Vicodin Withdrawal and Detox

Vicodin Info

• Vicodin Addiction and Abuse
• Vicodin Symptoms and Warning Signs
• Vicodin Treatment and Rehab
• Vicodin Withdrawal and Detox

Vicodin is a painkiller comprising a combination of acetaminophen (brand name Tylenol) and hydrocodone. When used in the appropriate dose, Vicodin can cause pain relief for up to six hours, depending on user’s physiology. The drug is typically prescribed to patients for pain relief after surgery.

Because Vicodin is an opioid pain medication, it is highly addictive, which is why its sale and distribution is strictly covered by government regulation. If abused, you can develop a Vicodin tolerance, which will lead to you taking increasingly higher doses of the drug. Quitting Vicodin at this point might prove difficult, as physical dependence has likely set in and you’ll experience withdrawal symptoms whenever you fail to take a fresh dose.

Unlike most other opioid painkillers, abusing Vicodin can pose a direct risk to your health, as the drug can cause damage to your liver over time. In high doses, acetaminophen has been found to cause severe liver damage and allergic reactions in many people. Some users – especially those who abuse the drug recreationally – often end up in hospital due to an overdose.

To avoid any (and all) complications from Vicodin addiction, call us today on 0800 915 9402 to begin detoxification and withdrawal treatment. The sooner you quit Vicodin, the sooner you can retake control of your life and stay healthy.

What Is Vicodin Withdrawal?

Vicodin is a powerful narcotic with pain relief capabilities. Due to its narcotic nature, Vicodin is highly addictive and your body can easily develop a tolerance to it over a short period of time.

If you have developed an addiction to Vicodin, suddenly quitting the drug can lead to uncomfortable or even painful withdrawal symptoms. This is why it is recommended addicts be weaned off the drug gradually, rather than quit ‘cold turkey’. At times, even reducing the Vicodin dose too quickly can lead to a manifestation of withdrawal symptoms. By gradually tapering off dosage in the prescribed manner, withdrawal symptoms will likely be less intense and more tolerable.

Vicodin dependence – which will lead to withdrawal symptoms when you try to quit – can occur within just a few weeks of abusing the drug or even whilst using it according to prescription. This can lead you to use higher doses of Vicodin in order to stave off withdrawal symptoms. If you have a prescription for Vicodin and your recommended dose is no longer delivering the desired effect, immediately consult your doctor, as this could be a sign that you’ve developed an addiction.

When you stop taking Vicodin, withdrawal symptoms can begin to manifest as early as six to twelve hours after your last dose. After the initial onset of withdrawal symptoms, intensity of symptoms will like intensify over the next few days. Withdrawal symptoms can take up to a few weeks to eventually pass, but keep in mind the way in which withdrawal symptoms are felt will vary from individual to individual. Regardless the severity or mildness of symptoms, Vicodin withdrawal is rarely ever life-threatening.

Causes of Vicodin Withdrawal

Withdrawal is the combination of symptoms that addicts have to deal with when they attempt to quit an addictive substance of abuse. The symptoms are triggered by the body trying to adapt to the sudden chemical changes it is experiencing, whilst continuing to function without the influence of the substance of abuse.

Different classes of addictive substances usually have their own unique withdrawal

symptoms. However, for opioids like Vicodin, its oxycodone component targets certain brain receptors and interferes with pain signals. The drug can also influence the receptors related to your brain’s pleasure centres and reward system by reshaping its chemical structure. Once you stop abusing Vicodin, withdrawal symptoms will begin to manifest, as your brain’s receptors attempt to adapt to functioning without the effects of Vicodin’s active components.

The manner which you attempt quitting Vicodin will also play an essential role in determining how intense the resulting withdrawal symptoms will be. Quitting abruptly can lead to sudden and intense withdrawal symptoms. Meanwhile, gradually weaning yourself off the drug by tapering the dose can mitigate the severity of withdrawal.

Another factor that can lead to withdrawal is using certain substances alongside Vicodin that might interfere with the drug’s potency by negating its effects on the brain. Opioid agonists such as naltrexone, pentazocine, and butorphanol can have such an effect.

The Phases of Vicodin Withdrawal

The Vicodin withdrawal process can be generally classified in three phases; the early phase, peak phase, and the late phase.

