Posted by med_empowered on December 6, 2005, at 17:27:17
In reply to Vicodin, posted by rjlockhart on December 6, 2005, at 14:11:27
Vicodin and the others (Lortab, Norco, etc.) are schedule III substances; Oxycontin, etc. (Perocet, Percodan, etc.) are schedule II---its understood that Vicodin **usually** isn't much of a problem, as long as its properly RX'd (correct dosage, correct period of time, do a nice, slow taper). I think a lot of the "addiction" has to do with patient mis-management...docs are too busy apparently to do a nice, slow taper, so they either suddenly take patients off the Vicodin (inducing withdrawal that I imagine would make some pursue illicit sources of the drug) or they dont even bother and keep the patient on it for a good long while. Either way...opiate "addiction" isn't so terrible; it doesn't damage any of the major organs or anything, and "withdrawal" basically consists of intense nausea/vomiting for a bit, and then...nothing. No seizures, psychosis, or anything like that. In general, the US has a *big* problem with *under-treatment* of pain, not "addiction" to pain killers. There's a tendency to use "non-addictive" meds in the place of meds that actually work. Its a sad state of affairs.
poster:med_empowered
thread:586113
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051203/msgs/586180.html