Talk:Vicodin

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Vicodin is a combination of acetaminophen and hydrocodone rather than just hydrocodone alone. This is an important distinction. Please see: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a601006.html

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[edit] Merge suggestion

To be consistant with other drugs in listed, I would merge. Search for Percocet - it redirects to Oxycodone. Percocet is to Oxycodone as Vicodin is to Hydrocodone - it is a mixture of drugs, usually (in the US, at any rate) done to acheive a lower scheduling (Oxycodone alone is schedule II, but mix it with a dose of Aspirin or Tylenol, and *poof*, it's schedule III.


  Thats incorrect. All oxycodone mixtures are schedule II.  Oxycodone with APAP(percocet) is still schedule II.

66.41.0.174 22:43, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

They should not be merged. Vicodin is hydrocodone with acetaminophen which makes it a schedule III controlled substance whilst regular hydrocodone preperations are schedule II.

The hydrocodone page should include chemical make up, half-life, bioavailibilty, and other more "advanced" information . It should be something more you'd see out of a chemistry book.

While the vicodin page should have history of the drug, when it was patented, who manufactors it, dosage sizes, etc. It should be something that someone just prescribed it should read to get a better idea of the medication without information they won't understand (e.g. chemical make-up)

They should NOT be merged. -Tunafizzle


There are articles for both Vicodin and Hydrocodone. They're the same thing. I suggest these articles be merged. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.181.120.218 (talk • contribs) 17:08, 24 July 2006 (UTC) -No to merging. As with Adderall, Dexedrine, and Benzedrine for amphetamine (same drugs) and Desoxyn for methamphetamine, this is no different. Instead of merging I suggest an expansion of the "Vicodin" article, including notes about the APAP content in hydrocodone and the problems APAP causes in recreational use. --John Cho 20:41, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Hey. Good point, I didn't realize those pages were that way. However, I still think we should go along with the guideline on this and merge. The discussion is over at Talk:Hydrocodone#Suggested_merge, though, so it'd be a good idea to repost your comment there. --Galaxiaad 02:50, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

The merge is ok, and I wonder if all teh mentions of alchohol and vicodin being used together should be balanced out by cautioniary info (it is possibly a fatal combo) or removed? Coming down off vicodin and wine, i experienced a severe case of the hiccups, as did my significant other.

NB: You shouldn't mix alcohol and paracetamol, it is potentially toxic to the liver. Fuzzform 03:47, 3 May 2007 (UTC)
I vote yes to merging, dexadrine, benzedrine and adderall all have importent information not held in the amphetamine article. vicodin however does not. I suggest that we add a sub catagory to hydrocodone for vicodin. In that we can add references in pop culture (there are quite a few) and information regarding specificly abotts manufacture of it. But this article must go, it is terribly written, contains many inaccuracy's, and lots of unsourced statements. I will add a subsection to hydrocodone tonight.

P.S. I just had my wisdom teeth removed and happen to be taking hydrocodone for the pain (2x 5/500) so please forgive any stupid mistakes, I am a little foggy. Foolishben 21:15, 28 November 2006 (UTC) Don't Merge - If you read the Vicodin article you will see that Vicodin and Hydrocodone are not the same thing; Hydrocodone is the main component of Vicodin. Hydrocodone is a component of Vicodin, because of this it is innapropriate to merge the two together; that would be simmilar to merging Coca-Cola with Caffiene. Unkown User - 8th December 2006

Ignore that comment. It's false. Hydrocodone is vicodin. They are the same. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.188.139.178 (talk) 11:53, 28 December 2006 (UTC).
No, ignore that one instead. Hydrocodone is the strongest active ingredient in Vicodin, but it's also Schedule II in the US when alone. Vicodin is Schedule III, because it is hydrocodone and paracetamol/acetaminophen - that's Tylenol or Panadol - in each pill. Vicodin is *not* hydrocodone. It's a mixed product. David DIBattiste 01:18, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
I support the merge. The articles on amphetamines listed above are a notable exception. The article co-codamol is also in need of work. It seems that mixed preparations are becoming somewhat of an issue. Vicoden itself (i.e. the brand name version) is rarely prescribed, due to the fact that generic equivalents are available. Fuzzform 03:46, 3 May 2007 (UTC)
Weak "don't merge": While the "mixed product" distinction between vic and hydrocodone is an important one to make, it can be made whether or not the merge takes place. The question is more whether there is enough information on the mix to merit a seperate article instead of just a section at Hydrocodone. I think there probably is, given the fact that the mix is prescribed widely and is also treated differently from hydrocodone in the laws of at least one country.
If the articles stay seperate, this article needs to make the distinction clearer. Currently the opening sentence treats vic as a synonym for hc. It might also help with clarity if some of the descriptions of effects compared and contrasted vic with hc, e.g. "Like/unlike pure hydrocodone, Vicodin has effects x, y and z." References to studies that compare the two substances would be helpful also, as would more references generally.--Eloil 20:38, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fiction based (pop culture) references

