioid withdrawal can be dangerous, and symptoms can be severe. When it’s time for you to stop taking opioids, ask for your healthcare professional’s help.
If you have this type of reaction, you should never again take any medicine that contains acetaminophen. MAT is most effective when paired with some form of behavioral therapy and should be only be administered by a medical professional. Along with its needed effects, acetaminophen / hydrocodone may cause some unwanted effects.
Long-Range Effects of Vicodin Abuse
It’s a potentially fast and slippery slope between recreational use of hydrocodone and the development of an opioid use disorder. Individuals who take hydrocodone as part of a pain management treatment plan may develop a physical dependency on hydrocodone, but not progress to addiction. But there are risks linked to opioid use — including severe constipation, nausea, dependence, misuse, opioid use disorder and accidental overdose. For example, opioid medicines may help when the pain level is very high and short term.
But ask about all nonopioid pain medicine options to treat your pain, including the benefits and risks. Your healthcare professional may recommend that you have naloxone available to lower your risk of an overdose. Naloxone reverses the effects of opioids during an emergency if you stop breathing. Narcan and Revive are naloxone nasal sprays you can buy without a prescription.
Professional care from health providers can help ensure that your withdrawal symptoms are carefully monitored, but you can also go through this process at home. Let your doctor know that you will vicodin addiction be withdrawing so that you can talk about any medications that may be helpful for treating possible side effects. All opiate-based drugs can become habit-forming and cause physical dependence.
Substitution therapy is also referred to in addiction literature as medication-assisted treatment (MAT). There should always be a doctor on staff, and the treatment center should be properly licensed. Because hydrocodone is an opioid, some users may become dependent on Vicodin.
Vicodin Uses & Dosage
When Vicodin is taken over a lengthy period of time, you can build up a tolerance to the medication. This means you have to take increasingly larger amounts to achieve the same effect. Even people who take Vicodin exactly as prescribed for pain while recovering from https://ecosoberhouse.com/ injury or surgery can experience withdrawal. Vicodin changes your perception of pain and your emotional response to it. The substance can produce feelings of lightheadedness and euphoria, which have resulted in the widespread misuse of hydrocodone nationwide.
An overdose of acetaminophen can damage your liver or cause death. Call your doctor at once if you have nausea, pain in your upper stomach, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, or jaundice (yellowing of your skin or eyes). Vicodin tablets are used for the relief of moderate to moderately severe pain.