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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! Think for youself! Can you think of yummy dishes when your have a toothache? Can you party hearty with your ankle sprained? Can you perform any routine task with delight when your brain 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 rarely think that pain is the best advisor we have, too. Shocked 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 antagonist of Hugh Laurie’s novel “The gun seller” declared, “pain is something you cause to yourself”. It is true, when something is wrong with our body, either inside or outside, our brain generates strong throbbing impulses that we perceive as pain or chronic ache. This way our body cries for help and begs us to take care of the problem as soon as possible.

When persons develop bad chronic health issues pain can exhaust them round the clock, turning their lives into a negative nightmare. Of course, the main task of up-to-date medicine is to help those men and women decrease the pain and lead usual lives. Today narcotic medications, both synthetic and natural, are the most reliable pain killers available.

Vicodin belongs to the class of synthetic narcotic analgesics, too. Consisting of Hydrocodone (synthetic opiate) and APAP (Paracetamol or Tylenol), Vicodin causes double pain decreasing effect bringing you swift relief. This glorious compound of two pain killers 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 is made up of 750 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin ES is 660 mg Paracetamol and 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Anexsia is made up of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone or 650 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Dolorex Forte; Hycet; Liquicet; Lorcet is 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone; 650 Paracetamol mg / 10 mg Hydrocodone; or 650 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Lortab consists of 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 consists of 325 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Polygesic is made up of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Stagesic consists of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Xodol is made up of 300 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Zamicet; Zydone is 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 ingredients of the med, please, call your doctor before you get Vicodin and start taking it.

Vicodin, like any other opioid analgesic, is recommended to fight back moderate to moderately severe pain. This drug is most usually prescribed for acute, chronic and/or post-operative states. Sometimes it can also be prescribed to cure severe cough.

Semi-synthetic narcotic analgesic Vicodin is available in different medical forms: tablets, capsules and liquid solutions. The usual dose for adults is 1-2 tablets of Vicodin with every meal 4 times a day. In fact you can take this drug with or without food but the majority of medical men point out that full stomach protects gastrointestinal tract. So, if you experience 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 usual for Vicodin takers.

Please, do not fail to remember that each kind of brand or generic pill contains various quantities of Vicodin. That is why you should be very careful how many tablets you take. The maximum safe quantity of Acetaminophen for grownups 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 killing 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 medicine.

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 dangerous ovedose! The scary thing is that
Vicodin overdose can be ultimate.

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

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

Just as all synthetic opioid medications Vicodin can cause severe side effects, which are rather seldom. If you face a serious sign seek medical help immediately! Severe Vicodin side effects include:

- severe drowsiness,
- bad stomach 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, patients allergic to Vicodin can experience severe 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 over 70 great caution is advised when using this drug - you may be more sensitive to the adverse effects of the med, 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 beforehand. This drug weakens the effect of anaesthesia that is why you may need to stop using Vicodin for a short time.

The topic of Vicodin, pregnancy and lactation is significant, too. The action of Vicodin during pregnancy and breastfeeding are not properly investigated. To be on the safe side, do not take Vicodin if you are pregnant to keep your unborn baby safe. Discuss with your doctor all pros and cons before purchasing cheapest Vicodin online without rx and starting it. Although some medical reports state that this drug is safe for pregnant women, you should start it only if obvious positive effects outweigh the possible risks. Bear in mind 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 dependant within the mother’s womb! Nursing mothers should not use Vicodin because Paracetamol and Hydrocodone easily gets into breast milk effecting your baby.

Vicodin is occasionally 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 diminishes 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 problems in older dogs.

Contemporary medicine is rather careless about Vicodin addiction these days - addiction to illicit street drugs and/or alcohol is considered to be a far more serious condition. To tell you the truth, Vicodin is not really viewed as a drug able of causing the same terrible problems as other drugs! No wonder that this attitude of professionals often leads Vicodin addicts and their close people to the idea that everything is the way it should be 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 go to their GP 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 patient and prepares him or her for further treatment.

Why is Vicodin so addictive? The point is that the regular use of Hydrocodone causes certain changes you brain - in the way it handles narcotics. The longer you stay with Vicodine and the higher is the dosage you apply daily, the sooner you develop an opiate tolerance. Consequently you need ever greater doses of the drug to feel the same pain relieving effects.

If an opiate-tolerant patient tries to drop taking Vicodine, he or she will experience severe opiate withdrawal symptoms. Vicodin addicts experience the first withdrawal symptoms within 6-24 hours following their last dose. They feel:

- runny nose, muscle aches and other flu-like symptoms;
- nausea;
- diarrhea;
- anxiety;
- depression;
- insomnia;
- irritability;
- chills;
- drug cravings;
- increased pain of the illness 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 patients 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 torture is the episode from the “House M.D” serial where the main character Greg House survives the most terrible 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.