Help for hydrocodone addiction

Here, we outline how to find and get help for hydrocodone addiction (starting with your family doctor). National hotline numbers and more ways to find help for hydrocodone addiction here.

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Hydrocodone, used in brand name products like Vicodin, is the most commonly prescribed pain killer in the U.S. It’s a scheduled II narcotic and on top of relieving pain, can induce a powerful high and a psychological dependence on hydrocodone. So, if you’ve found yourself in trouble with hydrocodone you are not alone.  But treating hydrocodone addiction is not something to be ashamed of.  And if you are ready to quit taking hydrocodone, there is help for you.

Read here to learn how you can find and get help for hydrocodone addiction. Plus, a section at the end for your questions about hydrocodone addiction and its treatment.

How to help hydrocodone addiction

Admitting you have a problem with hydrocodone is essential to getting help. The most important help you can offer yourself is to acknowledge and address the reason why you started using hydrocodone in the first place. Addiction to hydrocodone is about more than physical pain. Understanding the psychological reasons you turn to hydrocodone to cope with the stress of life can help you heal and start to maintain a life of sobriety. Seeking out counsel, support groups, and a community ready to help you are the first steps in addressing the psychological aspects of any addiction.

Getting help for hydrocodone addiction

Getting help for hydrocodone addiction doesn’t have to be overwhelming. If you’re think you’re addicted to hydrocodone or know that you have some kind of problem, seek out a doctor. Go to your family doctor or even a general physician who you’ve never seen before and ask for help. MD’s can provide advice or monitor and help you taper from hydrocodone, slowly lowering doses over time using a planned calendar. Doctors can also help you figure out alternative ways to treat physical pain if it is present.

Alternatively, talk with someone you trust who can help you. Plus, there are several ways you can get help. You can call hotlines, reach out to a social worker, talk with a spiritual adviser, see a psychiatrist or psychologist, look into local communities who support addiction issues, or seek out an addiction specialist trained to work with addicts. Wherever you seek help, the important part is to start to ask for it.

How to help a hydrocodone addict

Hydrocodone is currently the most prevelant prescription drug addiction in the U.S. If you want to help someone who is having trouble with hydrocodone, it’s important to understand how addiction happens in the first place. Education and personal accountability are critical in this process.

1. Education about hydrocodone addiction

Just because hydrocodone is legal doesn’t mean it can’t be harmful. Raising awareness with parents, youth, health providers, and the community is an important part of preventing and de-stigmatizing addiction. People aren’t aware that hydrocodone is a dangerous drug which can negatively impact lives. Since teens are particularly at risk, informing them at of hydrocodone dangers at a young age is extremely important in preventing addiction. Doctor awareness is equally important so that MD’s understand guidelines for prescribing opioids like hydrocodone can decrease potential for hydrocodone addiction.

2. Personal accountability

Are you an enabler? People who care for hydrocodone addicts can reinforce addiction by letting a loved one get away with behaviors, rationalizing actions and/or the medical use of hydrocodone. Maybe you don’t want to see an addict in pain, so you help them use by providing money, food, or shelter. Maybe a hydrocodone addict is easier to deal with when they are using. Being an enabler can be dangerous. By understanding your relationship to addiction and getting behavioral treatment yourself, you can start to set limits with an addict. A hydrocodone addict themselves has to learn to be accountable for their actions and their addiction until they start to change.

Hydrocodone addiction help and helplines

Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) to put you in contact with treatment, support groups, and detox facilities that can help with hydrocodone addiction. Substance abuse and mental health services association (SAMHSA) has a national hotline you can call with can put you in contact with several resources. Please, use this resource. This hotline is funded so that it can get people in contact with the help they need for addiction. If you are hesitant to call, take look at their website for the SAMHSA treatment locator to narrow your search to identify treatment centers and information in your local area.

Help with hydrocodone addiction questions

Still have questions about help with hydrocodone addiction? Please, give use your questions we will get back to them as soon as we can

Reference Sources: FDA: Enforcement Actions on Unapproved Drugs
U.S. Department of Justice: Drug info on hydrocodone
HHS: Research on Prescription Drug Abuse 
About the author
Lee Weber is a published author, medical writer, and woman in long-term recovery from addiction. Her latest book, The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions is set to reach university bookstores in early 2019.
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