What is Hydrocodone (Vicodin)?

Hydrocodone is a substance commonly prescribed by doctors to treat intense and chronic pain. The name that most people know hydrocodone by is Vicodin. 

It’s a drug that effectively treats pain, but improper use can lead to serious addiction. We’re going to talk about what hydrocodone is in this article, touching on what to do if you’re prescribed it. 

Hopefully, the ideas below will give you a better understanding of the substance as well as how you can approach it to avoid dependency. 

So, what is hydrocodone? Keep reading to find out.

What is Hydrocodone: A Brief Guide

Hydrocodone is classified as an opioid. More specifically, it’s an analgesic. Analgesics relieve pain, whereas anaesthetics remove almost all sensations for a period of time. 

Opioids interact with the communication between your nervous system and your brain, muting or altering feelings of pain. They can also modulate the way that you react to pain emotionally, making them an effective way to recover from surgeries, massive injuries, and chronic pain. 

On the other side of things, though, hydrocodone can produce a euphoric effect. When used outside of medical treatment, people use the drug to contribute to relaxation, euphoria, eased anxiety, or to fall asleep. 

Those effects can lead directly to addiction. 

On top of those effects, the body might develop a dependency upon hydrocodone and lead to physical addiction. The individual might experience cravings when they’re not using and seek out more to ease those cravings. 

This can occur when a person uses hydrocodone as medically advised as well. While it’s unlikely that you will develop an addiction if you use the medication as prescribed, it’s still possible. 

One common way that individuals find themselves addicted is when they take more than prescribed without consulting a doctor. Your body will develop a tolerance to the prescribed amount, and it might seem necessary to take more in order to relieve the pain. 

Hydrocodone and Abuse

When you increase your dosage without consulting with a professional, you start to carve the way for dependency. Your physical pain can leave, but the physical dependency upon the drug may not go away as easily. 

The longer the habit persists, the more severe and intense the relationship between the person and hydrocodone. It’s also important to note that hydrocodone abuse can lead to overdose and death in high amounts. 

Small instances of hydrocodone misuse don’t lead to death in most cases, but hydrocodone abuse leads to a lot of fatalities. 

The key thing to understand is that one shouldn’t use different types of hydrocodone without a prescription. Additionally, one should always use the substance as prescribed. 

If you feel that you or a loved one might have an issue with hydrocodone abuse, there are options for help. 

Need Help with Addiction?

To recap, what is hydrocodone?

It’s something that can treat pain when used as prescribed. It’s also incredibly addictive when you use more than a doctor advises. If you’re starting to slip into an addiction, though, we’re here to help. 

Contact us or explore our site for options to break free of addiction.