• 💊 OTHER DRUGS 💊 Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads 1 Notable Threads 2
    Dangerous Combos Addiction Support
    Emergency Services Benzo Guide v.1
    Addiction Stories Scary Case Studies
    Biology, Pharmacology & Drugs 101
  • Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Opioids Anyone have particular problems with codeine vs. other opioids?

C

columbinecutie

Greenlighter
Joined
Dec 22, 2013
Messages
2
I would definitely be considered opiate naive. They are not my usual drug of choice, but I have had a lot of tooth pain recently and an acquaintance has given me a 5/325 percocet every so often to help with that. There were a few occasions on which I did a CWE with 2-3 pills and had a pretty nice time. Lots of itchiness even when I took it with benadryl, and it made me pretty drowsy, but I felt good overall. I recently got one of my teeth pulled and a script for tylenol 3 for the pain. I've been sporadically doing CWEs just to cut back on the amount of APAP i'm consuming, but i haven't yet taken more than one pill at once and I don't think I want to. 30mgs of codeine is apparently enough to give me the worst nausea of my life. I have had to induce vomiting a few nights in a row because it leaves me perpetually suspended in the moment right before you slap your hand over your mouth and sprint to the bathroom. It hasn't ever made me throw up, and in fact when I have tried to, I only dry heaved until I stuck a toothbrush down my throat. The pain has subsided enough that I could stop taking them, but I lost about 5 lbs. from vomiting, diarrhea (after taking a "gentle" laxative for the constipation), and inability to make it through a meal. Has anyone else had a particular problem with codeine? I know these are typical opiate side effects but I don't understand why I would get them from 30mg codeine and not 10-15mg oxycodone.
 
Different opiates/opioids have different effects.

Compared to other opiates/opioids, Codeine causes a massive histamine release so can often make users feel significantly nauseous/itchy. I find Morphine to be the same, probably because codeine/morphine are so closely related, as opposed to other synthetic varieties such as Tramadol/Oxy/Hydro.

I always take 50mg Cyclizine whenever I use Codeine/Oramorph. Really helps with the sickness/itchiness, though it's prescription-only in most countries. Which isn't a problem if you're doc is prescribing you the painkillers. It's very commonly prescribed in conjuction with opiates/opioids for this purpose.

Other than that you can try 10mg of Cetirizine/Loratadine which will help with the itchiness, not so much the nausea though.

Diphenhydramine's pretty good too. But Cyclizine's my first-choice - speak to your doc :)
 
Last edited:
Don't worry, I had this problem as well when I first used codeine. The sickness was unbearable - I promised myself after the first time, never again, specifically for that reason. Here I am a few years later, with a habit - but I never get nauseas. Your body will adjust over time - its often only the first handful of times that the killer stomach ache shows. Promethazine is an excellent anti-nausea drug although I'm pretty sure it's not OTC in the states as it is here in Aus - otherwise as has been said DPH is a good choice as well.
 
I had no idea the nausea was a result of histamine release. I took 100mg DPH before my last dose and it's made a huge difference!
 
I can't take codeine at all. Last year I had cough syrup for a legitimate cough. Took only a little more than the prescribed dose. I was so itchy I was laying in my room naked, alternately itching my body with a pasta fork and dry heaving. Never ever again.
 
columbinecutie said:
I would definitely be considered opiate naive. They are not my usual drug of choice, but I have had a lot of tooth pain recently and an acquaintance has given me a 5/325 percocet every so often to help with that. There were a few occasions on which I did a CWE with 2-3 pills and had a pretty nice time. Lots of itchiness even when I took it with benadryl, and it made me pretty drowsy, but I felt good overall. I recently got one of my teeth pulled and a script for tylenol 3 for the pain. I've been sporadically doing CWEs just to cut back on the amount of APAP i'm consuming, but i haven't yet taken more than one pill at once and I don't think I want to. 30mgs of codeine is apparently enough to give me the worst nausea of my life. I have had to induce vomiting a few nights in a row because it leaves me perpetually suspended in the moment right before you slap your hand over your mouth and sprint to the bathroom. It hasn't ever made me throw up, and in fact when I have tried to, I only dry heaved until I stuck a toothbrush down my throat. The pain has subsided enough that I could stop taking them, but I lost about 5 lbs. from vomiting, diarrhea (after taking a "gentle" laxative for the constipation), and inability to make it through a meal. Has anyone else had a particular problem with codeine? I know these are typical opiate side effects but I don't understand why I would get them from 30mg codeine and not 10-15mg oxycodone.
Click to expand...

