Hydrocodone addiction is a growing crisis in the United States. While illegal drugs like cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin remain in the headlines many individuals may be surprised to know that hydrocodone addiction could lurk right behind them as one of the most widely-abused drugs of addiction. Hydrocodone, in the many different types of pharmaceuticas that contain this drug, are the number ONE complaint for calls to Colorado Drug Rehab. In fact, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration believes hydrocodone may be the most abused prescription drug in the country. Nationwide, its use has quadrupled in the last ten years, while emergency room visits attributed to hydrocodone abuse soared 500 percent. Call 1-877-444-1137 if you would like to know more about Hydrocodone addiction and/or drug rehab or residential treatment for this and other drugs.
Subject to individual tolerance, many medical experts believe dependence or addiction can occur within one to four weeks at higher doses of Hydrocodone. Published reports of high profile movie stars, TV personalities and professional athletes who are recovering from Hydrocodone addiction are grim testimony to its debilitating effects.
Vicodin is a brand of hydrocodone, a powerful and addictive painkiller. Vicoden has a street value of between $2 and $4 per pill. The effects are very similar to that of other opiods that are usually prescribed to manage pain.
When someone is addicted to Vicodin and stop using the drug, they can experience withdrawal symptoms including restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps involuntary leg movements, watery eyes, runny nose, loss of appetite, irritability, panic, nausea, chills, and sweating.
Vicodin addiction not only effects the elderly population are particularly vulnerable to abuse and misuse of the drug but many young adults and teens are getting hooked on the drug as well.
One contributing factor to Vicodin addiction is the increased accessibility to the drug. More people are being prescribed Vicodin every day, for a variety of health reasons. Many of them are then becoming hooked on the drug. Vicodin addiction is so severe for some that that they are obtaining medications illegally through Web sites that do not require a legal prescription.
Hydrocodone is a narcotic that can produce a calm, euphoric state similar to heroin or morphine--and despite such important and obvious benefits in pain relief, evidence is pointing to chronic addiction. Pure hydrocodone is a Schedule II substance, closely controlled with restricted use. But very few prescription drugs are pure hydrocodone. Instead, small amounts of hydrocodone are mixed with other non-narcotic ingredients to create medicines like Vicodin and Lortab. This means they can be classified under Schedule III with fewer restrictions on their use and distribution.
Every age group has been affected by the relative ease of hydrocodone availability and the perceived safety of these products by professionals. Sometimes seen as a "white-collar" addiction, hydrocodone abuse has increased among all ethnic and economic groups. DAWN data demographics suggest that the most likely hydrocodone abuser is a 20-40 yr old, white, female, who uses the drug because she is dependent or trying to commit suicide. However, hydrocodone-related deaths have been reported from every age grouping.
Hydrocodone is structurally related to codeine and is approximately equal in strength to morphine in producing opiate-like effects. The first report that hydrocodone produced a noticeable euphoria and symptoms of addiction was published in 1923; the first report of hydrocodone addiction in the U.S. was published in 1961.
|
