Lortab Elixir: Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Acetaminophen Liquid Solution

Lortab is a prescription drug that is considered a controlled substance by the DEA. It’s also classified as an opioid analgesic that is used to treat coughs and as a pain reliever. The primary ingredient in Lortab, which is also the opioid component, is hydrocodone.

Lortab also contains acetaminophen, and it’s available as a tablet, a liquid solution, and a syrup. An opioid is also often called a narcotic, and this particular narcotic, as with other opioids, can slow the respiratory system to the point where you stop breathing, or your breathing is slowed to a dangerous point.

Lortab is prescribed to patients for the treatment of moderate to severe pain.

Lortab Elixir: Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Acetaminophen Liquid Solution
As with other opioids, when someone takes Lortab, there is the potential for abuse and addiction, which is why it’s a medicine available only with a prescription.

The reason Lortab may lead to addiction is because of the opioid component. When someone takes an opioid drug such as hydrocodone, which is the active ingredient in Lortab, it passes the blood-brain barrier and binds to the opioid receptors in their central nervous system. When this occurs, it unleashes a large amount of dopamine into their brain and body.

Dopamine is a feel-good brain chemical that can occur naturally, but the amount released by an opioid like Lortab is much higher than anything that could occur in the natural sense. Once this happens, the person taking the medicine feels a rush of euphoria, well-being, and relaxation. As this happens, the neural pathways in your brain start paving the way for seeking more of the drug, as a way to recreate the initial high you felt. That’s where addiction begins.

Hydrocodone also treats pain by altering the way the person perceives it. It’s somewhat like masking pain, instead of eliminating pain signals.

With the combination of acetaminophen that’s in Lortab, it can approach pain in two different ways. As mentioned the hydrocodone component treats pain by changing the person’s sensation of it, while acetaminophen stops pain signals from being transmitted from the brain to the body. This is why Lortab and other opioid combination drugs like it are very effective.

While there are medical applications for Lortab and Lortab elixir, people take it recreationally as well to become more relaxed, experience the euphoria, to help them sleep, or to numb their emotions.

Lortab elixir is one of the common ways this drug is prescribed. Lortab elixir is a combination of hydrocodone bitartrate, and acetaminophen in a liquid solution.

This solution is taken orally, and it is a pain reliever and also a cough medicine, as was touched on above.

In terms of pharmacology, Lortab elixir is described as an antitussive and a narcotic analgesic, and the way it works is similar to codeine.

Dosages of liquid Lortab are based on factors including the severity of pain a person is experiencing, and the response of the individual patient to the medicine, but doctors are warned that tolerance can develop when using hydrocodone.

For an adult, the typical dosage of liquid Lortab would be a tablespoon every four to six hours as needed, while the total daily dosage shouldn’t be more than six tablespoons.

Most liquid Lortab or Lortab elixir comes as a liquid flavored as fruit punch.

It’s important for people to realize with liquid Lortab that there are potential adverse reactions and side effects that can develop, including addiction. It’s also important to understand that in addition to the potential of being addicted to Lortab elixir or abusing it, there’s also the risks that come with taking too much acetaminophen.

People who are prescribed liquid Lortab are warned to be incredibly careful and use it only exactly as instructed by a physician because of the opioid component and potential for overdose, but also the risks of acetaminophen. When you take too much acetaminophen in a 24-hour period, it can lead to acute liver damage and failure.

Other side effects of using Lortab elixir or liquid Lortab can include cardiovascular problems, hypotension, psychiatric problems such as anxiety or malaise, mood changes, sedation, and gastrointestinal problems.

Lortab Elixir: Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Acetaminophen Liquid Solution
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Lortab Elixir: Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Acetaminophen Liquid Solution was last modified: July 26th, 2017 by The Recovery Village