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How dangerous is taking 30 Vicodins a day ?

I have a girlfriend who has been taking Vicodin for years and at the moment she is taking 25 to 30 tablets (10/325) a day as well as smaller amounts of Soma and Xanax. She can function almost like normal people most of the time but I'm wondering if she can die or get permanent organ damages from doing this.

Thanks in advance for your responses.
Berin
7 Responses
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699217 tn?1323438700
omg, I am so sorry to hear about your stepdad.  that's always so sad - you know so many people OD and never meant to actually hurt themselves!  I'm glad you made it through that.  I still know several people who take those Soma's on a daily basis like that.  One lady I know finally got stopped one too many times in her car.  She would go "score" and take them, couldn't wait the 20 mins. to drive home, and would be so high she would get stopped by the same cop every time.  She went to jail for 2 years, then mandatory rehab for 90 days, 2 yrs. probation, she is finally clean.  Wow, that just scared me from doing them anymore.  I did like to take 1 or 2 with my pain pills, but never did more than 4 one time.  I got so "loopy" (good word) that my man said "what the ---- did you take", I couldn't even tell him, i was slurring so much.  Not good.  I never liked to lose control over my speech, walk etc...so that scared me into quitting those.
I'm really glad you're here-and didn't OD!  Good for you :)
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363110 tn?1340920419
I too took somas and could take pretty large amounts also I could at one point take 8-10 at a time and still function. But other days I could take 3 at a time and end up very loopy.

I had an accidental OD when I took 4 somas and ambien and I stopped breathing. I ended up in the ER and then on a 72 hour hold which was protocol at our local hospital even if a person isn't suicidal. They do it everytime someone OD's.

My stepdad died 2 yrs ago of an OD on soma and darvon. he took 200 pills in about 2 days.
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699217 tn?1323438700
Another thing is this - you added Soma to that "cocktail".  I know of at least three people that I was very close with that have almost died taking that stuff.  Problem is, you build up such a tolerance to it that some people will take more and more of it to feel that "high", I knew a man who took 15 at a time, several times a day and ended up in the ER with convulsions, he almost died.  Problem was he didn't remember how many he had taken that day, he was so messed up.  Soma is a muscle relaxant, and the heart is a muscle, it will shut down with too many relaxants, also combined with xanax it could be very deadly, not to mention the huge amount of hyrdo she is taking.  Not to scare you-but just so you know, she needs some help soon!!  Please let us know what is happening.  I'm very concerned when these drugs are mixed together.  Not good.
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Avatar universal
This is truly a very bad "cocktail".  She can seriously damage her liver,if it's not damaged already,and she can die from an accidental overdose.  Please appeal to whatever judgement she has left and get her to wean down and stop.   This is very dangerous!!
Vicki
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1110177 tn?1268461548
Yes, this is VERY bad...and she should seek help as soon as possible.  The human body, although remarkable, can only take so much.  Do anything you can to "wake her up".

Sometimes reading this stuff wakes addicts up...

~ Free
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Avatar universal
I'm not sure you wanted more information than you got in the previous post, but just in case, lucky for you I'm long-winded.  Our bodies are strange things, believe it or not, you can build a tolerance where that amount won't kill you instantly, whereas someone who took that amount and had never taken anything would surely end up in the E.R. or worse.  

Since she has built that tolerance over time, it's sort of a tricky question as to whether or not she could die, but absolutely she could do damage to her organs, most especially her liver.  The liver can only filter 4000mgs of tylenol per day, but oddly enough, when you build your tolerance, it somehow manages to trudge along and do it's job.  On the other hand, this is the way people die, but it's a two-sided coin for sure.  If for instance someone took that amount who had no tolerance, as I said, chances are they would die or end up extremely ill.  With your girlfriend it's a tricky thing.  It's possible she could overdose even though she has a high tolerance to both the hydrocodone and tylenol.  What happens is, (imo) over time, taking that amount, the liver becomes damaged and can't do it's job the way it should.  Let's say she took 30 vics today, and 30 tomorrow, and so on.  If her liver is damaged, even with a high tolerance, here is where the overdose comes in to play.  On a Monday she takes 30 vics, then Tuesday, same thing.  However, because the liver is damaged, all of the tylenol wasn't processed and eliminated from the body on Monday, and then again on Tuesday, a little more was left in the liver, and so on and so on.  Eventually, when she takes her normal dosage of 30 tabs per day, the liver has basically shut down or not done it's job sufficiently, and instead of starting out the day with no tylenol in there, or a couple thousand mgs in the liver, she is starting the day with a few thousand, then the next day she has a few thousand more than haven't filtered, so there is where eventually a possible overdose could occur.  