• Early withdrawal phase: During this phase, symptoms will be mostly physical, but you might also experience intense cravings, insomnia, anxiety and restlessness. The other primary symptoms of the early phase are similar to that of the flu and can include: watery eyes, sweating, runny nose, body pains, dilated pupils, involuntary twitching, and chills.
• Peak withdrawal phase: This phase is often encountered within two to three days after the initial withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms can consist of increased severity of body pains and intensified flu-like symptoms. You might also experience abdominal cramping, vomiting, diarrhoea, elevated heart rate and breathing. Psychological symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, irritability, restlessness, depression, and cravings can also become more evident.
• Late withdrawal phase: Within seven to ten days, Vicodin withdrawal symptoms should begin to wane, with physical symptoms reducing as the brain begins to naturally produce more neurotransmitters. This will lead to improved mood and a more positive mind-set. You might still feel sluggish and fatigued, but these symptoms will fade in time. Long-term psychological complications such as anxiety and cravings might linger for a while longer, but this can be managed with rehab, such as behavioural therapy.

Withdrawal symptoms often vary from phase to phase. If you’d like more information about what you’ll likely experience during the phases of Vicodin withdrawal, dial our 24/7 helpline on 0800 915 9402.

Risks of Withdrawal

Vicodin withdrawal symptoms aren’t typically fatal or dangerous, unless not properly monitored and managed by healthcare professionals. However, there are risks associated with undergoing this process. Nonetheless, keep in mind that the risks of avoiding the withdrawal process and continuing with substance abuse greatly outweigh the risks of detoxification and withdrawal.

Some of the risks associated with Vicodin withdrawal include nausea and vomiting, which can lead to aspiration or accidentally breathing vomited material into the lungs. This can lead to serious health complications such as lung infection or pneumonia.

Diarrhoea, vomiting, and excessive sweating can also lead to dehydration, as your body loses fluids and electrolytes. This can lead to accelerated heart rate and even a heart attack, as well as other circulatory problems. This is why it’s important to stay properly hydrated throughout detox in order to avoid such complications.

Other risks can include the danger of major depressive disorder and the urge to use more drugs. The intensity of cravings places you at risk of suffering a fatal overdose in the event of a relapse. This is because detoxification reduces your tolerance and leads to your body being unable to handle the Vicodin dose it was accustomed to before detox. Furthermore, severe depression can place you at risk of self-injury or even attempted suicide.

How high or low the risks associated with Vicodin withdrawal are can be influenced by the following factors:

If you frequently abused increasingly higher doses of Vicodin over an extended period of time, your withdrawal symptoms will likely be more severe and this will in turn increase the risks of the withdrawal during the detox process.

The severity of Vicodin withdrawal symptoms are often dependent on the severity your substance dependence, as well as your physiology.

Timeline of Vicodin Withdrawal

Vicodin addicts tend to experience withdrawal symptoms differently, including how intensely symptoms manifest and how long they last.

The average timeline for Vicodin withdrawal symptoms to significantly dissipate (or end altogether) is seven to ten days, although psychological symptoms of withdrawal can last for as long as months. Also, even after addiction treatment is over, cravings for Vicodin can still suddenly crop up years later.

The worst of Vicodin withdrawal symptoms should pass after one to two weeks of the initial symptoms, but it’s difficult to accurately predict withdrawal timeline for each and every individual, as our bodies all operate uniquely.

Some recovering Vicodin addicts might also experience PAWS (post-acute withdrawal syndrome), which is a condition that makes it difficult to detox psychologically. This condition can last for weeks or months and is best treated in an inpatient addiction treatment facility, where round-the-clock medical supervision and care will be made available.

Factors Influencing Withdrawal and Detox

There are several factors that can affect the severity and duration of an individual’s withdrawal symptoms. These include:

You can also use replacement medication, such as buprenorphine or methadone to gradually quit Vicodin and minimise withdrawals.

Vicodin Detox Process

After you quit using Vicodin, the detox process commonly starts within eight hours after the last dose has left your system. Depending on physiology and other factors, detox can last for different amounts of time for different individuals. Said symptoms can be either physical or psychological and can vary in intensity. The detox process can be painful for people with a more severe addiction, but you can minimise the discomforts of detox by undergoing a medically supervised detox, where your condition will be managed and monitored by a team of medical professionals round-the-clock. This way, any health complications from withdrawal can be quickly and effectively attended to.

How to Safely Detox from Vicodin

At Addiction Helper, we strongly advise against trying to detox on your own. This is because a home detox for Vicodin addiction is rarely successful, and doing so without medical help is also quite unsafe. A few popular home remedies for opioid drug withdrawal include acupuncture, ginseng tea, and Tai-Kang-Ning supplements, but there is no noteworthy evidence of the efficacy of such treatments. This is why we recommend you forego a self-detox or home detox kit – or alternative methods such as natural treatments – and instead opt for immediate professional help from a proven Vicodin addiction treatment facility.

