Open and constant communication with your doctor is crucial while taking hydrocodone. It is important to get the right treatment. As mentioned above, it is highly recommended to seek out medically-assisted detox , in-patient , or out-patient treatment.
At New Choices, we offer all of these options, with specialists who will look at your specific situation to provide customized care. Related: Opioid Addiction Treatment. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Previous Next. View Larger Image. It is most commonly used for treatment of chronic pain, and is prescribed as Lortab or Vicodin. How Hydrocodone Works Hydrocodone is prescribed to be taken by mouth, and therefore must pass through the digestive system before you will feel its effects. How Long Hydrocodone Lasts The life of a drug is measured by its half-life, or how long it takes the body to metabolize half of the drug.
Body composition, including body fat content and weight. A number of factors can influence the time it takes for hydrocodone to clear the body. These include:. Alcohol and hydrocodone taken in combination have a synergistic effect on one another.
This means that the effects of hydrocodone are increased if you consume alcohol. It will take longer to clear hydrocodone from your body. Combining alcohol with hydrocodone can also lead to dangerous side effects, including the possibility of a fatal overdose. Drugs that inhibit CYP3A4 make it more difficult for your body to break down hydrocodone. Combining hydrocodone with the following could result in serious problems, including potentially fatal respiratory depression:.
Other medications that have been shown to interact with hydrocodone and increase its effects include:. These may include:. Your doctor may reduce your dosage gradually over time to prevent withdrawal. This is called tapering. If you do experience withdrawal symptoms, they can be classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Everyone experiences withdrawal differently. In general, symptoms begin to improve within 72 hours and significantly decrease within a week.
Your doctor can help you manage your symptoms. The pain relief effect of hydrocodone will wear off within four to six hours. There are many reasons why the time that it takes for hydrocodone to leave the body varies.
Some factors that influence this include:. The higher the dose, the longer it takes for the body to metabolize the drug and for hydrocodone to leave the system. Younger people process hydrocodone more quickly than older adults. This is mostly because their organ systems are stronger and healthier, compared with the systems of adults.
The quality and quantity of these enzymes vary from person to person according to their genes. This, too, can affect how a person metabolizes a drug. When a person uses hydrocodone for a longer period — such as months or years — it likely takes longer to eliminate the drug from their system, compared with people who only take hydrocodone for a few days.
This effect is related to pharmacodynamic tolerance. To put it simply, higher doses of hydrocodone take longer to leave the body than lower doses that a person takes for a shorter time. The American Addiction Centers also list symptoms that people who take hydrocodone report less frequently. These are:. Hydrocodone also has the potential to cause weak or shallow breathing, so people with asthma or a respiratory condition should check with their doctor about other forms of treatment.
Hydrocodone is an addictive drug, so it is not uncommon for people to misuse it or consume more than the prescribed dose. One condition that can occur in people who misuse opioids, including hydrocodone, is narcotic bowel syndrome , in which the drug causes bowel function to slow. If a person misuses hydrocodone by taking it via the nose, it can cause them to lose their sense of smell.
Snorting the drug can also lead to nosebleeds, congestion, and frequent sinus infections. People who are addicted to drugs might want to steal this medicine. This medicine will add to the effects of alcohol and other CNS depressants medicines that can make you drowsy or less alert.
Some examples of CNS depressants are antihistamines or medicine for allergies or colds, sedatives, tranquilizers, or sleeping medicine, other prescription pain medicine or narcotics, medicine for seizures or barbiturates, muscle relaxants, or anesthetics numbing medicines , including some dental anesthetics.
Also, there may be a greater risk of liver damage if you drink three or more alcoholic beverages while you are taking acetaminophen. Do not drink alcoholic beverages, and check with your doctor before taking any of these medicines while you are using this medicine. This medicine may be habit-forming. If you feel that the medicine is not working as well, do not use more than your prescribed dose.
If you think you or someone else may have taken an overdose of this medicine, get emergency help at once. Your doctor may also give naloxone to treat an overdose. Signs of an overdose include: cold, clammy skin, coughing that sometimes produces a pink frothy sputum, dark urine, difficult or trouble breathing, irregular, fast or slow, or shallow breathing, nausea, vomiting, pain in the upper stomach, pale or blue lips, fingernails, or skin, pinpoint pupils of the eyes, or yellow eyes or skin.
This medicine may cause sleep-related breathing problems eg, sleep apnea, sleep-related hypoxemia. Your doctor may decrease your dose if you have sleep apnea stop breathing for short periods during sleep while using this medicine. This medicine may cause adrenal gland problems. Check with your doctor right away if you have darkening of the skin, diarrhea, dizziness, fainting, loss of appetite, mental depression, nausea, skin rash, unusual tiredness or weakness, or vomiting.
Check with your doctor right away if you have pain or tenderness in the upper stomach, pale stools, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, unusual tiredness or weakness, or yellow eyes or skin. These could be symptoms of a serious liver problem. This medicine may cause serious skin reactions eg, acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis. Check with your doctor right away if you have blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, chills, cough, diarrhea, itching, joint or muscle pain, red irritated eyes, red skin lesions, often with a purple center, sore throat, sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips, or unusual tiredness or weakness.
This medicine may cause a serious type of allergic reaction called anaphylaxis, which can be life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention. Call your doctor right away if you have a rash, itching, hoarseness, trouble breathing, trouble swallowing, or any swelling of your hands, face, or mouth while you are using this medicine. Dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting may occur when you get up suddenly from a lying or sitting position.
Getting up slowly may help lessen this problem. Also, lying down for a while may relieve dizziness or lightheadedness. This medicine may make you dizzy, drowsy, or lightheaded. Do not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you.
Using narcotics for a long time can cause severe constipation. To prevent this, your doctor may direct you or your child to take laxatives, drink a lot of fluids, or increase the amount of fiber in your diet. Be sure to follow the directions carefully, because continuing constipation can lead to more serious problems. Before you or your child have any medical tests, tell the medical doctor in charge that you are taking this medicine.
The results of certain tests may be affected by this medicine. Do not change your dose or suddenly stop using this medicine without first checking with your doctor. Your doctor may want you or your child to gradually reduce the amount you are using before stopping it completely.
This may help prevent worsening of your condition and reduce the possibility of withdrawal symptoms, including stomach cramps, anxiety, fever, nausea, runny nose, sweating, tremors, or trouble with sleeping. Using this medicine while you are pregnant may cause serious unwanted effects, including neonatal withdrawal syndrome in your newborn baby.
Tell your doctor right away if your child has an abnormal sleep pattern, diarrhea, a high-pitched cry, irritability, shakiness or tremors, sneezing, weight loss, vomiting, yawning, or failure to gain weight.
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