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Humans 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! Consider it closely! 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 positive attitude when your mind is clouded with pain? The answer is certain - no, you cannot! Pain is the nightmare we all have to stand from time to time. We are afraid of pain and try to avoid it but we seldom think that pain is the best keeper 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” said, “pain is something you cause to yourself”. It is true, when something is wrong with our organism, either inside or outside, our mind creates strong throbbing signals that we perceive as pain or chronic ache. This way our organism cries for help and begs us to take care of the trouble as soon as possible.

When patients develop dangerous chronic health issues pain can stay with them on a twenty-four hour basis, turning their lives into a distressing nightmare. certainly, the main task of present-day medicine is to help those men and women decrease the pain and lead normal lives. Today narcotic meds, both synthetic and natural, are the most trusted pain killers available.

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

- Vicodin is 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin HP is made up of 750 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin ES has 660 mg Paracetamol and 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Anexsia consists of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone or 650 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Dolorex Forte; Hycet; Liquicet; Lorcet has 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone; 650 Paracetamol mg / 10 mg Hydrocodone; or 650 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Lortab is made up of 500 mg Paracetamol and 2.5, 5, 7.5 or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Maxidone consists of 750 mg Paracetamol and 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Norco has 325 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Polygesic comprises 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Stagesic is made up of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Xodol has 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 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 drug, please, visit your general practitioner before you purchase cheap Vicodin and start taking it.

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

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

Please, realize that each sort of brand or generic pill contains different 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 effects and addiction to this medicine.

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 point is that
Vicodin overdose can be ultimate.

Talking about Vicodin side effects, remember that this medicine can make you feel dizzy or drowsy. That is why you should be careful participating in activities requiring 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 severe liver damage.

Just as all synthetic narcotic medicines Vicodin can cause serious side effects, which are rather seldom. If you face a severe 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, people allergic to Vicodin can experience 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 get up or go to bed you can minimize dizziness and lightheadedness doing it slowly.

If you are rather old great caution is advised when using this medicine - you may be more sensitive to the adverse reactions of the medication, especially decreased breathing and drowsiness. It is forbidden to prescribe Vicodin to people under 18! Children should never be given Vicodin, as its safety and effectiveness in children has not been investigated till now.

If you have to undergo any type of surgery, tell your surgeon that you are using Vicodin beforehand. This drug weakens the effect of narcosis that is why you may need to stop using Vicodin for a short time.

The topic of Vicodin, pregnancy and lactation is essential, too. The action of Vicodin during pregnancy and breastfeeding are not properly studied. To be on the safe side, do not take Vicodin if you are pregnant to keep your fetus safe. Discuss with your doctor all pros and cons before purchasing discount Vicodin without a prescription 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. 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 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 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 controls 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 now - 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 distressing 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 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! Personalities who have a problem with drugs or alcohol must be particularly careful and call their 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 personality and prepares him or her for further treatment.

Why is Vicodin so addictive? The thing 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 apply daily, the sooner you develop an opiate tolerance. Consequently you require increasingly greater doses of the med to reach the same pain relieving effects.

If an opiate-tolerant man or woman tries to drop taking Vicodine, he or she will experience strong opiate withdrawal symptoms. Vicodin dependent persons experience the first withdrawal symptoms within 6-24 hours following their last dose. They experience:

- 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 men and women who are using 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 torture is the episode from the “House M.D” serial where the main character Greg House survives the most awful 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.