Codeine

[Allen]

OK, I know this is not a medical forum, nor can anyone here prove they work in a position where they can give advice, but I'm going to ask anyway, not for medical answers but maybe other people have taken Codeine before.

Last year I hurt my back. I was leaning over my desk at home late one night to pull an audio cable out of the back of my PC and all of a sudden I got an extremely severe pain in my lower back. It was so bad that I could barely move and was almost crying in pain. I didn't want to call 999 so I called up NHS Direct (used them before, and I have to say they are bloody great - 0845 46 47 - everyone remember that number) and after a short while got called back by a professional who went through some questions and advised it was probably just a strained muscle but I should see my GP as soon as possible. They also advised me to take Nurofen and Paracetamol with Codeine alternatively every 2 hours to relieve the pain.

Shortly after this I went to my GP (who isn't that great and I am changing soon) who prodded and poked my back and said it was muscular and confirmed to keep taking the tablets NHS Direct advised. However, since then I have had continuing problems with my back, including lower back pain and lately, sciatica (confirmed by GP who said to take Nurofen for two weeks and see how it was).

Now, I was talking about sciatica with someone at work and looking up on the web how to treat it and what I can do to find out what is causing is (i.e. is it a trapped nerve or is it related to my back problem) and I came across information about Codeine. Now I didn't realise this, but Codeine is an opiate (it basically comes from the opium plant like heroin) and is highly addictive. I've been taking this stuff on and off for over a year to combat back pain, and lately I've been taking it quite a bit due to my sciatica and I'm a bit concerned.

So I've been reading up on Codeine and there are quite a few nasty side effects, withdrawl symptons and other worrying things. Should I be concerned? Will the tablets I'm taking (500mg Paracetamol, 8mg Codeine) be sufficient enough to get me "addicited" or suffer any of these problems? I will of course raise these questions with my new GP but I know from recent topics that quite a few people on here have had back problems and/or take regular medication so any advice from them would be greatly appreciated.

[tiggerai]

Yes, Codeine is nasty stuff. You'd be better off with the Nurofen if you can.

My sister had to go through coming off a Codeine addiction last year, it's not fun at all even as a bystander.

I'd definitely discuss it with your new GP.

[megah0]

8/500 is ordinary Co-codamol which is a pharmacy medicine that you can buy over the counter without a prescription.

I wouldn't be worried about you getting hooked on such a low dose, the 30/500 tablets that A&E dole out however are goood stuff!

[SiM]

Even though 8mg is not a lot you can still get addicted and have withdrawal symptoms, so try not to take it when not needed.

And you say you have been taking it on and off, so you probably are not getting addicted...
Hope you get better soon

[MadduckUK]

you can get the good stuff out with warm water and a pair of knickers

[Saracen]

.... the 30/500 tablets that A&E dole out however are goood stuff!

Aren't they, though.

Seriously, though, the 30mg ones are seriously addictive and need to be treated with respect. Personally, I'd suggest ANY codeine tablet is treated with respect, even the over-the-counter ones, and should be used irregularly, not regularly.

I agree with tiggerai - you'd be better off with an alternative if you can. It's usually best to see your GP before changing prescribed medication, but as 8/500's are over the counter, you could just try reducing the dosage. Go longer between tablets, or try one tablet instead of two, or half a tablet instead of of a whole (they're scored down the middle for exactly that purpose). Any problems doing it, though, go to the GP.

On the other hand, for all codeine's nasty aspects sometimes taking it is better than not taking it, if the justification is there.

[GoNz0]

8mg tabs worst side effect may be light constipation at worst, doubt your going to get hooked unless your taking about 20 a day, 30mg is debatable, a m8 of mine was on 120mg and my god did i get off my face dropping one of those after i yoinked my back out.

he was totally hooked and tbh i fell out with him as his attitude changed and he became a nasty bastid, havnt spoke to him since, but last time i saw him walking through town he could be compared to a smack head.

he was on about 360-480mg a day to get that bad though. so i wouldnt worry about it.

get the doc to refer you to hospital if the problems not gone away, you may need a minor op to free the nerve up.


basically if you can crap ok then your not taking enough to cause any issues.

you have to take them 3-4 times a day with at least 30mg each time to even worry about being hooked as opiates get out your system very fast.

[Konan555]

Codeine is an amazing drug, it made my life bearable for 3 weeks or so. However, as other have said, you can't pop them like aspirin.

I was put on 60mg 3 or 4 times a day, working the dose down as the pain subsided. I actually didn't have any serious issues coming off them at the time as I'm not the sort to suffer addictions that don't involve 86% coco solids.

The scary thing is that, three years down the line I catch myself thinking "I fancy a codeine before I go to bed" when I've had a hard day at work.

Having said that, 60mg is a fairly high level to be taking.

I believe you can develop a tolerance for codeine over such a long period, sometimes including the beneficial effects?

[GoNz0]

hell yeh thats why my m8 was given 120mg tabs, and tramadol for backup, it was years down the line from a very serious bone/muscle injury that an operation couldnt 100% fix, he ate them like smarties, hence him looking like a 6 stone grey smackhead nowdays

i had a really bad impacted wisdom tooth out that involved drilling out some jaw bone to allow them to split the tooth into 4 to get it out, they gave me a script for 2x30mg coedine and also 2x30mg coedine phosphate to boost it when it got to bad, i couldn't talk after i was dosed up, great time i had, the pain didnt go away, but i couldnt give a **** about it

[GoNz0]

wheres gina8 when you need him

[Rave]

Opiates are addictive, but in controlled usage they're very rarely harmful. I wouldn't worry about that.

However, if you've had a bad back for a year, you need physiotherapy to fix the problem, not continued medication to mitigate the painful effects. You should be worrying about what your doctors are doing to fix the problem with your back, not about the painkillers they're prescribing you because it's not fixed yet.

[Clunk]

you can get the good stuff out with warm water and a pair of knickers

Also works with chutney.

[MadduckUK]

only if it contain ferrets

[Lucio]

Here's the interesting thing, all painkillers can be habit forming, because they all keep away something that's psychologically damaging. If you suffer from chronic pain for a while, and get into a habit of taking painkillers, there's a chance you might end up keeping that habit "just in case".

What makes opiate based painkillers worse is they can build up a physical dependance, your body can litterally decide it needs the drug to function properly.

The other interesting thing is that you cannot get addicted to painkillers if you are actually in pain when you take them. The endorpins released are soaked up by the chemical messengers that trigger the pain response.

[menthel]

Codeine is an amazing drug, it made my life bearable for 3 weeks or so. However, as other have said, you can't pop them like aspirin.

Mind you, you shouldn't pop aspirin like some people do, not if you value your kidneys and alimentary tract.

The 8mg in co-codamol 8/500 is not really very much but the total dose over a day can be and you also must consider the paracetamol in there as well as it can be very easy to chronically overdose on. Add into that your ibuprofen the whole mixture is not too great.

My advice would be if things don't clear up sharpish and you really have sciatica chronically then you need to see an orthopaedic surgeon as it may be something that can be fixed by releasing the nerve. It doesn't sound like fun but can be the answer.

[Kebab]

Dont worry codein is a very weak opiate. It probably works stronger as an agent to reduce gastrointestinal motility (i.e make you constipated) than it does work as a pain killer (in my experience). So if you are in so much pain that you cannot move, dont worry take them. What Lucio said was right. You wont, in normal cases, be feeling doolaly with codein, but if you do (I really really doubt you will), then it just means that you need to reduce the dose not that you need to stop altogether.