Paracetamol And Codeine Are Addictive?
Sep 26, 2014
I have been taking paracetamol with codeine for sinus pain and toothache-more the form. I'm very worried about addiction so will take a single dose of an evening 2-3 days a week. Then I can have weeks and 2-3 months of none. I don't experience withdrawal or addictions when I do not take. Is it ok to use paracetamol & codeine sparingly like this and avoid addiction. Can I have balanced feedbacks please-well weighed up good and not so good experiences.
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I am new to this, but at the moment I'm wishing I had never had this done. I had a TKR done on Friday, the epidural and sedation didn't work so had to have a general. The pain relief I got whilst in hospital was good, came home yesterday and all I've got is paracetamol and codeine, which has no effect at all, slept in 20 minute intervals all night. Our dog had her crucial element ligament done about 17 months ago and she was on better pain relief. I am honestly regretting what I have done, sorry for sounding so negative.
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I developed neuralgia on the left side of my face and took co-codamol for pain relief. Within 24 hours this side had swollen drastically. I went to hospital and was given a course of steroids to reduce the swelling. I was diagnosed as being allergic to codeine.
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I have found a UK based online Dr that is willing to prescribe me codeine phosphate tablets. My idea is to taper the dose myself and replace the co codamol 30/500 and Nurofen plus with these instead and come off them gradually. I can't go cold turkey, I've tried and the withdrawals are the most significant problem. My dr did this once before so I am going to follow the same tapering process. When I am down to 0mg I will ask my gp for a non opioid based strong pain killer for my 6 herniated spinal discs. It's going to cost overall far less than I am spending on packets of Nurofen plus. Feeling very determined to do this for good his time.
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I Had been feeling a bit tried for a week and had to go home from work last thursday as had really bad headache,(something i don't really get)
last friday i was out of breath going up the stairs so went to the doctors (i've had pneumonia before so was worried it was back)i had a temp of 38 and was told it wa a viral infection,i was told to take paracetamol and ibuprofen and if not better to go back on Monday.Come monday the breathing was better but i was getting a stabbing pain in my chest which was shooting up my left shoulder and down my arm. i thought something was wrong with my heart.I saw the doctor in the morning he asked what i was doing when i left the doctors and i said i wa going to work, he just started laughing and said you're not you have pleurisy,you have to rest for at least a week.He gave me a prescription for codeine for the pain and said if it got worse go back asap.
Monday night i though i was having a heart attack and tues wasnt any better.wednesday i started to feel very sick aswell so called the docs, they told me to go there asap so i did and was sent for blood tests and also told the sickness was due to the codeine.I was given Naprosyn for the pain and told to go back again on friday if i wasnt better.today is Thursday and im no better so looks like im going back tomo.
I tried to fold a small amount of washing this morning and had to stop as it hurt too much,i'm so fed up now as want to go back to work and get better. i feel that i can't take anymore time off work as i don't feel they give much sympathy. but i can hardly move without feeling like i'm having a heart attack.I'm only 25 and fit and healthy normally i can't understand why i get all the illnesses that older people are meant to get.
I'm so glad there are other people feeling the same and to know that this pain is normal for pleurisy.
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I was prescribed tramadol 6 weeks ago, but having read in the forum how addictive they are I am considering stopping them, although they do help with my back pain. Has anyone being given an alternative to these drugs, and if so are they effective.
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I had a problem about 13 days ago with my thyroid meds. Well my endo put me on .25 xanax twice a day. I know how addictive this can get. So I wan to get off it now. My PCP scared me to death when he said oh you've been on it for 9 days so your probably addicted. This just sent me over the edge. I can't stop thinking about it. So i started to taper some, i took a 1/2 for the past 2 nights and 1/2 today. I want to know, is this amount for 13 days going to cause seizures and all this bad stuff.
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can I take paracetamol with fluoxetine 20 mg and omeprazole 20mg
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Last week I was under the weather so started taking Paracetamol. The problem is that I was a) A bit loose with the guidelines (i.e. 4-6 hours, more like every 2-3) and b) I was taking Lemsip and Sudafed when obviously you are not supposed to take different types of paracetamol.
On Friday I went out for a few drinks (lager & vodka). Since Saturday I have been feeling incredibly anxious (not a normal character trait) and on Sunday had what I can only describe as my first ever panic attack. Since then I have been feeling anxious, sometimes light-headed and heart racing.
Sunday was the lowpoint and it was starting to improve and by Thursday I felt back to normal…so I went to the gym. 30 mins into what was not an overly strenuous routine, I was back to feeling light headed, anxious etc – just sometimes coming over me in waves.
Could this be linked to the over-use of paracetamol combined with the booze or have I maybe something more serious to worry about?
