November 7, 2007 - 9:22pm
Hello I am new here and I have a question.
I have nerve damage in my disks and have had back pain for years.
I have been on hydrocodone for the last year and a half.
They have never made me drowsy or sleepy or even euphoric, but i seem to have alot of energy and am extreemly foucsed (speedy if you will) has anyone else had this reaction and is it common and why if anyone knows... thanx in advance
jccj
November 7, 2007 - 11:01pm
#2
Similar to Ritalin
I'm not an expert but almost every family member I have is on, or has been on, pretty much every drug at one point.
In your case I am going to warn you--BE CAREFUL. There are two types of people out there, those prone to addiction and those who aren't. For the ones who aren't, they have the normal side effects the FDA tells you about. For the ones who are, they have opposite reactions.
This is why people who are in need of and prescribed Ritalin (for ADD, ADHD etc) calm down when they take it. People who don't have the symptoms the drug treats seem to have the opposite reaction--increased energy, etc. (edited)
Not the same thing but similar to Vikes and the other "-odones". They should make you drowsy, lethargic...but for people with the potential to abuse, the opposite.
My mother (who never even had a drink til she was 50) tried a couple and found she got tons of energy. So, she took them for that reason alone.
Now, she's on methadone treatment because eventually they stop working that way--and you just need them to function and stop your skin from crawling.
This is not scientific fact but just my personal experience. So be careful! Withdrawal from them is bad.
(edited by Mod1- We do not discuss ways drugs are abused)
November 8, 2007 - 1:00am
#3
What do you mean "not the
What do you mean "not the same thing but similar to Vikes and the other "-odones"?
Actually, hydrocodone should help with pain relief. They are intended either way to make you drowsy or energetic, those are just side effects.
At first hydrocodone used to give me ALOT of energy. Not just the I'm awake energy, but the motivated, feel good energy.Someone once told me their theory for that, they said that normally (meaning pain-free) you would have energy to do things. but when you start having pain, the pain inhibits you from daily activites. All you can focus on is the pain, and you don't get anything done. When you begin taking the pain meds, you temporarily do not feel that pain anymore so it frees you up to have that energy and focus again on doing the daily activities you were missing out on. Of course, this was just someone's speculation and it had no factual basis.
After years of taking hydrocodone though, now all it does it make me drowsy. I understand your whole "reverse effect" theory as I say the same thing with my caffeine. I drink probably 6-8 cans or more of Mt Dew everyday. Funny enough, the days I drink significantly less are the days that I am more awake, just as the days that I take less meds I am also less sleepy. My daily sleepiness is getting so bad that I am going to talk to my doc tomorrow about modafinil, and if he thinks it would help in case.
I'm a social worker, not a medical professional. All comments and thoughts are simply my opinion and experience.
November 13, 2007 - 6:07pm
#4
Very speedy
ive been on norco 7.5/325 for a week now. the first two days i felt warm, in a terrific mood and wanted to do everything at once. that went away and now i only feel no pain. i can see how these can be abused. but if you build a tolerance whats the point, youd have to keep taking more and more? sounds very dangerous.
November 16, 2007 - 11:29am
#5
It is. I'm a social worker,
It is.
I'm a social worker, not a medical professional. All comments and thoughts are simply my opinion and experience.
February 21, 2008 - 12:28pm
#6
hydrocodone+energy?
I agree with you norco lortab vicodin whatever you want to call it its all the same exept for mg's it gives me energy but so do other opiates like oxycontin methadone, percocet. Strangeley xanax whick I take 3, 2mg tablets of xanax a day which is alot. All benzos and opiates give people energy, I dont know if this applies to anyone
February 21, 2008 - 12:32pm
#7
very speedy
you're right these norcos are highly addictive and you can build a tolerence quickly, thats why most people take them for a short time. I have to take them so i try to take 4 a day then 1 or 2 a day for a week so my tolerence goes down and i can get that warm feeling again
February 21, 2008 - 12:54pm
#8
I am not sure of this, but
I am not sure of this, but the most plausible reason for stimulation, (aside from subjective effect) is probably the chemical structure of codones. oxy and hydrocodone are both structurally similar to thebaine (in that they are usually derived from it. Although codeine can be used as a "parent", thebaine is cheaper and easier to use). Thebaine is a stimulant opiate from the poppy. It has a very speedy effect, but not much analgesia.
