How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
[Mike had] popped three Vikes with a handful of Advil, bundled up as best he could, and was preparing to recede from consciousness. (33.1)
Mike is using these pills to escape as much as he is trying to relieve his knee pain. He doesn't want to feel less pain; he wants to knock himself out.
Quote #5
The Vicodin, though it did almost nothing to mute the pain in his shins and knees, coursed through his brain in a wonderfully gentle way. (33.38)
Here, Mike basically admits that his body is immune to the pain-relieving powers of the pills… or his pain is too extreme for them to touch. But he keeps taking them anyway to shut off his brain.