Lortab

1. Lortab Paige Smith

2. What is Lortab? • Lortab is a prescription pain medication approved to treat moderate to severe pain. • Since Lortab is a narcotic, it is classified as a controlled substance and has special laws and regulations that control its sale and use.

3. About Lortab • Lortab comes from an opium plant • Lortab is considered a Schedule II controlled substance in the United States • This means it is possible to abuse this drug and it may also cause dependence

4. Lortab is Prescribed For… • Sports injuries • People who recently had surgery • People with arthritis • Given by dentists after oral surgery

5. How Should It Be Taken? • “As needed” meaning you only take the medication when you are experiencing pain • “Scheduled use” meaning you take the medication on schedule even if you are not experiencing pain

6. Who Makes It? • All Lortab products are marketed by: UCB Pharma, Inc. • Lortab 5/500 & 10/500 are made by: Mallinckrodt • Lortab 2.5/500, 7.5/500 & Lortab Elixir are made by: Mikart, Inc.

7. Dosage • Lortab 2.5/500 & 5/500: • 1 to 2 tablets every 4 to 6 hours as needed • Lortab 7.5/500 & 10/500: • 1 tablet every 4 to 6 hours as needed • Lortab 7.5 Elixir: • 1 Tablespoonful every 4 to 6 hours as needed The maximum recommended amount for an adult is: 1,000 mg per dose & 4,000 mg in one day

8. Ingredients • Lortab contains two different pain medications: Hydrocodone & Acetaminophen • Hydrocodone is a semi-synthetic narcotic opioid pain reliever • Acetaminophen is a pain reliever and fever reducer (commonly found in Tylenol)

9. How Lortab Works In the Brain • Addictive, narcotic drugs, like Lortab, work on the neurons in the human brain • Hydrocodone works on the opiate receptors in the brain to provide pain relief while acetaminophen increases the effects of Hydrocodone. • Hydrocodone is the narcotic component of the drug which attaches to opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord to block pain

10. Physical Dependence • Physical dependence is not a sign of abuse, it is a predictable, physical response to long term use of the narcotic. • People can be physically dependent on this drug without abusing it as well. The body becomes tolerant to the effects of Lortab and higher doses are necessary to produce the same pain-relieving effects.

11. Physical Consequences • Taking high doses of a narcotic can result in breathing problems, extreme drowsiness, coma and even death. • Taking high doses of acetaminophen can likely cause liver failure and death.

12. Lortab Abuse • Since the 1900’s, the average intake of Lortab and other Hydrocodone drugs has increased by about 300% throughout the United States. • Users can become easily dependent on this drug due to the feeling it produces. • Many people who struggle with abuse of this drug often obtain other different prescription medications to help them support their abuse of Lortab.

13. How Is It Abused? • Lortab is abused in many other ways rather than in pill form: • Swallowed • Chewed • Crushed into powder to inhale • Snorted like cocaine • Dissolved in water to be injected

14. Effects of Abuse • Lortab can impair motor skills which can affect your reaction time. • It also causes changes in mood and thought processes. • Lortab abuse can reduce the user’s consciousness levels, ability to think, and awareness.

15. Addiction • People that use this drug to get high use higher doses than prescribed. • Whether a person is prescribed this medication or not, they can develop an opiate tolerance quickly. • If your prescription is not strong enough for the amount of pain you are having, you may show changes in behavior due to the pain you are experiencing or you may take Lortab more often than prescribed. • Many people use insufficient pain control as an excuse to receive more Lortab medication.

16. Signs Of Addiction • Going through Lortab prescriptions too quickly • “Doctor Shopping” seeing many different doctors to receive prescription • Reports of losing prescription • Having it stolen • Needing medication early to go on vacation • Stealing, lying, dishonest behavior • Lack of money • Secluded behavior, needing time alone • Abandoning good friends & replacing them with new ones • Changes in mood and behavior Healthcare Providers Notice… Friends & Family Notice…

17. Side Effects • If you crush, chew or snort opiate drugs it can lead to severe side effects and in some cases overdose. • Side effects that may occur when taking this medication: • Drowsiness • Dizziness • Anxiety • Constipation • Mental clouding • Restlessness

18. Overdose • Both Hydrocodone and acetaminophen create a serious risk and can lead to Lortab death with overdose. • Overdose occurs when someone takes a higher amount than their body can handle. • Lortab addiction abuse can easily make a person fall asleep making it hard to tell whether they are high or overdosing.

19. Hydrocodone Overdose Symptoms • The Hydrocodone in Lortab can produce overdose symptoms such as: • Extreme drowsiness • Fainting • Coma • Clammy skin • Slow heart rate • Low blood pressure • Blue lips • Difficulty breathing • Cardiac arrest • Muscle spasticity • Death

20. Acetaminophen Overdose Symptoms • The acetaminophen in Lortab can produce overdose symptoms such as: • Jaundice • Vomiting • Nausea • Irritability • Confusion • Liver failure • Sweating • Loss of appetite • Dark urine • Bleeding • Diarrhea • Death

21. Treatment • Lortab overdose treatment would include taking certain medicines, forcing the person to vomit, inducing activated charcoal or pumping the stomach. • Treatment also includes other types of care and support that consist of treating the symptoms of overdose.

22. Works Cited • Editorial Board. "Increasing Incidence Of Lortab Abuse." Suboxone. Soft Landing Recovery, 10 June 2007. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://www.softlandingrecovery.com/articles/lortab_abuse.html>. • Medication Withdrawal Center. "Lortab Overdose." Alternative to Meds Center. Alternative to Meds Center for Medication Withdrawal Help and Treatment, 2007. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. <http://www.medicationwithdrawal.com/articles/lortab-overdose.html>. • Monson, Kristi, and Arthur Schoenstadt. "Lortab Abuse." Pain Home Page. Clinaero Inc., 2006. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. <http://pain.emedtv.com/lortab/lortab-abuse.html>. • Monson, Kristi, and Arthur Schoenstadt. "Lortab Addiction." Pain Home Page. Clinaero Inc., 2006. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. <http://pain.emedtv.com/lortab/lortab-addiction.html>. • Monson, Kristi, and Arthur Schoenstadt. "Lortab Dosage." Pain Home Page. Clinaero Inc., 2006. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://pain.emedtv.com/lortab/lortab-dosage.html>. • Monson, Kristi, and Arthur Schoenstadt. "Lortab Overdose." Pain Home Page. Clinaero Inc., 2006. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://pain.emedtv.com/lortab/lortab-overdose.html>. • Monson, Kristi, and Arthur Schoenstadt. "Lortab." Pain Home Page. Clinaero Inc., 2006. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. <http://pain.emedtv.com/lortab/lortab.html>. • Waismann Method. "Lortab." Rapid Detox Treatment from Opiate Addiction Under Sedation - Waismann Method. Anesthesia Assisted Medical Opiate Detoxification, Inc., 1997. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. <http://www.opiates.com/lortab/>.