Is codeine withdrawal normal?

I'd been taking Nurofen plus for year and got up to about 20 per day, give or take. Now that it is no longer easy to mail order it - you can't buy it OTC in Hong Kong thank goodness), I decided to give it up.

I'd tapered with my last shipment that would usually last about 3.5 weeks to stretch it out to 3.5 months and took my last one 3.5 days ago.

It's been up and down for withdrawl symptoms and right now's a pretty rough patch. I'm sneezing and snotting like crazy and feel really jittery, with a bit of nausea (no vomiting though).

I've been taking plain panadol for headaches and immodium for the diarrhea and that has helped a lot. It's nice to see that the withdrawls start to ease a bit after day 4, so I'm getting there.

Thanks to all who posted on here. I've been looking around for information on this for quite a while and this is one of the most informative places I've found. Hang in there.

Cheers

Hi all again,

I posted a few weeks ago (about 3 posts up i believe) and i think back then i had cut down to 1 to 2 panadine fortes per day. Well i am happy to say i have been clean for 19 days now. Most of my symptoms have gone except one major one which is the anxiety im experiencing.....I wake up EVERY morning with it., My heart is pounding, my thoughts of how im going to get the kids ready for school, get the house organised and get myself to work becomes a little overwhelming (as i used to have my happy pills to help me through it all before) and the nausea is soo bad i dry reach (spelling??) almost every morning...but im hoping this will subside soon......Im also still experiencing low energy levels......

A previous poster mentioned the funny/sore feelings in his legs/muscles..yep i know all about it. The first time i went cold turkey my legs, well my calves, were in horrible pain for 2 weeks straight. I couldnt sleep, concentrate ec...It was hard. I used a heat pack and deep heat but didnt really work...I tried to have lots of hot baths which would ease the pain for a few minutes at the most.....Even now i dont get pain but just a weird sensation of restlessness everynow and then...Im sure its all part of the withdrawal...I mean i think about it and think i was taking huge amounts of these pills for years and now nothing...My poor body must be so confused...

In regards to the liver tests etc for the previous poster, when i had told my doctor about my addiction (yep felt like a total loser so went through my speil of what a good family i came from, that i was a uni graduate, had a lovely home, kids, a hubby - felt i had to justify to her that i wasnt just some junkie) she ordered blood tests straight away. I was VERY deficient in iron (which was so weird as i love red meat and eat well) and my liver function tests were all out of wack. I began to stress so bad that i convinced myself i had liver failure...Anyway come 3 months later my iron levels are normal again and my liver is also back to normal (it took a long time though) Im sure if i had continued the way i had i would have damaged it for good...So please do get it checked out. The results are enough to scare the c**p out of you sometimes and make sure you never take another one of thoes pills again. Im sure the nurofen plus i was taking affected my iron absorbtion somehow..Oh and i also had a gastroscopy to make sure my tummy was ok and not bleeding with ulcers and it showed NSAIDS related gastritis (from the nurofen) and reflux - i had NO SYMPTOMS. To cut a long story short, I now have to have a tummy test every 3 years...so please please do get your tests done....It could save your life.....

I swear that i will never go back on those horrible pills ever again. Yes of course i have the urge sometimes to pop 2 esp. when im stressed, tired and the anxiety is killing me but i think back to the withdrawal and think no way.

If i could go back the one thing i personally would change would be the way i did it. I think going cold turkey at home was really hard. Emotionally and physically ( i lost 8 kilos during all this). Second time around when i tapered down daily i found it much more comfortable....but thats just my experience. Good luck to all and please dont give up. For yourself, your kids, your family...

Hey Everyone,
Its great to have a place like this, eh.

Im on my second day of Suboxone for the withdrawal of Codeine and DXM (Dextromethorphan). My main habbits were useing either 400mg of Codeine or 600mg of DXM each night for about 6 months. I didnt go for longer than 4-5 days without a high each night. Disgusting i know, i used to withdraw each day only to repeat the cycle. I decided to quit after realizing these doses werent effecting me at all. It got to the point where i was gagging every 5-10 minutes the following day.

