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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 delicious dishes when your have a toothache? Can you dance your night away with your ankle sprained? Can you fulfill any routine task with positive attitude when your brain is clouded with pain? The answer is definit - no, you cannot! Pain is the ordeal we all have to bear from time to time. We hate pain and try to avoid it but we seldom think that pain is the best advisor we have, too. Shocked 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” declared, “pain is something you cause to yourself”. It is true, when something is wrong with our body, either inside or outside, our mind generates strong throbbing signals that we decipher as pain or chronic ache. This way our body cries for help and begs us to handle the problem as soon as possible.

When persons develop severe chronic health disorders pain can torture them twenty-four hours a day, turning their lives into a devastating nightmare. Of course, the major task of present-day medicine is to help those men and women relieve the pain and lead habitual lives. Today narcotic medications, both synthetic and natural, are the most reliable pain relievers available.

Vicodin belongs to the class of synthetic opioid analgesics, too. Containing Hydrocodone (synthetic opiate) and Acetaminophen (Paracetamol or Tylenol), Vicodin causes double pain soothing effect bringing you rapid relief. This glorious compound of two pain relievers is know by numerous brand names depending on the concentrations of Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen in them. So:

- Vicodin comprises 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin HP comprises 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 comprises 325 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Polygesic is made up 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 comprises 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 components of the medication, please, visit your healthcare provider before you get Vicodin online and start taking it.

Vicodin, like any other opioid analgesic, is prescribed to handle moderate to moderately severe pain. This medication is most usually recommended for acute, chronic and/or post-operative states. Sometimes it can also be recommended to stop severe cough.

Semi-synthetic narcotic analgesic Vicodin is available in different medical forms: tablets, capsules and liquid solutions. The normal dose for adults is 1-2 tablets of Vicodin with every meal 4 times a day. In fact you may take this med with or without food but the majority of GPs underline that full stomach protects gastrointestinal tract. For instance, if you suffer from nausea after taking Vicodin, it may help you to take this medicine after a square mealafter a substantial meal. Likewise, if you follow Vicodin therapy, drinking plenty of water during a day can help in preventing constipation typical for Vicodin takers.

Please, realize that each type of brand or generic pill contains various amounts of Vicodin. That is why you should be very careful how many tablets you take. The maximum safe quantity of Acetaminophen for grownups 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 medicine.

If you miss a regular dose of Vicodin, take it as soon as you can. 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 dangerous ovedose! The terrible matter is that
Vicodin overdose can be fatal.

Talking about Vicodin side effects, note that this medicine can make you feel dizzy or drowsy. That is why you should be careful 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 consume alcohol every day, it interacts with Acetaminophen and increases the risk of bad liver damage.

Just as all synthetic opioid 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 stomach 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, humans allergic to Vicodin can have severe 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 get up or go to bed you can minimize dizziness and lightheadedness doing it slowly.

If you are elderly great caution is advised when using this med - you may be more sensitive to the adverse effects of the drug, especially decreased breathing and drowsiness. It is forbidden to prescribe Vicodin to personalities under 18! Children should never be given 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 med 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 vital, too. The action of Vicodin during pregnancy and breastfeeding 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 general practitioner all pros and cons before getting Vicodin without rx and taking 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 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 sometimes applied 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 soothes 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.

Contemporary medicine is rather careless about Vicodin addiction these days - addiction to illicit street drugs and/or alcohol is considered to be a far more serious condition. To tell you the truth, Vicodin is not really viewed as a drug able of causing the same scary risks as other drugs! No wonder that this attitude of professionals often leads Vicodin addicts and their close people to the idea that everything is OK 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! Patients who have a problem with drugs or alcohol must be particularly careful and consult 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 individual and prepares him or her for further treatment.

Why is Vicodin so habit-forming? The point 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 require increasingly greater doses of the drug to reach the same pain diminishing effects.

If an opiate-tolerant personality 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 have:

- runny nose, muscle aches and other flu-like symptoms;
- nausea;
- diarrhea;
- anxiety;
- depression;
- insomnia;
- irritability;
- chills;
- drug cravings;
- increased pain of the health trouble 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 persons 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 ordeal is the episode from the “House M.D” serial where the main character Greg House survives the most horrible 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.