Of Vicodin and Accomplishments

Factual Questions
1

So, my doctor, many moons ago, prescribed Vicodin for my back pain (which is much better these days, thank you).

It really worked on the pain, but when I expected to be made drowsy, as most other pain relievers did, I found instead that Vicodin gave me a super clear head, and in fact, made my brain work, like overtime.

The first time I used it I stayed up and wrote a 23 page story that was completely cool and I still have it on file (I only say that to show that it wasn’t like incoherent drug babbling).

Then I took it and stayed up late building a website…

So, just the other day, when I took it for my knee (the first time I’d taken it in a while) I was reminded how weird a reaction I have, because I stayed up late writing a business plan for the small business I want to start.

What is it in Vicodin that’s making me particularly clear headed and calm? Is it like a dopamine or seratonin thing?

It’s sort of confusing, and also scary. Because I’m failing to see the downside.

2

I have read (sorry no cite) that Vicodin has a mood elevating effect, so it may indeed be working on the serotonin or dopamine pathways in the brain. I have noticed that when I take Vicodin for my shoulder pain, then lie down for a nap, I always wake up cheerful. And I am not usually a very cheerful person.:frowning:

This is partly where the downside of Vicodin comes in. It’s addictive. Used too frequently and you body and brain come to depend on the drug. At the same time you build up a tolerance for the drug so that ever increasing doses become necessary to achieve the same effect. Withhold it from your system and you experience all the wonderful effects that drug withdrawal brings.

BTW: I am not a doctor, just a user.

3

To Jar:

I’ve heard of people with an allergy to opiates, where there was no pain relief, and further the pain was intensified. Almost sounds like what you experience.

You may have bass-ackwards neurotransmitters in the noggin.

Advice: Flush the rest of the Vicodin down the john, and tell all medical personnel you’re allergic to the stuff. The super-charged “high” you seem to be experiencing appears to be nothing but trouble down the line for you.
~VOW

4

VOW, I just said that it does wonders for pain relief. When my back hurts it’s the only thing that helps.

The ‘high’ feeling is just a side effect. I realize it’s addictive. That’s why I have no refills on my prescriptions and only take them when necessary.

J

5

Vicodin doe not give me a “clear head” but it does prevent me from falling asleep. I’ll be extreamly tired but unable to drop off to sleep.

6

I had the same thing happen to me last summer when I had my wisdom teeth out. I made some of my most rational and clear-headed posts here during those happy, fuzzy days. I was a lot calmer than I normally am and thought things out before posting (unlike the majority of my posts).

I could’ve taken those things forever. Luckily, I knew my limits. :smiley:

7

Interesting. My Vicodin experience is: take a pill, fall asleep for a long time, then wake up with a killer headache.

8

IANA MD:
As was mentioned above, it’s an opiate, i.e., it’s chemically related to heroin. It’s addictive (which doesn’t mean you will become addicted, just that you could be). Opiates are very good analgesics (pain killers). They also induce euphoria (and constipation, but that’s beyond the scope of this OP).

Nobody’s managed to make pharmaceutical progress on separating the analgesic properties of this class of drugs from its euphoria-inducing effects.

Our brains have opiate receptors which respond to opium and its derivatives. A number of neurotransmitters are affected, but dopamine’s effects are more easily identified due to the relationship between opiates and dopamine in the brain’s reward/pleasure system.

I am not familiar with the effect described in the OP, though I’m aware that some opiates are used illegally by athletes (for pain suppression? For artificial runner’s high and whatever effects this has on sustained physical activity?). Opiates cut anxiety, which may contribute to the energizing effect the OP describes. I suppose it’s possible that there’s a weak serotonin effect. Pain relief may feel energizing. Or perhaps there’s a subclinical euphoric effect that increases creativity?

In any event, opiate addiction is no fun. Prescribers are generally reluctant to prescribe opiate pain medication because there isn’t a “sign” of pain (so you have to rely on the person’s self report). Not to be a wet blanket, but the more prescription opiate drug abuse that occurs, the harder it will be for people with legitimate pain concerns to get a prescription. (And yes, I know there are some docs who hand the stuff out like candy, but they’re not practicing within the standard of care for their profession.)

“Opium and all opiate derivatives like morphine, heroin, Vicodan, Percocets, and Dilaudid affect opiate receptor sites in the brain by flooding those sites. Endorphins, which our own brain produces in response to exercise (runner’s high) or pleasure also interacts with those sites too, but the opiates are much more intense and longer lasting.”
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/HHS/APresDrugsTobacco.htm

“Opiate receptors exert effects on synaptic transmission by presynaptically modulating the release of neurotransmitters, including acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, and substance P.”
http://www.pharmcentral.com/narcotics.htm

http://opioids.com/dopamine/dopamine.html

9

Most drugs affect different people differently. This is just another example.

A friend of mine with a bad back takes opiods, but he says they just make him high and unable to concentrate on his studies.

By contrast, I had a teacher who was prescribed hydrocodone. He told me in confidence (I guess he didn’t want to tell his whole class and make them all want to go out and buy prescription drugs on the black market) that it helped him learn complicated concepts easier.

I’ve had similar experiences with the drug. I can study well and a couple of my more eloquent posts were written while under the influence of it.

The hydrocodone/acetaminophen combination (Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet, Tussinex, and other trade names), is actually the most frequently prescribed drug in the U.S.

Despite the great feelings and positive affects I get from it, I do not buy it on the black market (though I know people who sell it), because I am aware of the profoundly addictive addictive nature of ALL opiates.

Many people don’t make this distinction and think that just because the doctor prescribed it to them, it’s not a potentially dangerous drug. Hell, considering that the percentage of opiate addicts in the health care community is much higher than the general population, I guess some doctors don’t make that distinction either!

Maybe if they started calling the stuff “Heroin Lite,” it might help drive the message home.

10

I just want to emphasize again…that I realize the dangers of Vicodin addiction and I do not think I am or will become addicted to it. I am on a non-refillable prescription and I take it only when I am rendered basically immobile by my herniated discs (and lately my dislocated knee). I would say I take Vicodin…oncce a day for about three days at a time…then I don’t take it for weeks at a time.

I just wanted to know why I was achieving that strange clarity.

11

Jar,

I had the exact same effect as you did while taking Vicodin. I originally started taking it for a back injury.

Unfortunately, I did become addicted to it, which necessitated a 4 day stay in a detox unit alongside withdrawing heroin users.

The nurse told me the withdrawl symptoms I was feeling were the same as the heroin users withdrawl. It was not pleasant to say the least, those were the worst 4 days of my life. That was 3 years ago. 2 years ago I broke my finger and I refused all pain medication except Advil.

I don’t believe doctors stress enough the potential for addition with this drug or moniter it’s usage to the degree that they should.

It does sound like you are taking it responsibly however, but please be careful.