Co Codamol

I was recently prescribed Co-Codamol for a whiplash injury but I had to stop taking it and make do with paracetamol.

I was very tired and sleepy so not safe to drive and also had constipation.

I had a nephew staying here recuperating from a back op and he said the same about Co-Codamol.

I mean the same as Soutra's husband describes he is feeling.

Co-codamol will make you feel a bit sort of "spaced out" and away with the fairies. And merlot is right about the constipation too.

There's also co-proxamol, but that can have a similar effect. I think you should speak to the GP again.

Co-codamol comes in two strengths. One is (I think) 8mg of codeine to 500 mg of paracetamol, the other is 30mg of codeine to 500mg of paracetamol. The stronger one is quite powerful, so maybe taking them one at a time is better? He can step up the dose if he needs to, or take an extra paracetamol or two if he is within the ration of 8 a day for that, including what is in the cocodamol.

It is the codeine which is doing the heavy duty painkilling, We were told that it would work for up to six hours, while paracetamol is only effective for four hours.

It is also the codeine which causes the constipation. It is related to morphine, which also had that effect. Tell your doctor about it. DH was prescribed Movicol to take while he was taking 8 strong Cocodamol a day. That keeps you regular without the blast effect of most laxatives.

I have one of the rheumatoid types of arthritis, along with various connective tissue/joint pains. I'm prescribed the lower dose of cocodamol, but only take it last thing at night, at times of need. It helps me to sleep, though the pain will wake me, I find I can get back off to sleep, whereas paracetamol doesn't work so well for me when the pain is grim. If I take it for a wee, even at that level of 2 at night, I have to up my fibre and veg. I was first prescribed it post op, needed it for 4 days, bit as soon as the pain was manageable I stopped taking it. As elegran says, it's related to morphine and has similar effects. It's also addictive, hence my attempts to limit my consumption. My GP says you can take it alternate with paracetamol, or take 1 paracetamol with the co codeine.
I think co proxamol is no longer prescribed. Many of the people I know with similar conditions to mine, found co prox easier to take, as I did. Evidently, it was being used in suicide attempts, and prescriptions were stopped in recent years.

I don't think anyone should take cocodamol without their GPs knowledge as it is a very strong analgesic. When DD2 was given it by our GP when she was suffering from severe gynie probs she discovered that it is addictive and weaned herself off them PDQ.

soutra If your husband is in pain still please don't self medicate but check with your GP . Hope he is restored to full health very soon.

The 8mg co-codamol /500mg paracetamol is over the pharmacy counter but not on general shelves. I think the 30mg version has to be on prescription only.

The stronger one is hardly powerful enough for me. It just about does the job. That's taking six or eight a day, as i have been doing for over thirty years. People are always talking about co-codamol as something awesome and awful. It is both in the best possible meanings of both words – inspiring awe and awe-inspiring – makes constant pain liveable with.

But if it doesn't agree with you, go back to the GP.

Actually, until it was banned I took the opiate equivalent painkiller, co-proxamol, but that was banned in the late eighties because people kept deliberately overdosing on it apparently.

I also take a low dosage of Amitryptilline (prob wrong spelling) at night which also works as a painkiller.

I think the whoozy feeling wears off after a while if you need to keep taking co-codamol. It did with co-prox too but i've been taking them so long i've forgotten. No noticeable effects now except pain relief.

Sorry, late nineties.

My mum was prescribed Co-codamol when she had a terrible bout of shingles. Unfortunately it didn't help as it made her feel really sick. It has the same effect on me. Paracetamol, though not as strong, did help a bit and is much easier on the stomach.

DH was prescribed Co-codomal a few years ago and suffered dreadful constipation.

I can't take it either, it made me feel terrible and I couldn't function until I slept it off. It didn't get easier after a couple of weeks so I gave up.

When I took it I found it really "trippy" - bit scary really so stopped it.

Lucyinthesky I don't think I ever suggested DH was self-medicating! The co-codamol were prescribed by his GP 5 days after his op with a daily dose of up to 8 including any paracetamol he chose to take instead. Because he is on a complicated drug regime including mycophenolate, prednisolone, omeprazole, Mesalazine, ursodeoxycholic acid, enalapril, didronel, digoxin and warfarin not counting his asthma drugs, he is scrupulous about what he takes and the choice of analgesics seems to be limited.
We are just hoping that the post-operative pain starts to ease soon so that he can cut back altogether as even paracetamol has to be watched carefully becuse of potential liver damage.
It is also possible that the feeling of total lassitude might have another more sinister cause but the coincidence with the co-codamol seemed too close to be ignored.

Can't take anything with coedine. Get severe and immediate stomach cramps, same pain as I had with gallstones. Not nice! Definitely a return trip to your GP is called for Soutra and I hope your DH feels better soon.

I'm also badly affected by co-codamol. I still have a pack of the 30mg ones which I was given after my hip job, but I couldn't cope with the way they made me feel. I made do with paracetamol, but if the shoulder pain has been really bad, I've tried one co-codamol with one paracetamol at night. It didn't make me sick but nor did it make much difference. I hope your GP has the answer to your DH's pain, Soutra. He's had more than enough to put up with.

Personally, although it's been ages since I had to take them, I love the way they make me feel, was quite happy when prescribed dihydrocoedine for bad sciatica too.

Sorry Soutra but I misunderstood your original post and thought your husband took the cocodamol without GP consultation.

I agree about its effect though - my daughter also suffered great lethargy whilst on it. Perhaps unsurprising as its main purpose is to suppress pain.
She went back to paracetomol.

Yes, constipation can be a problem if you don't watch your diet, but dates and prunes soon sort that out if it gets out of hand. Or you can get some fibrous prescription; I've forgotten the name of the stuff... oh wait, Fibogel or something.

Co-Codamol prescribed for my frozen shoulder certainly helped the pain, but made me woozy and TERRIBLY constipated, after only having had 4 over 2 days, despite prunes, dates etc which I have in my diet every day anyway. Brother-in-law has MND and is now in hospital with impacted bowel after having been prescribed and given Co-Codamol over a two week period. It did reduce his pain considerably, but he has a gastrostomy due to his inability to swallow and the appropriate (and obviously necessary) laxatives hadn't been given with his tube-feed to counteract the problem of constipation.
Bags, there's also another over-the-counter preparation which is good - Ortisan? Figs, dates, prunes in that, I think!

Co-codamol is good at what it is prescribed for but is also quite addictive, I believe, and trying to stop taking it can also cause severe problems. So short term use only is recommended.

Thatbags - I agree, co proxamol was a great pain killer, and I didn't seem to have the problems associated with co codamol. The real B is needing pain relief so persistently, over long periods. It's very easy to list the potential side effects of all medications. It's good to see this thread where the pros and cons are being discussed without the advice to 'use chinese herbs' or 'oh I'd never take xxx prescription drugs, the side effects are awful'. I may one day just respond with a comment "walk in my shoes for several years, then tell me what I should and shouldn't do about the pain/mobility issues if I don't follow medical advice". Grump. Soutra, I hope your husband's pain relief can be sorted. My mother couldn't take any codeine products, as they really upset her stomach instantly. The GP prescribed amytriptiline (I can't spell it either bags) to take at night. During the day, she alternated anti inflammatories with paracetamol. Pain, what a larf eh

I have co codamol on prescription for arthritic pain, but have to limit them because they definitely make me sort of spaced out, and I don't like that these days But they work, along with anti inflammatories (also prescribed)

Dried apricots work well with the other problem!