Should I worry that I'm taking so many Painkiller pills?

cooking-mama

jenniewb wrote: »

RE: What type of codine? It is Cocodamol and says 8mg/500mg on the pack,

I take codine (prescribed) and paracetamol separatly because its cheaper then the branded stuff, if you can get codine separatly (from your doctor) and ask your doctor if its OK to take (not sure if its similar to paracetamol or not) normal doses of iburpofen can be take with it, (ibuprofen is basicly what Neurofen is).[/QUOTE]

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Sorry I find your 2 replies here conflicting/confusing, I hope you dont mean you are taking the Co codamol and paracetamol?
How can you be getting codiene prescribed and co codamol???
Do you realise that co codamol is a mixture of codiene and paracetamol(in your case 8mg codiene,500mg paracetamol in every tablet),and should NEVER be taken with paracetamol,aplogies if you are aware of this already.

madrhino

Humphrey10 wrote: »

Have you spoken to your doctor about paracetamol? Many people incorrectly believe themselves to be allergic to various things, but you are right not to risk taking paracetamol again until you are sure, if you are allergic to it it would be dangerous. I only mention this because there are a few different versions of co-codamol (codeine and paracetamol) available.

I'm not allergic to paracetomel, I just had a bad experience where I took it on an empty stomach, it was a really hot day (which can affect me negatively anyway) and I was really sick in the street, which I hate anyway as I'm usually quite good at making it to a toilet or something. I remember a woman hurrying by me with her child, from the look she gave me she obviously thought I was drunk .

Nurofen plus is the only thing I have tried that is strong enough. Normal nurofen doesn't touch my migraines.

Teresa_Green

Humphrey10 wrote: »

I couldn't find any other codine+ibuprofen tablets OTC when I was looking for them earlier this year, but I am not 100% sure they do not exist.

You could try Cuprofen Plus which are 200mg Ibuprofen and 12.5mg Codeine?

I haven't had the ones with Codeine in but Cuprofen which is just Ibuprofen is effective and cheap and you can get it in most good pharmacies.

Cuprofen Plus I have seen in Asda Pharmacy. You can also get both cheaply online.

jenniewb

cooking-mama wrote: »

Sorry I find your 2 replies here conflicting/confusing, I hope you dont mean you are taking the Co codamol and paracetamol?
How can you be getting codiene prescribed and co codamol???
Do you realise that co codamol is a mixture of codiene and paracetamol(in your case 8mg codiene,500mg paracetamol in every tablet),and should NEVER be taken with paracetamol,aplogies if you are aware of this already.

I have two sorts (different doctors prescibe me different types). At the moment I am sitting in front of a pill packet readng 'co-codamol' which yes, is 500 of paracetamol and 8 of codine.
I have had just codine alone in the past but don't always take paracetamol with it, (Know I can do, just prefer to take as little as I can get away with). No idea why the pill type varies other then different doctors, maybe different pill prices or how legitimate my "OUCH THIS HURTS" complaints sound to the doctor in question!

Know about what I can/can't take together as I often end up calling NHS direct for back up as I tend to easily forget or doubt what I have written when things feel bad.

I know its OK to take these pills, but I worry that its only OK short term and aside from addiction or doses not working as well as my body gets used to them, its more what it could be doing to say my liver or as a result of taking these I am not able to feel other concerns I could have and so end up with something else becoming quite sevear before I notice it.

I don't like taking pills because their long term side effects worry me, I also still have this airy-fairy view that some form of nature can help me, not cure maybe not even better the man made stuff, just be an option with fewer long term side effects or something. I think I just get freaked out by all these pills when last year I'd have battled long and hard not to take just a single dose, not several every day!

jascrawf

Hi Jennie,

I was going to PM you with this message but I thought that there's probably lots of people on this forum who have had the same issues as me with regard to medication so it's best to be open and share my experiences. I apologise for the long post

When I was 17, I was diagnosed with Reactive Arthritis and a condition called Hidradenitis Suppurativa which is a skin disease. To help me cope with the pain, my doctor prescribed Cocodamol 8/500mg. 8 months later, I suffered with a Pilonidal Sinus and had it operated on twice because they couldn't stop the bleeding. My medication was then increased to 30/500mg x 8 a day. Over the years, I started taking more and more Cocodamol each day because my body had become immune to them. The doctor would only prescribe Ibuprofen 800mg (slow release) for 6 months at a time so I began buying the 200mg packs from Boots when I didn't have a prescription.

