Does Hydrocodone Get You High?: Understanding the Risks

Yes, hydrocodone can get you high. This is especially true if you misuse this opioid medication, such as by taking higher doses than recommended, taking it more frequently than prescribed, combining it with other substances, or altering the method by which it is taken (such as by snorting or injecting hydrocodone).

A powerful painkiller, hydrocodone is categorized as an opioid analgesic medication primarily meant for controlling moderate-to-severe pain caused by situations like surgeries or serious accidents. In addition, chronic diseases characterized by inflammation and pain, such as arthritis, can sometimes also be helped with this medication. 

However, hydrocodone can also cause rewarding effects like euphoria and relaxation, also referred to as a hydrocodone high. This opioid painkiller has significant potential for misuse and dependence, increasing the risk of opioid use disorder (OUD).

How Does Hydrocodone Make You Feel?

Why Does Hydrocodone Make You High?

Hydrocodone works by fastening to dedicated receptors, mu-opioid receptors, in the brain and spinal cord.[4] This binding produces pleasant and euphoric feelings caused by a surge in dopamine. This dopamine increase leads to feelings of reward that are similar to important survival behaviors like eating or having sex. 

However, a hydrocodone high is far stronger than the pleasure associated with natural rewards like eating, which teaches the brain that hydrocodone is essential for survival–more essential than natural rewards.

In this way, hydrocodone misuse hijacks the brain’s reward system, causing people to experience less pleasure from these natural rewards and reinforcing continued hydrocodone misuse.

Will Hydrocodone Make Me High if I Take It as Prescribed?

If you follow your doctor’s directions closely and only take your hydrocodone as prescribed, you likely won’t feel a strong high. You may feel some feelings of pleasure or euphoria but it won’t be intense.

When people experience a hydrocodone high, it’s often due to misusing this opioid by:

• Taking more than prescribed
• Taking more frequent doses than prescribed
• Mixing hydrocodone with other drugs
• Using it in a way other than prescribed, such as snorting or injecting it

How Potent Is Hydrocodone?

Hydrocodone is a highly potent opioid that is classified as a Schedule II controlled substance by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).[1] Like most opioids, it is considered to have significant misuse and addiction potential despite its accepted medical use. 

The drug is potent enough that it should never be used without consulting a professional. When comparing hydrocodone to other opioids, it is a bit less potent than oxycodone and morphine. [8] However, it should only ever be used as prescribed and for as short a time as needed for necessary relief. Never take hydrocodone in any manner other than as prescribed.

Hydrocodone functions as a central nervous system (CNS) depressant, curtailing signal speed within the body, often causing a euphoric sensation. A user may feel more relaxed and numb, especially in areas where they were feeling pain. It’s this effect that makes it helpful for combating pain but also increases the risk of misuse.

Hydrocodone is usually combined with acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil), with a patient taking several pills throughout the day.[2] Since potent opioids come with serious and sometimes life-threatening risks, such as addiction concerns and overdose risk, it’s important to take these pills only as needed and to treat your prescribed limit as a hard limit. If you feel you aren’t getting enough pain relief, talk to your doctor. 

When a person takes more hydrocodone than prescribed or in a method other than directed, there is a serious risk of severe respiratory depression and overdose as well as dependence and OUD.[3] 

How Does Hydrocodone Work?

Hydrocodone binds to opioid receptors in the brain to reduce the feeling of pain. Rhis receptor activation also increases dopamine levels and causes euphoria and a high. 

However, hydrocodone also has adverse effects on certain bodily functions, such as immunity and digestion systems. It can also weaken breathing. This effect is temporary. As the body processes the drug, the liver breaks down hydrocodone for excretion through urine.

How Hydrocodone Half-Life Impacts Effects

Hydrocodone has a half-life of about four hours, at which point approximately 50% of the drug currently present in a body will have been eliminated.[5] This means the effects of hydrocodone can last for several hours, depending on the dose and the individual’s metabolism.

It also means that if you misuse hydrocodone by taking more frequent doses than prescribed, the levels of this opioid in your body can build up and lead to harmful side effects, including overdose.

As an opioid, a hydrocodone overdose can be reversed with naloxone (Narcan), which can be a life-saving drug to have nearby in places where opioids might be used. This drug counteracts all the opioids in a person’s system and can be used to reverse a life-threatening overdose. If you or someone you know regularly uses or misuses opioids, you should have naloxone on hand.

What Are the Risks & Dangers of Taking Hydrocodone?

Hydrocodone misuse has a significant risk of respiratory depression, which has the potential to cause coma, permanent brain damage, and death. This risk increases if mixing hydrocodone with other substances, especially other depressants like alcohol or benzodiazepines. Your personal medical history, the dose you take, and the frequency and duration of your drug use play a crucial part in the impact it is likely to have. 

Individuals with a past history of substance misuse may be contraindicated for medical hydrocodone use, depending on the doctor and alternative medications available. Talk to your doctor about your concerns with the drug if they are considering prescribing it. It may still sometimes be the best medication for your needs, but it must be used with extreme care to prevent relapse or developing a pattern of misuse if you’re already at higher risk for engaging in that behavior.Other risks associated with hydrocodone use include the following:

Tolerance and Dependence

With prolonged use, the body can become tolerant to the effects of hydrocodone, which means that higher doses are needed to achieve the same level of pain relief. Dependence can also develop, which means that the body becomes reliant on the drug to function without serious discomfort. Once dependence forms, it is very difficult to stop using the drug on your own.

Withdrawal Symptoms

If hydrocodone is stopped suddenly after prolonged use, withdrawal symptoms can occur. These can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, anxiety and insomnia. People often take the drug again simply to make the withdrawal symptoms disappear, and this relapse may lead to an overdose.

Overdose

Taking too much hydrocodone can cause an overdose, which can be fatal. Symptoms of an overdose can include extreme drowsiness, confusion, shallow breathing, slow heartbeat, and coma. Again, opioid overdose is usually reversible if naloxone is administered in time.

Drug Interactions

Hydrocodone can interact with other drugs, including other opioids, potentially leading to a dangerous stacking and/or changing of the drug’s effects.[6] 

One of the more notable dangers of this kind is severe respiratory depression, resulting from combining hydrocodone with other drugs that may weaken breathing. Hydrocodone should never be combined with other depressants, like alcohol or benzodiazepines.[7]