Who is prescribed percocet

Your doctor can help you taper off the medication slowly. This reduces your risk of withdrawal. Be sure to take these drugs exactly as your doctor prescribes to reduce your risk of both dependence and withdrawal problems. Like most drugs, Vicodin and Percocet can interact with other medications. This means that when used with certain other drugs, these medications can cause effects that can be dangerous.

Before you take Vicodin or Percocet, tell your doctor about all other medications you take, including vitamins and supplements. Vicodin and Percocet interact with many of the same drugs.

For more information, visit the interaction sections for Vicodin and Percocet. If you have certain health conditions, taking Vicodin or Percocet could increase certain risks. Before taking Vicodin or Percocet, be sure to tell your doctor if you have constipation or intestinal blockage. Opioid analgesics can cause increased constipation, so ask your doctor if you should avoid taking them. You should not drink alcohol while taking either Vicodin or Percocet.

Combining alcohol and these painkillers can cause extreme dizziness or drowsiness, and can even be deadly. In some cases, taking one of these drugs with alcohol can cause liver damage. This is true if you drink more than three alcoholic drinks per day, have alcoholic liver disease, or have a history of alcohol abuse. Vicodin and Percocet are opioid pain medications that are similar in many ways. Some of the main ways in which they differ are strengths and cost.

If your doctor feels you need Vicodin or Percocet for your pain, they will choose the drug for you based on several factors. These factors include your health history and how your body has reacted to pain medications in the past. If you have questions about your prescription or about either of these drugs, be sure to ask your doctor. Questions to ask your doctor might include:. Dilaudid and oxycodone are prescription opioids, a class of strong pain-relieving drugs.

See how the two compare in side effects, warnings, and more. Tramadol and hydrocodone are two strong prescription pain medications. They relieve pain but come with side effects. See their differences and…. Tramadol and Vicodin are powerful pain relievers.

Find out how they work, how they compare, and why you should take them with caution. If you stop using opiates after becoming dependent, you can experience uncomfortable symptoms of withdrawal. Find out about home remedies to ease…. Learn about the most addictive prescription drugs, including Adderall and Xanax. Percocet is a prescription painkiller derived from the same source as morphine and heroin.

The effects of oxycodone make it harder to drive or operate machinery safely. If you drive a motor vehicle after taking oxycodone, you are more likely to crash, and hurt or kill yourself or someone else. If you take oxycodone every day, your body will get used to the drug. You may be hooked if you:. Depending on your age, health and history, your doctor may prescribe medications to ease your way through withdrawal or suggest opioid maintenance treatment OMT with methadone or buprenorphine Suboxone.

Group support, counselling or a stay at a drug treatment centre can help you to stop using oxycodone. Aim to stay off all other mood-altering drugs including alcohol. These strategies help to prevent relapse using oxycodone again. Relapse after withdrawal is common, and carries a high risk of overdose. OMT is the best way to prevent relapse. Keep your finger on our pulse — latest CAMH news, discoveries and ways to get involved delivered to your inbox.

To unsubscribe at any time click the link in our mailing or email: unsubscribe camh. Your donation will fund the groundbreaking mental health research that is helping people on the path to recovery. Please select a newsletter. Please complete the following:. CAMH Foundation - provides updates on the mental health movement and ways you can get involved. Small amounts of oxycodone pass into breast milk and may cause breathing problems for your baby.

Tell a doctor if you are breastfeeding. They may be able to recommend a different painkiller. Some medicines and oxycodone interfere with each other and increase the chance that you will have side effects. Tell a doctor before you start taking oxycodone if you are taking any medicines:.

It's not possible to say that oxycodone is safe to take with herbal remedies and supplements. They're not tested for the effect they have on other medicines in the same way pharmacy and prescription medicines are.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal medicines, vitamins or supplements. It works in the central nervous system and the brain to block pain signals to the rest of the body.

