I seem to be fine with hydrocodone and hydromorphone but don't feel well with oxycodone or oxymorphone. Why?

Thanks!

ss

Shotspine,

I can't really give you a CLEAR answer to that. But I am the same way. I do much better on Hydrocodone than the other. When I took Percocet before, I would get very nauseated. Hydrocodone does not do that to me and probably because it has more Tylenol in it which does not uspet the stomach. So, ONE Vicodin a day usually does the trick for me. Maybe someone will come along that has more experience with both.

Hi Kathy...

I don't think it's the tylenol because I take Norco 10/325...1/2 tab at a time so that has much less tylenol. Someone here should know though. Does Jim S post over here? He is a pharm tech and will know.

I take the Norco also; 7.5/325. I asked my NS the other day if, in fact, it works differently than Vicodin. He said yes, but did not go into great detail. It just seems that Vicodin works much better for me. I can take just ONE a day and I am good to go. With the Norco, I have to take 2-3 a day; normally just two. In any case, neither one of those upset my stomach. But Percocet will! I get nauseated and bad headaches with it. So, yes, maybe someone will come along and explain why.

Most people find oxy a bit stronger than hydro. That's all.

On a chemical level, it has to do with the sites that each medication binds to (the mu opiate receptors) and the actions each has. If you'd like, I can go into the biochemistry, but the simple answer is that hydrocodone works slightly differently from oxycodone, but the end result of pain relief is similar.

Theresa

I think that taking the unsettling med with a full tummy would help. Also, Prevacid.

It has to do with the way the molecules bind. The hydro molecules are hydrogen and the oxy is oxygen. Typically, people will tolerate both well or neither because they are both metabolized in the same location. However, in my circumstance, I can tolerate all opiates well including morphine. . .but, I have moderate allergic reactions to codeine.

So, when it comes down to it, it really depends on your body type and what you can tolerate.

As always, please be careful when taking any opiod analgesic as it can be hazardous to your health including addiction and/or fatal overdose.