Hey guys, im a Vicodin user on the weekends

[BigBen]

Im a little embaressed to admit this, but i take Vicodins on the weekends. I have been doing this for like 8 months now. From like Fri-sun, ill take 3 a night (every 2.5 hours) (vics 7.5mg)....and they are not for pain, but rather to interact with people and I use them to chill. The thing that conerns me is tylenol in them.........my question is, is taking like 10 pills over the weekend and than not having for a few days, will it still cause liver damage???? maybe im fooling myself but i dont consider myself an addict cause i NEVER take on mon-thursdays.............Please dont bash me if i sound ignorant....its my first post........i will admit, i do look forward to friday night when i get to have my first pill of the weekend............I guess i consider myself recreational........i have gone through weekends where ill only have 3-4 total or less............
how i get em is not important, as with me i dont need a HUGE amount to get me through a year...... i may sound lost......i just dont feel like i fit into the category of those who have been taking 10 per day for 5 years.....anyway enough with my rambling..............can anyone relate?????

does anyone know the answer about the tylenol and the liver damage????? do i have something to be worried about???? any help is appreciated........thanx Ben

[GordonGecko]

You shouldn't take more than 4000mg of paracetamol (acetaminophen) per day, less than that and you should be ok. Drinking alcohol will make it worse too.

[snowfly]

embarrassing as it is I take about 300mg of coricidin on Fridays, which also has a tylenol in it that will screw up my liver if I don't stop. I do it for the same reason as you, on those nights I take it I can "come out of myself" and talk freely (on the phone, I would never be seen in public in the same day) then still have some after effects the next day when I usually go to the mall, SA is literally gone for those two days. I know I need to stop, the side effects are pretty bad and my mental capacity goes way down for a few days. I hate myself for this but it seems like the only temporary escape I have from the hell that's keeping me locked inside myself

[screwjack]

It's so ironic that the drug that is destroying your liver is the one that is freely avaialable on the counter to buy whenever you wish.

You can look up doing a cold water extraction to seperate out the tylenol, but most addicts are uneasy about losing even a drop of their precious drug. This is what I would do anyways.

Good luck and remember you can get addicted at even once a week use, which isn't really a bad thing but it will eventually lead to once a day addiction if you aren't careful.

[shyvr6]

No need to feel embarrassed. Everyone on here has problems.

[danstelter]

Originally Posted by BigBen

maybe im fooling myself but i dont consider myself an addict cause i NEVER take on mon-thursdays.............Please dont bash me if i sound ignorant....its my first post........i will admit, i do look forward to friday night when i get to have my first pill of the weekend............I guess i consider myself recreational........i have gone through weekends where ill only have 3-4 total or less............

You are fooling yourself. You are an addict to this drug. The rationalization that you are using to justify your behavior is that you only do this drug on Fri-Sun, not Mon-Thurs.

I believe you are admitting the full truth, and that is the right thing to do. However, if the drugs are not already causing more problems than they solve, they will eventually.

Don't be ashamed about being an addict; I am an addict to something different, and there are millions of addicts out there.

The important thing is that you go out and find help before something fatal happens. Go to a rehab clinic, addictions counselor, or to NA meetings. Even if you think you're not an addict, just investigate and see if maybe some of the things that you do are characteristic of addicts. The most important thing to do is to take care of yourself and find better ways of coping with anxiety (it CAN be done) that are not harmful to your health.

I praise your courage and strength for coming forward and saying something about this whole situation. Now that you have some better understanding of your situation, it is your decision what steps to take. Continue the addiction and risk severe physical harm, or stop the addiction and recuperate from anxiety and live a happy life. The choice is yours.

[BigBen]

Thank you guys for all your words of wisdom and support.
I am not sure i am ready to give it all up just yet (to be honest).
I think most that decide to quit have crashed and burned......meaning they started taking so many pills per day, over a period of time that they couldnt function without it, or just coulodnt support financially the amount of pills needed to satisfy them...

I am in neither of those spots. Im a weekend warrior, yet i realize but probably dont fully comprehend how bad these pills can be. Right now i still enjoy em and only see the "chill factor" i get. I have not taken 2 pills at once, and the one thing in my persoanlity is that im VERY disciplined....and i dont waiver on the No pills during the week.

The only thing i know right now is how relaxed i feel on the pills and for hours afterwards.....NOTHING bothers me (and i know thats probably not a good thing).............Are there other people out there takining pain meds just to chill???? As i stated in my original post, i was and continue to be concerned over the potential liver problems.......no one seems to know all the facts.....everyone has a diff opinion..........

Dan, i will def check out your website that i see you have linked....and again,....tjhanks to everyone that took the time out to respond................if anyone else has advice im more than happy to listen and learn............thanx ben

[screwjack]

If you still feel like you aren't an addict and use anyway then take my advice do a cold water extraction and seperate out the tylenol from your pills to save your liver. At least opiates aren't neurotoxic and withdrawal might suck and you'll wish you where dead, but it won't kill you or harm you.

Believe me I know where you are starting from, I begun as a "once a month" type person then it was once a week then every three days until I reached once a day use. Even with something strong like heroin it is a myth that they are instantly addicting, it takes about a year to get a fullfledged addiction and when you reach that level you can't really go back.

[BigBen]

Snowfly, keep it real.....sometimes life is rough and tough out there......just keep your head up and your spirits high......faith will be rewarded!!!!!!!!

