what are the signs of being addicted to vicotin?

Question

My husband has a back injury and has been put on Vicotin 500 mg. he has asked his doctor to up his dose and the doctor told him that he could not because that was a sign of becoming addicted. I would like to know if that is reasonable or if i need to get involved and fight for him. Anyone with any knowledge, please help.

Answer 1

You can't really up the dose of vicodin very much. The problem is not the narcotic. The problem is that each pill has 500mg of Tylenol! You can only take so much Tylenol before you damage your liver.

But anyway, your husband needs a new doctor who will take him seriously and find a different way to treat his pain, and not mess with him and lie to him.

Answer 2

First of all, how long has it been since his surgery? If it has been more than a week, then he is probably becoming dependent on the medication. Vicodeine, is a codine derivative and can be very addictive, not only because it relieves the pain, but because at higher doses (like 500 mg) it causes a type of euphoria, and that is very addicting. If he is running out of medication before his refill is due, or if he thinks it is not working well enough, chances are he is addicted

Answer 3

I think you mean vicodin. And yes, me may be getting addicted. however, he may need a different medication but the vicodin should not exceed more than 4000mg per day or to break it down, no more than 8 tabs per 24 hours. If he is already at this dose he should talk to his doctor again about something else and what to do to help if he is becoming dependent on it.

Answer 4

I too have a serious back injury.... I too am on Vicodin. I am also a recovering drug addict. With that being said, there is a time when the medication will no longer take effect and will not help with pain, therefore he needs to back off the pain meds, and let his tolerance level get back to normal. It is not good to take them daily if you can avoid it. He should only take them when he needs them. he should however tell the Doctor that the med is no longer working for the pain and see if they can switch his meds, or give him a muscle relaxer as well. I take Ibprophen, flexaril, vicodin ES, and Lidocaine, and Prilosec, due to my back injury. But he may want to see what the doc says. If he is asking for a higher dose of meds then his body is probably getting addicted to the meds, with that he needs to quit taking the Vic, for a while and then go back on it and see if that helps.
Good Luck to you, fighting with drug addictions are horrible.


Vicodin Addiction
Vicodin is an opioid, commonly prescribed because of their effective analgesic, or pain relieving properties. Many studies have shown that properly managed medical use of pain killer compounds is safe and rarely causes addiction. Taken exactly as prescribed, opioids can be used to manage pain effectively.

Opioids act by attaching to specific proteins called opioids receptors, which are found in the brain, spinal cord, and gastrointestinal tract. When these compounds attach to certain opioids receptors in the brain and spinal cord, they can effectively change the way a person experiences pain. In addition, opioids, such as vicodin, can affect regions of the brain that mediate what we perceive as pleasure, resulting in the initial euphoria that many opioids produce.

Chronic use of vicodin can result in tolerance to the medications so that higher doses must be taken to obtain the same initial effects. Long-term use also can lead to physical dependence—the body adapts to the presence of the substance and withdrawal symptoms occur if use is reduced abruptly. Individuals taking prescribed opioids medications should not only be given these medications under appropriate medical supervision, but also should be medically supervised when stopping use in order to reduce or avoid withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms of withdrawal can include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps (“cold turkey”), and involuntary leg movements.
Individuals who become addicted to vicodin can be treated. Options for effectively treating vicodin addiction are drawn from research on treating heroin addiction.

Prolonged use of these drugs eventually changes the brain in fundamental and long-lasting ways, explaining why people cannot just quit on their own, and why treatment is essential. In effect, drugs of abuse take over the brain's normal pleasure and motivational systems, moving drug use to the highest priority in the individual's motivational hierarchy, thereby overriding all other motivations and drives. These brain changes, then, are responsible for the compulsion to seek and use drugs that we have come to define as addiction. This is likely the state people are in when they are reportedly "doctor shopping," feigning illnesses, and stealing from pharmacies to obtain the drug

Answer 5

Chronic pain is not addressed well by western medicine. If your husband is still experiencing pain, or escalating pain since the original injury, perhaps alternative treatment for pain management would help. Ask his doctor about pain management specialists, physical therapy and/or acupuncture, etc.

On a personal note, if I were ever going to be addicted to anything it would be Vicodin. It is supposed to be one of the least addictive narcotics used, but for some, like me, the effect is so euphoric its very tempting.

Answer 6

It may in may not be if he hurts alot and the medinice is not doing what it was doing at frist. then he needs to go up to a 7.5 or 10 mg. If the medinice is doing him find and he just wants to go up to a higher dose it could be addiction.

Answer 7

Lol no way. If something i could think of Air indications may be the final ones to ever touch drugs. i've got heard much greater Earth indications to do opiates and ice. Water indications the two go vulnerable or go troublesome. fire indications are at as quickly as E, ice and opium. Geminis are very nearly anti-drug.. Aquarius sticks to weed and in specific circumstances E. Libras could be unpredictable.

Answer 8

i could be a sign of being addicted, or pain condition could be getting worse.

One of the signs of opioid addiction is that you start to have pain everywhere, not just in the part of your body that you started taking the pills for in the first place.

Another is you crave the drug, you can't wait till the next pill is due to be taken.

Answer 9

Why would he need the dose upped? If he needs it increased, then he is addicted.

Answer 10

"vicodin 500??? maybe you mean 5/500mg???".......If you can't function in a normal setting without the drug, you're addicted, it seems like you think he is if your asking this question, you should talk to him about it & his doc....good luck...and remember vicodin has acetaminophen(tylenol) in it.....it's not safe to take more that 4g(4000mg) of acetaminophen a day