Late to the thread here, and I certainly hope you are better by now, but I wanted to add that hydrocodone sort of 'wears off' if you use it too often. It's a component of my migraine medication, and I'm lucky that I only need it once or twice a month ... and even then, I can tell it works differently now than the first few times I took it. I know folks with worse migraines who get nothing from it. So ... not sure about tongue pain, since I was on stronger stuff post-op and then didn't need it as long as you have, but it might be that the med just isn't helping you correctly, either.