Lies the TV told us

Having a lovely relaxing sunday with my cat and watching house. So it gets to the bit where he's trying to detox from Vicodin. This I would have never thought twice about before using opiates myself.

Now I may be wrong because we don't have Vicodin here in the UK (which just means we can never be cool and look like house). But in this episode he spends the whole night detoxing from Vicodin and the next day has no opiate withdrawal symtoms at all or cravings.

I have only detoxed from Dihydrocodeine so I am no expert but considering I have what would be deemed a 'light' habit it took me well over a week and i'm still not right, this isn't couting however the one night i slipped but still... for a show that claims to be realistic it seems to me none of them have ever really used opiates properly, maybe they should then they can show it completely accurately.

Also how come he's been on Vicodin for 8 years and not needed to move up to a stronger opiate?!

I may seem ridiculous, it is just a television show but why not be accurate when you can.

 

Which episode exactly are you watching? If you're watching season 1, episode 11, 'Detox', I believe they stretched it out over either 5 days or a week... Which still seems a bit short for someone that's been addicted for years. And it does seem weird to me that he wouldn't be on something stronger by now, or be seeing a pain management doctor, or something, he either makes his colleagues write em or forges em. And why shitty little 5's? (You can see it on his bottles.) I dunno, I guess to not make him look "too" cool to the younger, more naive audience... In the 'Detox' episode though, the withdrawals he goes through seem pretty intense for an 80mg/day hydro habit... Probably to scare the younger, more naive audience, lol.

 

Nah this was in season 5 when he's hallucinating Amber and imagines that he screws Cuddy she supposedly helps him detox overnight.

 

^ Ah. Yeah, I don't really see how vicodin could cause hallucinations like that either...

 

Haha, I love house, but yeah, certain aspects of that show are a little unrealistic. Opiate withdrawal lasts way longer than 24 hours. I think DHC withdrawal lasts a little longer possibly, because (correct me if I'm wrong) but it has a longer half life.

At some point in the series, house starts to take methadone, and he overdoses in a bathroom stall. But yeah, I would have thought he would have moved up to OxyContin at least, just to save his liver from all the APAP (you never see him doing a CWE!)

It's funny because Vicodin seems to be the painkiller of choice on TV now. I've been watching Rescue ME (Dennis Leary), and one of the characters on that show develops a Vicodin problem. It just strikes me as odd, seeing how it is oxycodone, which has taken America by storm in the past few years. Vicodin is a good buzz (I actually prefer it, if my tolerance is low enough), but in the US, it's all Percocet, roxi, and OC's..

 

Znegative, it having a long half life would explain why it's being such a pain in the ass to kick, also why I can always still feel a bit doped up the next morning after using it.

And didn't you know? Vicodin is well cool. Obviously everyone wants some!

I love how house moved upto methadone from 5mg vicodin... so not the next viable choice!

 

Haha, I know. It would have been funnier though if he started smoking fentanyl off of aluminum foil. Everyone would be like, "what the fuck is going on here?"

 

I don't understand why the manufacturers of Vicodin, apparently Abbott Laboratories, allows their brand name to be associated with all of these television shows that portray it in a negative light... Do they get kick-backs or something? Inquiring minds want to know. Also, hearing Hugh Laurie speak in his native English accent is such a trip sometimes...

 

I'm a brit and i think the american accent suits him better!