What is the next higher pain med than Hydrocodone 10/325?

Thanks for your response Jeff. I am using Extra Strength Tylenol in addition to the Hydrocodone 10/325, and it does help. That brings the pain level to 6-7. I would like to lower that to a 3-4, which is what I could easily tolerate before the RA came into play. I see my primary next week and I will see what she says.

I'm not a pharmacist but I believe the 325mg portion of Hydrocodone is also Tylenol. I suspect too much would be bad for you.
Looking back 20+ years when I was first prescribed Hydrocodone (Then called Vicodin 10/500 4x daily) I was terrified that it would kill me. Noting that several people have died from it.
My doctor assured me that if taken as prescribed, it was safe. The problems come from abuse.
Apparently he was right... I'm still here.
This part sounds absolutely insane but I swear it works...
I bought some crutches, then adjusted them slightly too long. If I lean against a wall, with my feet dangling an inch or more off the floor, I get almost instant relief from lower back pain.
Obviously I can't hold myself up for very long but that 10 minutes or so of relief is incredible.
A few times per day really helps.

One more thing worth mentioning... For severe, chronic pain, Hydrocodone 10/325 isn't all that effective.
As a matter of fact, after taking it for several years I assumed it wasn't working at all.
I wasn't paying attention to how many I had on hand & ran out over the Christmas / New Year holidays. It took several days to get a refill.
Remind me to NEVER let that happen again! I learned real quick that they were working and that my doctor prescribed them for good reason.
Fortunately for me, I didn't suffer from any of the horrific side-effects we have read about, just the pain level was off the chart. On the 0-10 scale I'd rate it at a solid 13-14!
At first I figured I'd die from the pain... after the 2nd day I was worried that maybe I wouldn't.

The hydrocodone works fine for my back pain. It keeps my pain at about 3 which is tolerable for me. What I'm dealing with now is Rheumatoid Arthritis which the hydrocodone isn't able to handle. I believe the percocet will be enough to bring the RA under control, or at least diminish it to a limit that allows me to physically function better.
Same amount of Tylenol as I've been taking for 50+ years.

@Jeff, you are absolutely correct regarding the 325 mgs, it is the amount of acetaminophen (Tylenol) the pill contains. So, Hydrocodone 10/325 translates to 10 mgs of Hydrocodone and 325 mgs of Acetaminophen.

Have you asked your DR. about Percocet yet?

Thanks Masso. I see my Dr next week and will definitely request the Percocet 10/325. From my investigation, that sounds like a perfect solution to my problem.
Thanks again.

You are welcome, and I hope everything works out fine for you.

If you have a spare moment after you've seen your Dr., let us know how it went.