Whilst undergoing Vicodin detoxification, your body will make use of every possible means to expel elements of Vicodin from your system. This includes profuse sweating, vomiting and diarrhoea, which can lead to dehydration and a loss of much needed electrolytes. Also, if you’re detoxing from polydrug abuse (such as Vicodin combined with other substances), there is a risk of experiencing organ damage or failure. This means that although death brought on by withdrawal symptoms is rare, it can still occur due to complications with other withdrawal symptoms.

Therefore, if you would like to safely make a full recovery with your symptoms properly managed by experienced professionals, let us arrange for your admission to a reputable addiction treatment facility in your area (or abroad) for detox treatment. Our service is hassle-free to ensure you get all the help and support you need, without any worries.

Medically Supervised Vicodin Withdrawal Detox

For the sake of your long-term health, it’s best to undergo Vicodin withdrawal detox in a medical facility, such as a detox centre or hospital. This is because such a facility can deliver medically supervised Vicodin withdrawal treatment that helps you avoid most – or even all – the adverse symptoms associated with this process.

Medication-assisted detox has grown in popularity over the years, because of its ability to minimise the discomforts one would normally experience during detox. The process is carried out by a medical expert administering medications that will simulate the effects of Vicodin in the brain and thus trick your system into believing that you’re still taking the drug. The benefit of this is that it will significantly reduce the severity of your withdrawal symptoms. You can also be administered other medication to effectively manage symptoms such as diarrhoea and nausea.

At Addiction Helper, we are in touch with some of the best addiction recovery clinics available in the UK and abroad. We can arrange individualised treatment that will not only ease the discomforts of withdrawal, but also help you make a quick and healthy recovery.

Some of the prescription medication commonly used during a medically supervised/assisted detox for opioid drugs like Vicodin include:

Medications Used During Vicodin Detox

Naloxone (which can commonly be found under the brand name Narcan) is another popular medication of choice for treating opioid addiction. Naloxone temporarily stops the brain from absorbing opioid medication by binding to opioid receptors quicker than the opioids can. However, naloxone is only a temporary solution for treating symptoms of a Vicodin overdose. This means that the drug isn’t ideal for addressing withdrawal symptoms.

There are also non-drug therapies for easing Vicodin withdrawal symptoms, such as massage, meditation or acupuncture, which can help make you feel more relaxed and comfortable throughout the detox process. Such treatments are better used as complementary therapies, rather than primary detox treatments.

If you would like to know what your options are concerning a medical detox for Vicodin addiction, contact us today via our confidential helpline on 0800 915 9402.

Rapid Detoxification Programmes

Rapid detoxification programmes are chosen by individuals who can afford it and would rather not experience any of the withdrawal symptoms of opioid detox. The process involves being admitted into a medical facility, where you’ll be rendered unconscious with the help of anaesthesia. This will be followed by opioid blockers such as naloxone being administered, with the aim of flushing all elements of the opioid from your body within a day or two, whilst you’re unconscious. The treatment is designed to make it possible for you to go to sleep and wake up addiction-free, without experiencing any withdrawal symptoms.

It sounds like a wonder remedy to addiction, but rapid detox isn’t very reliable. A range of research has indicated that the treatment doesn’t actually work, as people who undergo rapid detox wake with their body free of opioids, but their brain yet to adjust to the neurotransmitter release. Also, relapse rates are high amongst individuals who opt for a rapid detox. Being under anaesthesia for that long is also potentially dangerous.

Medication-assisted detox might take longer than a rapid detox – and you’ll still have to go through certain withdrawal symptoms – but it is nonetheless a verified approach to successfully treating Vicodin addiction.

Treatment for Withdrawal

Treatment for addiction recovery typically starts with detoxification to rid your body of any and all Vicodin related toxins. The detox process is often an arduous one due to withdrawal symptoms, which can range from being uncomfortable to downright painful.

Once detox is completed, your treatment will continue with rehab and therapy from counsellors to help you identify and understand the root cause of your addiction, as well as figure out how to deal with such stressors and triggers.

