symptoms of codeine addiction

I just stopped pure codiene 90 mg a day. I didn't seem any withdrawl at all.

I have been taking 90 mg every morning for 6 years. Finally I decided I would just quit it and I did. My sleep patterns are a bit messed up. Overall I feel better off of it. I wonder why I didn't have terrible withdrawl symptoms like most?

Can codeine cause weight loss?? X

Hi there yes another addict.here in england the put me on CODINE over 2 years as i went pre opt and post opt full oral surgery with 32 teeth removed i have come down frm 120mg to 15mg which was hard now my dr wants me of them and im petrified of cold turkey and what it will do to my brain any suggestions..xx

I know you posted this a long time ago, but please be careful with OTC codeine medications, the paracetamol/acetaminophen/APAP can be disastrous for your liver. If you're still taking it, please consider going to a doctor for a prescription co-codamol/codeine to reduce your APAP intake or google how to do a CWE in the interest of harm reduction.

Quote:

Guest wrote:

hey i am only 16 and i also have a codeine addiction.

for 5 years at least i have had bad headaches every day repeat every day - seriosly not nice.

so i started taking painkillers - just paracetamol for about 2 years continuosly, then syndol, which has 8mg of codeine in it. i was taking these so often that they stopped working, and that is when i began taking more than the maximum dose - now i am taking up to 5 tablets in one go, and up to 10 tablets every day.

so i ran out of syndol and hey presto i have a massssive flu, except it isnt a flu, i have just got withdrawal symptoms. i dont even want to think about the state of my stomach and liver etc, but i am really worried as my stomach constantly hurts.

ok, so my withdraa symptoms were:
-headaches
-sore throat, like tonsilitis or something
-depressed feeling
-tired
-irratable
-felt like crying all the time

and when i took too many tablets:
-dizzy
-couldnt think straight
-confused
-depressed but also dreamy
-tired
-sore stomach
-dry mouth
-puffy eyes

what i am trying to say is, how much damage am i doing to my body, what parts of my body are being damaged, and what to do?

please please help me somebody

I know you posted this a long time ago, but please be careful with OTC codeine medications, the paracetamol/acetaminophen/APAP can be disastrous for your liver. If you're still taking it, please consider going to a doctor for a prescription co-codamol/codeine to reduce your APAP intake or google how to do a CWE in the interest of harm reduction.

Be free of all these chemicals! Face the truth , you are on a road to nowhere. Grin and bear the hard truth and with a help of a professional or even a good friend, get off the Codeine!
You will be truly amazed and get you life back and think of other things in life and not just fixated on bloody chemicals which will really harm you in the end.

Are you still going strong? I hope you are because this message is getting me through my addiction. Everytime i think about having a tab. i look at your message. I hope to god that you are still going strong.

Hi all,

I started using solpadeine 3 years ago for sciatica,by the time my child was a couple of months old I was addicted,I get prescribed 100 tablets every 12 days,by the 9th day I have ran out and resort into buying some from a person I know,how should I deal with this someone please help me x

Hi. Having just came across this website, thought I would reply to this post in particular. I am 23 years of age and am just back from the hospital with my mum (who is a registered nurse). Over the last year or so I had noticed her increase and dependancy on co-codamol which was originally taken to relieve back pain. She was taking about 20-30 tabs a day which I didn't fail to notice but felt she wasn't ready for me to confront her about this. She has now been without co-codamol for the last three days and was admitted to hospital today after she finally admitted she had a problem. She is suffering from sweats, twitching, confusion and amongst other things she hasnt eaten for the last 3 days. The hospital have given her 2 mg of Diazepam to settle her nerves (her nerves are why she became so dependant on them as she seemed to like the woozy feeling it gave her) She has to make an appointment with her doctor on Monday and is now home in bed after eating a little. I've not spoken to anyone about this and feel like this forum has helped me to understand. I am moving away to live with my partner in a couple of months and am relieved this has happened now instead of when I'm away and cannot support her. I know she will seek help now and this is the 1st step. Just wanted to let everyone else know that even nurses(people who know all side effects) still have this problem too. Hope this has helped and remember you are not alone.

