Ultracet vs. Lortab

• Are Ultracet and Lortab the Same Thing?
• What Are Possible Side Effects of Ultracet?
• What Are Possible Side Effects of Lortab?
• What is Ultracet?
• What is Lortab?
• What Drugs Interact with Ultracet?
• What Drugs Interact with Lortab?
• How Should Ultracet Be Taken?
• How Should Lortab Be Taken?

Ultracet (tramadol and acetaminophen) and Lortab 5/500 (hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen) are combination medications prescribed for the short-term relief of moderate to severe pain.

Both drugs contain acetaminophen, an analgesic and fever reducer. A difference is that Ultracet also contains tramadol, a narcotic-like pain reliever, while Lortab contains hydrocodone, an opiate (narcotic) pain reliever.

Common side effects of Ultracet include:

• constipation
• tiredness
• increased sweating
• dizziness
• drowsiness
• weakness
• stomach pain
• loss of appetite
• dry mouth
• blurred vision
• nervousness
• anxiety
• itching, and
• sleep problems (insomnia)

Among the most commonly reported side effects are drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, and unclear thinking.

Ultracet is:

• A strong prescription pain medicine that contains an opioid (narcotic) that is used for the short-term (five days or less) management of acute pain, when other pain treatments such as non-opioid pain medicines do not treat your pain well enough or you cannot tolerate them.
• An opioid pain medicine that can put you at risk for overdose and death. Even if you take your dose correctly as prescribed you are at risk for opioid addiction, abuse, and misuse that can lead to death.

Lortab (hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen) is a combination pain reliever containing an opiate (narcotic) pain reliever and a non-narcotic pain reliever used to relieve moderate to severe pain. Hydrocodone, like all narcotics, may impair mental and/or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks such as driving a car or operating machinery; patients should be cautioned accordingly.

Alcohol and other CNS depressants may produce an additive CNS depression, when taken with this combination product, and should be avoided.

Hydrocodone may be habit-forming. Patients should take the drug only for as long as it is prescribed, in the amounts prescribed, and no more frequently than prescribed.

Ultracet may interact with other narcotic pain medications, sedatives, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, other medicines that can make you sleepy or slow your breathing, and antidepressants.

Ultracet may also interact with carbamazepine, warfarin, digoxin, ketoconazole, erythromycin, rifampin, quinidine, St. John's wort, sumatriptan and other migraine headache medicines, and drugs to treat high blood pressure or a prostate disorder.

Lortab may interact with other narcotic pain medications, sedatives, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, other medicines that can make you sleepy or slow your breathing, and antidepressants. Lortab may also interact with MAO inhibitors, atropine, benztropine, dimenhydrinate, glycopyrrolate, mepenzolate, methscopolamine, scopolamine, bladder or urinary medications, bronchodilators, or irritable bowel medications.

Do not stop using Ultracet suddenly after long-term use, or you could have unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Narcotic pain relievers such as those in Ultracet have the potential to become habit-forming and to work less effectively when taken over long periods of time.

• Do not change your dose. Take Ultracet exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. Use the lowest dose possible for the shortest time needed.
• Take your prescribed dose: 2 tablets every 4 to 6 hours as needed for pain relief for a maximum of 5 days. Do not take more than your prescribed dose and do not take more than 8 tablets per day. If you miss a dose, take your next dose at your usual time.
• Call your healthcare provider if the dose you are taking does not control your pain.
• If you have been taking Ultracet regularly, do not stop taking Ultracet without talking to your healthcare provider.
• After you stop taking Ultracet, ask your pharmacist how to dispose of any unused tablets.

Dosage should be adjusted according to the severity of the pain and the response of the patient. However, it should be kept in mind that tolerance to hydrocodone can develop with continued use and that the incidence of untoward effects is dose related.

The usual adult dosage is one or two tablets every four to six hours as needed for pain. The total daily dosage should not exceed 8 tablets.