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Hydrocodone

Drug Information

Hydrocodone is a narcotic analgesic used in combination products to relieve mild to moderate pain and an antitussive agent to relieve cough and upper respiratory symptoms associated with allergy or cold.

Summary of Interactions with Vitamins, Herbs, & Foods

What Are Nutrient Interactions
Types of interactions: Beneficial Adverse Check

Replenish Depleted Nutrients

  • Calcium and Vitamin D

    Normally, the active form of vitamin D increases the absorption of calcium into the body. In a 45-year-old woman with sarcoidosis, taking hydroxychloroquine blocked the formation of active vitamin D, which helped normalize elevated blood levels of calcium in this case.1 Whether hydroxychloroquine has this effect in people who don’t have sarcoidosis or elevated calcium is unknown. Until controlled research explores this interaction more thoroughly, people taking hydroxychloroquine might consider having their vitamin D and/or calcium status monitored by a health practitioner.

    The interaction is supported by preliminary, weak, fragmentary, and/or contradictory scientific evidence.

Reduce Side Effects

  • High-Fiber

    A common side effect of narcotic analgesics is constipation.2 Increasing dietary fiber (especially vegetables and whole-grain foods) and water intake can ease constipation.

    The interaction is supported by preliminary, weak, fragmentary, and/or contradictory scientific evidence.

Support Medicine

  • none

Reduces Effectiveness

  • none

Potential Negative Interaction

  • none

Explanation Required 

  • none

The Drug-Nutrient Interactions table may not include every possible interaction. Taking medicines with meals, on an empty stomach, or with alcohol may influence their effects. For details, refer to the manufacturers’ package information as these are not covered in this table. If you take medications, always discuss the potential risks and benefits of adding a new supplement with your doctor or pharmacist.

References

1. Barre PE, Gascon-Barre M, Meakins JL, Goltzman D. Hydroxychloroquine treatment of hypercalcemia in a patient with sarcoidosis undergoing hemodialysis. Am J Med 1987;82:1259–62.

2. Threlkeld DS, ed. Central Nervous System Drugs, Narcotic Agonist Analgesics. In Facts and Comparisons Drug Information. St. Louis, MO: Facts and Comparisons, Feb 1990, 242–3v.

3. Threlkeld DS, ed. Central Nervous System Drugs, Narcotic Agonist Analgesics. In Facts and Comparisons Drug Information. St. Louis, MO: Facts and Comparisons, Feb 1990, 242–3v.

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