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Hydrocodone , Cabot Arkansas

Hydrocodone is a semi-synthetic opioid produced from codeine, an opioid found in opium poppy plant. The drug falls under the narcotic analgesics or pain killer medicines. Commonly comes in a liquid form, doctors prescribed the drug to relieve pain, stops and even prevents a cough.  The drug is considered as an opioid which affects the nervous system and used as a pain medication to alleviate moderate to severe pain.

The drug proved as more helpful than codeine for suppressing cough but more deadly that morphine.

History of Hydrocodone

In 1920 Carl Mannich and Helene Lowenheim first synthesized hydrocodone in Germany.  The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the drug on March 23, 1943. The Health Canada also approved hydrocodone under the brand name, hycodan.

The two added oxygen to codeine to solve the common side effect of it such as stomach discomfort and high level of toxicity.

Knoll first marketed hydrocodone as Dicodid in Germany on February 1924. Within a few years, several drugs came out in the market such as Dilaudid, Dihydrin, Dinarkon and Dimorphan.

Reports of addiction from the drug did not become apparent until 1961, more than 30 years since it first marketed.

How it is abused

As a painkiller, hydrocodone acts in the thousands of opioid receptors on the body. It does not cure the pain through its source, it only changes the patient’s perception of the pain. The feeling can be habit-forming particularly to people who seek the sensation. Some of the sought after sensation includes, numbness, sleepiness, reduced stress even increased the sense of one’s self.


According to the International Narcotics Control Board, hydrocodone is prescribed mainly in the United States. Reports stated that the US consumed about 99% of the international supply in 2007. The prescribed name of Hydrocodone includes Vicodin, Norco, and Lortab.


In a study of the National Institute of Health or NIH, it estimated that 20% of Americans consumed the drug such as Vicodin for non-medical reasons. An increasing number of people abused the drug. A more alarming report came from the Drug Enforcement Administration or DEA in 2013. The report shows that in the US alone, 24 million over the 21 years of age used hydrocodone for no apparent reasons.


One key factor that made hydrocodone as one highly addictive drug is its availability. The DEA reported that 136 hydrocodone dispensed prescription were made in 2013. Numbers continues to rise with an added increase of 20 million of prescription each year since 2006.


Hydrocodone use resulted to an estimated 100,000 abuse-related hospital emergency related in the US for the year 2011. To decrease the numbers, the US government created stricter prescribing rules for the drug in 2014.

Signs and symptoms

Addiction to hydrocodone usually starts with a prescription which leads to its dependence. It then gradually rises for the need to consume hydrocodone in spite of its side effects. The effects of hydrocodone can be deadly like that of morphine and heroin.

The drug works in the reward system of the brain which fortifies for its dependence. Prolonged abuse of the drug can result in the short and long term damage in both physical and mental state.

Mild Side Effects

Patients taking hydrocodone may experience some mild effects which gradually wears off. These may include:

  •    Dizziness
  •    Drowsiness
  •    Headache
  •    Nausea
  •    Muscle weakness
  •    Itchiness
  •    Trouble sleeping

Severe Side Effects of Hydrocodone

Long-term exposure to hydrocodone can lead to irreversible outcomes. The drug can affect the normal function of the brain reward system, thus making it hard to find pleasure in most activities.

Hydrocodone contains depressant quality and can result to some of the serious side effects listed. The drug can slow down the heart rate which may stop the beating of the heart. It is important to seek immediate medical attention when these symptoms are noticed or felt:

  •    Trouble urinating
  •    Slowed or erratic heartbeat
  •    breathing problems
  •    bowel obstruction
  •    severe itching, hives or swelling
  •    vomiting

Problem with Hydrocodone Addiction

The most difficult about hydrocodone addiction will be the intervention. The drug’s availability made it impossible to stop a user since their perception is that they are following a legitimate doctor’s order. It is important to consider the options for the overall treatment of the patient. RehabNear.Me is dedicated to providing insightful articles and the best addiction treatment centers near you!

About Cabot

Cabot is the largest city in Lonoke County, Arkansas, United States, and a suburb of Little Rock. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 23,776, and in 2019 the population was an estimated 26,352, ranking it as the state's 19th largest city, behind Jacksonville. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area.

About Arkansas

Arkansas ( AR-kən-saw) is a landlocked state in the South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma to the west. Its name derives from the Osage language, and refers to their relatives, the Quapaw people. The state's diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the densely forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta. Arkansas is the 29th largest by area and the 34th most populous state, with a population of just over three million at the 2020 census. The capital and most populous city is Little Rock, in the central part of the state, a hub for transportation, business, culture, and government. The northwestern corner of the state, including the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Area and Fort Smith metropolitan area, is a population, education, and economic center. The largest city in the state's eastern part is Jonesboro. The largest city in the state's southeastern part is Pine Bluff. Previously part of French Louisiana and the Louisiana Purchase, the Territory of Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the 25th state on June 15, 1836. Much of the Delta had been developed for cotton plantations, and landowners there largely depended on enslaved African Americans' labor. In 1861, Arkansas seceded from the United States and joined the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. On returning to the Union in 1868, Arkansas continued to suffer economically, due to its overreliance on the large-scale plantation economy. Cotton remained the leading commodity crop, and the cotton market declined. Because farmers and businessmen did not diversify and there was little industrial investment, the state fell behind in economic opportunity. In the late 19th century, the state instituted various Jim Crow laws to disenfranchise and segregate the African-American population. White interests dominated Arkansas's politics, with disenfranchisement of African Americans and refusal to reapportion the legislature; only after the federal legislation passed were more African Americans able to vote. During the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, Arkansas and particularly Little Rock were major battlegrounds for efforts to integrate schools. Following World War II in the 1940s, Arkansas began to diversify its economy and see prosperity. During the 1960s, the state became the base of the Walmart corporation, the world's largest company by revenue, headquartered in Bentonville. In the 21st century, Arkansas's economy is based on service industries, aircraft, poultry, steel, and tourism, along with important commodity crops of cotton, soybeans and rice. Arkansas's culture is observable in museums, theaters, novels, television shows, restaurants, and athletic venues across the state. Notable people from the state include politician and educational advocate William Fulbright; former president Bill Clinton, who also served as the 40th and 42nd governor of Arkansas; general Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander; Walmart founder and magnate Sam Walton; singer-songwriters Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, Jimmy Driftwood, and Glen Campbell; actor-filmmaker Billy Bob Thornton; poet C. D. Wright; physicist William L. McMillan, a pioneer in superconductor research; poet laureate Maya Angelou; Douglas MacArthur; musician Al Green; actor Alan Ladd; basketball player Scottie Pippen; singer Ne-Yo; Chelsea Clinton; actress Sheryl Underwood; and author John Grisham.
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