I am so suprised at how well the Suboxone is helping me. Even at only 8mg so far. A true life saver. It is early days i know, but i think the antidepressant effect of the Buprenorphine is a huge part of it. My use was related to Borderline Personality Disorder.

The reason for the background is to get some discussion going around the use of Suboxone for over the counter drugs like Codeine and DXM. I never thought ide be stupid enough to end up addicted to these things, i didnt realise until it was too late. "Its just over the counter stuff, it cant be that bad... Its fun for now, i'll be able to stop when i want to."

Has anyone else found themselves in the same situation with OTC drugs?
Is anyone using Suboxone for the withdrawal of Codeine or DXM?
What was your use like? What dosage of Suboxone are you finding helpful?
How do you feel about your Suboxone and dosage?
How long do you think you will take Suboxone?

Hi again all,

I've been off of the N+ for 2 and a half weeks now and feel fine. The first 4 days were pretty rough, but then it got much easier and now I don't miss them at all. Tapering down off of them is definitely the way to go!

I went from taking 2-3 pills at a time to just 1 at a time for about 3 weeks. I took them a little more often, but that cut me down drastically and I didn't really notice the difference at all.

After 3 weeks, I was taking about 8 per day. I tried taking one less each day if I could handle it. From 8, down to 7, 7 for a couple days then down to 6, 6 for a couple days then down to 5 etc. I was down to one a day when I ran out.

It worked really really well for me and made the withdrawal so much easier. I'd run out and been cold turkey for a day or two before and it was really hell. With the tapering, it was uncomfortable for a little over 4 days, but not unbearable.

Thanks a lot for all the great advice on here and hang in there. I'm clean now and really proud of myself! Cheers.

I want to add that withdrawing from codeine is very similar to oxy and heroin. Exactly the same for some people, a little bit milder for others. So if your going around in circles and tried quitting the stuff a few times but failed. GET PROFESSIONAL HELP

I'll say it again. GET PROFESSIONAL HELP.

I've been doing codeine for the past decade, I'm 25.
I had days with 1000 mg of codeine in me.
My advise >>> don't expect comfort, man up & take on the pain (you're still alive, aren't you).
As for the emptiness later on >>> passion!! Trance & a fast Motorcycle for me.
& remember >> always go cold turkey!

Hi I am on the second day of no codeine. I have been taking codeine at various degrees for 2 years. First to help with discomfort from an ankle operation I was taking 30mg pills of straight codeine phosphate 4,5,6 at a time. I realised while taking the pills that the pain was gone and I could work as normal, but I also had a great sense of wellbeing and euphoria. I felt great. Better than I had in a long long time. I told myself that I needed them, and it was fine to use them untill the work on my ankle was finished. Once I was better I tried to stop and felt sick, nervous, angry, I ached and just felt more miserable than I could bare, so I carried on taking them and have been ever since.

I now take 12.8/500 paracetemol and 12.8/200 ibuprofen but usually 20 plus tablets of each per day. I have tried to quit a few times before and always fallen on the 3rd day and given in. But it's been a long time since my last effort, and i'm worried for my health if I don't stop. I love my girlfriend too and don't want to put her through any more pain after losing both her parents at 28. I have overdosed recently and the thought of me being the cause of more pain for her is too much to bare.

I'm determined to break this cycle. I have felt like sh*t today, but it's been bareable, i've gone cold turkey, not even a paracetemol to halp with the aches and pains. One thing that I didn't experience before when trying to quit was cyring. I don't know if this is usual, but I have broken down crying 3 times today over nothing. I hope I can keep it together long enough to quit. Good luck to anyone going through this.