I continued taking more and more tablets until I developed chronic Sciatica 3 years ago. It wasn't just a nerve twinge, it was total loss of use in my left leg for long periods, burning and shooting pains, muscle cramping, pins and needles and unbearable pain when standing, sitting and laying. I was prescribed Tramadol 50mg x 4 a day which is an opioid/narcotic. I went for various tests, MRI's, scans, x-rays to find that the nerve was being aggravated. I was offered steroid injections in my spine but after doing some research, I declined it. One of the biggest reasons was because I would be taken off Cocodamol and Tramadol to be given the steroids and I didn't feel comfortable with it. Instead, the Tramadol was increased to 8 a day, not forgetting I was on 8 of the maximum strength Cocodamol too.

Last year, I realised I was calling my doctor for a new prescription every few days. I was making excuses - I've lost the tablets, my handbag was stolen, I'm going away to see family and need a prescription urgently, just so I could get a new prescription. I moved doctors 3 times in early 2010 because 2 doctors were reluctant to prescribe Tramadol and Cocodamol together. I also spent hours on the internet looking to buy the medication illegally and did so twice which was the most idiotic thing I have ever done. I just kept taking more and more tablets to deal with the horrific pain - to which only half was real, the other half was addiction and psychosomatic. If I ran out of the strong Cocodamol, I would buy several packs of the 8/500mg strength from different pharmacies. I would then take 8 of them in each dose because I needed the codeine - meaning I took 8000mg of paracetamol per dose. All I knew was that my body needed more painkillers, more help. If I missed even one dose for whatever reason, the withdrawal pain and sweats would kick in, I would start getting erratic, agitated, irritable, scared and so on.

By December 2010, I was taking SIXTEEN x 50mg Tramadol and SIXTEEN x 30/500mg Cocodamol PER DAY which is double the permitted "safe" dose. My pain was unbearable, I had to let go of the business I'd had for 5 years and I just spent every waking hour writhing in agony, taking more and more tablets, falling into the trap of "one more won't hurt, it will stop the pain", and topping up with sleeping tablets so I could sleep through the pain.

In January this year, I had a wake up call when I couldn't get a new prescription because the surgery was closed on a week day. The phrase "cold turkey" springs to mind. I was vomiting every hour, sweating profusely, my entire body was trembling and my face, hands and feet swelled up. I had secretly known for a long time that I was addicted but I wouldn't admit it to anyone and I would get extremely defensive if close family tried to raise the issue. I decided that at the age of 25, I couldn't throw my life away and went to see my new doctor. It was like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders just by admitting to the addiction and my doctor has been fantastic, very understanding and she offered me so much support and would call me every few days to check on my progress.

The initial step was to cut out the paracetamol and switch to codeine. I did that for a week and then reduced the codeine by 15mg per day until I felt I could take the next step. I spent 2 months in bed and only managed to drop the codeine by 30mg in total. It was difficult. Even just 15mg less of codeine per day gave me severe withdrawal effects. I've never experienced anything like it, I was petrified by what was happening to my body and mind.

In March this year, everything became too much. There were a lot of family issues with my partner's mother, arguments, accusations, dealing with his ex and their child, and problems with my own family too. I couldn't cope with the withdrawal and I took an overdose of 80 Tramadol and 30 Codeine. The tablets made me vomit a lot, I started to panic because I realised I didn't want to die, I just wasn't coping with the withdrawal so I went to my partner who called an ambulance. I was rushed into hospital, hooked up to an array of machines and had doctors in with me all night. They kept telling me I was lucky to be alive and that if I didn't have an addiction and a certain level of "immunity" to Tramadol and Codeine, I would most definitely have died. Once I was released, my partner got me home where I then suffered a seizure. I was rushed back into hospital and kept in for a few days. I realised what an idiot I'd been but I genuinely felt I couldn't go on when I took the tablets. My partner took 2 weeks off work and with help from him and the crisis team, I slowly worked through my problems and got better.

