Vicodin is one of the most commonly abused prescription pain medications today. One of the most widely prescribed medications, vicodin and its related medications, loricet, loritab percodan, and oxycontin are opioid-based pain medications. vicodin is a derivative of opium, which also used to manufacture heroin. Vicodin successfully diminishes pain, but it is highly addictive and withdrawal symptoms of vicodin addiction are very similar to the pain it was relieving.
Many persons taking vicodin longer than medically necessary keep using it thinking that if they were to stop taking vicodin, their pain would return. In reality, the fear of vicodin withdrawal can be a strong motivating factor in the continuing use of vicodin, and more importantly, the feeling that more vicodin is needed to combat the same pain. Over a period of time more and more vicodin is needed to have the same pain relieving effects and to ward off vicodin withdrawal symptoms. Many people end up taking more and more vicodin or changing medications and switching to a strong medication such as oxycontin or loritab and taking more and more of these, due to the highly addictive qualities of these medications.
Pain that once was the physical problem is replaced by vicodin. Instead of being used to help tolerate the pain, vicodin itself becomes the problem. The patient becomes addicted to vicodin and the problem actually gets worse instead of better. It is estimated that in 1999, 4 million people were currently using prescription drugs non-medically. Of these, 2.6 million misused pain relievers the most common of which is vicodin. Pain is one the most common reasons cited to visit a doctor. Pain is also a very common reason to become addicted to vicodin and or alcohol. People often self-medicate themselves with vicodin for pain or abuse vicodin and become addicted. These reasons also lead to prescription medication abuse or combining medication with alcohol, which causes addiction problems.
The combination of vicodin with alcohol compounds the problem to an unparalleled degree. When the effects of vicodin no longer ease the pain or anxiety, people combine vicodin with alcohol. Combining vicodin with alcohol multiplies the effects of both substances. This is due to the quantitative effects of combining 2 different drugs. The effect of vicodin is increased without increasing the dose. Alcohol and vicodin are socially accepted and persons who use these substances are not seen as drug addicts. This compounds the problem as many people that are addicted to vicodin and alcohol go to great lengths to hide their addiction. This is called the process of denial.
Many people addicted to vicodin find that after a while, they have difficulty in getting a physician to prescribe vicodin. When physicians become concerned that their patients are becoming addicted to vicodin, they tend to stop the supply or detox the patient gradually. At this point many people who are addicted turn to other means to obtain vicodin. Addicted persons may choose not to stop using vicodin out of fear of severe withdrawal or simply because they no longer know how to function without vicodin. At this point the vicodin addict turns to illicit means to obtain vicodin. Along with the obvious problems associated with this activity, other problems begin to surface. Poor decision making, deception to family members, inability to work, relationship problems, and prescription fraud.
Prescription fraud is a crime that is committed by people who have become addicted to vicodin and then have their supply cut off without being referred to treatment. The vicodin addict rationalizes this behavior, which includes fabricating or exaggerating pain symptoms in order to illicit sympathy, seeking vicodin from many doctors at the same time, and using fraudulent prescriptions, often created by altering the quantity of number of refills.
Most people who obtain vicodin by committing prescription medication fraud are good citizens who wouldn't commit any other crime. They are motivated to do this by the physical symptoms of their vicodin addiction, which may remain unrecognized by physicians. They are feeling desperate and can see no way out other than the downward spiral of vicodin addiction. Many vicodin addicts exaggerate or fabricate symptoms to a doctor hoping to convince them to prescribe more or stronger drugs than are necessary. Upon recognizing this, the doctor may refuse to prescribe any more medication. The vicodin addict at this point may do one of several things. He may see one or many other physicians simultaneously to obtain vicodin. This is called physician hopping. Finding prescriptions for vicodin written by more than one physician is evidence of this.
Often times, vicodin addiction goes unrecognized by all, including the vicodin addict until an abrupt change occurs. This change can come in the form of arrest and incarceration of the vicodin addict for prescription fraud. When this happens, vicodin user cannot obtain vicodin and goes into vicodin withdrawal.
Many addicted people will offer to buy vicodin from persons who are taking vicodin legitimately. Others steal prescription pads from doctor's offices and use them to write their own prescriptions by forging a doctors signature or telephone pharmacies claiming to be a doctor or a nurse requesting vicodin for a patient. Those that become desperate may burglarize rob pharmacies or obtain vicodin illegally on the street. All these are causes for arrest and incarceration and may in fact be the precipitating factor in the vicodin user seeking treatment.
For most people, properly managed use of vicodin is safe and rarely causes vicodin addiction, which is the uncontrollable and compulsive use of vicodin. Taken as prescribed, vicodin eases pain effectively. vicodin is an Opioid, in other words it falls within the class of drugs also referred to as narcotics. Other drugs that fall into this class are morphine, Codeine, Oxycontin, Darvon, Dilaudid, and Demerol. vicodin works by attaching to specific proteins called opioid receptors, which are found in the brain, spinal cord, and gastrointestinal tract. When vicodin attaches to certain opioid receptors in the brain, it can effectively block the transmission of pain signals to the brain. In addition to its pain relieving properties, vicodin can affect regions of the brain that control pleasure, which takes the form of euphoria experienced when vicodin is taken. vicodin also causes drowsiness, constipation, and may depress breathing. Large doses of vicodin may be fatal.
Chronic use of vicodin can result in tolerance to the drug so that higher doses are needed to stop withdrawal symptoms and feel the same initial effects. Using vicodin over a long period of time may lead to physical dependence, the body becomes dependent on vicodin and withdrawal will occur if use is stopped abruptly. Symptoms of withdrawal can include sleeplessness, muscle and bone pain, restlessness, diarrhea, hot and cold flashes, vomiting, and muscle twitches.
Persons addicted to vicodin generally benefit from detox followed by treatment at a residential treatment facility. People's treatment needs vary greatly and a number of treatment options are available including medical detox, rapid opiate detox, and residential treatment and outpatient treatment. Persons addicted to vicodin generally cannot quit on their own; otherwise they would have done so before real, threatening problems occur. Those that are in denial of their addiction may benefit from family intervention. The first step to recovery is a telephone call to a reputable treatment facility followed by intake and treatment.