I'm heading to halfway through day four of no codeine and is fncking hard work. I startered on a large dose of 6 30mg tablets, 4  DHC a day along with copious amounts of other drugs to deal with the side effects. Over the following five years I got up to 10 30mg tablets and  8 DHC a day just to get through the day. About 18 months ago I started reducing the amount I was taking to down to 1 30mg and two dhc and a day. 

Guest wrote: Hi I am from Canada too and you sound like the old me to a T.....I couldn't do it anymore ...and I couldn't afford those recovery places....and found Govmnt funded treatment centres but they all had mega waiting list so I went to my family dr and told him the absolute truth...and he was so amazing and caring that he put me in the hospital to detox....I was so scared of the withdrawls as I had experienced them before when I tried quitting on my own.... but he weened me off the pills..slowly..I still got codiene but straight codiene with slow release so It lasted longer....After 8 days of very mild body aches and headache I was released and am codiene free!!!!! It feels so good.... Oh I forgot to mention first they put me on IV to flush me out and they also gave me gravol shots for when my stomach was upset......But honestly it was a breeze !!!!! Now I have to deal with the emotional side off it which they say can last a couple of months...so I am getting councilling for addictions and it really helps!!!!!! Try going to your dr they are more understanding than you expect...best wishes,goodluck and let me know how you are doing ok????

I just turned 53 and have been fighting one addiction or another since a young teenager. The trend of opiate use among teens is disturbing to me. I started using opiates to get off of benzodiazapines in 1991 (great move!!). It seems when Lortabs were introduced into the pharmacological society things took an abrupt turn in the wrong direction. Before that codeine was the main painkiller prescribed by doctors and it had unpleasant side effects and you needed to take quite a bit to feel and euphoric effect. I eventually and quickly got addicted to lortabs, and then diliauds ( a relative of mine had cancer and he didn't take them-thus I did). I had been an IV drug user in the 1970's and 1980's and fell back into it with those pills. When he died I looked up some old friends and got connected with heroin dealers. That went from 1992 until 1996 when I kicked drugs for almost 4 years. I did that with therapy and willpower and supportive spouse and our newborn baby. In 1999 I had surgery on my sinuses and was given codeine for post surgical pain-slowly I drifted back into addiction and within a year was using heroin again. In September of 2001 IO went into methadone maintenance. It was like my broken body was handed over to a healer at first. I stayed away from other drugs and got take-outs, having to go to the clinic only once a week for 2 years, then a "friend" gave me a xanax. I eventually showed benzos in my urine and my take-outs were taken away and ultimately they kicked my out by reducing my dosage 10mg a day. With help I got into a corrupt doctor who wrote me a script for 60 mg of it a day. I had been weaned from 125mg a day top 80 and it was daily suffering. I got used to the 60mg and he also wrote xanax for me. This went on for another 2 years for a total of 5 years on methadone and xanax. He lost his license and with my last prescription took 16 a day for 10 days and went into detox. The doctor told me that the combination of those two drugs are the absolute worst to withdrawal from. They kept me for 5 days and on the fourth day gave me subutex, Bufenorphone works easily and quickly with opiates but not methadone! I never in all of my life experienced withdrawals like that. It went for thirteen hours of absolute torture. My legs involuntarily kicked, hallucinations of snakes bodies covered the floor, I saw Hitler strapped to a gurney being tortured by a mad scientist. All I could do was sit under the hot water in the shower once and hour or more for some relief. I realized that relief is greater than any pleasure at that time. The next morning they discharged me because of insurance reasons. My ears were ringing and it felt as though I had been in a severe accident and lost most of my blood. My brothers got me home having to hold me up while walking to the car. When I got home I was in severe pain with severe headaches, burning diverticulitis, my chest was inflamed, and could not eat or sleep. I laid on the couch for thirty days awake and seeing no relief in sight. Showers and music were the only escape, but the ringing in my ears turned into music accompanying the sound of the water. After that I went back to hospital wanting only to be knocked out-they put me in a psych ward with "insane" individuals. A woman there told me she gave birth to 12 stone puppies! Finally they gave me 200mg of an anti-psychotic drug. Finally I would sleep! I was put in a private room and still couldn't sleep-I got up to go to the restroom and the floor started spinning I collapsed-my blood pressure dropped to 80/50 and was sent to a cardiac floor. While there I was talking to my wife when my speech became slurred and then my left side began to involuntarily twist and contort. I though I had a stroke. A shrink told my wife I was trying to get drugs and laughed. It was actually a reaction to the meds they'd given me and it was conversion disorder. After a few days a doctor diagnosed it and gave me a drug, kept me for another day and let me go home. Once there the sleeplessness continued as did paranoia, and lack of an appetite. I started going to NA meetings but was to paranoid to call anyone. Again, I sought relief and found heroin. This lasted a few months and I was introduced to a doctor who put me on suboxone, I went to meetings, got a sponsor and made calls. For 6 months I did okay-got a job and started feeling good emotions again. That was in May of 2007. In October I was slipping and a good friend died in a car crash-I used the event to relapse. That was four years ago. I have been chipping on heroin or pills and using suboxone for a week before my urine tests. I got caught and now am at very high risk of losing my prescription and am looking for a way out. The best I ever did was when I went to NA and followed the directions given me there. There are a lot of personality types I dislike at meetings but need to look aside them. I have recently read about people successfully using poppy seed teas and herbs to beat withdrawal, but it is still and opiate. Hearing young people describe themselves a "heroin addicts" at meetings is disturbing to me. For a male hanging that plaque above your bed means that I am a thief, cannot be trusted or relied on at all, I am a liar,  a damaged person and a failure, A female making that claim will eventually be describing herself as a prostitute, thief, liar, and a damaged person also. It is a rough road and opiates have a very sharp hook-tread with extreme caution-I am an exception rather than the norm-all of my friends on the stuff are either dead or disabled.

