What dangers and health threats are possible if you have to start Hydrocodone treatment? Learn all the answers about opioid pain killers you have been looking for!
What else but intolerable physical pain can make you feel so helpless and miserable? Pain that lasts for days, weeks and even months! Sorry to say that it is bitter reality for many men and women with severe chronic diseases. Of course, what usual medicine shoud take care of first of all is soothing the man or woman’s pain in the safest and swiftest way possible! Irrespective of their bad reputation, narcotic analgesics are the most reliable pharmaceuticals available these days - every experienced GP will assure you of that!
Hydrocodone is one of the most effective opioid analgesics and antitussive medications belonging to the class of synthetic opioids. Of course, you can purchase Hydrocodone online no prescription right now to stop the horrid torture you experience as soon as possible, but we highly recommend you to find out all pros and cons before making this significant step.
It is not so easy to order Hydrocodone alone. As a rule Hydrocodone is an active ingredient in many different prescription pills. The main part of those compounds are prescribed to get rid of pain, although some of them also used to treat bad cough.
For the medical practice of pain control, Hydrocodone is recommended both for short-term pain (e.g. after a surgery or a complicated dental procedure) or for long-term pain control (e.g. cancer and other chronic states). Taking into consideration the fact that Hydrocodone is a narcotic, many medical men prefer to limit its intake to the shortest period of time possible.
All Hydrocodone containing meds are combinations drugs because they contain Hydrocodone plus one or more active ingredients. For the medical practice of pain control, these other active substances include Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or Ibuprofen (Motri, Advil). For the medical practice of cough control there is a variety of different active ingredients, such as antihistamines - these pharmaceuticals are designed to prevent people from taking more Hydrocodone than recommended. One medical research has suggested that the respiratory depression caused by Hydrocodone may be good for treating dyspnea related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and restrictive lung disease. However, the potential for the precipitation of respiratory insufficiency makes the recommendation of Hydrocodone really risky and it must be undertaken, if at all, with extreme caution!
As you already know, Hydrocodone is a semi-synthetic opioid pain killer working similarly to Codeine. Both pharmaceuticals are very powerful at relieving pain and coping with coughing, but they also cause drowsiness, mood changes and mental “clouding.” It happens this way because Hydrocodone and Codeine work directly in the brain binding opioid pain receptors of our central nervous system and suppressing the excessive cough signals.
It is very hard to name the top safe dose for any of the pure opioid drug - the personal dose depends on the opioid tolerance of the patient taking the drug. For example, the official maximum Hydrocodone dose is 240 mg a day. One patient can metabolize this amount of the pain reliever while another patient will have numerous side effects and sighs of overdose!
Please, remember that all opioids are not cross-tolerant, for instance, Oxycodone and Morphine do not produce complete tolerance to each other.
With all that, Hydrocodone presents an interesting exception among the narcotic pain relievers. It produces a double effect in combination with Acetaminophen. For instance, a compound Hydrocodone/APAP goes under the major brand name Vicodin; a combination Hydrocodone/Ibuprofen goes under the major brand name Vicoprofen. As for Ibuprofen, it rarely causes overdose problems because to develop a severe problem, you should take as much as 400mg of Ibuprofen per kilogram of body weight which is next to impossible. On the contrary, APAP called Paracetamol or Tylenol outside America is rather easy to overdose - 6000mg (6g) daily (this amount of APAP is contained in 12 tablets of Vicodin).
See for yourselves: each Vicodin contains 5mg of Hydrocodone and 500mg of APAP. If you use Vicodin ES, it contains 7.5mg of Hydrocodone and 750mg of Acetaminophen. In this case you cannot take more than 8 pills a day to avoid Acetaminophen overdose leading to severe liver toxicity. This amount of Acetaminophen is not enough for immediate death, but after some time the results will be horrible - you will face excruciatingly painful death by hepatic failure. That is why when you order Hydrocodone have a good look at the dosage of each active ingredient of the medication to know for sure how many capsules a day you can take safely.
Let us explore the main weak point of Hydrocodone - its habit forming. Please, keep in mind that psychic and physical dependence as well as tolerance develop after repeated administration of narcotics; therefore Hydrocodone should be recommended and scheduled with caution. The good news is psychic addiction is not typical when Hydrocodone bitartrate and Acetaminophen tablets are used for a short period time for handling pain.
Physical dependence becomes possible when continued intake of Hydrocodone is required to prevent the bothersome withdrawal syndrome taking place after significant therapeutical use of Hydrocodone for several weeks or more. Warning! In some humans a mild degree of physical dependence may develop after a few days of narcotic therapy!
Tolerance is the phenomenon when increasingly large doses of Hyrocodone are required to produce the same degree of analgesia. Its first manifestation is a shortened duration of pain relieving followed by decreases in the intensity of analgesia. It is impossible to predict the rate of development of Hydrocodone tolerance - it is individual for every personality. In any case - as soon as you notice the first signs of tolerance, make an appointment with your doctor to prevent strong physical addiction!
It is a well known fact that humans any narcotics, antihistamines, antipsychotics, antianxiety agents, anidepressants, MAO inhibitors, alcohol and other CNS depressants experience a certain degree of central nervous system. If you start taking Hydrocodone in addition, which is a strong CNS depressants, too, the effect may be really dangerous! Never combine Hydrocodone with other CNS depressants unless your general practitioner recommended you to! Please, do not fail to remember that Hhydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen tablets may cause additive CNS depression as well if they react with other CNS depressants within your body! Tell your healthcare provider that you take any narcotics, antihistamines, antipsychotics, antianxiety agents, anidepressants, MAO inhibitors and alcohol on a regular basis! When combined therapy is started, the amount of the both agents should be reduced to diminish negative interaction.
Use extreme caution when combining Hydrocodone with other opiates - you can easily overdose them and lose your life! Never take these meds together unless you are under your MD’s constant supervision.
The unwanted effects of Hydrocodone are similar to those reported with other opioid pharmaceuticals. Nervous system adverse responses of Hydrocodone are: mental depression, dizziness, lightheadedness, respiratory depression which can be fatal, stupor, delirium, somnolence, agitation, and dysphoria.
Other central nervous system side effects refer to withdrawal symptoms after either abrupt stopping or fast tapering of Hydrocodone. They are: agitation, restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, tremor, abdominal cramps, blurred vision, vomiting, and sweating.
Gastrointestinal adverse responses include nausea, vomiting, constipation and dry mouth.
Dermatologic adverse responses include rashes typical for persons with renal insufficiency.
Genitourinary unwanted effects are ureteral spasm, spasm of vesicle sphincters and urinary retention.
Constipation is a typical and expected adverse response of Hydrocodone. The majority of all people who take Hydrocodone experience some degree of constipation - in fact, you will be lucky enough to avoid this adverse effect of Hydrocodone only if you take it for a few days or if you take it occasionally.
No wonder the main part of practitioners recommend their patients to take Hydrocodone with a mild laxative from the very start before any problems occur. Please, keep in mind that as long as you take Hydrocodone constipation will not disappear or get better on its own! People who has been taking Hydrocodone for years are just as likely to have constipation as individuals who has just started taking it! The body will never adapt to the effects of Hydrocodone that cause constipation - it is a matter of chemical reactions taking place in your body.
Hackneyed constipation can be extremely dangerous in certain cases - e.g. after delivering a baby or after having a heart attack - when straining should be avoided. Please, visit your general practitioner if your constipation becomes severe or if laxatives do not help any more! This way you will avoid irregular stools and a number of illnesses connected with them.
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