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Is Hydromorphone The Same As Hydrocodone?
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Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
Hydrocodone and hydromorphone are slightly different opioid medications, but at the same dose, they are equivalent in terms of dosage, and duration. Hydromorphone is not considered stronger than hydrocodone. They are equivalent.
It's hard to know ahead of time how any particular medication will affect an individual, but these two medications are similar.
It is a good idea to watch the total amount of acetaminophen from all sources, and Vicodin is a combination of hydrocodone and acetaminophen. So it's reasonable to switch to hydromorphone. It is the closest substitute for the hydrocodone in the Vicodin.
If you are afraid that the hydromorphone is going to whack you out, make sure that the dose of it is the same as the dose of hydrocodone you were getting previously in the Vicodin. Then it will not be much of a change except for not having the acetaminophen in there with it.
Does that make sense to you? Please let me know if I can provide further information.
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Information and correction
Detailed Answer:
No need to apologize for any of it.
And actually I need to apologize. My source for saying that the dosing of the 2 medications came from an old pharmacopoeia reference and now from every current source I look at, that information was wrong.
Hydromorphone is stronger and needs a lower dose.
So for 20 mg of Hydrocodone, 4-6 mg of Hydromorphone would be an appropriate dose to start with. But you may need to adjust the dose after you see how it works for you, because there is a wide range of "bioavailability" for this opiate which varies from person to person.
I am attaching links for 2 opiate conversion tables. You will need to copy and paste it into your address bar as I don't think it will "link" here:
http://www.med.umich.edu/1info/FHP/practiceguides/pain/dosing.pdf
http://clincalc.com/opioids/
(In the calculator, the term "PO" means per oral, in other words by mouth)
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Thoughts on this.
Detailed Answer:
I think it would be reasonable to wait an hour, and take an additional 2 mg. With oral dosing, it takes around 30 minutes to kick in, but may take up to an hour to reach peak concentrations.
I can't guarantee that it will affect you one way or the other, but it would be very unusual to cause such extreme behavior as you are thinking might happen. Opiates mostly just relieve pain, and cause sedation, with some mood elevation. I would be more leery of Ambien but that is not in the same class of medication. It is unlikely that you would have crazy thoughts from an opiate, like a person might from a hallucinogen like LSD.
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Good night -
Detailed Answer:
I hope you have a good night and no troubles. Also wishing your leg a thorough recovery.
Best regards
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