I'm on vicodin and xanax and have been for the past 3 years.?!
Question: needless to say i am dependant on it. i have to take the vicotin in the morning in order for me to wake up and function at work. i also take the xanax at night to go to sleep or when i have panic attacks at work (its very stressful) I don't take too much, only 1500-2000mg (4 500mg pills a day) and 2 or 3 xanax (.5mg) at night. I don't think i will ever be able to get off of it but are there any long term effects that will mess up my body if i continue to take it, and if i do stop, how am i going to function at work or wake up in the morning?
Answers: needless to say i am dependant on it. i have to take the vicotin in the morning in order for me to wake up and function at work. i also take the xanax at night to go to sleep or when i have panic attacks at work (its very stressful) I don't take too much, only 1500-2000mg (4 500mg pills a day) and 2 or 3 xanax (.5mg) at night. I don't think i will ever be able to get off of it but are there any long term effects that will mess up my body if i continue to take it, and if i do stop, how am i going to function at work or wake up in the morning?
hi Amy, the milligrams you are describing are the the Tylenol content and the hydrocodone. So you are taking 5/500 mg a day four times, which is the average dose thing for chronic pain patients. I used to work in pain management, and we had many patients who took both of these medications. I don't know why you're on the pain medicine. But if you are chronic pain patients. Then you will be on them for the rest of your life, if you want to have a quality of life and are suffering from pain. You will need the pain medication. The Xanax to help you sleep is unusual for a doctor to prescribe as a sleep aid. Sometimes the patient will take their Xanax at bedtime only because it makes them sleeping. And if they take it there in the day will cause drowsiness. I also take Xanax for panic disorder, and I take it PRN which means as needed, and most of the time. It's only once a day. Yes, there are long-term effects, and there are other medications that you can take that are not absorbed in your liver and will be less damaging to your body, one such medicine is a patch, and it goes on the skin and last up to 72 hours, the you don't have to swallow any pills. Also, what you can ask your doctor is to put you on Norco only because it has the same ingredients as the hydrocodone, but without the Tylenol. The Tylenol is what is damaging to the liver, this way you are only taking the oxycodone, which is part of the hydrocodone that relieves the pain. There are also longer acting pain medication that you could consider taking that you would not have to take four times a day, there are long acting moraphine tablets that last six or eight or 12 hours a day. I have a medication side on Yahoo. If you would ever like to come and read the post. Or ask a question to the other members. It is a small group, and we all take some type of medication. For some type of medical condition, and again, you didn't say in your question why you take these medicines so it's very hard to give you a straight answer. But even if you change medications, you can function. You can wake up and you can go to work and you can act and perform your job just like anyone else. That is not suffering from pain. So many people suffer from chronic pain, and do nothing about it. At least you were one of the few who are trying to manage it and be productive and do something in society. Instead of staying at home and feeling sorry for yourself, and I don't mean that in a bad way, I took hydrocodone for over four years. In order to work and help other people, now I'm unable to help others and released at a job site, so I do have to stay at home now. Be sure that you take your medication as the doctor has prescribed. Do not stop taking any medications cold turkey medications need to be titrated up and down. So please check with your physician on whether he would like for you to stop or change your dose or the type of medication. I wish you the best of luck, and taking these medications. You should be having a liver function test, which is blood work, done at least every six months to a year to make sure that your liver is not being overdosed with too much Tylenol. You are doing the right thing by asking for help, just remember. That's what your doctor and his staff is for and don't be afraid to ask. God bless take care, and please e-mail me if you need any further help.
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No, the only difference is the amount of APAP. Hydrocodone is the generic name, it's the actual name of the drug. Norco is the brand name, like Vicodin and Lortab. They all are hydrocodone.
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HYDROCODONE V.S. OXYCODONE
THESE TWO DRUGS ARE SIMILAR, BUT NOT the same. Hydrocodone is the generic name for Vicodin, Norco, Lortab and about 30 others. It is a narcotic analgesic, and not quite as strong as Oxycodone. It's also SLIGHTLY less regulated ie.. it can be CALLED IN to a pharmacy by a physician. It can be habit forming. Vicodin and the rest are a combo of hydrocodone and acetaminophen (Tylenol).
Oxycodone is also a narcotic analgesic, also can be habit forming. It's also a combo of acetaminophen and oxycodone (generic) name for Percocet, Tylox, Roxilox. It is SLIGHTLY more regulated ie.. in CANNOT be called in to a pharmacy, you have to have a physical written prescription from a physician.
Because of it's potential for abuse and dependence, doctors tend to order Vicodin rather than Percocet.
YES IT CAN DAMAGE YOU LIVER AND STOMACH LOOK IT UP ON GOGGLE FOR THE FACTS
great answer Tash!!!!!!!!!!
Let me clarify a few things that I read that are incorrect from an earlier post. Norco is hydrocodone and 325mg of acetominophen. Norco comes in varying strengths of hydrocodone (the same ingrediant in vicodin)but always contains 325mg APAP (acetominophen, tylenol, paracetamol, goes by several names). Oxycodone (oxycontin, tylox, percocet, percodan)is not the same thing. They are both pain meds in the same class (opiates)but one does not contain the other. Oxycodone is stronger.True the worst for your liver is tylenol and you should ask your doctor about switching you over to Norco. You should never take more than 4000mg of tylenol in one day. The less the better as a matter of fact. But you aren't exceeding the recommended dosage right now. I'm also a chronic pain patient and I too take Xanax, but for occasional panic attacks and social anxiety.