Uses

Hydrocodone is used to help relieve severe ongoing pain. Hydrocodone belongs to a class of drugs known as opioid analgesics. It works in the brain to change how your body feels and responds to pain. Extended-release hydrocodone should not be used to treat mild pain or pain that will subside in a few days.

How should I take Zohydro ER?

Zohydro ER may be habit-forming, even in regular doses. Follow the directions on your prescription label and read all medication guides. Never use hydrocodone in larger amounts, or for longer than prescribed. Tell your doctor if you feel an increased urge to take more of this medicine.

Zohydro ER 50 mg should never be shared with anyone, especially those with a history of drug abuse or addiction. MISUSE CAN CAUSE ADDICTION, OVERDOSE, OR DEATH. Keep Zohydro ER 50 mg away from children and pets. Selling or giving away opioid medicines is against the law.

Your dose needs may be different if you have recently used a similar opioid pain medicine and your body is tolerant to it. Talk to your doctor if you are not sure if you are opioid-tolerant.

Do not crush, break, or open an extended-release Zohydro ER 50 mgcapsule. Swallow the capsule whole to avoid exposure to a potentially fatal dose. The powder in a capsule should never be crushed or broken, nor should it be mixed with liquid to be injected. The result can be death.

How to use Zohydro ER

See also the Warning section.

Read the Medication Guide and, if available, the Patient Information Leaflet provided by your pharmacist before you start taking hydrocodone and each time you get a refill. If you have questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

You should take this medication regularly as directed by your doctor, not only when you experience sudden (breakthrough) pain. If you have nausea, it may help to consume this drug with food. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about other ways to decrease nausea (such as lying down for 1 to 2 hours with as little head movement as possible).

Swallow the capsules whole. Do not crush, chew, or dissolve the capsules. Doing so can release all of the drugs at once, increasing the risk of side effects.

Warnings

Breathing can be slowed or stopped by hydrocodone. Using Zohydro ER in larger quantities or for longer than recommended is not recommended. Do not crush, break, or open an extended-release pill. Swallow it whole to avoid exposure to a potentially fatal dose.

Hydrocodone may be habit-forming, even in regular doses. Never share Zohydro ER with another person, especially someone with a history of drug abuse or addiction. Keep the medication in a place where others cannot get to it.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant. Hydrocodone may cause life-threatening withdrawal symptoms in a newborn if the mother has taken this medicine during pregnancy.

Dosing information

The usual adult dose for chronic pain:
First-line opioid analgesics and non-opioid-tolerant patients:
Extended-Release Zohydro ER Capsules: Initial dose: 10 mg orally every 12 hours

Comments:
-Use of higher starting doses in patients who are not opioid tolerant may cause fatal respiratory depression; monitor patients closely for respiratory depression, especially during the first 24 to 72 hours.
A patient who is opioid-tolerant receives at least: oral morphine 60 mg/day, fentanyl transdermal patch 25 mcg per hour, oral oxycodone 30 mg/day, oral hydromorphone 8 mg/day, oral oxymorphone 25 mg/day, or another opioid equivalent to its analgesic dose.