Anyone familiar with hydrocodone addiction?

[Xithras]

OK, here's the backstory. Sunday afternoon I'm working in my long-neglected yard, trying to avoid the irritated glares from my neighbors as I cut back my badly overgrown tree. As I was bringing one particularly large armload of branches down the ladder, I suddenly felt this searing pain in my back...it kinda felt like someone had kicked me in the @$%'s while jamming a soldering iron into my back. Ouch. For hours afterward my back was twitching and stiff, I couldn't move, I couldn't bend, and all I wanted to do was soak in a hot bath.

After a few hours of this, my angelic wife brought me a bottle of mana, the healing nectar of the gods that magically made my pain go away and my back start working again. It was a bottle of hydrocodone left over from a minor surgery she had a short while back. Since then, I've been happily munching on these happy pills whenever my back starts to act up again.

As I'm sitting here a short while ago, it hit me...HYDROCODONE. This is the crap that OxyRush was addicted to! That, of course, made me wonder just how long it takes to get addicted to these things. Can you get hooked in just a few days, or do you need to be a long term user? Should I switch to something less addictive? Or am I fine dealing with this stuff for a few days time?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. It depends on the person/personality.

I have a standing order for Vicodin (generic=Hydrocodone). It pretty much sits in the cupboard until the pain gets really bad. If you find yourself needing it for no good reason other than to take it then I would get some help. BUT, seeing as it is your wife's prescription, I would go get your back looked at and maybe the doctor can give you other options.

[LeftyMom]

2. Rush has a problem with Oxycodone (OxyContin) I thought

Hydrocodone is Vicodin. Potentially addictive, but not nearly to the same degree.

[Xithras]

3. He was on Oxycontin, Hydrocodone, and Lorcet

An equal opportunity addict, by all accounts.

[LeftyMom]

4. That sounds a bit like a friend's now-ex

He really struggled with a painkiller addiction after an amputation. In his case he'd quit or cut way down on the pills but then ramp up his drinking to compensate. It was scary as hell.

[radwriter0555]

5. Hydrocodone aka Vicodin is an excellent painkiller. A couple of days

isn't an addiction, but you can simply stop taking them.

If your pain returns, go see your doctor to properly treat and heal your injury.

[skygazer]

6. Hydrocodone is Vicodin

Which is not what Rush was on - that was Oxycontin. They're both painkillers and you can, of course, get addicted to Vicodin but not the way it sounds like you're using them.

My suggestions - the hot bath is a bad idea. Heat simply increases swelling. Ice, my friend, is what your back need. Also anti-inflammatories. I would suggest a chiropractor myself.

I personally never take more than 2 vicodin in a day. I've never felt like I needed more than that, even when I broke my back.

[CabalPowered]

7. I think hydrocodone only has 5mg of vicodin in it

You'll be fine. If you really want to kick the habit though, double your dosage and puke for a few hours. My GF just went through that after getting her wisdom teeth pulled. She took a normal dosage but puked a few hours afterwards and never touched the pills again. She's petite though so I think the average dose was too much for her.

[Throd]

8. Be very careful with it.

The transition between proper use and addiction can be very subtle. I didn't know I was addicted until my prescription ran out. I once used a six month supply in 30 days.