[Lyric]

Earlier this year I had a back injury and developed an addiction to hydrocodone. I am going to be truthful here and say that at this time I was going through a lot in my personal life and I began taking it as an escape from reality even after I didn't need it for back pain. On most days I took probably five to eight of the 10mg pills. On a particularly bad day I took 18 pills...so 180mg of hydrocodone. I didn't realize how much I was taking because I was sleeping all day and when I would wake up dissorianted I would take more. That afternoon I got super sweaty and shakey. I began passing out. I then started throwing up. After throwing up I felt better but still really bad. That day really woke me up to what I was doing to myself. I would also take Flexiril muscle relaxers and liquid Oxycodone, but it was mainly hydrocodone. This went on for about three months hardcore before I got a handle on it. Should I be concerned about my organs? Was my usage prolonged enough to cause serious damage? What about the one day I overdosed? Thanks for your help.

[rxchick78]

First of all, you are very lucky to still be alive. I hope that you learned a lot from that and don't do that to yourself again. Secondly, it's not hydrocodone that I'd be worried about. Hydrocodone is typically only found in combination with acetaminophen (Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet) or ibuprofen (Vicoprofen). If you were taking hydrocodone/acetaminophen there are several different strengths available, with acetaminophen dosages ranging from 325mg to 660mg. At minimum, you probably ingested 5.85 grams of acetaminophen. At maximum, it would be more like 11.9 grams. Maximum daily dose of acetaminophen is 4 grams. Anything more than that can cause severe liver damage. And could definitely kill you. Ingesting too much hydrocodone can cause problems of its own. It can cause severe respiratory depression, meaning you aren't able to breathe. It can also cause constipation. You may want to see a doctor just to make sure there aren't any problems with your liver. Just know that what you did was not safe at all, and you could have impaired liver function for the rest of your life. Definitely get it checked out. Have them check your liver enzymes just to be safe. Probably also want to limit the amount of acetaminophen (Tylenol) you're taking. I hope this helps.