What is the real damage of maintaining a codeine habit..

[Cream Gravy?]

No No ... empty stomach and tablets caused a peptic ulcer ( that’s what the GP said ) his words not mine .

since drinking a bottle of coke with tablets each evening no problems 7 years now :giggle:

Huh. I'd still opt for something less acidic and carbonated to soften the Codeine's landing in your stomach. Soda/pop/Cola what-have-you is not good for you in any way shape or form.

 

[Higo7]

Ok

 

[GetMeOutOfThisCRAP]

My honest opinion is that opiate addiction is one of the addictions without physical consequences (sure hormones become imbalanced and sex life can be affected) but at least you don't have to worry about psychosis or heart problems down the line.

They do steal the color out of life a bit and especially the longer you go dependent on them. I didn't realize until I stopped how much they were bogging me down and stealing my emotions--the good AND the bad. I am a bit happier without them, and the perpetual anxiety about having to worry about withdrawals and having to lie to people close to you on a regular basis is not good for your mental health. Should the time comes to withdraw, know that it'll probably be for the best. They really do lose their charm in the long run and then it becomes dark.

Also, depletion of testosterone makes you not feel like a man anymore. Low T = feeling crappy all the time, depression, and lethargy. Good luck I can state with absolute certainty that ANY addict who has used opiates long term turned out to become miserable. They all seem far happier when they get past the withdrawals and sober up. I just think that perpetual use does cause depression and the buzz loses it's anti-depressant properties. Long term opiate addiction has never lead anyone to a light place. But as I said, you can walk away physically unscathed at any time and everyone should be grateful for that.

 

[JessFR]

My honest opinion is that opiate addiction is one of the addictions without physical consequences (sure hormones become imbalanced and sex life can be affected) but at least you don't have to worry about psychosis or heart problems down the line.

They do steal the color out of life a bit and especially the longer you go dependent on them. I didn't realize until I stopped how much they were bogging me down and stealing my emotions--the good AND the bad. I am a bit happier without them, and the perpetual anxiety about having to worry about withdrawals and having to lie to people close to you on a regular basis is not good for your mental health. Should the time comes to withdraw, know that it'll probably be for the best. They really do lose their charm in the long run and then it becomes dark.

Also, depletion of testosterone makes you not feel like a man anymore. Low T = feeling crappy all the time, depression, and lethargy. Good luck I can state with absolute certainty that ANY addict who has used opiates long term turned out to become miserable. They all seem far happier when they get past the withdrawals and sober up. I just think that perpetual use does cause depression and the buzz loses it's anti-depressant properties. Long term opiate addiction has never lead anyone to a light place. But as I said, you can walk away physically unscathed at any time and everyone should be grateful for that.

It's well worth keeping in mind though that a long term opioid addiction is very likely to have serious health consequences. Not from the drug itself, but the way the drug causes you to live and the risks you end up taking.

For example heroin won't in itself give you hepatitis. But a heroin addiction is likely to cause you to do stuff to put you at risk of catching it.

So I don't think looking exclusively at the direct side effects of the drug gives people the whole picture.

 

[draculic acid69]

It's well worth keeping in mind though that a long term opioid addiction is very likely to have serious health consequences. Not from the drug itself, but the way the drug causes you to live and the risks you end up taking.

For example heroin won't in itself give you hepatitis. But a heroin addiction is likely to cause you to do stuff to put you at risk of catching it.

So I don't think looking exclusively at the direct side effects of the drug gives people the whole picture.

I found high grade brown Afghani with acetic anhydride smell still on it was a bit hard on the body: easily broken bones and teeth demineralising and the aa isn't great for the lungs and throat.pharm opiates don't have these problems.purified heroin(white, odorless,recrystallised)won't have these problems either

 

[JessFR]

I found high grade brown Afghani with acetic anhydride smell still on it was a bit hard on the body: easily broken bones and teeth demineralising and the aa isn't great for the lungs and throat.pharm opiates don't have these problems.purified heroin(white, odorless,recrystallised)won't have these problems either

All good points.

Makes me glad to live in Australia. Our heroin is pretty good. Little to no fentanyl cut, and I've yet to see any heroin here that had any smell.

 

[GetMeOutOfThisCRAP]

It's well worth keeping in mind though that a long term opioid addiction is very likely to have serious health consequences. Not from the drug itself, but the way the drug causes you to live and the risks you end up taking.

For example heroin won't in itself give you hepatitis. But a heroin addiction is likely to cause you to do stuff to put you at risk of catching it.

So I don't think looking exclusively at the direct side effects of the drug gives people the whole picture.

