Codeine withdrawal

Thanks, I resurrected this old thread as it has some useful advice on it, I wish I had spotted it at the weekend then I could possibly have separated the Gastritis symptoms from the Codeine problem.

I have a friend who went cold turkey after 3 years of high doses.
It was 5 days of hell and then eventually things got a lot better..
Good luck.

I thought I would resurrect this old thread as DD has been on Codeine since her knee op, she has Arthritis in her other knee and is waiting for another op, also very bad Arthritis in her hands.
She has been slowly coming off of Codeine and was down to 5 a day (quite a low dose) as the pain was either getting worse or the pills were not as effective and she was worried about taking even more.
On Friday she developed Gastritis (caught gastritis?) and wasn’t able to keep down any fluids, by the time I was able to look after her on Sunday evening (I had DD1 and GCs here) she was dehydrated and very poorly, after a visit to the hospital she was given an injection and pills to stop the nausea, they haven’t worked very well and I was worried about dehydration, so I’m still trying to get fluids into her although they don’t stay down for long,
I mentioned to the GP at the hospital and also her own GP yesterday that I was concerned about the sudden stopping of the Codeine, each time they just ignored the question.
Having read this original post, she is now having all of the symptoms of going ‘cold turkey’ and is having a really rough time, palpitations, raised BP, hot and cold sweats, restless legs, jittery, diahorea, last night for the first she was able to keep some fluids down that, sadly, I am insisting that she drinks regularly but she is still unable to sleep, I hope to goodness it stops soon.
Anyone taking Codeine please beware. I don’t know what pain killers she will take when she is gets over this but she insists that she will take nothing but mild pain relief.
I’ve heard so many stories of celebs going into rehab due to prescription drugs, I guess I will now have more sympathy!

I've taken co-coda mol for 9 yrs. The last six months 6 a day & the last few weeks 8 a day. Went to my GP last Mon cos no difference to arthritis pain. She told me to stop the co-coda mol, & to take from the Tues, 30mg of nefapam & paracetamol. I did like an idiot. Just felt rough & didn"t want to really eat on Tues. Wed going to the loo more often but still "normal". Now not eaten since Thurs as I 'm at the loo all the time practically & only drinking water & coke. Not had any painkillers of any sort since Fri morning & in no worse pain than before. Had horrible headaches, going hot & cold, & the occasional panic attack. Rung my GP yesterday to ask if this was withdrawal to be told it is highly unlikely!! So glad to have found this site, thought I was losing it

Root canal treatment done, feels ok atm, but anesthetic has not worn off yet

It's your charmingly persuasive manner pompa, I hope he solves the problem quickly.

Finished the AB's, still in pain, not as bad, but right up through my jaw. Went in to see dentist lunchtime, he had pity on me and is going to sort it tomorrow at 1:30 (no lunch for him again). Sweet talking the receptionist does help

Hope it's continuing to respond well to the antibiotics pompa. Co coda mol is needed for pain like you're experiencing and hopefully as this will be a short period of use, you won't get the withdrawal problems.

I thought that co dydramol had been withdrawn from prescriptions and replaced by cocodamol.

I really feel for you Pompa and hope that you are soon the happy cheery guy we all know and laugh with.

Can I just ask if anyone knows if co-drydamol has the same withdrawal symptoms as co-codamol?

I take them for chronic back pain and sciatica (leg pain and numbness). IBS doesn't help with this as a toilet break can be an hour or longer at times.

Pompa - sucking hard on an actual clove might help, too. You can get them at the supermarket. Mrs P will go for you.

Not quite such an intense pain this morning, but still need co-codamol atm. Hopefully the AB's are starting to work. I could dis-associate myself from knee pain, but can't do it with this tooth, closer to brain perhaps.

Thanks for all your your comments most reassuring that the AB's will work. Spoke to dentist this morning and they said AB's should kick in Saturday.

Oh.. a tooth abcess is amongst the worst pain ever and just has to be tolerated until the antibiotic takes effect. It usually starts to ease in about two days.

I recall twice being in a pickle with toothache at a weekend, can't recall if an abcess was involved not......
Oil of cloves definitely helped, really good, soaked on a piece of cotton wool and tucked into place. But I have never ever eaten Clove Rock Candy since that time.
And the cold water trick worked well also, a bottle of cold water swilling it around my mouth. Once it warmed, spat it out, and repeat. This was whilst sitting at the hospital emergency dentist weeping.

Good luck Pompa.

Sorry to hear of your pain. Tooth and gum abscesses are very painful and draining on energy.

I can't take strong painkillers, they send me completely off beam! As I found out when I had jaw surgery.

Hope you recover soon, the antibiotics should do the trick. x

Poor you Pompa I've heard putting oil of cloves in a tooth when you have toothache helps don't know if it's true but maybe worth trying as an extra you can usually buy a small bOttle of it at the chemist. Hope you feel better soon toothache is the pits!

Once I had got over the first 3 weeks I was clear, I did not get any re-occurrence.

So sorry to hear about your problems Pompa. I am in the process of Diazapam withdrawal and I can sympathise.

I weaned myself from it gradually until I was down to 1mg a day and haven't had any for 8 weeks. I've had similar symptoms to yours, abdominal pains, restless legs and muscle pains. As my American cousin would say (it's no walk in the park.)

I've had two abcesses and unless people have had them they can't imagine the pain. One of mine burst and it was AGONY and it was a Bank Holiday. Luckily a emergency dental clinic was open in my area.

The doc says Diazapam withdrawal comes in waves which lessen with time. Is it the same for co-codomol?

The anti biotics should work quite quickly on the abscess.

Troubles never come in ones ..........

Pompa how rotten for you. Here's hoping the antibiotics do the job quickly.

I totally empathise pompa, I do hope antibiotics kick in quickly.
I used Bonjela as well that helped, the chemist might be able to recommend something topical for you to use.

Pompa I hope the antibiotics get to work quickly. The dentist needs to kill off the infection before he does anything like removing the offending tooth. Get well soon.

Ouch! - you poor thing!

Poor you Pompa dental pain is the pits! However your antibiotics should kick in from about Saturday. As soon as your abscess is sorted you can consider coming off the tablets.

I am about to have some dental surgery and I am keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't trigger my neuralgia.

Isn't getting old a bu**er .

pompa a few months ago I had horrendous pain in a tooth which the dentist later said was 'dying'. Pain killers did not work but holding cold water on the tooth did. I had to change the water every couple of minutes as it warmed up.

As for co-codomol, I was given it in December twice a day when I had my hip replacement. It made me feel really unwell, drugged and nauseous.

Poor you, my sympathies too. Toothache is the worst.
No wonder people used to have them all out and false ones fitted.

Poor Pompa. Do hope you feel better soon and return to your Happy bunny state.