So I’m on Vicodin. There are lots of interesting things about using Vicodin. First the boring but important things…it treats pain, and contains acetaminophen (Tylenol) and hydrocodone (a narcotic). Like many drugs they don’t know exactly how it works, for instance the acetaminophen makes the hydrocodone work better, but they don’t know why.
Now some of the maybe more interesting things…
I am taking a narcotic every three hours and I am still allowed to drive! Although there are frequent reminders that I “be careful” if I drive. Really, “be careful?” Isn’t one of the problems that maybe it clouds your judgement and reaction time which actually means that I would be less capable of “being careful?” In the interest of full disclosure, I have tried to avoid driving, but I have done driven.
It does say that I should avoid alcohol while on the medication, which I have been doing.
There are lots of nifty potential side-effects like constipation (which hasn’t been a problem), headaches, nausea, and dry mouth.
Out of all of this the issue that gives me the most concern is that the drug is often habit forming.
When I had knee surgery as a teenager, I took one, maybe two of my pain killers. Later when I threw my back out, I did the same thing with my pain killers and muscle relaxers. I didn’t like the way they made me feel and the narcotics in particular made me paranoid.
For years I have wondered why doctors even prescribe potentially habit forming drugs. It seems irresponsible.
But now I understand. This time is different. The release these drugs bring from what would otherwise be an ever-present and penetrating pain is hard to turn down.
The cost of the relief is peace of mind.
I am constantly worried, wondering if I am becoming an addict under physician supervision. How will I know when I am no longer taking them for pain and I’m taking them for some other reason. What will that reason be? What will I be telling myself? The one thing I have noticed is that whether I am in pain or not, it is hard to sleep without them. Is that the first step?
Should the doctor have briefed me on these things? Should I have asked? I wonder if more up front education would help prevent addiction. Maybe they could give me warning signs to look for.
I just googled vicodin addiction. That was scary. http://www.vicodin-addiction.com/ is a website produced by a treatment program. Maybe it is in their interest to make it sound scarier than it is. But they say that the Vicodin leads your brain to stop making its own endorphins. Normally, endorphins make you feel good, but if the Vidodin is doing the trick by making you feel good, then your brain doesn’t need to keep making endorphins. However when you quit there is a time period when you just wouldn’t have chemicals to make you feel good. That is only for awhile of course, but still, I can see how it would be hard to quit.
At this point, all I can think to do is wait for my surgery, which is soon, and get off this stuff as soon as possible.
Until then, …I worry.
