Vicodin Uses, Side Effects & Safety Information

A person experiencing an opioid overdose needs naloxone and immediate medical care to prevent death. The narcotic antagonist naloxone hydrochloride is a specific antidote against respiratory depression which may result from overdosage or unusual sensitivity to narcotics, including hydrocodone. A narcotic antagonist should not be administered in the absence of clinically significant respiratory or cardiovascular depression. Their regular non-medical use, prolonged use, misuse and use without medical supervision can lead to opioid dependence and other health problems. Opioid dependence is a disorder of regulation of opioid use arising from repeated or continuous use of opioids.

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• A different officer wrote in his report that Irsay “responded slightly” to the naloxone before eventually being transported via ambulance to a local hospital.
• Elimination of acetaminophen is principally by liver metabolism (conjugation) and subsequent renal excretion of metabolites.
• It blocks the key opioid receptors found within the central nervous system that lead to an overdose.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved hydrocodone for the management of chronic pain that other analgesics (painkillers) cannot effectively manage. It is available via prescription only in extended-release (ER, long-acting) tablets and capsule forms. The information on this site should not be used as vicodin addiction a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health. Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children, and in a location that is not easily accessible by others, including visitors to the home.

Drug Interactions

By Ayesha Gulzar, PharmDAyesha Gulzar is a clinical pharmacist interested in medical research, pharmacy practice, and medication therapy management. Dr. Gulzar has been working in medical communications, writing medical and clinical research for patients and health professionals in the United Kingdom. Prolonged use of hydrocodone during pregnancy can cause life-threatening withdrawal symptoms in the infant if not treated. Always talk to your healthcare provider before taking any drug when using hydrocodone. Furthermore, a healthcare provider will gradually increase the dose if required until the therapeutic effect is achieved. Hydrocodone is also available in combination with other ingredients prescribed for different uses.

Addiction to hydrocodone/oxycodone

• WHO also supports countries in monitoring trends in drug use and related harm, to better understand the scale of opioid dependence and opioid overdose.
• Swallow it whole to avoid exposure to a potentially fatal dose.
• Most people dependent on opioids used illicitly cultivated and manufactured heroin, but the proportion of those using prescription opioids is growing.
• Call your doctor at once if you have nausea, pain in your upper stomach, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, or jaundice (yellowing of your skin or eyes).

This may also be used if doctors feel that the overdose may lead to death. However, if breathing is good, doctors may instead use activated charcoal or laxatives to help get any leftover medications out of the stomach. As a result, they are more likely to be prescribed these medications.

WHO supports countries in their efforts to ensure rational use of opioids and  their optimal availability for medical purposes and minimization of their misuse and non-medical use. If you receive medical attention before serious problems with your breathing occur, you should have few long-term consequences, and will probably be back to normal within several days. A hospital stay may be needed for more doses of the medicine that reverses the effects of the drug. These possible complications are pneumonia, muscle damage from lying on a hard surface for a prolonged period of time, brain damage from lack of oxygen, kidney injury or failure, and liver damage or failure.

• Outpatient treatment is less intensive than inpatient; you live at home while attending therapy and counseling at a treatment center.
• However, it should be kept in mind that tolerance to hydrocodone can develop with continued use and that the incidence of untoward effects is dose related.
• Males, people of older age and people with low socio-economic status are at higher risk of opioid overdose than women, people of young age groups and people with higher socio-economic status.
• Abuse of these medications means taking them recreationally (not for medical purposes).

There is also a risk of overdose if you are getting medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Many of the medicines used for MOUD are also controlled substances that can be misused. A health care provider may give you a prescription opioid https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to reduce pain after you have had a major injury or surgery. You may get them if you have severe pain from health conditions like cancer. Some side effects of acetaminophen / hydrocodone may occur that usually do not need medical attention.

Vicodin Overdose: Symptoms, Risk Factors, and Prevention

Hydrocodone and the major metabolites of acetaminophen are known to be substantially excreted by the kidney. Thus the risk of toxic reactions may be greater in patients with impaired renal function due to accumulation of the parent compound and/or metabolites in the plasma. Because elderly patients are more likely to have decreased renal function, care should be taken in dose selection, and it may be useful to monitor renal function.

More about hydrocodone

Naloxone (Narcan) is the main emergency treatment for opioid overdose. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist, which means it attaches to opioid receptors in your body and reverses and blocks the effects of opioids already in your system. Naloxone can restore normal breathing within two to five minutes to a person who’s experiencing an opioid overdose.

Medications for Substance Use Disorders

If you receive medical attention before serious problems with your breathing occur, you should have few long-term consequences. Hydrocodone and oxycodone overdose occurs when someone intentionally or accidentally takes too much medicine containing these ingredients. A person may accidentally take too much of the medicine because they are not getting pain relief from their normal doses. There are several reasons why a person may intentionally take too much of this medicine. It may be done to try to hurt oneself or to get high or intoxicated. If you take a prescription opioid, it’s important to teach your family and friends how to respond to an overdose.