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We 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 prepare yummy foods when your have a toothache? Can you party hearty with your ankle sprained? Can you perform any routine task with positive attitude when your brain is clouded with pain? The answer is certain - no, you cannot! Pain is the torture we all have to suffer from time to time. We are afraid of pain and try to avoid it but we seldom think that pain is the best advisor we have, too. Stunned 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 main character of Hugh Laurie’s novel “The gun seller” declared, “pain is something you cause to yourself”. It is really so, when something is wrong with our body, either inside or outside, our brain sends strong throbbing signals that we perceive as pain or chronic ache. This way our body cries for help and begs us to handle the problem as soon as possible.

When personalities develop serious chronic health disorders pain can exhaust them twenty-four hours a day, turning their lives into a devastating torture. No doubt, the main task of contemporary medicine is to help those patients sooth the pain and lead habitual lives. Today narcotic drugs, both synthetic and natural, are the most trusted pain relievers available.

Vicodin belongs to the class of synthetic narcotic analgesics, too. Containing Hydrocodone (synthetic opiate) and Acetaminophen (Paracetamol or Tylenol), Vicodin causes double pain soothing action bringing you swift relief. This successful combination of two pain killers is know by many brand names depending on the concentrations of Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen in them. So:

- Vicodin is made up of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin HP is 750 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin ES comprises 660 mg Paracetamol and 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Anexsia comprises 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 has 500 mg Paracetamol and 2.5, 5, 7.5 or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Maxidone is 750 mg Paracetamol and 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Norco comprises 325 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Polygesic consists of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Stagesic has 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Xodol has 300 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Zamicet; Zydone has 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 medicine, please, go to your medical man before you order cheap Vicodin and start taking it.

Vicodin, like any other narcotic analgesic, is recommended to overcome moderate to moderately severe pain. This medicine is most commonly recommended for acute, chronic and/or post-operative conditions. 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. In fact you may take this medicine with or without food but the majority of healthcare providers point out that full stomach protects gastrointestinal tract. So, if you have nausea after taking Vicodin, it may help you to take this medicine with food. Likewise, if you follow Vicodin therapy, drinking plenty of water during a day can help in avoiding constipation typical for Vicodin takers.

Please, do not forget that each sort of brand or generic pill contains different quantities of Vicodin. That is why you should be very careful how many tablets you take. The maximum safe amount 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 side effects and addiction to this drug.

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 ruinous ovedose! The scary matter is that
Vicodin overdose can be fatal.

Talking about Vicodin adverse effects, note that this drug can make you feel dizzy or drowsy. That is why you should be cautious 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 dringk alcohol daily, it interacts with Acetaminophen and increases the risk of bad liver damage.

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

- severe 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 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, humans allergic to Vicodin can have strong 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 required when taking this drug - you may be more sensitive to the adverse effects of the medication, especially decreased breathing and drowsiness. It is forbidden to prescribe Vicodin to individuals 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 action of narcosis that is why you may need to stop using Vicodin for a short time.

The topic of Vicodin, pregnancy and breastfeeding is essential, too. The action of Vicodin during pregnancy and lactation are not properly investigated. To be on the safe side, avoid taking Vicodin if you are pregnant to keep your fetus safe. Discuss with your doctor all pros and cons before purchasing Vicodin without rx and starting it. Although some medical reports state that this medication 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 reliever. The point is that although Hydrocodone that decreases 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 terrible risks as other drugs! No wonder that this attitude of medical people often leads Vicodin addicts and their close people to the idea that everything is OK 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! Individuals who have a problem with drugs or alcohol must be particularly careful and call their general practitioner 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 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 take daily, the sooner you develop an opiate tolerance. Consequently you need increasingly greater doses of the med to reach the same pain soothing effects.

If an opiate-tolerant patient tries to drop taking Vicodine, he or she will experience bad opiate withdrawal symptoms. Vicodin dependent persons 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 disease 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 individuals 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 horrid 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.