Osbourne wrote in her book Fierce that her Vicodin addiction started with a prescription. As her tolerance level rose, she was consuming up to 50 pills of Vicodin a day. Her friends and parents quickly noticed her symptoms — notably drowsiness and nodding off. Eventually, she pursued Vicodin addiction rehab and received the necessary treatment to begin a life of sobriety. Get professional help from an online addiction and mental health counselor from BetterHelp.
Vicodin Abuse
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. Addiction is characterized by an inability to stop using a drug, despite harmful consequences to your life and overall health.
Hydrocodone Addiction
Do not let the stigma of addiction keep you from seeking lifesaving treatment. The public perception of addiction is changing, and more people understand that it is a disease and not a choice. Seeking medical assistance for a substance use disorder can help you avoid a lifetime of health problems. To avoid hydrocodone addiction, only take the medication as prescribed.
How Addictive Is Hydrocodone?
An overdose of acetaminophen can damage your liver or cause death. If you feel the need to manage withdrawal symptoms, talk to your healthcare team right away. However, it can also be crushed and injected into veins or snorted to produce a more immediate high. Many people mix hydrocodone and alcohol to achieve pleasurable effects. Addiction and frequency of use also affect how long hydrocodone stays in your system.
Symptoms of overdose
In just a few minutes, someone overdosing on hydrocodone may stop breathing, depriving their brains of oxygen (also known as hypoxia). Hydrocodone, like other opioids, works by binding to pain receptors (known specifically as mu opioid receptors) in the brain. Once hydrocodone binds to these receptors, pain signals are weakened or blocked entirely. Mu opioid receptors are also responsible for the positive reinforcement aspect of drug-taking.
- You may convince yourself that you’d know it was time for action if your loved one’s addiction was truly serious.
- Hydrocodone can also create a euphoric high and a reward response in the brain.
- Peer pressure and lack of social support also increase the risk of addiction.
- Long-term abuse of hydrocodone not only changes the way the brain functions but can have lasting effects on mood and thought patterns.
Many people who used the medication only therapeutically and as prescribed, sometimes do not even realize they are experiencing withdrawals. Symptoms of Vicodin overdose include chest pain, bloody urine, trouble breathing, extreme drowsiness and changes in consciousness. If you or your loved one is experiencing any of these symptoms, call 911 immediately. But more severe effects, such as depression and addiction, can linger for a lifetime. Hydrocodone is one of the most misused drugs in the United States.
You can also talk to your doctor about alternative ways to reduce pain. For example, a 2015 report by Harvard University stated that yoga can alleviate pain caused by arthritis, fibromyalgia and other conditions. Up to 131 million Americans were, oftentimes unnecessarily, prescribed Vicodin in 2011.
If you’re living with lifelong pain, opioids aren’t likely to be a safe and effective long-term treatment option. Many other treatments are available, including less addictive pain medicines and therapies that don’t involve medicines. If possible, aim for a treatment plan that allows you to enjoy your life without opioids. People who take opioids are at risk of opioid use disorder, often called opioid addiction.
Tapering means slowly lowering over time the amount of opioid medicine you take until you stop completely. Rehab treatment also uses behavioral treatments to help people overcome hydrocodone addiction. Treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy teach clients the underlying causes of their substance abuse problems.
Make sure any person caring for you knows where you keep naloxone and how to use it. Signs of opioid abuse may be hard to see clearly, especially in someone you love. A few examples are ice or heat therapy, physical therapy, massage, acupuncture, and nerve stimulation. Everyone plays an important role in breaking the grip that opioids have on communities and their residents. Lortab is a brand name version of hydrocodone similar to brands Norco® and Lorcet®. Even if you withdraw at home, you should enlist the support and help of trusted loved ones, friends, or family.
If you are struggling with hydrocodone addiction, reach out to a treatment provider today. Together, you can explore treatment options that can help you put an end to your addiction. Your healthcare professional may recommend combining your taper with counseling from ketamine everything you need to know an alcohol and drug counselor. Counseling can help you learn ways to cope with stress, identify early warning signs of relapse and keep you from taking opioids. Your healthcare professional may recommend continued counseling after you’ve completed your opioid taper.
Once these residues are gone, a person can regain the brightness they had before they got trapped in addiction. Along with the physical side effects of long-term Vicodin abuse, there can be effects on a person’s entire life. For example, someone who regularly abuses Vicodin may experience problems with their relationships or legal and financial problems. Long-term opioid use can make meeting obligations at school or work difficult.
The symptoms may include restlessness, joint pain, increased heartbeat, sleeping problems and anxiety. The severity of a hydrocodone addiction depends on the person’s genetics and history of drug use. Some people who abuse hydrocodone do not become addicted, while others can develop an addiction rapidly. Prior to the FDA lowering acceptable levels of acetaminophen in medication, Norco had the least amount of acetaminophen. Subsequently, some addicts chose Norco over other prescription painkillers to avoid the increased risk of consuming too much acetaminophen. Currently, however, it has the highest percentage of acetaminophen of the hydrocodone variants.
Ask your healthcare team if you’re not sure when you can stop your opioid medicine. People often abuse hydrocodone repeatedly for its euphoric effects, which can increase their tolerance to the substance. As their alcohol use disorder symptoms and causes tolerance grows, they need to take increasingly higher doses of the drug to achieve the desired effects. Hydrocodone withdrawal symptoms occur when people quit using the opioid suddenly after prolonged use.
If you use narcotic medicine while you are pregnant, your baby could become dependent on the drug. This can cause life-threatening withdrawal symptoms in the baby after it is born. Babies born dependent on habit-forming medicine may need medical treatment for several weeks.
Because of the risk of opioid misuse, it’s often hard to get your healthcare professional to raise your dose or renew your prescription. Some opioid users who believe they how long does it take to detox from alcohol timeline and more need a bigger supply find illegal ways to get opioids or start using heroin. Some street drugs are laced with contaminants or much more powerful opioids such as fentanyl.