I think it's harder for the lived ones when people going through addiction. They see it well before we do. It's amazing to have friends an family beside us while we go through it. Good luck everyone.

Princesshappy I hope your mum is ok, what a wonderful daughter she has in you. Good luck. :-)

I had a mild codeine addiction of between of between 24-48mg per day,depending on a working day or a day off as I never take any type of drug while I'm working,it was ongoing for 18-20yrs and very seldom days i didnt take them,very mild yes but it was still there and every night I returned home from work my mind and body craved for it,phantom headaches and pains and other sensations,ie...watering mouth and urges to feel the numbness that the drug affects on the body...I felt really bad about it having to lie to the pharmacist/drugstore assistants about conditions I didn't have,eg...toothaches,headaches,sore back,lying that they're for my wife or a family member,I even got recognized by a pharmacist from a previous visit and refused because he knew I was buying them regularly,very embarrassing especially with a store full of customers but I just changed locations and bought them elsewhere and kept up with the lies. Almost 12months ago I took a vacation to the Philippines for a full 4weeks,I took a 24pack of 15mg each painkillers thinking that I will be able to obtain them there when they ran out,wrong,that pack lasted me a little over a week,a visit to a drugstore there and discovering I couldn't buy anything harder than paracetamol there,panic set in a bit,withdrawals...dreams,insomnia,hypertension etc but I actually got thru three weeks without them.i returned back home to Australia clean of them and never looked back,the past twelve months able to walk and drive right past a drugstore and not think twice about stopping in,I was offered them as a relief for a recent flu and I'm proud to say I refused codeine and accepted nurofen instead. My advise for someone with a mild case is to just go somewhere you can't buy or obtain them,go camping or overseas to a country strict on "over the counter" drugs,try to seclude yourself from the supply to resist temptation,and of course when quitting something addictive you generally have to substitute it for doing something healthy but the most important thing,be honest to yourself,friends,family,the pharmacist and your GP. I realize I can never take them again as it will cause a relapse and slip back into old habits,even when I do genuinely need them. I think it's very wrong that people can obtain an opium based product over the counter of a store and supply addicts with a product,people get locked up for dealing heroine and cocaine and a pharmacy can sell them so easily with no questions asked most of the time,ironic... I hope someone out there gets something from me writing this,reading,writing and discussion is the basis of awareness and the start of the road to recovery,good luck and best wishes to all.

Following a car accident some 15 years ago I was finally put on a regular daily dose of Zydol 200mg x 2 a day plus 30/500 co codamol. I have no issues with stopping for a few days with the co codamol as I had to last year, but the physical pain (caused by the accident) became debilitating. Stopping or even missing a single dose of Zydol results in almost identical symptoms. My doctor has even had to give me Oramorph an oral morphine for when the pain becomes unbearable. However, I have very rarely exceeded the maximum dose of co codamol throughout this time. It appears if the body requires the pain control, there are few if any issues with the drugs. It's the healthy body that rebels and gives the side effects in my opinion.

You will almost certainly have no liver damage, kidney damage etc on the amount you were taking. I took 316mg in one dose for 3 days in a row - then had my blood test, I'm also an alchy (again affects these organs i'm 39).



The test results came back, and no damage at all to liver or kidneys.



You have a young body, I'm quite sure you have no permenant damage to any organs, your problem simply is to come off it - if it is causing problems.



The one thing I strongly suggest you DON'T do is take heroin for the same effect x about 250.



BTW although i take very high doses, im not a regular user, and after taking 316mg (per time), for 3 days in a row, I had just over a day of flu then it went away.



I really wouldn't worry :) Sorry it's a bit waffly, but my experience is first hand, I hope it puts your mind at rest and is some help. Good luck!

PS - the codeine I took was in pure format, you can't take 40 co codamol (8mg per tablet, 500mg paracetamol) over the counter tablets at once! The paracetamol would very probably kill you.

You should be safe taking 4 of these at a time 4x daily instead of 2 - but everyone has a different threshold, and long term use like this will affect liver. If you are concerned at all just ask the doctor to book you in for a blood test.