Vicodin and the liver

[KCLouisville]

Hello, I'm not quite sure this is the best place for this question, but here it goes.  Several months ago, almost 5, I started to develop pain and tingling in my left leg.  On the outside, starting at the hip and going down to the kneecap.  After a few visits to the doctor and different tests he's narrowed it down to either some nerve compression in the leg itself from some benign cysts that have been there since I was a kid or from a case of sciatica.  I'm set to see a specialist on this, but don't have the appointment for like a month and a half.  For the past two and a half months the doctor has prescribed me Vicodin, 5/500, with the instructions to take 1-2 tablets up to twice daily as needed.  I've found the pain itself isn't knocked out very much by the Vicodin but the pain itself is not the biggest problem.  It's the tingling of the nerves in the leg when I try to sleep, so that's when I take two of the pills.  They ease my mind enough to let me get a decent night's sleep.

Now to my question, which isn't about addiction specifically but is in regards to this amount.  I never take more than two of the pills in a day, which is 1000mg APAP.  I also skip days, say two days on, then one or two off.  It's harder on my sleep on the off days, but I really don't want my system to get totally used to the narcotic and, the biggest thing, I'm afraid of the effects of the acetaminophen on my liver.  I guess reading about it on the Internet has made me totally paranoid.  I also sometimes drink on Saturdays.  I always know if I'll be drinking ahead of time so on that Friday I make sure never to take the Vicodin.  I'll also skip the Sunday....maybe starting again on Monday night a couple hours before bed.    My question is whether this dosing procedure, which could go on for about 5 months depending on what ths specialist says, is putting my liver in danger?  I know that the 1000mg dose is only one fourth of the maximum daily recommended dose for APAP but I've read chronically using it even in therapeutic doses can sap the liver.  Sorry for the length of this question and any answers would be appreciated.

[KCLouisville]

Thanks for the response.  I understand you mentioning the opiate dangers too.  I've had to take Vicodin or Percocets short-term in the past for things like oral surgery or broken bones, but that was maybe for two weeks at the longest.  So I'm trying to be careful by taking the off days and not letting my body growing used to taking it at the same time.

And you're also correct, the opiates don't do a whole lot for the pain.  The doctor tried Neurontin at first, but that had all of the effect of eating Pez candy or something.  He's made it clear that once the specialist takes a look at things we'll be using another strategy if needed.

[worried878]

for sure...gtm is right....always use caution with opiates....4000 mg is the max tylenol intake per day...so u should be well within the safe limit...always be safe tho....if the drug does not  relieve ur pain but does give u a sense of well being..u could be a candidate for abuse...aggressive treatment such as chiropractic and massage can often help sciatica more than prescriptions at people...talk to ur doctor and get to the root of the problem and be safe

[GoingToMakeIt]

1000mg per dose with 4000mg max per day. those are the maximums. be sure to drink lots of water, though. You should be fine for a while on these doses. As you know, this is a substance abuse forum, so I would be negligent to not mention to be careful with opiates. they are used for pain but it can lead to problems if you take for too long or are prone to abuse. So just be careful with things. Opiates do nothing really for nerve pain.