# My first Vicodin **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 5, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967 "2005-10-05T23:35:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/1 "2005-10-05T23:35:03Z")
Well, the generic version anyway. Turns out I grind my teeth. Cracked a molar. Ouch. Today I had the molar yanked out, and a stud for an implant put in. They gave me Vicodin for the pain. The novocaine started wearing off after about four hours, so I took a pill about 90 minutes ago. It’s working well. But now I’m a little dizzy. I think it’s the Djarum (clove) I’m smoking. (Yes, I know. I really _am_ going to quit.) I’ve been told that there’s codeine in Vicodin. I had codeine the last time I banged up my knees. The room started spinning. Didn’t like that, so I just took aspirin. I guess Vicodin is not as strong as the stuff they gave me after my knee surgery. And yes, I used N[sub]2[/sub]O during the surgery today. First time, so they gave me the least amount. I liked it. Music for tooth extraction: Various old-school Punk and Industrial stuff on my iPod. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/2 "2005-10-05T23:41:04Z")
Vicodin is LURVELY. Had it for hand surgery. I just remember most rosey happy sunshiney feeling. I had several left over, asked the Doctor about them and he gave some rather odd advice: Keep them for serious pain, like a badly sprained ankle…don’t keep them in the medicine cabinet (They’ll disappear if you have people over), and don’t go partying with them. I suspect my Doctor had a pretty exciting time in medschool. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/3 "2005-10-05T23:44:51Z")
> [@Unintentionally Blank](#): > > Vicodin is LURVELY. Well, my surgery site doesn’t hurt. So I guess it is. There’s a sore spot on my tongue though. The assistant said I have a strong tongue and it’s very curious. She had a job keeping it out of the way of the surgery. She told me it might be sore. (‘Strong tongue’? I nearly said something inappropriate. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/4 "2005-10-05T23:46:48Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Well, the generic version anyway. > > Turns out I grind my teeth. Cracked a molar. Ouch. Today I had the molar yanked out, and a stud for an implant put in. They gave me Vicodin for the pain. The novocaine started wearing off after about four hours, so I took a pill about 90 minutes ago. It’s working well. > > But now I’m a little dizzy. I think it’s the Djarum (clove) I’m smoking. (Yes, I know. I really _am_ going to quit.) > > I’ve been told that there’s codeine in Vicodin. I had codeine the last time I banged up my knees. The room started spinning. Didn’t like that, so I just took aspirin. I guess Vicodin is not as strong as the stuff they gave me after my knee surgery. > > And yes, I used N[sub]2[/sub]O during the surgery today. First time, so they gave me the least amount. I liked it. > > Music for tooth extraction: Various old-school Punk and Industrial stuff on my iPod. Vicodin is basically Tylenol with synthetic codeine (hydrocodone) added. It can affect some people differently than codeine. It doesn’t even give me a buz. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/5 "2005-10-05T23:47:32Z")
You know that feeling the very second the Vicodin kicks in and the pain just…stops? I love that feeling. I don’t like the high that comes shortly afterward (I tend to sleep a lot), but that freedom from pain is just super. And I’m so paranoid about risking a narcotics addiction that I get off the painkillers ASAP, but I do try to enjoy it while I need it. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/6 "2005-10-05T23:49:27Z")
Before I had back surgery, I used to eat them like candy. Barely took the edge off the pain, but I could still funciton for the most part. I did discover they would not fit in a pez despenser. After surgery…well…I’ve had the same bottle for the last three years or so, and it still has some left. I rarely have to take them now. But they still work well when it gets really bad. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/7 "2005-10-05T23:59:09Z")
I had to take it for a few days after surgery several years ago. It made my head buzz unpleasantly, but I must say it worked really really well on the pain. Nice stuff. ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/8 "2005-10-06T00:00:49Z")
I have to have pain so bad that it’s either take a vicodin or kill myself, because that stuff makes me so ill. Codeine does, too, for that matter. And it doesn’t get rid of the pain, not by a long shot. It just makes it bearable. To the point that I no longer feel I have to kill myself, but not to the point that I can actually function again. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/9 "2005-10-06T00:01:22Z")
> [@SusanStoHelit](#): > > Vicodin is basically Tylenol with synthetic codeine (hydrocodone) added. It can affect some people differently than codeine. It doesn’t even give me a buz. So in effect, I could probably get by just with Motrin (ibuprophen)? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/10 "2005-10-06T00:06:13Z")
