The drug lortab is a prescription medication which contains a combination of hydrocodone and acetaminopen. Therefore, the drug is an opiate based drug, typically prescribed to patients for moderate to severe pain relief, and is generally prescribed only to patients who do not or are currently not taking any other drugs or prescription medications. Due to the fact that lortab is an opiate based prescription medication, this makes it far more likely for those who are taking it, to grow a dependence to it, and if they do tend to feel more pain than they want to deal with, lortab is fairly simple for users to overdose on.
Those who consume alcohol (generally 3 or more drinks a day), or individuals who have ever had liver disease, should not consume lortab due to the acetaminophen ingredient, which does not go well with alcohol. Those who are on the lortab prescription must make sure to keep on top of the dosage they are prescribed, in order to ensure they do not overdose on lortab, especially since it is such an easy drug to overdose on. Also, if you are on any cough medications, allergy, other pain killers, or any type of sleep medication, prior to taking the lortab medication, individuals should speak to their physician as to whether or not it will mix well with other medications and prescriptions. Due to the fact that acetaminophen being in lortab, and being in many prescription and non prescription medications, users who are on lortab must talk to their doctor about all other medications they are on. Users should also know that lortab is likely to cause slowed down or impaired ability to respond, and the user's reactions will be slowed.
Prior to taking lortab -
Before using the lortab medication for any moderate pain, patients must speak to their doctor, in order to ensure they do not have an allergy, and to speak about any conditions they might have, in order to ensure lortab is a drug that can be taken by the patient. There are certain conditions that you have, telling your doctor about these conditions prior to starting taking lortab is beneficial to one's health. The following should be told to your doctor:
- if you have asthma, COPD, any breathing condition or disorder, or sleep apnea;
- if users have liver or kidney disease they should tell their physician;
- those with history or brain tumors or who have head injuries;
- low blood pressure or any stomach (intestinal) disorders;
- if users have an underactive thyroid the physician should be aware; and,
- any other glandular disorders, mental illnesses, or history of drug addiction (self - or family), users should inform their physician prior to starting up on a lortab dose. Due to the many complications which may occur, and due to the potential blends of other medications which the individual is taking, lortab might not be the very best medication to prescribe to patients, and certain doctors will prescribe something other than lortab to the patient with certain conditions.
Missing doses & overdose of lortab -
For those who are on lortab, making sure you track when you are taking the medication, and keeping track of how much you are taking as far as a dose of the lortab, ensures you keep up with the medication necessary, and might also help avoid the potential for overdosing on the lortab. If one misses a dose, making sure to take the lortab as soon as you remember to take it, and tracking the use when it is finally taken, is something users should make sure of. Additionally, if you miss a dose of the lortab, and it is close to the next scheduled dose, users should forgo taking both of them, and should just take the next dose on the regular schedule. Lastly, if users miss a lortab dose, they should not use an alternate drug or medication in order to make up for the missed dose of the pain medication, and should avoid mixing other pain medications along with the lortab for the pain they are feeling, which is prescribed by their doctor. The mixing of two medications (prescription and non), might lead to several complications, and can do much worse than any good for those who are on a prescription medication.
In the event of a lortab overdose, whether it is accidental or whether it is something the user is aware of (addictive behavior), contacting emergency services right away is something that users of the lortab prescription are going to want to consider. Due to the fact that it can be fatal, depending on the amount of overdose, other medications (or non prescription), any other illegal drugs, and in some cases, the use of alcohol, are all factors which are going to play a role in the harmfulness of the overdose of lortab which an user takes. So, immediately upon learning of a lortab overdose, users (or family members) should contact emergency help right away, rather than try any home remedies for the lortab overdose which has taken place.
Possibility of addiction to lortab -
Due to the pain relief which the lortab medication is going to offer, certain users, especially those who do have a history of addiction, might find that taking lortab is extremely addictive if it is really helping to alleviate the pain. Additionally, due to the fact that lortab is an opiate based medication means it is something that if taken more than it should be, users will find that the lortab prescription medication can be something which can become fairly addictive by users of the drug.
If an overdose, or if you believe an individual you know may be addicted to lortab, then finding the right help, whether it is speaking to a specialist, or visiting some type of treatment center, are things to consider for the lortab addiction, in order to help the patient have the ability and strength, as well as the proper guidance, for them to get past the addictive use of the drug.