Vicodin Addiction Symptoms, Side Effects, Signs & Withdrawal

That drug abuse patients are more vulnerable to stress than the general population is a clinical truism. By these mechanisms, stress may contribute to the abuser’s desire to take drugs in the first place and to his or her subsequent compulsion to keep taking them. D. When heroin is discontinued after chronic abuse, the drug’s inhibitory impact is lost. Operating at normal efficiency but with enhanced supplies of converting enzyme and ATP, the neuron produces abnormally high levels of cAMP, leading to excessive release of NA.

Vicodin and Other Substances

• In contrast, drugs having a short half-life leave the bloodstream early.
• As a Schedule II controlled substance, Vicodin has a high risk of being misused.
• The substance can produce feelings of lightheadedness and euphoria, which have resulted in the widespread misuse of hydrocodone nationwide.
• AddictionResource aims to present the most accurate, trustworthy, and up-to-date medical content to our readers.
• If you think someone you know may be struggling with an addiction to hydrocodone, there are physical and behavioral signs you can look for.
• Genetic, psychological and environmental factors also play a role in addiction, which can happen quickly or after many years of opioid use.

Hydrocodone can be a safe and effective way to treat severe pain, but it can be addictive. It can affect relationships, employment, your health, and other parts of your life. Hydrocodone is an opioid in a class of drugs known as narcotic analgesics. These drugs connect to proteins in the brain and spinal cord called opioid receptors. Hydrocodone can be very effective, but it can also become habit-forming. A doctor may prescribe medications like antidepressants for anxiety and mood-stabilizing agents for mood swings.

• A person who uses a drug for the euphoric effects rather than the prescribed pain-relieving effects or who craves the drug for these effects may be addicted to hydrocodone.
• For Vicodin addiction, getting help is paramount to ridding you and your loved one of this affliction.
• If you or anyone you know is undergoing a severe health crisis, call a doctor or 911 immediately.
• The locus ceruleus (LC) is an area of the brain that is critically involved in the production of opioid dependence and withdrawal.
• Several drugs should be avoided while taking Vicodin due to adverse interactions.

Recovery Programs

• And do not stop or change a dosing regimen without first discussing it with your doctor.
• Hydrocodone (also known by the brand names Vicodin, Norco, and Lortab) is a powerful prescription opioid medication that is prescribed to treat pain and suppress cough.
• Lortab is another brand name for the combination of acetaminophen and hydrocodone.
• The opioid antagonist Narcan (naloxone) can block the effects of opioids and reverse an overdose.
• Getting help for hydrocodone addiction can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone.
• Vicodin addiction is taxing on the user and their support group physically and mentally.

A narcotic analgesic means Vicodin and other products with hydrocodone are reserved for treating moderate to severe pain. Vicodin addiction affects thousands of people a year, contributing to the ongoing opioid epidemic in the US. Hydrocodone addiction isn’t a reflection of your character or willpower. It’s an indication that the drug has changed the way your brain experiences pain and pleasure.

Causes of hydrocodone addiction

• Her friends and parents quickly noticed her symptoms — notably drowsiness and nodding off.
• Addiction is diagnosed on a spectrum from mild to moderate to severe.
• Naltrexone is also sometimes used to rapidly detoxify patients from opioid dependence.
• As office-based treatment of heroin addiction becomes available, the highest possible safety level (that is, minimal side effects) should be balanced with treatment effectiveness.

We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. 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. This can include using clonidine to reduce anxiety, agitation, muscle aches, sweating, runny nose, and cramping. They can also provide you with other medications for vomiting and diarrhea to make the process less uncomfortable. 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.

Preventing Vicodin Addiction

Once physically stable, patients can begin meeting with counselors for one-on-one therapy to understand the motivations behind their addiction and how to deal with stressors that may have triggered it. In addition to medical support and counseling, patients may also enjoy alternative therapy options to ease their journey toward recovery. Along the way, patients will learn the necessary coping skills for addiction to help them avoid relapse and maintain a happy and healthy sober life free from Vicodin. The mesolimbic reward system appears to be central to the development of the direct clinical consequences of chronic opioid abuse, including tolerance, dependence, and addiction. Other brain areas and neurochemicals, including cortisol, also are relevant to dependence and relapse.

Endocrine System Damage

Withdrawal Sober living house symptoms occur only in patients who have developed tolerance. Vicodin is a combination medication that contains hydrocodone, an opioid, and acetaminophen, an over-the-counter pain reliever. Products with hydrocodone can be habit-forming and come with a potential for addiction warning before use. Vicodin addiction can occur even when using the medicine as prescribed.

In contrast to stimulants, heroin apparently dam-ages the PFC but not the frontostriatal loop. Therefore, individuals who become heroin addicts may have some PFC damage that is independent of their opioid abuse, either inherited genetically or caused by some other factor or event in their lives. This preexisting PFC damage predisposes these individuals to impulsivity and lack of control, and the additional PFC damage from chronic repeated heroin abuse increases the severity of these problems (Kosten, 1998). Department of Health and Human Services, in 2019, an estimated 10.1 million people 12 and older misused opioids in the previous year. More specifically, 9.7 million people =https://ecosoberhouse.com/ misused prescription pain medicines like Vicodin. Many other pain medications can be used as alternatives to Vicodin, including other medications that also include hydrocodone or other opioids.

Coping & Relief from Vicodin Withdrawal

It is considered to have a higher potential for abuse compared to Vicodin. Undiagnosed or untreated mental health conditions vicodin addiction like anxiety, depression, and PTSD can increase your risk of addiction. Research suggests that 50% to 75% of those with substance use disorder have a co-occurring mental health condition.