- Vicodin dosage

[Guest guest]

-

Please be careful with the Vicodin - with that much acetaminophin

(650 mg x 5 a day = 3250 mg a day) you're edging toward the very top

level of a safe dose.

There's a lot of argument about how much acetaminophin is " too much " -

some doctors say 4000 mg a day is toxic, some are uncomfortable with

much less (including my own doctor, who doesn't like me taking more

than 2000 mg a day regularly!)

If you take that much acetaminophin regularly you really need to have

your liver checked regularly. That much Tylenol can be toxic to your

liver.

You also need to be very aware of any other medications you take that

might contain acetaminophin, like cold or allergy or cough

medicines. Just another pill or two of a cold medicine, for example,

would put you over the top of a potentially toxic dose!

That's why it's recommended that chronic pain patients don't take

these " combo " pain meds that combine an opiate with a non-narcotic

like acetaminophin or an NSAID - they're really only intended for

acute, short-term pain. They are actually spefically designed to

limit the dose of opiate one can take by limiting the amount of the

combo med that can be safely taken.

Instead, if you plan to be on opiates consistently, you should talk

to you doctor about switching you to a pure opiate that can be taken

safely over time, and at a much higher dose if needed, without the

toxicity risk of the additional non-narcotic med.

If you don't want to make that switch, at the very least, ask your

doctor about switching you to a brand name called " Norco. " It's the

very same opiate as Vicodin - hydrocodone - only it has significantly

less acetaminophin - only 325 mg to 10 mg of hydrocodone, as opposed

to the 650 mg of acetaminophine you're taking now. So you get the

same amount of opiate, but half the dangerous Tylenol.

I'm seriously worried about the amount of Tylenol you're taking. I

hope you are having regular blood tests of your liver panel taken and

are being careful about every other over-the-counter medication you

are taking, and that you never take even one extra Vicodin a day.

You're risking a lot with that dosage.

Take care, !

Cheryl in AZ

Moderator

--- " Have a Nice Day! " wrote:

>

> Yes, I forgot to add that I take about 4-5 Vicodin/day also

(10/650).