You should be aware if anyone is using it improperly or without a prescription. Extended-release hydrocodone is not for use on drinking when bored an as-needed basis for pain. American Addiction Centers (AAC) is committed to delivering original, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and medically current information. We strive to create content that is clear, concise, and easy to understand.
What happens if I miss a dose?
We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers. This medicine will add to the effects of alcohol and other CNS depressants.
In short, there is no safe amount of alcohol that can be consumed while taking hydrocodone. The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) warns against any amount of alcohol being introduced while taking a product containing the potent opioid. The onset of hydrocodone’s effects is slower to begin than alcohol’s effects, which means a person may keep drinking or taking more of the drug to try and feel the euphoric high. In 2018, CNN reported a story about an Indiana mother whose two sons died on the same night. The teens had overdosed after mixing hydrocodone and alcohol at high school graduation parties.
Overdose can occur more quickly when these two substances are combined than if one or the other is taken on its own. Mixing alcohol and hydrocodone can also raise the level of drug dependence more rapidly. When someone is dependent on hydrocodone, drug cravings and significant withdrawal symptoms can occur when the drug isn’t active in the bloodstream. Concurrent use of alcohol and hydrocodone can complicate and intensify not only drug dependence but also withdrawal symptoms. Insomnia, flu-like symptoms, anxiety, and depression are common side effects of both alcohol and opioid withdrawal.
Physical Effects of Mixing Hydrocodone and Alcohol
- Tell your doctor right away if your baby has an abnormal sleep pattern, diarrhea, a high-pitched cry, irritability, shakiness or tremors, weight loss, vomiting, or fails to gain weight.
- One of the biggest issues related to combining hydrocodone and alcohol is the risk of a fatal overdose.
- Ultimately, Vicodin or other hydrocodone-based medications should only be treated as short-term solutions.
- This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur.
An overdose involving both alcohol and hydrocodone may be more difficult to reverse than an overdose on either of the substances on their own. For instance, an overdose involving an opioid drug can generally be reversed by the opioid antagonist naloxone. When multiple drugs are involved, it can take more than one dose of the reversal medication to have any impact. Alcohol poisoning is not typically reversed in the same way, which can complicate treatment. Hydrocodone also stays in the bloodstream and body longer than alcohol does, so it is important to ensure the drug is completely out of the system before drinking any alcohol. The extended-release versions of hydrocodone can remain active for 12 hours to 24 hours while the immediate-action formulations typically wear off between four hours and eight hours.
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Hydrocodone extended-release capsules and extended-release tablets are difficult to crush, break or dissolve. If you swallow broken, chewed, or crushed extended-release capsules or extended-release tablets, you may receive too much hydrocodone at once. Just one dose can cause death in someone using this medicine accidentally or improperly. Ask your pharmacist where to locate a drug take-back disposal program. If there is no take-back program, flush the unused medicine down the toilet.
Additional doses may be given every 2 to 3 minutes, if symptoms return before medical help arrives. At first, mixing hydrocodone with alcohol can produce pleasurable effects such as slight drowsiness, numbness and euphoria. But while you’re riding this high, these substances are damaging your body in ways you cannot feel or see initially. When taken together, each drug exacerbates the effects of the other, and you will likely lose control of your motor skills and judgment faster than you thought possible. Both drugs are depressants, which inhibit your central nervous system. When this system is depressed, your heart rate and breathing can slow to extremely dangerous levels, increasing the likelihood of unconsciousness and coma.
There are reasons why medical professionals prescribing hydrocodone caution against drinking while dry eyes alcohol withdrawal taking these highly addictive opioid pills. Mixing hydrocodone (an opioid painkiller) with alcohol can lead to a host of severe health problems ranging from lack of motor control to heart failure and coma. Combining these substances is a gamble that could cost you your life.
If a person drinks alcohol while also taking hydrocodone, it can increase the effects of the opioid drug and raise blood plasma levels of hydrocodone. Recently, naloxone has been spread widely among emergency responders, pharmacies, and even caregivers, to prevent deadly opioid overdoses. This drug is short-acting, but it temporarily reverses an opioid overdose, giving emergency responders the time they need to treat the individual. However, when other substances like alcohol are involved in the overdose, naloxone may be less effective. This drug only works to stop opioid overdoses, not overdoses on other kinds of drugs.
Note that this list is not all-inclusive and includes only common medications that may interact with hydrocodone. You should refer to the prescribing information for hydrocodone for a complete list of interactions. Medicines that interact with hydrocodone may either decrease its effect, affect how long it works, increase side effects, or have less of an effect when taken with hydrocodone. An interaction between two medications does not always mean that you must stop taking mixing valium with alcohol one of the medications; however, sometimes it does.
Tell your doctor if you notice severe drowsiness or slow breathing in the nursing baby. Hydrocodone may cause life-threatening withdrawal symptoms in a newborn if the mother has taken this medicine during pregnancy. Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use hydrocodone only for the indication prescribed. Avoid drinking alcohol or taking illegal or recreational drugs while taking hydrocodone. Researchers in the Postgraduate Medicine study examined the prevalence and consequences of alcohol use among opioid users. They found that many individuals who combined opioids and alcohol felt like they were in a dreamlike trance or not in control of their thoughts.
Combining downers such as hydrocodone and alcohol can inhibit breathing and lower your heart rate, which can be fatal. With so many people struggling with opioid and alcohol abuse, it is likely that these two conditions will overlap. This form of polydrug abuse is extremely risky and puts the person at great risk of death from overdose.
Store it at room temperature and away from excess heat and moisture (not in the bathroom). You must immediately dispose of any medication that is outdated or no longer needed through a medicine take-back program.. If you do not have a take-back program nearby or one that you can access promptly, flush any hydrocodone tablets or capsules that are outdated or no longer needed down the toilet.
Talk with your doctor before using this medicine if you plan to have children. Dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting may occur when you get up suddenly from a lying or sitting position. Also, lying down for a while may relieve dizziness or lightheadedness. Do not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you. Store at room temperature, away from heat, moisture, and light.