Right--some opiates are more dangerous than others and have unique side effects. I HIGHLY recommend only sticking to opioids. I know that they can be just as addicting and life-destroying, but at least you can always moderate your doses and the method of consumption doesn't have to be needle use (which has complications unless you're an expert on administering ops through a needle).

As far as internal side effects of opiate use? I'd say depression and anxiety come with perpetual use. It doesn't help maintaining a happy life when you're chained down to a substance like it's your god and you're a slave. However, I really do think that when one proceeds with caution and is involved in life your risk of overdosing is way lower. An evidently mentally healthy person usually isn't going to take 5 OC 80's to catch a high enough to kill a whale in order to escape his/her problems. I still stick by opiates being relatively physically benign though. Organ failure can happen with extremely high chronic use, but most people are usually stopped legally or financially before that can occur. Do you have any other assertions about physical risks? Just curious. I find opioids to be relatively safe as long as you don't combine them with benzodiazepines or alcohol, and know exactly where your tolerance lies and don't exceed that point. I think that heroin is a far different animal. There's a perpetual desire to score and redose even after the buzz is sufficiently obtained... people lose their minds over pills and do unspeakable things to get them but there's something special about heroin and it's grip on people imo. I'm also viewing opiates from a wider perspective considering all substances and their side effects. When compared to meth or alcohol, as long as you don't overdose on the pies it's just not as physically taxing.

 

[KS78]

It depends on the opiate/ opioid that one uses as well. Street heroin will have bad effects on the health because of illegality, underground life style that comes with illegality, not having a clean product that's not tainted with many kinds of cuts, ...
But if you are using poppy pods, you won't experience most of these bad effects. Physical dependency is still the issue but other than that I can't think of disastrous effects like dirty shots, spending all you have on it or having to live a very risky life style.

 

[MJ420]

It hurts my stomach to much but here in Canada the otc has caffeine in them also and not many doctors prescribe codeine anymore. Last time I was prescribed codeine I was 14 and could only take it 1 day because I broke out in hives.
Addiction is the biggest problem

 

[GetMeOutOfThisCRAP]

It depends on the opiate/ opioid that one uses as well. Street heroin will have bad effects on the health because of illegality, underground life style that comes with illegality, not having a clean product that's not tainted with many kinds of cuts, ...
But if you are using poppy pods, you won't experience most of these bad effects. Physical dependency is still the issue but other than that I can't think of disastrous effects like dirty shots, spending all you have on it or having to live a very risky life style.

Some people really moderate their doses right when it comes to seed tea, but the other half of people tend to lose control and constantly redose throughout the day.

Unpopular opinion here but I think seed tea and pods can be stronger than heroin by a long shot depending on how potent the batches you get are. If you don't taper down off seed tea the withdrawal from perpetual use is SO BAD. However I guess at least you can taper down. From what I've seen most people rarely ever taper down off heroin.. if it's even possible.

I recently withdrew from 90+ milligrams of oxycodone daily. I was shocked at how much the Kratom held me from getting sick. I only noticed some minor anxiety and depression/lethargy. For the most part after a week I feel very normal!

 

[Nicomorphinist]

I have been on a prescribed dose of 240mg a day of codeine for a long time. I try not to take any more than that but I know I now depend on it regardless of the pain I have. My question it, what is the actual damage it is doing to me whilst I maintain that dose?

In what form does this come? When I was in and above that range it was 30 and 60 mg codeine hydrochloride tablets with practically nothing else in them, they were even smaller than Dilaudids and Dicodids, but if it is compounded aspirin or ibuprofen there is the stomach and duodenum bleeding risk, otherwise if it is compounded with paracetamol it comes out to 2600 mg, well within the safety margin. If you have been on codeine/paracetamol mix for a long time, you may want to have a blood lipid panel every other year at the very least -- paracetamol affects the liver in various ways including, on what appear to be rare occasions, lead to elevated cholesterol, which in the cases with which I am familiar resolves quickly once the paracetamol dose is reduced.

Chronic constipation is the one thing that will happen, and hydrating well and some dietary changes can really reduce that quite a bit too.

 

[Nicomorphinist]

No No ... empty stomach and tablets caused a peptic ulcer ( that’s what the GP said ) his words not mine .

since drinking a bottle of coke with tablets each evening no problems 7 years now :giggle:

That makes them work faster and better, doesn't it? I have been taking extended-release tablets of various types for years and washing them down with Coca-Cola and what happens is that the carbonation and phosphoric acid and maybe other ingredients all work to drive it through the stomach wall faster and improve absorption.