I work in the medical field and see the allergies listed for patients. I would say around 1 out of 10 are allergic to codeine. It ranks around the top 5 for most common drug allergies, hehind penicillin, sulfonomides, iv dye and maybe a few others. It has very many side effects compared to its counterparts. Bear in mind these are not always necessarily "allergies" in the classic sense, but often intolerances like the nausea you get. The itching is really a result of every person having some allergy to codeine. Just some are more allergic, kind of like bee venom, everyone has at least a little swellign and itching, but some can get as bad as anaphylaxis.
 
I can't be certain whats causing your issue, but i can say I've had a couple similar experiences.

I take tylenol 1s when i have minor pain and they have never caused me any trouble, but on two occasions I preformed CWEs on Tylenol 3s that id gotten.
The 1st time I took 120mg and the second I took 105mg (dosage is approximate due to unknown yield),
on both of these occasions I got extremely nauseous and experienced general feelings of being quite unwell.
After the first experience I decided that I should try a lower dosage the next week in order to determine weather I just had a bad night or weather it was the codeine.


I found this extremely odd as I too have taken 15-30mg of Oxycodone and had absolutely no issue with it, as well as regularly taking tylenol 1s without incident.

The only explanation I could come up with was perhaps a minor sensitivity to Opiates as many of my family members are allergic.
The explanation for me not reacting to the Oxycodone would be that all times that I've taken Oxy also happen to be during the spring, when I take antihistamines daily for seasonal allergies.
Id recommend you have yourself tested for an allergy to codeine or Opiates as you have experienced itchiness and if you are allergic, not knowing could pose a serious risk.

Was this first experience with T3s the only experience you've had with codeine?
have you ever had a lower dose?

-P
 
Psychedelic Jay said:
Tolerance.
Click to expand...

This^

Also codeine is notorious for causing extreme histamine reactions. You can try adding in diphenhydramine, promethazine, or hudroxyzine for nausea, but if you throw up still that means that your body just doesn't like codeine. Then you know not to take codeine again.
 
way back when codiene still helped me it made me more nauseous and itchy than any other opiate/oid but it did have one good side it relaxed me more than any other opiate/oid has ever done
 
Codeine FWIU causes a lot of side effects and almost 1/3rd of the population ranges from mild to moderately allergic to codeine. It's a dirty, problematic drug IMO. I can handle just about all the opiates with no side effects, allergic or otherwise (Oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, diamorphine, morphine, methadone, buprenorphine, kratom, and even the ghastly Tramadol) yet codeine has given me a moderate allergic reaction each and every time I've tried it. I'm talking pounding heart, mild rash, and labored breathing. I stay far away from it, it's such a bad drug IMO. And in the US, it shouldn't even ever be prescribed anymore with the relative safety and efficacy of hydrocodone. Yet because this country is so afraid of opiates and they carry such a stigma, codeine still gets prescribed over hydrocodone which in my opinion is absurd.

If you're in enough pain that a doctor is to prescribe you an opiate, you're in enough pain to have hydrocodone. There is no reason for a doctor to ever write a script for this bullshit drug. And I feel the same way about Tramadol - it's a disaster waiting to happen. Very little analgesia unless you're one of the 10% of the population who metabolizes it effectively into o-desmethyltramadol, disproportionately wicked withdrawals (think ssri+opiate simultaneously), and it has a propensity to cause seizures even in low doses. Terrible drug also, IMO.

Yes I'm aware both codeine and tramadol have helped a lot of people and given many a person a decent buzz in their day, but the propensity of both to cause side effects out of proportion to their strength makes neither a worthwhile drug imo.
 
Hey all,

Sorry I wasn't able to read all but does adding the benadryl not knock you completely out? I need something but not sure if benadryl coma will help me.
 
love10s said:
Hey all,

Sorry I wasn't able to read all but does adding the benadryl not knock you completely out? I need something but not sure if benadryl coma will help me.
Click to expand...

No, it wont knock you completely out.
 
Itch and awful constipation, not worth it as a recreational substance. Not even a strong CWE is worth the itch and constipation! Phenergan helps as does a couple doses of laxatives but is it worth it? Probably not IMO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top