i am going through codiene withdrawl right now. I have been tapering off for the last week. I have been taking 20mg a day for the last 3 years. Some days i would take 50mg or more. But most days it is just 2 yellow norco 10's. 2 days ago i took about 7.5 mg and yesterday i took 5mgs. It has been about 30 hours sense i took the second half of the .5 from yesterday. I have had splitting headaches and have been achy all over. That hasnt been the worst part. The worst has been the skin crawling. I have read these message boards a thousand times wanting to quit. I know people take alot more and alot harder drugs like oxy. But this sucks. just wanted to write this.

Stick it out and it's worth it. It's been well over a year I've been off of codeine now and after getting over the huge withdrawal hump, it definitely gets much better. Just remembering what I went through to get clean makes me SURE I never, ever want to go through that again.

Hang in there boss.

I have been taking paramol tablets for over 2 years. I sometimes took up to 64 a day and realised the damage i was doing to myself, but i knew coming off them would be hell. I havn,t told anyone about this but my family hav noticed the weight iv,e lost. I decided enough was enough and for the last 4 days not 1 has passed my lips. I have had sweating through the night and the anxiety is a lot better today. I,m hoping im over the worst as last night i did get a bit more sleep than the other few nights. I am trying to keep occupied and it is helping but please let me know is there worse to come.

Iam in the same boat as you really worried about pepole knowing that i am withdrawing as iam a support worker and this could really ruin my caree. I just wanted to know did you slow down in taking them or just went cold turkey.

i am on day 3 at the moment and still feeling dreadful! aching, sneezing, nausea, even my teeth ache! i found your post really helpful, can you tell me how long it will be before i feel better? i have the odd hour or so when i am able to function, even though i still feel weak. but then i relapse again and i find this upsetting. my family are mainly concerned about the inconvenience to them of me being ill - which is also upsetting! so i have had the odd rage here and there too! hope your recovery was permanent and you are now free!