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Having read some of the experiences others have had withdrawing from Mirtazapine I thought I would post my own. I hope it may be of use to others. I recently was re-prescribed Mirtazapine,after three years of not taking it. I took one 15mg tablet, felt like I'd been hit over the head with a riot shield and fell out of bed with severe restless legs syndrome. I decided there and then "there is no way I am going through all this again", and stopped it right there.
Previously, I had been prescribed Mirtazapine for severe anxiety and depression. This medication caused restless leg syndrome, and caused me to put on 3 stones in weight. Despite being previously a fit and active person. I became lethargic, and fatigued easily, needing to rest after evey 20 minutes of moderate activity, not to mention the dreadful hangovers I would have all morning. I persisted in taking it for nearly 5 years because I looked forward to the sedative effect it has. I even looked forward to it at night, despite the dreadful side effects, because I felt it helped me escape the world into sleep. Personally I think Mirtazapine is addictive and I was addicted.
I eventually decided enough was enough and decided to get my life back.
My GP was of little use when it came to advice for tapered withdrawal, though damn quick to prescribe the stuff in the first place. I determined an action plan of my own. I was aware of the unpleasant withdrawal symptoms of suddenly stopping, as I had previously, on occasion, run out of money and couldn't afford my prescription. Dizziness, extreme anxiety, nausea, insomnia, sweating and flu like muscle and headaches are all in store for any one who stops this medication abruptly. I tapered Mirtazapine over approximately 3 months by, cutting up 30mg tablets. 1st week I took 3/4rs of a tablet, then 1/2 plus an 1/8th second week, then 1/2 plus 1/16th for the 3rd week and so on. Eventually I was taking 1/16th of 30 mg (or less) per night for the last 2 weeks after which I felt no withdrawal symptoms upon cessation. The doses are approximate as cutting these tablets is accurately is difficult.
All of this took a lot of focus and bloody-minded determination. I find it surprising that the manufacturers don't provide decreasing doses for people wishing to stop taking their product without discomfort. At the moment I have decided to cope with life without Mirtazapine, or any other chemical horror. It can be very difficult at times, but vastly better than being a Drs. corporate guinea pig/junkie. I would say though, that for people who are severely depressed, Mirtazapine or other medications could be helpful if used for the short term, but please be aware of the very real side effects and problems with these substances. Ask yourself very carefully if you think you need this, despite what your Dr. may say. These drugs should be a last resort, not first port of call. They most certainly are no magic cure, and have serious "side effects" that should not be underestimated.
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I'v smoked pot on and off for about 40 yrs, I've never had a pot withdrawal that I can ever remember or known anyone who has. but I do have hard times sleeping, eating etc. normally..
other than the occasional paranoia from "smoking too much" it has helped my appetite, stress levels etc. My cognitive skills are still the same as they've always been when I don't smoke.
I have a bunch of problems the pot helps to mask. If you want a clear mind, Then Don't Smoke it! or quit! other than that I smell a lot of possible psychological or physical problems that have been suddenly realized by people quitting? how can you have a withdrawal from a non-addictive substance?
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I have been smoking cannabis for the past 35 years. I have spent most of that time resisting the idea that cannabis is addictive, even though I have tried giving up and cutting down many many times, always without success. I have found it much easier to resist tobacco addiction - and wouldn't smoke tobacco at all if it wasn't for needing it to roll a joint. I am more addicted to cannabis than any of my friends, even though many of them have also smoked cannabis, some for many years. Most drug addiction services are aimed at people with heroin, crack cocaine or alcohol addictions and, by comparison, cannabis addiction is seen as `soft' and not-terribly-problematic. But neither do NHS smoking cessation services include cannabis cessation. So it is not easy to access support for tackling this addiction. My ideal outcome would be for me to be able to smoke cannabis in a controlled way, on an occasional basis. But my reluctance to give up this ideal has meant that I have, in fact, remained addicted to regular,heavy use. Increasingly, I have been able to give up for a month at a time, but I am always sucked back in, especially in response to stress at work. So I have reluctantly come to recognise that there is only one answer - giving it up for the rest of my life. I have found that acupuncture (as practiced by SMART UK - normally used for the treatment of heroin addiction) has recently helped me to give up for weeks at a time. And I am going to go back for another boost in my slow journey towards saying good-bye forever to what has been a very good friend. But one with whom I have developed a very unhealthy obsession and dependence. I believe that Dr. Susan Blackmore has recently said that cannabis use has enabled her to think more creatively and, as an academic myself, I have also found that my thinking is better synthesised and I am able to see solutions to academic problems more easily when my brain has absorbed a dose of
cannabis. If cannabis wasn't such a mentally stimulating experience (hence all the chatting and laughing amongst a group of stoned friends), it would be so EASY to give up!