This is most closely associated with oxycodone, as it is almost always derived from thebaine, but hydro is very similar.
February 21, 2008 - 5:58pm
#9
I coule do wrong
I could be wrong but I am pretty sure that your brain producess it's own opiate, and it is used to enhance motivitaon. It is just a little bit, just enough. But when people start taking opiates, the brain stops producing it's own opiates because it is getting much more from an outside source. So, when you quit, your brain is now getting the opitate form no where because the brain has stopped producing it and you have stopped taking it, and this is when you go into withdrawls.
I may have no clue what I'm talkin about.. but there ya go.
February 21, 2008 - 7:37pm
#10
Hydrocodone = energy
From my own personal experience with oxycodone, it does feel like it gives you energy, but I am fairly sure this is a trick of the mind. I have noticed that, rather than having more energy per se, oxycodone makes boring tasks interesting when you are 'under the influence'. Chores that seemed boring or projects you have been putting off suddenly become of interest.
I think this is just a byproduct of the euphoria triggered by the medication.
The body builds up tolerance to these drugs quickly, and they are highly addictive, so I would not advise taking them for energy. In fact, your false sense of well-being may actually lead you to aggravate your injury or condition while you perform tasks you now have 'energy' to complete.
February 21, 2008 - 7:59pm
#11
Quite True
This is why people withdraw from narcotics. Normally, a person produces endophines and enkephalines (endogenous opiods). When somone takes an exogenous opiod (oxycodone, hydromorphone, hydrocodone) in high enough doses for a period of time, the body stops production of the "natural" opiod the brain produces, as both (endo/exo) stimulate the same receptors.
When you stop taking the narcotic, withdrawal sets in due to a lack of endorphine/enkephaline in the body.
February 22, 2008 - 1:46pm
#12
SA Meds and energy
Over the years and prior to starting on LA medications like Oxycontin, Duragesic patches, and now Methadone (this isn't technically a LA med) I noticed the same effect of what seemed to be an energy boost when taking Hydrocodone and Oxycodone. I always assumed the energy was the fact that the med took the pain away or down to a level where I could perform duties or things I couldn't before the medication. I think it was just the fact I wasn't hurting, like before I took it.
February 22, 2008 - 1:55pm
#13
edited to not repeat Director
edited to not repeat Director
February 22, 2008 - 2:27pm
#14
H-Codone affects alot of
H-Codone affects alot of people in that way, including me.
Pharmworker/Autoworker
February 22, 2008 - 5:15pm
#15
Here are the molecular
Here are the molecular skeletons of thebaine (top pic), hydrocodone (bottom left), and oxycodone (bottom right). When you see these structures side by side, it is easy to see the similarities, both molecularly, and in how they would be able to share certain pharmacological properties. This is the best hypothesis I have heard which explains why hydrocodone, and specifically oxycodone have stimulant properties. Thus, oxy/hydro are stimulants because of their "parent" (thebaine), being a stimulant narcotic.
Well, my pic's didnt post for some reason. But, for anyone interested, PubChem has images, even Google images will show them.
February 22, 2008 - 6:48pm
#16
response to Hydrocodone
I had major surgery last year and took them for about 3 moths. I had a similar reaction. Instead of making sleepy they made me stay up. The doctor say its just the way it worked on me.
February 22, 2008 - 6:48pm
#17
hydrocodone
This is why many kids now days become addicted to Pain killers because it gives false illusions and energy.......When I was taking the meds, due to surgery. I felt the rush, once they hit my bloodstream.
February 22, 2008 - 8:51pm
#18
Heres a good link for
I have had that reaction. The side effects you note is what makes these pills abused so often. I speak from past experiences as I am an ex addict