It also reduces the anxiety and stress caused by pain. This depends on the type of oxycodone you take — fast acting or slow acting. Fast-acting oxycodone capsules and liquid take 30 to 60 minutes to work, but these wear off after 4 to 6 hours. Slow-acting oxycodone tablets can take 1 to 2 days to work fully, but the pain relief will last longer.

An oxycodone injection into a vein gives the quickest pain relief and works almost straight away. Depending on why you're taking oxycodone, you may only need to take it for a short time. For example, if you're in pain after an injury or operation, you may only need to take oxycodone for a few days or weeks at most. You may need to take it for longer if you have a long-term condition such as cancer.

It is possible to become addicted to oxycodone. If you need to take if for a long time your body can become tolerant to it. That means you need higher doses to control your pain over time.

For this reason, the dose you take will be reviewed to make sure you are only taking the amount you need to control your pain. If you're addicted to oxycodone, you may find it difficult to stop taking it or feel you need to take it more often than necessary. If you stop taking it suddenly you may suffer from withdrawal symptoms.

These include:. Talk to a doctor if you're worried about addiction or if you want to know more about how to prevent withdrawal symptoms. For some people with conditions who need long-term pain relief, it may be necessary to take oxycodone for a long time. If you need to take it for a long time, your body can become tolerant to it.

Some people can become more sensitive to pain hyperalgesia. If this happens, your doctor will reduce your dose gradually to help these symptoms. For this reason, your dose will be reviewed to make sure you are only taking the amount you need to control your pain.

Your treatment plan may include details of how and when you will stop taking oxycodone. If you are having treatment for cancer pain or other severe pain, your pain control will be carefully monitored. Speak to your doctor if you are worried about tolerance, hyperalgesia or becoming addicted. If you need to take oxycodone for a long time, your body can get used to it. This is not usually a problem, but if you stop taking it suddenly you could get withdrawal symptoms such as:.

If you want to stop taking oxycodone, talk to a doctor first. Your dose can be reduced gradually so you do not get these symptoms.

Oxycodone acts on different pain signals in the brain to some other opiates. This does not mean it's better for certain conditions. The pain relief and side effects which you can get from oxycodone will be different for individual people. A doctor may prescribe oxycodone if you have had side effects from other opiates. It's best to stop drinking alcohol during the first few days of treatment, or if a doctor increases your dose, until you see how oxycodone affects you.

Drinking alcohol while you're taking oxycodone may make you feel more sleepy or increase the risk of serious side effects. Grapefruit juice can increase the amount of oxycodone in your body so it's a good idea to avoid it while you're taking oxycodone. Oxycodone is not generally affected by any other food or drink except alcohol.

Oxycodone does not affect any type of contraception including the combined pill or emergency contraception. There's no firm evidence to suggest that taking oxycodone will reduce fertility in women or men.

However, speak to a pharmacist or doctor if you're trying to get pregnant. They may want to review your treatment. Do not drive a car, ride a bike or operate machinery if oxycodone gives you blurred vision, makes you feel dizzy, sleepy, clumsy or unable to concentrate or make decisions.

This may be more likely when you first start taking oxycodone but could happen at any time — for example when starting another medicine or if a doctor increases your dose. It's an offence to drive a car if your ability to drive safely is affected. It's your responsibility to decide if it's safe to drive. If you're in any doubt, do not drive.

It may be best not to drink alcohol while taking oxycodone as you're more likely to get side effects like feeling sleepy. Even if your ability to drive is not affected, police have the right to request a saliva sample to check how much morphine is in your body.

UK has more information about the law on drugs and driving. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist if you're unsure whether it's safe for you to drive while taking oxycodone. If you take recreational drugs, such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin, while you're taking oxycodone, you're more likely to get the serious side effects of oxycodone including breathing difficulties, muscle stiffness, low blood pressure and seizures or fits.

Some recreational drugs, such as cannabis, will also increase oxycodone side effects and make you feel sleepy and dizzy. Taking heroin while you're taking prescribed oxycodone is especially dangerous. You're more likely to get all the side effects of oxycodone, including addiction. Tell your doctor if you take recreational drugs while you're taking oxycodone.