Vicodin Abuse and Addiction

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Vicodin Abuse and Addiction

It’s mentioned in songs, TV shows, and movies. Celebrities use it, get addicted to it, and go to rehab to get off of it. Some 20 tons of it are reportedly produced each year. The prescription pain killer, Vicodin, is among the most abused prescription drugs. In the 2006 Monitoring the Future study from the University of Michigan, Vicodin ranked second only to Marijuana in the top five drugs used by 12th graders in the past year.

Vicodin is a Narcotic-type pain killer commonly prescribed for the short-term management of intense pain from injury or surgery. Its main component is hydrocodone, which is an Opioid—meaning it acts on the body like a narcotic. Hydrocodone binds to opioid receptors in the brain and spinal chord, where it interrupts or alters the perception of pain.

Vicodin increases the activity of the Neurotransmitter, Dopamine, producing a euphoria similar to that produced by other narcotics such as Morphine or Heroin. This is the primary reason for the prevalence of abuse.

Dependency and Withdrawal

Prolonged use of Vicodin can result in a physical Tolerance, meaning higher doses are required to achieve the same effects. It also leads to physical dependency, wherein the body adapts to the Drug and withdrawal symptoms occur if it is stopped.

The symptoms of Vicodin withdrawal may include restlessness, fever, sweating, chills, goose bumps, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, nausea, diarrhea, loss of appetite, involuntary leg movements, sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose, irritability, panic, depression, persistent headache, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.

Side Effects

In Vicodin, the opioid, hydrocodone is combined with another drug, acetaminophen, which is the active ingredient in Tylenol. The addition of acetaminophen acts to increase the Analgesic effects and limit the intake of hydrocodone. At higher than prescribed doses, it can cause unpleasant and often unsafe side effects including damage to the liver. This is in addition to the side effects of the hydrocodone.

Common side effects of Vicodin include dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Some less common side effects are allergic reaction, blood disorders, changes in mood, mental fogginess, anxiety, lethargy, difficulty urinating, spasm of the ureter, irregular or depressed respiration, and rash. Euphoria and drowsiness are the common side effects that have led to its illicit use.

Overdose symptoms

With the uncontrolled use of euphoria-causing narcotics comes a high potential for overdose. The overdose victim may be lost in the euphoria of the drug and fail to notice the symptoms or seek help. Symptoms of a Vicodin overdose may include slow breathing, cold and clammy skin, constricted pupils, tiredness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, sweating, weakness, confusion, loss of consciousness and coma. Vicodin overdose can be fatal.

As with any drug, it’s important to be fully informed. Even when prescribed and needed, Vicodin should be used with caution. Where its abuse has reached the dependency stage, Narconon has the means to full recovery—but it is far better never to have reached that stage.

Definitions of Terms Used

Term	Description
Analgesic	A group of medications that reduce pain.
Dopamine	A brain chemical, classified as a neurotransmitter,found in regions of the brain that regulate movement, emotion, motivation, and pleasure.
Drug	Any substance, other than food, that changes the function or structure of the body or mind when ingested. Drugs essentially are poisons. The degree they are taken determines the effect. A small amount acts as a stimulant. A greater amount acts as a sedative. A larger amount acts as a poison and can kill one dead. This is true of any drug. Each has a different amount at which it gives those results.
Heroin	The potent, widely abused opiate that produces a profound addiction. It consists of two morphine molecules linked together chemically.
Marijuana	A psychoactive drug made from the leaves of the cannabis plant. It is usually smoked but can also be eaten. See Cannabis.
Morphine	Morphine The most potent natural opiate compound produced by the opium poppy.
Narconon	A non-religious, non-profit drug rehabilitation program using technology developed by author L. Ron Hubbard. The Narconon program was originally organized in Arizona State Prison in 1966 by William Benitez, an inmate who was himself a drug addict. He applyed basic principles regarding self awareness and self assurance contained in books by L. Ron Hubbard and, by doing so, completely cured his own addiction to heroin. Mr Benitez then went on to help twenty other inmates do the same. Today there are Narconon centers in 45 countries.
Narcotic	a drug (as codeine, methadone, or morphine) that in moderate doses dulls the senses, relieves pain, and induces profound sleep but in excessive doses causes stupor, coma, or convulsions drug (as marijuana or LSD) subject to restriction similar to that of addictive narcotics whether in fact physiologically addictive and narcotic or not
Neurotransmitter	Chemicals produced by neurons to carry their messages to other neurons.
Opioid	Any chemical that has opiate-like effects; commonly used to refer to neurochemicals that activate opiate receptors (see Opiate Receptors).
Overdose	The condition that results when too much of a drug is taken, making a person sick or unconscious and sometimes resulting in death.
Tolerance	A condition in which higher doses of a drug are required to produce the same effect as during initial use; often leads to physical dependence.
Withdrawal	Symptoms that occur after chronic use of a drug is reduced or stopped.