I am 21 years old, 145 pounds, and medium metabolism. I got 5/500 hydrocodone for mouth pain right now in my wisdoms, along with antibiotics cuz there is an infection. I took one hydrocodone pill after 30-40 minutes ago and I am still in pain. Can I take another one?
15-30 minutes. What do the instructions say? Yes, you can take 2 – it won’t kill you.
Try an ice pack – that really helps with pain. Put some ice cubes in a zip lock baggie – wrap that in a kitchen towel and hold it to your cheek. It really will help.
read your label on your medication, some doctors write for 1 to 2 every 4-6 hours on that drug, if it says up to 2, you can take another. If it just says 1, no, don’t take another. Wait the 4-6 hours, but you CAN take an Advil or Aleve in the meantime, and it will help a lot.
It typically takes 15-25 minutes to feel the full effects of the medication, sometimes it can be faster on an empty stomach and a bit slower on a fuller stomach. If you are still in pain, I myself would take another pill. If you wait too long before taking pain medication the pain can become unmanageable. Two pills is fine to take. Be careful not to take more than 8 in a 24 hr period because of the tylenol.
It takes about an hour for hydrocodone to work. What you are taking is generic Vicodin, you can take up to two every 6 hours, I’ll warn you now if you are not used to taking vicodin or any kind of narcotic pain killers you might get an upset stomach if you don’t eat when you take it, you will feel light headed, possibly dizzy, you may get really hot and start to sweat, and it will probably make you sleepy, and if your nose itches don’t worry that’s normal, it does that to me. Please don’t drive or use anything that requires concentration, just lie down and relax.
Yes.
But NO more for at LEAST 3-4 hours. The reason is first due to the APAP (500 mg X 2 = 1000 mg MAXIMUM dose in 1 hour.)
Most people don’t realize APAP poisoning is the #1 reason for ER admittance for poisoning. Further more, many do not realize how dangerous it can be to your liver. Sadly, an accidental overdose won’t show symptoms for 12-24 hours. Long enough for it to really eat up the enzyme which is tasked with taking care of a by-product toxin. The maximum 24 hour dose is 4000 mg, or 8 of those pills per day! ONLY 8! Even more sad is how some surgeons perform a operation in the day, then put the patient on 2 per 4 hours overnight (instead of an IV analgesic) so by the next morning they start overdosing the patient on tylenol (APAP) WHILE IN THE HOSPITAL!!! There was a patient here who took 3900 mg within 24 hours and she ended up needing a liver transplant. Although this is NOT typical, rather it tends to be twice this, but the problem is you just don’t know. Your threshold may be 4000 mg, or it may be 12,000 mg. Either way it is not worth the risk of waiting up to 700 days for a new liver!
Lastly, do NOT drink alcohol (it would double your APAP affects limiting you to 4 pills in 24 hours) and be VERY careful with any benzo’s like Valium, Xanax, or muscle relaxers such as Soma. Most overdose cases you read about, related to the opioid/opiate are respiratory depression, are due to the mixing drugs like Xanax + opioid/opiate. For example, 15-20 mg of Hydrocodone within 4-6 hours, 1mg+ Xanax, and sleep is a recipe for disaster potentially for your weight.
Just remember:
1. APAP = 1000 mg to 1 hour
2. APAP = 4000 mg to 24 hour
3. avoid alcohol and depressants
If you follow the above rules of thumb you will be just fine.
If you feel nausea, Meclizine works VERY well. It is Dramamine II (not 1) and available anywhere.
Good luck, and get well!