Vicodin Side Effects

The side effects of Vicodin include nausea, upset stomachs, light-headedness, dizziness, altered mental states, seizures, allergic reactions, hallucinations, severe weakness, clammy skin, hyperventilation, dizziness, jaundice or the yellowing of the skin or eyes, unconsciousness, unusual bleeding and unusual bruising.

Other side effects of Vicodin include unusual fatigue, constipation, stomach pain, decrease in appetite, dryness of the mouth, sweating, muscle twitches, hot flashes, tinnitus, itching, decrease in urination, hearing loss and an altered sex drive.

Less common side effects include severe allergic reactions such as hives, rashes, difficulty breathing, itching, chest tightening, swelling in the lips, face, mouth or tongue, feelings of anxiousness, changes in urine amounts, loss or changes in hearing, interrupted breathing, fear, mood changes, mental changes and unusual fatigue.

Adverse side effects of Vicodin on the genitourinary system include urinary retention, spasms in the vesical sphincters and ureteral spasms.

Cases of impairment or total loss of hearing have also been an experience with opiates such as Vicodin. Potential effects also include agranulocytosis and thrombocytopenia.

Patients who are alcoholic can possibly develop hepatotoxicity even after modest acetaminophen doses. In patients who are healthy, about fifteen acetaminophen grams are needed for the depletion of the liver stores of glutathione by seventy percent in a person weighing seventy kilograms. N-acetylcysteine may be the antidote to replete the concentrations of glutathione.

A trademarked narcotic analgesic product, Vicodin is a brand that contains both paracetamol or acetaminophen and hydrocodone.  Vicodin is used for relieving moderate or severe pain. Usually in tablet form, Vicodin bottles are labeled as either “Vicodin,” “Vicodin ES” or “Vicodin HP.” Like other analgesics that are opioid, Vicodin is at times used for treating severe coughs. In addition, Vicodin is usually prescribed for relieving pain that is acute, chronic or post op.

Mainly used for pain management, the hydrocodone is the opioid analgesic and acetaminophen is the antipyretic and the analgesic. There are three basic varieties of Vicodin, all of which vary in the amount of acetaminophen and hydrocodone they contain. The Vicodin tablets usually contain a greater amount of acetaminophen compared to the hydrocodone. These drugs are combined in order to reduce adverse effects with less serious side effects. Aside from this, both hydrocodone and acetaminophen work differently for pain reductions.

Classified under Category C for Pregnancy, the research is insufficient for determining the drug safety in women who are pregnant. However, studies on animals have proven that there are undesirable effects on the fetus. For this reason, doctors only prescribe Vicodin to pregnant women when the desired effects outweigh the risks that the drug brings.

Alcohol also reacts with Vicodin. Hydrocodone that is contained in the drug is a depressant just as alcohol is. For this reason, alcohol slows down the CNS or central nervous system’s activities and Vicodin intensifies the effect when taken simultaneously.

Besides the 500 mg of acetaminophen and 5 mg of hydrocodone bitartrate that each Vicodin tablet contains, inactive ingredients include starch, colloidal silicon dioxide, dibasic calcium phosphate, croscarmellose sodium, microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate and stearic acid.