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In 2007 I had true frozen shoulder in my left (non-dominant shoulder). After freezing and while waiting for arthroscopic release I spent five months on dihydrocodeine and tramadol and didn't sleep. Nosleep. None. I don't really remember much about 2007, I was 42. I continued working, but like a zombie.
I had the arthroscopic release and was off all pain meds within 2 days – was magic.
Surgery performed by Mr Cameron Hatrick in Sussex on the NHS.
However I had severe muscle wastage and was very unfit, so months and months of physio followed before I regained full movement and fitness.
Exercises I found particularly useful was being able to windmill my arm – simulating swimming movements in addition to the other recommended exercises.
In October 2014 I suspected the onset of frozen shoulder in my right arm. I completed as many of the exercises I did post op last time, as possible and went to gp and physiotherapist.
I maintained mobility much longer but had pain when sleeping and lying down, so disrupted sleep.
In late January I lost all mobility within 2 weeks, much more rapidly than last time, but I assumed it was because I had been keeping the strength and mobility exercises up. Up till this point I was coping with just paracetamol.
I was referred to Mr Hatrick again. In the meantime, while waiting, I was back on the dihydrocodeine, then back on the tramadol too. I also used heat patches – the kind that last 12 hours and you wear on clothing, not skin. Still managing sleep in 2 and 3 hour spells to add up to 6-8 hours a night.
However I felt my whole health was deteriorating with the use of the dihydrocodeine and tramadol, as they made me an idiot and I was in a new job and trying to impress. (Well at least look professional).
When they recruited me in February I explained about my condition and that I was waiting for keyhole surgery and would expect to be back at work in a few days. The new job was great because I could go by train as I had given up driving as could open and close the driver's door or use reverse gear.
Before seeing the consultant, I returned to my GP and he wrote a letter to point out how this was adversely affecting my mental health, recommending the procedure be done quickly. I saw Mr Hatrick on March 30th and had the op on April 1st in Brighton.
However, this time the discharge included notes and graphic images and explained the complications encountered. I did not only have arthroscopic release and manipulation under anaesthetic. As I had inflammation ++, impingement ++ and a thickened bursa, I was given a nerve block and had bone shaved.
I went home, tried the dihydrocodeine and tramadol and suffered. Went to the gp twice, spoke to the gp twice, saw the nurse to have my stitches removed and returned to the hospital for examination by a duty registrar. I saw the physiotherapist for an assessment who looked at my discharge notes and said I had had two real extremes of experiences of easy and complicated. I then had a follow up with Mr Hatrick on day 17, who said in 14 years he had never recommended a steroid injection any sooner than 4-6 months post op as there was a risk of infection. However, he recommended it as urgent and on day 20 I had a steroid injection under x-ray.
Now it is day 22 and I am still suffering and am still off work.
Since day 5 I have been on Morphine, Naproxen and Paracetamol. Since day 17 I have also been on Gabapentin. This cocktail will sometimes mean I get 3 or 4 hours sleep. I certainly have better mobility since the release, but pain is still awful, despite the meds and plenty of ice.
Given up taking one day at a time, I now take every 4-6 hours at a time.
No idea when I will be able to return to work.
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I totally agree- cannabis IS addictive. My 17 year old daughter has been using cannabis since she was 14. She was continually being suspended from school, lost her place at college, has been in trouble with the police for fraud/theft and is currently awaiting a court appearance for assault on members of her own family. Her behaviour when she is coming down from the drug, or can't get any is atrocious. She has been extremely aggressive and violent. She gets the shakes, sweats and is extremely volatile when she doesn't have the drug.She has stolen from her own family, money, jewellery, mobile phones, anything that can be sold to raise money to buy the drug. She is working at present and is having great difficulty hiding her craving for the drug while at work. Her physical appearance is awful, she is covered in spots and has lost quite a bit of weight. I have been asked many times if she is on anything else but have never found any evidence to support that. She is spending in excess of £300.00 per month on cannabis- apparently skunk- Can anyone tell me if this is a normal amount to be using? She has now left the family home due to the assaults on her family and is currently staying with her brother and his family. Her relationships with the rest of the family have broken down completely and she is fast losing her friends. I am now at a loss as to how to help her. She has tried several times to give up but it only lasts a few weeks at most and when she is back on the drug she insists she hasn't got a problem with it at all. I think the worst thing the government could do would be to legalise this drug. Youngsters have already got the impression that it is harmless and it is anything but.The effects of this drug on my family are breaking my heart and I suspect I am not the only parent in this position. I have seen my daughter, one of my sons and two of my brothers almost ruin their lives because of this drug.In my opinion the bigwigs that sit there making these decisions about cannabis need to live in the real world.
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