Having decided to take a drug you must consult with your doctor firstly, because there are a lot of circumstances which can bring different not desirable aftereffects of taking the drug. You should inform your doctor about the diseases that you may probably have. It is impotent for your doctor to know if you have such diseases like:
- alcohol or drug addiction
- kidney disease
- liver disease
- asthma
- retention of urine
- prostatism
- hypothyroidism
- convulsion or epilepsy
- gall bladder disease
- head injury or adrenocortical insufficiency
If you suffer from one of these diseases you shouldn’t take Vicodin or you may need to correct dosage or a special medical supervision.
Clinical trials proved that taking Vicodin combined with alcohol causes a lot of harm to your organism. Vicodin makes you feel sleepiness and giddiness. But the presence of alcohol in the blood apart from the drug may result in loss of consciousness and even death. Besides, acetaminophen combined with alcohol is very pernicious for your liver. As well as alcohol, drugs increase all side effects of Vicodin. Do not take Vicodin if you are a drug addicted person, because this will hurt your nervous system much more.
Hydrocodone may be habit-forming and should be used only by the person it was prescribed for. Vicodin should never be given to another person, especially someone who has a history of drug abuse or addiction. Keep the medication in a secure place where others cannot get to it.
Keep track of how many tablets have been used from each new bottle of this medicine. Hydrocodone is a drug of abuse and you should be aware if any person in the household is using this medicine improperly or without a prescription.
Vicodin belongs to the C category according to the FDA classification concerning pregnancy. This means that the deleterious effect on fetus wasn’t proved. Do not take Vicodin without consulting your doctor in the case you are pregnant. Try to avoid taking analgesics during pregnancy. Take them only when it is really necessary, because there’s a risk of neonatal withdrawal syndrome with chronic use, respiratory depression with high doses near term.
Vicodin penetrates into mother’s milk. That is why do not take Vicodin avoiding consulting with your doctor if you are a nursing mother.
If you are under 18 or over 60 you are exposed to harmful effects more than any other person. Having consulted with your doctor you may get a reduced dosage of medicine.