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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! Give it a closer look! Can you think of delicious dishes when your have a toothache? Can you dance your night away with your ankle sprained? Can you perform any routine task with positive attitude when your brain is clouded with pain? The answer is certain - no, you cannot! Pain is the ordeal 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 keeper we have, too. Astonished 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 really so, when something is wrong with our organism, either inside or outside, our brain generates strong throbbing signals that we perceive as pain or chronic ache. This way our organism cries for help and begs us to handle the trouble as soon as possible.

When men and women develop dangerous chronic diseases pain can stay with them on a twenty-four hour basis, turning their lives into a negative torture. Of course, the main task of contemporary medicine is to help those men and women relieve the pain and lead normal lives. Today narcotic meds, both synthetic and natural, are the most efficient 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 soothing action bringing you instant relief. This glorious compound of two pain killers goes under many brand names depending on the concentrations of Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen in them. So:

- Vicodin is made up of 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin HP comprises 750 mg Paracetamol and 7.5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Vicodin ES consists of 660 mg Paracetamol and 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Anexsia is 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 consists of 500 mg Paracetamol and 2.5, 5, 7.5 or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Maxidone comprises 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 500 mg Paracetamol and 5 mg Hydrocodone;
- Xodol comprises 300 mg Paracetamol and 5, 7.5, or 10 mg Hydrocodone;
- Zamicet; Zydone is made up 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 ingredients of the drug, please, call your medical man before you get discount Vicodin online and start taking it.

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

Semi-synthetic narcotic analgesic Vicodin is available in different medical forms: tablets, capsules and liquid solutions. The safe dose for adults is 1-2 tablets of Vicodin with every meal 4 times a day. In fact you may take this medication with or without food but the majority of docs state that full stomach protects gastrointestinal tract. For example, 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 avoiding constipation usual for Vicodin takers.

Please, keep in mind that each sort of brand or generic pill contains different quantities of Vicodin. That is why you should be very cautious 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 med.

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. Do not take double or extra doses to avoid ruinous ovedose! The distressing matter is that
Vicodin overdose can be fatal.

Talking about Vicodin adverse reactions, note that this medicine can make you feel dizzy or drowsy. That is why you should be careful participating in activities demanding alertness and quick reaction (driving, using complicated machinery ect).

Keep off alcoholic beverages because they increase the risk of Vicodin side 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 daily, it interacts with Acetaminophen and increases the risk of severe liver damage.

Just as all synthetic narcotic drugs Vicodin can cause severe side effects, which are rather seldom. If you face a serious sign seek medical help immediately! Severe 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 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, individuals allergic to Vicodin can experience 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 get up or go to bed you can minimize dizziness and lightheadedness doing it slowly.

If you are over 70 great caution is required when using this medicine - you may be more sensitive to the adverse effects of the med, especially decreased breathing and drowsiness. It is forbidden to prescribe Vicodin to humans under 18! Children should never be prescribed 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 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 breastfeeding is vital, too. The action of Vicodin during pregnancy and lactation 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 getting cheap Vicodin online without a prescription and taking it. Although some medical reports state that this drug is safe for pregnant women, you should take 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 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 decreases 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 problems 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. Frankly speaking, Vicodin is not really viewed as a drug able of causing the same horrible problems as other drugs! No wonder that this attitude of professionals often leads Vicodin addicts and their close people to the idea that everything is under control 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! Males and females who have a problem with drugs or alcohol must be particularly careful and consult 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 thing is that the regular use of Hydrocodone causes certain changes you brain - in the way it handles narcotics. The longer you stay with 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 feel the same pain relieving effects.

If an opiate-tolerant person tries to give up 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 disease 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.