Overview :
It is dangerous and fatal to combine potent pain medication with alcohol. Alcohol can give you severe side effects by itself, and it can enhance the side effects of other medicines, such as prescription medicine, in dangerous and unpredictable ways. It is the same for opioid drugs, such as Lortab, morphine, and hydrocodone.
Lortab is a potent medicine that contains acetaminophen and hydrocodone. It is a commonly prescribed pain medication that requires a valid prescription. Other drugs containing acetaminophen and hydrocodone may include Vicodin, Lorcet, and Norco.
It is a Schedule II controlled substance drug, which means that professionals recognize that it has addictive properties and people are more likely to misuse this drug. Lortab on its own has the potential to cause adverse effects, but combining it with alcohol is even more dangerous.
Whether legally prescribed or not, you are consuming alcohol while taking Lortab can cause harm. If you are taking a drug containing hydrocodone or other opioids, you should not consume alcohol while this medicine is in your body.
What is Lortab used for?
Lortab is a potent painkiller as it contains Hydrocodone; it can also be used for treating coughs. It is often recommended for treating pain ranging from moderate to moderately severe, pain that usually occurs for a short period. Such pain can include aches due to surgery, injury, or dental.
In rare cases, Lortab can also be used for treating chronic pain, pain due to cancer, or migraine. Some people should not take this drug, and they include:
- people with a history of abusing drug or alcohol addiction problem
- an individual with a condition known as paralytic ileus or a bowel obstruction
- An individual with a breathing problem or asthma.
Before taking this medicine, you should consult your medical professional if they have previously experienced mental illness, head injury, seizures, or blockage in your stomach.
One of the essential aspects to keep in mind is when researching what this medicine used for is the fact that, as with other narcotic drugs, it suppresses the central nervous system and respiration. It usually means that an individual who has a history of breathing problems may have serious side effects related to breathing.
How long does Lortab stay in the system?
Determining how long Lortab is detectable in your body depends on many factors. The active ingredient acetaminophen in this medicine has a half-life in the blood of about one and a quarter to three hours. It is the duration in which half-life can vary depending on a number of factors, such as how well your liver functions.
On the other hand, Hydrocodone is processed by your liver and broken down into metabolites such as norhydrocone and hydromorphone. Approximately 85 percent of a single dose is eliminated through urine within 24 hours.
Hydrocodone has a half-life of about four hours; it takes about five to six half-lives to eliminate most of the medicine from your system. You can detect this drug in the urine for about three days.
What are the effects of mixing Lortab with alcohol?
Lortab on its own can have many mild to serve side effects, such as rashes, sleepiness, and dry mouth. Consuming alcohol while taking this medicine can more easily result in an overdose. So, an individual who combines both the substance may suffer from:
- muscle aches
- loss of muscle control
- confusion
- cold and clammy skin
- seizures
- low heart rate
- difficulty breathing
These side effects can indicate an overdose of the medicine, so they should be taken with caution only under expert supervision. People who think that they are suffering from an overdose of the medication should seek medical attention immediately.
What are the dangers of mixing Lortab with alcohol?
Both alcohol and Lortab have depressive properties and can result in damage on their own, so when these two substances are combined, the amount of damage is often increased. Opioids and alcohol both can dampen the response of the body, and this effect can easily overwhelm the heart and lungs, resulting in a decreased pulse and slowed breathing.
Consuming alcohol while taking this drug can increase the risk of mood changes, heart problems, and liver damage. Alcohol also lessens the tolerance level of the drugs, and when an individual is drinking, a low dose of opioid medications is needed before the overdose of Lortab.
An individual who combines both Lortab and alcohol also put themselves at an increased risk of becoming dependent on either or both substances. Dependence on alcohol and drug works through similar pathways in the brain.
Experiencing cravings for the medicine may also make an individual crave alcohol or vice-versa. Consuming alcohol while taking opioids can put an individual on the path to alcohol withdrawal.
Xanax and Lortab
You should never take Lortab with Xanax unless it is recommended by a medical professional. Even then, there is a high risk for a fatal drug interaction. There can be severe or dangerous consequences that stem from combining Xanax and Lortab.
Lortab and Xanax can both reduce the activity of the central nervous system. Your CNS is responsible for most essential functions that keep you alive, such as breathing. Suppose you take two substances that affect your CNS in this way. It can slow your respiration too much. You may become overly sedated or experience fatal side effects from a combination of Lortab and Xanax.
Does Lortab make you sleepy?
Lortab is a man-made opioid medicine given by a medical professional to manage pain or suppress coughs. It is generally prescribed by itself in an extended form for severe pain. It also contains acetaminophen, which is also a less potent opioid. When you take this drug, your body changes it to other forms, ending up as morphine.
Lortab is used to manage pain. Generally, doses are increased as needed to help with additional pain. It has a similar chemical structure and the same effects as other opioids. Consult your medical professional before taking any other medicine with Lortab. It can make you sleepy and affect your breathing when taken with alcohol, Ambien, drugs for depression and nerve pain, and valium.
These risks can increase even more when you combine them with other opioids, especially with older people with chronic issues. Taken alone, these medications can make you sleepy. Combining it with other medicines increases the risk of side effects.