The thing is, she is also mixing that many vics with Xanax, which I'm sure she has built a tolerance to as well.  The problem is, you just never know when your body will tire of overworking to eliminate all this stuff from your system, and with the mixture of those two, you never know when you might take an amount that causes respiratory distress or failure, with failure obviously being the worst between distress and failure.  She could also die from that.  Or heart failure, which of course could be caused from the mixture of the drugs and the lungs/heart not working properly or overworking I should say, and also the liver, kidneys and so on.

I'd definitely say she is at a point she needs treatment, although as an addict, she may not be ready for that.  She will be ready when SHE is ready, not when you force her to be ready.  Generally though, when someone is at that point, regardless of whether or not the pills come easily to them or they have to hunt them down, at that dosage, a lot of addicts are ready to quit then.  The problem is where to go and who to tell.  Make yourself available for her.  I don't recall if you said she has admitted to you that she has a problem, but if she feels she can talk to you about, you may be surprised, she might break down and tell you and be eternally grateful that you asked.  It's hard to be there for an addict, as you won't understand some of her feelings and thoughts, emotions, and even anger.  It would be to your advantage to go to some meetings for family/friends, then you could have some tools on your side to help her out.  If she hasn't admitted she has a problem, or she still doesn't realize or think she has a problem, and/or she is hiding it from you.....whole different ballgame then.  She may become extremely angry if you confront her, she will lie and do her darndest to turn the argument around on you and take the heat off herself.  That's just how addict's are.  

If you're willing to help her though, willing to REALLY be there for her no matter how long it takes to get clean, that's just the initial part, recovery is an ongoing process, so you must be willing to be there for her during that part as well.  If your relationship isn't at a point that you feel this is "your" job, or you don't see yourself with her long term, but she has admitted she has a problem, then at least encourage her to seek help and to tell a family member if possible.  

My only other concern would be this........Where is she getting 30 vics a day?  She is either Dr. shopping or buying them off the streets somewhere.  If you notice she is always broke for no reason that you can see, then chances are good she is buying them.  Although, if she is Dr. hopping, that can become expensive as well, considering she wouldn't be using her insurance at all the different Dr.'s as that's an easier way to get caught.  I say all this because it's important to understand that chances are if she has a Dr. the most he will write a script for is about 240 a month, that's generally a pain management Dr.  Obviously taking 30 a day, that wouldn't last her to her next appt.  No matter who she is, white/black/green/yellow, a stay at home mom or President of a huge corporation, when she is out, rather than suffer withdrawals, she will probably do anything to find them, which includes buying them.  The problem with that is.....as I said, regardless of who she is, often times an addict will go places and do things that under normal circumstances (sober) they would NEVER do, not even considerate it EVER.  So, her physical safety is a concern in this as well, not just because she is taking too many pills, but because even the very best of us have ended up in places buying pills, places we never would have imagined going before.  

I know this is a lot of information, and if any of it is wrong, I am more than happy to be corrected.  Apologies in advance for the long post, just giving you some information that may help you help her.  Good Luck and check back with us and let us know how things are.  
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Avatar universal
Hey and welcome to the site!   Your girlfriend obviously has a very high tolerance------she can do serious damage to herself taking that high a dose and yes she could die-----Hope she gets some help -------Best of luck to you!!!!
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