Extraordinary dangers of Vicadin and our medical system

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A few months ago I had a bad wisdom tooth pulled and was given a bottle of hydrocodone (Vicadin). At the same time I was having a minor operation on my leg to remove a small growth. That doctor gave me a bottle of hydrocodone as well. Early in the month I had a crown put on that was very painful and to be honest I was taking the pills (as directed) for that because the pain was awful. I noticed the first time taking the pills that I felt on cloud 9, like I was in heaven or something. I have never tampered with any form of illegal drug or even this kind of medication (not even pot) before. All my troubles went away and even my Asperger symptoms tend to be relieved. I wasn't depressed or moody at all and slept like a baby. I would attempt to go off of it for a couple of days but my tooth would start hurting again, so I would pop another pill. Anyway, I finally got myself to quit after going through one and a half bottles. Trust me, I had other aches and pains and excuses to still keep popping them, but I willed myself to quit because knew that there was something just not right about it. My wife even had a bottle of Oxycontin (same thing practically) that she didn't finished and I had my eye on that bottle.

A week later I noticed that my hearing was poor in my right ear. It was like almost 60 percent gone. I thought maybe it was an ear infection and I haven't even gone to the doctor about it yet. Here we are a few months later and I feel like my hearing on that side is about 80 percent and after doing some research I've discovered that Vicadin can cause permanent hearing loss (if abused, yea right!). I didn’t' abuse this drug but I truly feel that I've lost hearing because of it. I fully informed my second doctor that I was taking Vicadin for my tooth. How can our medical system potentially destroy people's lives like this? I guarantee thousands of people in this country are abusing these drugs now because of how our doctors have pedaled them. For anyone reading this, if you are prescribed these pills be careful like your life depended on it and maybe even try to avoid taking one pill.

I know that long-term use of pain medication can cause hearing damage/loss. Perhaps you're one of those unlucky ones who experienced said side-effect in short order, or perhaps it was a mixture of the two types?

Medication is there to help; if the negatives outweigh the positives in one's situation, one "should" stop taking such. Some people experience bad side-effects (like some people who are immunized; there's no difference). Some people abuse medication (these people tend to make it bad for the people who actually need them).

I'm not even necessarily just talking about the hearing loss. The chemical changes it does to your brain within a short about of time ( 2 or 3 pills) is amazing. I felt like I had to have it after a few times just to feel normal. It is extremely addictive and is a danger in itself. Even though I felt amazing while taking it, away from it I felt like I was missing a limb or something. It is brain washing.
Just stop for a minute and think about the money that is being made from this drug and wouldn't it be profitable for you to continue to take it because you are dependent on it? SOme people who are using Vicadin illegal and legally are switching to heroine (similar chemical structure as Vicadin) because it is cheaper than the street value of Oxy at $80 a pill.

Perhaps your neurological makeup isn't suited for medication that is so effective in alleviating symptoms?

I've been on Morphine, and it didn't make me feel how you describe, other than removing the pain of my wounds. I'm on sedatives quite frequently (Valium for example), and I don't feel anything other than a lessening of anxiety. I don't/didn't feel that I lost anything when I stopped taking these; the pain was gone, so I didn't need the Morphine, and with the Valium, my anxiety just comes back.

I was given a prescription for Vicodin after I had my wisdom teeth pulled, but I didn't want to mess with such a powerful painkiller, so I just took Advil and put up with the pain. Those painkillers are powerfully addictive (although in the short-term it really shouldn't be an issue for most people), so it is better to avoid them if you can. I'm lucky I have a very high pain tolerance. Even when I was in the hospital with a ruptured appendix I would turn down offers of morphine from the nurses.

I'm sorry you've experienced this hearing loss. Have you seen an audiologist? You may be a candidate for hearing aids.

I'm going to post something so Aspie and so random only WE on this forum understands. lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXI4KinMOys

Yeah, it's not as much that the medication on its own is addictive, it's that some people have a predisposition to get high from it, which can result in addiction. It results in physical dependency after awhile, but so do a lot of medications that are never or only rarely deemed addictive (anti-convulsants, neuroleptcs, etc).

I've had Vicodin with tooth extractions and similar drugs in the hospital after operations and stuff. They make me feel fuzzy and out of it and vaguely queasy. When I get those things through an IV at the hospital, the onset often causes an awful feeling all over my body, almost painful, certainly very disturbing and uncomfortable. I have been told that the fuzzy feeling is what addicts would experience as a 'high' and have euphoria with, and the awful wrenchingly painful sensation in IVs is what addicts would experience as a 'rush' and see it as pleasant. Which means there must be something in the body or brain makeup of addicts that makes those drugs make them feel good, because I've never had that happen when on them at all, and actually neither have most people I know.

Edited to add: Vicodin is designed to be hard to abuse -- that's why there's also Tylenol in it, which would do severe damage if you took too much of it.

Let's not forget the psychophysical effects of vicodin and other pain killers, especially narcotic analgesics.

First, you must understand that I am a cop and am currently assigned to a unit that does nothing but DUI enforcement. In other words, my full time job is to seek out, test, arrest, and process impaired drivers. In most instances, that covers drunks, but in many instances the person is impaired by drugs -- illegal or legal.

I'd say about half of my drug impaired drivers are taking prescription meds, like vicodon. Often times their motor skills are worse than many drunks', so please remember that when you're given prescription pain meds. DON'T DRIVE!

It says such on the packets over here in Oz (well, it says, 'If you're affected, don't operate such and such'); albeit, I get a good chuckle when it's stuck to the Valium packet (ha), as that'd make most people feel out to it.

On addiction:

I haven't heard of the "high" thingy. I know there's the emotional addiction, which can be applied to anything that makes someone feel better, and physical dependence, which means that the body adapts to the drug, and one will need to take a higher dose to experience the same effect. I also know of how certain neurotransmitters will stop being produced if there's an influx of the same transmitters, and when one stops the medication that brings this influx, they suddenly have a far less amount of said transmitters (when it's involving a whole slew of mood altering neurotransmitters which many drugs affect, one can see how this would make someone wish to stay on it).

It's worth mentioning on this forum that people with ASDs do have a verifiable sensitivity to medication as a whole compared to the normal population. Whether having too much or too little of an effect, plus a greater risk of adverse side-effects.

Somewhat off-topic, mac266, but... don't forget to mention tiredness.

In the UK, one fifth of road traffic accidents are attributed directly to tiredness.

I haven't found an equivalent for mainland UK, but this report is for Northern Ireland, and table 6.6 says it all:
http://www.psni.police.uk/rtcs_fy200708.pdf

The whole table doesn't format very well here, but in order of number of collisions:
Principal Factor, Number of Collisions, then casualties, in the order killed, seriously injured, slightly injured and total:
Inattention 953 8 76 1,421 1,505
Driving too close 677 0 16 1,025 1,041
Emerging from minor road/driveway without care 616 8 74 887 969
Excessive speed having regard to conditions 523 37 204 699 940
Alcohol or drugs (All road users) 431 18 143 500 661
Turning right w/o care 363 4 68 527 599
Crossing/entering road junction w/o care 262 5 42 354 401
Wrong course/position 255 12 74 343 429