Hello, Im new to the boards I have RA and the question I have is that my Dr. has me on Vicodin as needed sometimes I take up to 3 pills a day and then when the pain is gone I dont take any. I am afraid that I could become dependant on this medicine. I have read the dangers of addiction to this medication and it scares me. But when Im in pain i will take 1 1/2 and it's just enough to take the edge off. I feel like I can function. clean house, go to work with no aching, do the things I normally woud do before I was diagnosed with RA. It says dont take them longer than the dr. prescribed, well I dont take them everyday but i have been taking them now for months. Should I stop and maybe try Tylenol "which doesnt work very well" or what? The crazy thing to me is that he prescribes 80 pills at a time. He never gave me a time limit to stop taking them. Could I be on my way to being dependant?
Thanks,
Laura
Your pain must have been pretty intense. Usually an RD will prescribe ultracet/ultram, which is addicting. I use it alot, when the pain is really intense I'll take vicodin.
I would talk this over on your next visit. You didn't mention any dmards. They may not be helping enough and you need a change or up the dose.
Hope you feel better,
Kieye
Hi!I too take Vicodin and have been taking it for years.I will take 1 1/2 to 2 a day on days that are quite painful which allows me to function.I always take one at bedtime or I will not sleep at all...as it is when the medication wears off I am up because I am in so much pain from being in one spot too long.I just recently had to go off of MTX and I did not have to take any Vicodin at all for a short time because the MTX worked so well.But then I started experiencing breathing difficulties and the Dr. took me off the MTX and now I am taking Humira.At present I am taking the vicodin again while waiting for the full effects of the humira to kick in.I too was worried about addiction until I found out that I did not have to take it when the MTX fully kicked in.I dont think that people like us who experience chronic pain on a daily basis will get addicted as long as we take the medication as directed and do not abuse it.Hope this helps!
CAT
My rheumy prescribed Darvocet and Oxycontin for me to take as needed. My oxy only had 4 pills out of it before it was outdated. When I told him this he wrote me a new script. The Darvocets he gave me a script in December for 180 and I have used about 9. His theory is if I need them I have them and if I don't need them then don't take them. As long as I don't abuse them he will trust me to only use them as needed. Works for me. I am on Bextra and ultram for pain i take the ultram when the pain is unbearable, I would seriously talk to the dr about the vicodin, I don't like taking it I can't function with it. The ultram is between a real srtong extra strength tylenol and the vicodin. memePeople have different pain tolerances, as well as amount of pain, depending on a lot of factors. My drs. told me that I need to take pain medication, and that if you only take it when you are in pain, you are very unlikely to get addicted (unless you already have an addictive personality). I am on Duragesic patches, so it keeps a steady amount of pain med in me, and I take Vicodin for breakthrough pain. I also have renal insufficiency, fibromyalgia, and other medical problems from the RA. Hope you are feeling better soon.I took 2-3 pills daily of Vicodin for 18 months. I was in so much pain I didn't give thought to becoming addicted. They took the edge off the pain and sometimes enabled me to function. My doctor prescribed me 100 at a time. Whenever I needed a refill he gave me one. When I got on a biologic I no longer needed them and had no problem stopping. My rheumy gives me a prescription for percocet, 120 pills each month. He has the script all made out and hands it to me when I am ready to leave. Thanks so much for your responses . I am on Mtx-- Prednisone--folic acid--oruvail and Enbrel. Yes, that's what I mean the vicodin takes the edge off. I cant imagine taking more than I was prescribed because it would make me too out of it. I was mainly wanting to find out if someone else was prescribed this medication and how you feel about it. I have been on it for about 6 months now. I will talk to my Rd this week. ThanksI have stopped using any pain Rx for the past few months. I was told about something from africa called Aloe Ferox. It was first sent to me by a friend over in London, England.
After being on this for a month I was getting the stuff sent to me from the UK. It was only by chance that I did a search on eBay for Prosit that found it here in the USA.