After the overdose, I was able to cut back on my tablets massively and only took 4 x 50mg Tramadol and 4 x 30mg Codeine a day. It was almost like the overdose had reset my brain and I didn't need so many tablets any more.

I'm now on 4 to 5 Tramadol a day with my doctor's permission and only 4 x 15mg of Codeine. I am also taking 30mg of Amitriptyline a day to help the nerve pain. It's 9 months since I admitted my addiction. I am still suffering badly with the sciatica and I'm scheduled for another MRI and back pain clinic appointment because it's literally crippling me. I have also stopped taking Ibuprofen on a daily basis because of the risk of stomach bleeds and kidney damage. The only time I take them is when I am desperate for some relief from swollen joints/hands/feet or when I have migraines.

I sometimes wish that I'd known the dangers of Tramadol and Codeine when I was younger. My old doctor was useless and would throw tablets at you to get you out of his office. There was never any concern to the amount he was prescribing, my age, the severity of the problem or anything. I was totally oblivious to what potential dangers lay ahead and just kept taking the tablets.

Cocodamol is where my addiction began. You may be able to buy them over the counter but they are lethal and the addiction rate is high - it's now advertised on the front of boxes. Keep pushing your doctor for tests and referrals, ask if there are any alternative medications you can have because you are worried about taking too much.

I can't tell you how lucky I feel to be alive. I know I took an overdose but the amount of tablets I was taking each day could have killed me too. I just wanted the pain to stop yet I didn't realise the addiction was causing more pain. It's great that you are aware of the possibility of taking too many Cocodamol and Ibuprofen. So many people think they would never get addicted to prescription medication but I know I'm not alone with the difficulties I've had, it's a widespread problem. I'm not saying you're addicted, I'm just pointing out how easy it is to become addicted.

I hope you are able to find some sort of pain relief, I know how tough it is to cope with pain, even the simplest of tasks become the most difficult!

pmduk

jascrawf, you story is a sobering one, I've been up since 4am in pain, but perhaps there are worse things!

birkee

madrhino wrote: »

Sorry to hijack thread but are there any cheaper painkillers than Nurofen plus with identical ingredients. They are the only painkillers that touch migraine pain for me but I don't like the extortionate price. Can't take paracetomel as I'm afraid of being sick on them due to bad experiance years ago.

If memory serves, Nurofen is just a combo of ibuprofen and codeine, and codeine is only available on prescription, unless bought in something like Co-codamol (Solphadein) which is Paracetamol and codeine.

You need to try iboprofen on it's own, to see if that helps, if not, try co-codamol (own brand cheaper than Solpadein)
It neither works, then it's the combo of the two that works.

birkee

Just to say, the I have been on Tramadol MR for some years now.
MR = Modified Release. So two tablets a day only.
Ask your GP if there are any modified release medications that would suit you.

Aside:
Decided awhile back, that I could manage without Tramadol, and could just take co-codamol as required.
Three weeks later I was begging my GP for more Tramadol. I still get lots of pain (Osteo. 8 x 2" screws in my spine.) but without the Tramadol, I go back to stage one, curled up in a ball in agony.

jenniewb

Thanks for explaining your experience jascrawf, that sounds horrible! I had heard about addiction, tbh it hads been at the back of my mind and I'd worried but not as much as with other things, I had similar addiction problems with my anti depressant twice a few years ago (it is such a complex situation the BBC have even made a Panorama programme on it- twice!), though the side effects are a little different it is quite scary when you realise you have a dependancy issue on a drug you'd otherwise thought was safe. Glad you were able to come off and will bare in mind your experience before I ask to up the codine dose I am on- maybe not such a good idea!

Aiming to look for alternative therapy seems like the best option for all this, I just want to get some sort of a diagnosis now so I know where I stand and what exactly I need rather then waiting and looking for signs I think if I can speak to some sort of a specialist about whats happening if I do get a diagnosis (still trying to tell myself its all in my head/I am over reacting or something as I really don't want this to be something that will never go away/only ever get worse...) This way I can maybe help reduce pain referral appointments rather then spending much of the appointment feeling like everything hurts! I guess seeing my doctor the only thing they will be able to do is refer me on rather then have any answers and this has already been done, not sure how long the waiting list is though as the referal was not made long ago.