Oxycodone vs. Hydrocodone – Which is Stronger
Both oxycodone and hydrocodone are highly popular among manufacturers and consumers. If they don’t sound familiar, these are generic names for some commercially available pain medications. For example, within the hydrocodone category, a multitude of brands are placed within it, such as Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet and some other medications. Oxycodone, itself a derived product from opium, is also marketed under different brands in the market, notably the popular Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) ibuprofen and OxyContin from Purdue Pharma.
Between the two alternatives, oxycodone is often perceived as being the relatively stronger alternative to hydrocodone.
Dosage Conversion: Hydrocodone vs. Oxycodone
In terms of strength, 5mg of oxycodone is roughly equivalent of 7.5 of hydrocodone. That is the conversion required to bring about the same effects. Hydrocodone would work better if you happen to be a lightweight person with a weak stomach. But if your stomach can handle stronger stuff, then oxycodone would be the natural choice due to its relatively stronger potency.
Comparison between Oxycodone and Hydrocodone
My personal experience has qualified my observation above. Since I was a kid, I have always been troubled by pain. I had a really bad injury and was prescribed percocet 5/325 (or simply oxycodone). Prior to the trip to the doctor, I was on lortab 5s and vicoden 5s to help relieve the pain at home (by the way, those are hydrocodone). They are fine medicines but with some inherent disadvantages in comparison to oxycodone. Hydrocodone relieved the pain for roughly 2 hours and the next dose would be 4-6 hours later. So here, we are talking about some lapsed hours of pain.
On the other hand, the percocet (oxycodone) presented a much better proposition. I would immediately feel relief after taking the medicine. The efficacy also seemed to last longer.
To put this into perspective, as I progressed in age, the original percocet 5 began to fail in function and I found myself on percocet 10. This could be because my system has gotten used to the original percocet 5 and it is no longer exerting its effect on me. But the truth is that oxycodone gets my vote anytime.