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We can enjoy life as it is, follow our habitual ways, develop our creativity and skills endlessly with only one condition - we are not in pain! Think for youself! Can you cook yummy foods when your have a toothache? Can you party hearty with your ankle sprained? Can you fulfill any routine task with delight when your brain is clouded with pain? The answer is definit - no, you cannot! Pain is the nightmare we all have to pass from time to time. We hate pain and try to avoid it but we rarely think that pain is the best advisor we have, too. Surprised 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 main character of Hugh Laurie’s novel “The gun seller” stated, “pain is something you cause to yourself”. It is true, when something is wrong with our body, either inside or outside, our brain sends strong throbbing impulses that we perceive as pain or chronic ache. This way our organism cries for help and pleads us to take care of the problem as soon as possible.

When individuals develop severe chronic diseases pain can stay with them 24/7, turning their lives into a devastating nightmare. certainly, the main task of up-to-date medicine is to help those persons control the pain and lead usual lives. Today opioid pills, both synthetic and natural, are the most effective pain relievers available.

Vicodin belongs to the class of synthetic opioid analgesics, too. Consisting of Hydrocodone (synthetic opiate) and APAP (Paracetamol or Tylenol), Vicodin causes double pain relieving action bringing you rapid relief. This successful compound of two pain killers goes under numerous brand names depending on the concentrations of Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen in them. So:

- Vicodin consists of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin HP is 750 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin ES has 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 comprises 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone; 650 Paracetamol mg / 10 mg Hydrocodone; or 650 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Lortab is 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 consists of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Stagesic is made up 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 consists of 400 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone.

Other non-active ingredients 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 drug, please, visit your physician before you buy cheap Vicodin and start taking it.

Vicodin, like any other opioid analgesic, is prescribed to manage moderate to moderately severe pain. This medication is most commonly used for acute, chronic and/or post-operative states. Sometimes it can also be recommended to get rid of severe cough.

Semi-synthetic opioid 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 med with or without food but the majority of medical men state that full stomach protects gastrointestinal tract. For instance, if you have nausea after taking Vicodin, it may help you to take this drug after a square mealafter a substantial meal. Likewise, if you follow Vicodin therapy, drinking plenty of water during a day can help in avoiding constipation usual for Vicodin takers.

Please, keep in mind that each type of brand or generic pill contains various quantities of Vicodin. That is why you should be very cautious 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 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 adverse reactions and addiction to this medication.

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. Never take double or extra doses to avoid ruinous ovedose! The distressing truth 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 demanding alertness and quick reaction (driving, using complicated machinery ect).

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

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

- bad 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 causes 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, people allergic to Vicodin can have bad allergic reaction:

- itching, skin rash or hives,
- unusual swelling of the mouth, tongue and throat, wheezing and breathing difficulty.

If you follow the course of 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 rather old great caution is advised when taking this med - you may be more sensitive to the adverse effects of the medication, especially decreased breathing and drowsiness. It is forbidden to prescribe Vicodin to patients 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 ahead of time. This medication weakens the action 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 effects 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 healthcare provider all pros and cons before getting Vicodin without prescription 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. Remember 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 addicted within the mother’s womb! Nursing mothers should not use Vicodin because Paracetamol and Hydrocodone easily gets into human 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 controls pain is well tolerated but Paracetamol 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.

Contemporary medicine is rather careless about Vicodin addiction today - addiction to illicit street drugs and/or alcohol is considered to be a far more dangerous condition. Frankly speaking, Vicodin is not really viewed as a drug able of causing the same horrible troubles 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 the way it should be and they do not require the withdrawal treatment. What a shame!

If you feel any withdrawal symptoms after you stop taking Vicodin, seek drug abuse treatment immediately! Men and women who have a problem with drugs or alcohol must be particularly careful and go to their healthcare provider 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 man or woman and prepares him or her for further treatment.

Why is Vicodin so habit-forming? The matter is that the regular use of Hydrocodone causes certain changes you brain - in the way it handles narcotics. The longer you take Vicodine and the higher is the dosage you apply daily, the sooner you develop an opiate tolerance. Consequently you need increasingly greater doses of the med to reach the same pain diminishing effects.

If an opiate-tolerant patient tries to give up taking Vicodine, he or she will experience severe 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 health disorder 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 people 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 nightmare is the episode from the “House M.D” serial where the main character Greg House survives the most devastating Vicodin withdrawal symptoms. The best way to avert 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.