Is it relevant to add references to fictional works with Vicodin? For example, I think it's irrelevant that Gregory House in House TV series uses Vicodin. Should we also list all fictional works that mention AK-47 in the AK-47 article? I would say famous Vicodin users are relevant, say a famous pop star, but not any reference that is fiction based. I would like to remove the fiction based references. What do you think? Shd 21:23, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

I think it's relevant. It isn't just a mention, it's prominently featured in the series (well, that sounds like product placement, but you know what I mean). I think the point of the pop culture references section is to see what kind of role the drug plays in current pop culture, and for that, fictional references are just as important as real-life ones. --Galaxiaad 22:07, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
Seems reasonable to include House, since this show is a part of pop culture.203.213.77.138 04:50, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, seems relevant to me. Given the prescription drug crisis going on today, mentions of vicodin ought to include their prevalence in pop culture67.86.173.66 21:19, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Especially since almost every single House episode makes several mentions of Vicodin (In fact I came to this page from the House (TV Series) article).
Wasn't Rush addicted to Oxycodone instead of Vicodin? The pop culture reference section says otherwise though.PatDonovan130 15:21, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, and we have a reference for that: Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is a famous admitted former OxyContin addict and abuser [1]. (from the oxycodone article). They're the same type of drug, so it's possible he was addicted to both, but I'll take it out of the article unless/until we get a reference. --Galaxiaad 20:55, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
Oy, I should have done a Google search first. I haven't found any really neutral sources, and I have to go now, but there are a bunch of sites that say it was both oxycodone and hydrocodone. Sorry, will work on it later! --Galaxiaad 21:05, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

The popular culture section contains a lot of passing references to vicodin in movies and songs. Many of these are of questionable relevance. I can see the argument for the house reference, since it's a well-known show and vicodin apparently plays a prominent role. I can see similar arguments for the Eminem and Six Feet under references. I'm going to take out some of the "x took a vicodin in whatever movie" type references though. Feel free to add back anything you think was removed in error.

Once trimmed down, I think the section would be a lot better if it was in prose rather than in list form. This would also discourage the listcruft problem from resurfacing here.--Eloil 21:06, 8 May

I'm changing the heading from "Fiction based (pop culture) references" to just "Pop culture references" since this is both more common for such sections and much more accurate, as it includes the addictions of real people to the drug. I don't think an article benefits from a whole section on fictional references to the topic. Imagine how long the articles for love, sex, war, family, death, murder, crime, the sun, flowers, god... just about anything. If the list is not reasonably comprehensive then it puts undue weight on those that are utterly trivial yet managed to be added, while if it s comprehensive the article would be page after page after page of references... what is gained? I don't really see why it is important some actor was addicted to the drug, but I don't think anything about most actors is important enough to bother with anyhow - I recognize I'm the odd one out there. I don't think the House or Eminem references add much to this article, I would put those in the articles for the series or the artist, but at least they make sense: the drug plays a major role in defining the context of each.

Also, It seems like the reference section has crept back to being a list since you cleaned it up back in May. I will go and remove those that seem unnecessary. This follows the "Be bold" approach, but I will not argue with anyone who wishes to change them back. I only ask that you consider if the entry adds to the article or just makes it longer. Keep in mind that we are expected to try and avoid lists. Thanks. --Fitzhugh 20:57, 28 September 2007 (UTC)


I agree with the original poster. The pop culture references are silly and irrelevant. No one cares if someone said the word "vicodin" in a song. There are many references to vicodin everyday, and we could post every single one of those references, but it wouldn't make the article any better. The few pop culture references seem to be picked out of someone's ass and don't give one a sense of context or what it adds to the drug's notoriety. No one cares if the Stone Temple Pilots mention it in a song. Just get rid of it and add a section about famous vicodin addicts. --Hegemonster


Just removed it again. Pure POV. Zerocannon (talk) 04:03, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How it works

Anyone know how it effects the body chemicly? (as a painkiller) Klosterdev 16:47, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

It binds to mu-opioid receptors in the central nervous system, like other similar drugs such as morphine and oxycodone. This binding affinity is associated with feelins of well-being and relief of pain; your body uses the same receptors for endogenous chemicals generally referred to as endorphins that have a similar function. I believe that this is explained in the main hydrocodone article.

Then again, it may not be. Also, I forgot to mention that since it's hydrocodone combined with acetaminophen that it has some other not entirely understood method of producing analgesia that is most likely related to the inhibition of prostaglandins. Archmage Brian 03:00, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Krusty the Clown from "The Simpsons" show blames his odd behaviour on the Vicodin.

[edit] Trivia section

I removed it as per WP:TRIV guidelines, thought I'd mention it here. TheDapperDan 09:06, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Brett Favre

Is it notable to put that Brett Favre was addicted to vicodin in the '93-'95 seasons? Pbroks13 16:08, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

Exactly how long does it stay in your system, drug testing-wise74.73.112.170 00:59, 11 July 2007 (UTC)