Norco

Norco is a brand name for prescription pain relief tablets that contain hydrocodone — an opiate — along with acetaminophen, a non-narcotic pain reliever. Hydrocodone, like all opiate narcotics, can be habit-forming, and Norco addiction treatment is usually necessary to help patients who have become addicted to or physically dependent upon Norco. Norco rehab often begins with medical Norco detox that is aimed at reducing the discomfort that may result from abruptly discontinuing Norco. The rehabilitation process may take place in an inpatient or outpatient setting, depending upon the severity of the addiction and the particular circumstances of each recovering Norco addict.

Similar products to Norco include Vicodin, Lorcet and Lortab. The addictive potential, signs of addiction, and addiction treatment process for all hydrocodone and acetaminophen products, as well as other products containing hydrocodone alone or with other active ingredients, are the same.

Please contact our toll-free national substance abuse and addiction recovery hotline at if you or someone you care about needs information on how to treat addiction to Norco. We can help you find resources for effective Norco addiction treatment.
Hydrocodone, the narcotic component of Norco, is one of the most commonly abused prescription opiate pain relievers.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health for 2005, 32.7 million Americans used prescription painkillers for recreational purposes at some time in their lives, and that number had risen from 29.6 million in the 2002 survey.

Signs of Addiction to Norco

Signs of physical dependence and addiction to Norco serve as signs of the need for Norco addiction treatment. While many Norco abusers obtain the drug illegally, pain patients are also at risk for addiction if they take their medication more frequently than prescribed in order to obtain more powerful relief for their pain or because they have experienced the high that Norco produces when taken in high doses.

“Signs of physical dependence and addiction to Norco serve as signs of the need for Norco addiction treatment.”According to a U.S. government study in 2005, 51 percent of prescription painkiller abusers believed that it was not illegal to use these drugs in this manner.

Physical dependence results when the opiate receptors in the brain become so accustomed to the presence of the hydrocodone in Norco that the brain cannot function properly without higher and higher amounts of it. Dependence is the first step toward addiction, and the warning signs of addiction are as follows:

• Increase in dosage or higher frequency of use
• Personality and mood changes
• Neglect of personal, work, family or social responsibilities
• Usage without medical indication
• Doctor shopping, in which a patient changes doctors once a practitioner is no longer willing to write or renew Norco prescriptions
• Higher sensitivity to sound, light and emotional stimuli
• Extreme forgetfulness and blackouts
• Attempting to cover for behavior related to addiction

Any of these symptoms should be cause for concern, and if you, a family member or a colleague is experiencing any of the signs of dependence upon Norco, please call our toll-free substance abuse treatment helpline at . We will help you find addiction treatment resources that help people get started on the road to recovery.
The acetaminophen in Norco can cause disabling or even fatal liver damage. Therefore, taking more Norco than is prescribed or using it for recreational purposes in high doses can be extremely dangerous.

Norco Detox and Rehab

Norco addiction treatment begins with detox. This treatment helps to minimize the discomfort caused by withdrawal symptoms that occur when the brain can no longer send proper messages to the body because the amounts of hydrocodone to which it has been accustomed are no longer present.

In cases of mild addiction, such as that which may occur due to legitimate long-term medical use of Norco, detox is carried out on an outpatient basis using medications such as buprenorphine (Subutex) and naloxone or even by gradually reducing the dosage of Norco, so patients eventually become accustomed to living without the drug. Recreational abusers of Norco are often treated in inpatient facilities with higher doses of naloxone and other drugs that reduce cravings for the hydrocodone in this medication.

After the initial detoxification phase has been completed and the patient is able to function without Norco, intensive counseling is initiated in order to help recovering addicts deal with the root causes of their addiction issues. Inpatient rehabilitation centers provide counseling, often in pleasant, resort-like surroundings that enable patients to focus on their rehabilitative treatment without the distractions of daily living. These centers often include sports and exercise facilities and instruction, as well as art, music and meditation programs, which enhance the inpatient counseling phase of addiction treatment by giving patients constructive outlets for dealing with the issues that may have led them to abuse Norco.

Both outpatient medical detox and inpatient rehabilitation are followed up with ongoing outpatient counseling. Once a patient is either stabilized with outpatient-administered medication or has completed an intensive inpatient rehabilitation program, he or she is encouraged to follow up with counseling and therapy from expert outpatient addiction counselors. Twelve-step programs and other peer support programs are also recommended as part of the ongoing Norco addiction treatment process.

Call Now to Get the Help You Need

Effective inpatient or outpatient Norco addiction treatment can help you or a loved one overcome addiction to prescription hydrocodone-based pain relievers. Please call our toll-free, no-obligation hotline at to learn more about resources for Norco detox and rehab.