Vicodin is an opiate that is
prescribed for moderate to severe pain. Vicodin is a combination
of hydrocodone and acetaminophen taken for its pain relieving
properties. Opiates such as Vicodin mimic the natural brain
pain reliving chemicals endorphin which then distributes to
receptor-sites that can be found in the spinal cord, and brain.
Once these chemicals contact the receptors, they change how
we feel pain. Vicodin affects areas of the brain that control
how we experience pleasure and pain, which result in the euphoric
(a high) affects that opiates produce.
Regular Vicodin usage eventually
brings on developed tolerance to the drug that leads to an
increase in dosages to produce the same initial effects. Physical
dependence will result from long-term use when the body adapts
to the narcotic. Withdrawal symptoms can include vomiting,
diarrhea, insomnia, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, hot
and cold flashes with goose bumps, and involuntary leg spasms.
You would effectively treat a
Vicodin addiction in the same way as any other opiate addiction
even heroin addiction treatment. Long term Vicodin use changes
the fundamental brain function, which explains why it is so
difficult for people to quit on their own, and why Vicodin
addiction detox and treatment are so essential for an early
and permanent recovery.