[BigBen]

Screwjack, Thank you so much for the advice.......just as an example of why i think im not an addict......i have been offered "roxys" and have turned them down, as i didnt want to try something i may like "to much".....as i have heard with roxys u get addicted VERY fast...............i hear what u are saying, and will google "cold water extraction" to see what the heck that is..............the vikes i have are the 7.5 /325 .........at least it doesnt have 500 or 600 APAP like some other generics...........

I would like to sress, im not saying its ok what i do...........i know its not the best thing.......but i believe if im going to stop cold, i have to WANT to.and right now...i dont have that urge.............like i said, i have never taken even more than 3 per day EVER.....whatever, i better stop rationalizing

[BigBen]

Screwjack, did some homework on your suggestion of cold water extraction.............not sure that is my cup of tea.....seems kinda tedious, and i dont inject or snort anything in my body...............thanx anyway bro

[screwjack]

Originally Posted by BigBen

Screwjack, did some homework on your suggestion of cold water extraction.............not sure that is my cup of tea.....seems kinda tedious, and i dont inject or snort anything in my body...............thanx anyway bro

Tylenol is still terrible for your liver dosen't matter whether you inject or snort or not. Sorry to tell you but that kind of thinking is addict thinking "well at least i'm only sticking to this and not something stronger" all opiates get turned into morphine so it dosen't matter whether you are doing heroin, oxycontins, vikes, or codeine. You're still catching the same train it's just going to take you a little longer to get there.

[BigBen]

Screwjack, u seem pretty level headed..do you have any vices????

Yeah, i guess you can say im on that train with saints and sinners.but hey doesnt Billy Joel say, "sinner have much more fun"

Someone way up top in my thread said that if u take less than 4,000MG of APAP your cool.........anyone know this as fact????

[StPatrick317]

Yes, if your going to take opiates no matter what, please try and fine one without tylenol.

[screwjack]

Originally Posted by BigBen

Screwjack, u seem pretty level headed..do you have any vices????

Yeah, i guess you can say im on that train with saints and sinners.but hey doesnt Billy Joel say, "sinner have much more fun"

Someone way up top in my thread said that if u take less than 4,000MG of APAP your cool.........anyone know this as fact????

I used to be into opiates really heavily to self medicate my SA was on them everyday for about 3 years on top of other drugs.

If you still want to use after hearing about addiction and the dangers, I feel it should be your right. But you should know all the facts before getting into it.

I think it's more like 2,000 MG not 4,000 but you could probably squeek by if you don't drink a lot and don't do it so often.

[BigBen]

Screwjack, thanx for all your honestly....im glad your clean........seems from what u described, it must have been a tough road........

as for what road im headed on.....who knows.....i would like to think i would back off... before it got to bad......but who knows............i consider myself educated, and smart ( i know drug addiction doesnt discriminate) but my point is, i would like to think i would back off it.....if i felt myself getting out of control................yes i know, may be im naive

[kpiper0101]

My husband was a recovering alcoholic with seven years sober, then started using prescription drugs, beginning with vicodin. He got it from his physician for some ailment he had at the time. He got addicted, and managed to continue getting various opiates legitimately through doctors though I believe he lied to get them. Anyway, long story short, he's dead now. Just never woke up. It takes more and more and more as time goes on, and even people who don't intend to become addicted obviously do. He'd been through treatment more than once, knew all about addiction, and it still happened to him. If he had any idea he was really going to die, I'm sure he would have found the strength to quit. Our son was seven and our daughter two at the time so they lose too. Anyway, it's just a dangerous road. Better to find some other way to cope if you can. Take care.

[BigBen]

Kpiper, im so sorry for your loss. Tht is just awful. I know u are 1000% correct, had he known the end result, he for sure would have stopped.......Thank you for sharing your story...........i hope u and your family can find comfort somehow..........Peace

[kev]

Sorry for your loss, kpiper

Sadly, it's often the people who never expect to become addicted that are the ones who become hooked.

screwjack is also right, vicodin tolerance builds very quickly. You're tolerance is probably already raised whether or not you realize it. Actually I'm very surprised you have been able to keep that up without having to increase the dosage. Does it really have the same effect it used to? If not, then you need to consider quitting.

You seem to be pretty level-headed. I would just ask yourself "Can I really keep this up forever?" If the answer is no, you have to quit.

I don't know the exact numbers, but do the vicodins you take have 500 mg per tablet? If that's the case, I doubt you have done any major liver damage yet, as long as you're not combining it with alcohol or anything. I would get a physical just in case because you're obviously taking more than the recommended amount at once. I don't think I would have a panic attack about it, I'm just giving my honest advice. If you ever feel the need to take 4 vicodins instead of 3, just take a second thought.

[BigBen]

Kev, thanx for your advice.Of course i know this cant last forever.
yes the ones i take have 500mg per pill...its the 7.5/500.
I never take 3 or 4 at once. When i say i take 3 in a day, say on fridaynight....... ill take the first one at 6...next one at 830...and than the last one at 11.........
i wont lie to anyone here....i very much look forward to that friday night 6 or 7 o clock hour............to be honest, im not really sure the point of my thread........i guess i just wanted to "vent" to people that can understand me, and have had somewhat similar experiences.......

and i very much appreciate here all the advice and support i see here.......lioke i said originally in my post....

my name is ben, and im a weekend Vicodin use right now....for better or worse.........Luckily through all my schooling ( i have a masters in Finance and marketing) i have learned to be very self disciplined.........im 34 FYI for those who may be curious