> [@SusanStoHelit](#): > > Vicodin is basically Tylenol with synthetic codeine (hydrocodone) added. It can affect some people differently than codeine. It doesn’t even give me a buz. When I was given it for post-op pain, and more recently in syrup form for a bad cough, my impression was that it was quite affective for both those therapeutic uses, but I didn’t really feel euphoric or particularly drugged. However, it did seem to cause me to have remarkably strange dreams. ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/11 "2005-10-06T00:37:33Z")
I can’t take Vicodan or anything codeine based. It makes me puke for hours on end. I just get to live with the pain. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/12 "2005-10-06T00:51:21Z")
> [@SusanStoHelit](#): > > Vicodin is basically Tylenol with synthetic codeine (hydrocodone) added. It can affect some people differently than codeine. It doesn’t even give me a buz. You may have lower-than-average levels of a certain liver enzyme (CYP450 2D6, to be exact), which converts hydrocodone to hydromorphone. Just as with codeine, the prodrug hydrocodone has a lower affinity for its target (mu opiate receptors) than the converted drug, and is thus less effective in poor metabolizers (this is especially problematic with codeine, actually, as in 2D6-deficient individuals, it is almost completely ineffective). Hydromorphone (brand name Diluadid) can be taken as an alternative. I must be an especially good metabolizer, as I found Vicodin absolutely wonderful. Scary wonderful. I was prescribed Vic. after getting my wisdom teeth extracted, and took it with much pleasure. I consumed the last pill without noticing I’d reached the end of my script; so I wasn’t expecting to find an empty bottle the last time I reached for a beloved Vicodin. The wave of disappointment, nay, bereavement that swept over me was so frightening I nearly dropped the bottle. I spent the next few days depressed. It was really amazing. Loopy the hillbilly heroin junky. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/13 "2005-10-06T00:57:12Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > So in effect, I could probably get by just with Motrin (ibuprophen)? No for two reasons. Ibuprofen is an NSAID, not a mu-receptor agonist. Acetaminophen is neither. I believe hydrocodone is also formulated with ibuprofen, if that’s at all helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/14 "2005-10-06T01:41:44Z")
vicodin does nothing for me, but I only had the 5/500 tablets. It didn’t do much more than OTC meds. When I combined it with a T3 though it helped kill my teeth pain. Why do you smoke clove cigarettes out of curiosity? I’ve never heard of Djarum, does it have different effects than nicotine. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/15 "2005-10-06T01:59:05Z")
I was prescribed Vicodin several times over the summer, for dental extractions. It got to where I liked it, but it also made me sit up and realize that I couldn’t see how a person could do this so often that they couldn’t stop. It’s not _that much_ fun. But it _is_ pleasant. I believe I suffered some withdrawal effects after having taken them over a month. I wouldn’t like to be addicted to drugs, but for taking away the pain, Vicodin is it, man. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/16 "2005-10-06T03:31:44Z")
I had Vicodin prescribed for pain from a torn leg muscle. I tried a couple, and they dulled the pain, but no more so than my usual painkiller choice of AC&C tablets. I had wondered what all the fuss was about, but **Loopydude** seems to have the explanation. I still have the remaining 4 in the bottle in my medicine cabinet. ---
**Author:** ![Craneop2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Craneop2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Craneop2)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/17 "2005-10-06T03:50:41Z")
I don’t mean to hijack a thread. Suppose I have a job offer and will be required to take a drug test. Will Vicodan skew my test? ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/18 "2005-10-06T04:02:23Z")
Ah Vicodin, love it! Got it both times after I had my kids, and believe me I used up every last one of the pills. If I could find a Dr. Feelgood I’d go get me some more tomorrow. Twiddle ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/19 "2005-10-06T04:41:25Z")
**Spectre** , it gives me really weird dreams, too. I mean _really_ strange. **Craneop2** , if you have a script for the Vicodin it shouldn’t be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967/20 "2005-10-06T04:46:14Z")
Thanks for the info, Loopydude. I have always been curious about why Vicodin didn’t seem to do much for me when everyone seems to think it’s great. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-vicodin/324967.md?page=2)