How do you know when you have gone from medicating your real physical pain into Hydrocodone abuse?  One way to tell is if you are taking more than what is prescribed on the bottle.  If you cannot stay within those limits then that is a huge red flag that there might be a problem.

Another warning sign is if you run out of the medication early and have to scramble to try and get more.

Another warning sign is if you are buying the medication from other sources or off the street.

If you think you might be abusing Hyrdocodone then you should probably back off a bit and find another way to medicate your pain.  You can find alternatives for almost any type of pain out there and you might have to talk with your doctor to do this.  If your doctor will not explore alternative options then find another doctor.  In many cases, you can take different medications that are not narcotic and opiate based like Hydrocodone is.

Now if you abuse Hydrocodone and you continue to abuse it over a long period of time then eventually you will develop tolerance to the drug.  This means that you will have to take more of the drug than what you use to take in order to get the same effect.  If you are already at this point with the medication then you are probably abusing the pill and may even be at the point of Hydrocodone addiction.

If you are addicted to it then you are also addicted to all other opiate drugs.  This would include other painkillers such as Percocet or Dilaudid or codeine, but also some street drugs such as heroin.

If you are addicted to hydrocodone and you want to do something about your problem and you cannot stop on your own, then you need help.  There are different ways to get help for this but the best way might be to go to drug rehab.  Going to treatment is a good idea because they can give you the most comprehensive level of help.  There is a number of different ways that rehab can help you.  First of all they can help you to get detoxed from the drug entirely and get you started on living a clean life.  Second of all they can give you information about how to live clean and sober after you leave rehab.  Third of all you will meet people in rehab who are your peers and can help you to stay clean in the long run.  Fourth, they might even direct you to where you can find alternative ways to deal with pain.