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Dr. Kim Mulvihill Reporting The recent news about Terrell Owens highlights a number of issues about pain medications.
Terrell Owens was taking hydrocodone, commonly known as vicodin. It's used to treat moderate to severe pain and, as with any medication, there are important precautions to keep in mind.
To begin with, follow your doctor's instructions -- don't assume if one is good, two is better. Hydrocodone slows the nervous system and may not mix well with other medicines or supplements, especially ones that slow your actions and reactions -- drugs like valium, certain anti-depressants, antihistamines, sleeping medications, and of course alcohol.
There's another concern, too. Hydrocodone is a derivative of the opium poppy. While this drug treats severe pain, it also produces a state of well-being, or euphoria, and that makes it easy to get hooked.
Dr. Clifford Bernstein, Waismann Institute: "That has nothing to do with genetics. That will happen to anybody. Anybody who takes these drugs for awhile can become physically dependent and will have trouble getting off. As you take more and more opiates you become more tolerant. The storage area in your brain becomes bigger and bigger, meaning you have more receptors and that's why people need more drug to get the same effect."
Whether it's related to an injury or after surgery, many people find they're still taking vicodin months after they've healed. In some cases that could be a sign of an underlying depression
According to the most recent statistics from Department of Health and Human Services, pain medications were involved in 36 percent of drug related suicide attempts in 2004; and opiates - like vicodin - led the way.