Treatment for withdrawal symptoms during detox can be delivered either through an inpatient treatment facility or an outpatient one.
Inpatient treatment: Inpatient treatment provides a sober environment, where you’ll be provided care 24/7. Your withdrawal symptoms will be monitored and managed round-the-clock by medical professionals to ensure there are no long-term complications. Medication can also be made available at an inpatient facility to help ease the strain of withdrawal symptoms. Because inpatient treatment offers a controlled environment that’s free of stressors and triggers (that can lead to a relapse), you can stay focused on making a full recovery and long-term sobriety.
Outpatient treatment: If your withdrawal symptoms are not severe, you can benefit from treatment at an outpatient facility that requires you to only come in for scheduled treatment and therapy, and leave as soon as you are finished receiving care for the day. At an outpatient facility, you can get the care you need without it interfering with your usual day to day activities.

If you’re unsure if inpatient or outpatient withdrawal treatment is best for you, our experts at Addiction Helper can help you make the right choice by properly evaluating your condition and recommending the best treatment facilities in your area. Keep in mind that inpatient facilities are generally ideal for people with severe addictions, while outpatient treatment can be sufficient for people with less severe symptoms. We can also arrange for a combination of outpatient and inpatient treatment for optimal results and to help you make a full recovery.

Types of therapy provided at inpatient and outpatient clinics to help manage withdrawal symptoms can include individual and group therapy, family therapy, as well as an integrated co-occurring disorders treatment to identify any mental and behavioural disorders that might be afflicting you, alongside your addiction.

With our help, you can make a full recovery and prevent a relapse. Speak to one of our Vicodin Intake Coordination Specialists now by dialling 0800 915 9402 for our confidential helpline.

Withdrawing from Vicodin: Treatment Methods and Options

If your addiction to Vicodin is severe, it’s best to undergo detoxification in an inpatient facility during the first few days of withdrawal. The longer you spend in an inpatient facility, the better, because by choosing this option, you’ll be able to focus on detoxification and recovery, without distractions.

In most scenarios, physical symptoms of Vicodin detoxification will dissipate after the first week. However, before going into detoxification, it’s best to understand what your options are concerning Vicodin withdrawal treatment methods. You could opt for a rapid detoxification, which can be completed within several hours. A rapid detox will make it possible for you to rid your body of Vicodin related toxins without having to experience any of the withdrawal symptoms. Because rapid detoxification won’t work for everyone, it’s best to verify if it’s right for you before deciding. Factors such as Vicodin consumption, medical history and tolerance will all determine what withdrawal treatment method will deliver positive long-term results.

You could also opt for more traditional forms of detoxification, such as tapering or a medically assisted detox. This process will require you to be conscious whilst undergoing treatment, which means you’ll experience withdrawal symptoms, albeit minimised. For severe withdrawals, clonidine might be administered to reduce cramping, muscle aches, agitation, and other uncomfortable symptoms during the detoxification process.

Drug treatment for withdrawal

Whilst admitted to an inpatient facility, medical experts might determine that medication is necessary to help you make a full recovery and manage severe withdrawal symptoms. If that’s the case, drugs such as Buprenorphine, Naltrexone, Methadone and Naloxone might be administered.

Methadone and Buprenorphine are synthetic opioids that are capable of reducing cravings and managing other withdrawal symptoms. Naloxone and Naltrexone can be described as opioid receptor blockers and are both effective at negating the effects of Vicodin. Administering receptor blockers is useful, because it will prevent an addict from experiencing any of the desired effects of abusing Vicodin.

Guided Vicodin therapy

Once all Vicodin related toxins have been cleansed from your body via detoxification, drug rehabilitation can commence. During the rehabilitation phase, underlying causes for your substance abuse and dependence will be treated. This is often undertaken with the assistance of mental health experts. Support groups can also be used as a form of therapy.

Also, rehab will teach you how to cope with stressors, triggers, and other situations that might cause you to abuse Vicodin or other addictive substances. Family therapy can also be used to educate your loved ones about how to support you in coping with a drug-free life and staying sober long-term.

Once you have all the tools to live a fulfilling and healthy life without drugs, the recovery phase will commence. At this stage, a strong support system (that will be there for you emotionally and in other ways) will be developed to help you get back on your feet and re-join the world, with a mindset that’s fully focused on sobriety.

Live a Sober Life Again

Not only will our treatment options guarantee a full recovery, they’ll also significantly reduce the chances of relapse by caring for both the psychological and physiological aspects of your addiction. Call us today on 0800 915 9402 for a confidential and no-obligation conversation to discover more.

Also, remember that the sooner you get treatment, the better – not just you, but also your loved ones, who will benefit fully from you breaking free of Vicodin addiction.

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