 

[Nicomorphinist]

Yeah that is SUPER acidic. I'm mad at myself for my single cup of joe each morning... a liter of coke daily? Yeah, that'll give you GI distress lol

Actually Coca-Cola was invented as a medicine for stomach problems like sour stomach, nausea, and so forth, and removing the C-Jam does not reduce that effect at all. The Coca-Cola itself I believe has a pH of about 4.8 or so versus 0.5 for stomach acid. I swear by Coca-Cola, and Sprite, 7-Up or what have you, to make Codidol, MS-Contin/Vendal/MST Continus, Perduretas, whatever is left resembling OxyContin and so forth hit harder and more quickly.

 

[Nicomorphinist]

No mate, straight Codeine phosphate . I was always very careful

I dose on average twice a night 8 x 30mg but I wouldn’t eat for 4-5 hours before my first dose

This happened after about 5-6 years of daily use . Then I started noticing I would get very nauseous and started sweating after say 30 mins of my first dose , then one night it got worse and worse until I ended up vomiting bright yellow / green bile and blood .. Went to see my Doctor who sent me for tests , it turned out my stomach linings was ( irritable ) which caused a peptic ulcer , I did at this time decide to stop taking codeine the vomiting blood really really freaked me out also the Doctor had started me on meds to repair my stomach lining the treatment lasted about 6 month to fix ... then a year or so later I was feeling much much better I just decided to purchasea couple of packs of codeine . That was 7 years ago .

I still don’t eat before dosing but I do drink about a litre of coke each night , I think it’s help , there not laying on a empty stomach eating away at my stomach lining .

Just keep an eye on your self

I drink 2 litres myself, and even more when I was mainly taking poppy pod extracts because it combats any nausea or stomach upset.

I think it was the 1903 US Pharmacopoeia which listed what turns out to be a decent variant of what today we know as Cherry Coke. It helps with stomach problems and aids digestion. The cherry syrup is helpful but I guess can also be omitted.

 

[BOODIE]

I was addicted to codeine for years. Buying boxes from different pharmacys all over my region then CWE them . Such a sweet bliss opioid high. And so good when you're in bed with something good on TV at night cuddled up to your OH. I do miss them incredibly . Never had any long term negatives or short even . Always woke up the next day feeling great too ! Only reason I stopped was due to limited resources as pharmacists could recognize me. I can get them from my GP but have to keep making bullshit symptoms and reasons and I think they may click soon so I've left them alone for a while. But I'll never walk away completely. Opioids are my fave

 

[Nicomorphinist]

No mate, straight Codeine phosphate . I was always very careful

I dose on average twice a night 8 x 30mg but I wouldn’t eat for 4-5 hours before my first dose

This happened after about 5-6 years of daily use . Then I started noticing I would get very nauseous and started sweating after say 30 mins of my first dose , then one night it got worse and worse until I ended up vomiting bright yellow / green bile and blood .. Went to see my Doctor who sent me for tests , it turned out my stomach linings was ( irritable ) which caused a peptic ulcer , I did at this time decide to stop taking codeine the vomiting blood really really freaked me out also the Doctor had started me on meds to repair my stomach lining the treatment lasted about 6 month to fix ... then a year or so later I was feeling much much better I just decided to purchasea couple of packs of codeine . That was 7 years ago .

I still don’t eat before dosing but I do drink about a litre of coke each night , I think it’s help , there not laying on a empty stomach eating away at my stomach lining .

Just keep an eye on your self

As I am sure you may know, another cause for bile (coming out either end) which oxidises from lemon yellow to grass green over a few tens of seconds also comes from having a virtually empty digestive tract because of the nausea and vomiting and appetite suppression caused by withdrawal, and the volume increases as the glands pour more of it into the digestive tract, also a mid to late withdrawal symptom.

 

[JessFR]

Actually Coca-Cola was invented as a medicine for stomach problems like sour stomach, nausea, and so forth, and removing the C-Jam does not reduce that effect at all. The Coca-Cola itself I believe has a pH of about 4.8 or so versus 0.5 for stomach acid. I swear by Coca-Cola, and Sprite, 7-Up or what have you, to make Codidol, MS-Contin/Vendal/MST Continus, Perduretas, whatever is left resembling OxyContin and so forth hit harder and more quickly.

It was invented as a cure all patent medicine tonic in an era full of BS cure all patent medicines, not the same thing

I'm not saying you're wrong about coca cola helping you. Those are your choices to make. I just can't take calling coca cola a medicine seriously.

Besides. It seems reasonably well established that the Coca cola of today is not the Coca cola that was originally sold as a medicine.

 

[Zonxx]

when you eat 90 60mg codeine tablets in a week and you might aswell have red skittles (because the red ones are the best) then you know that you're better off sticking to red skittles, myself i'll take both though, maybe mix em up, close my eyes when i go to take one and surprise myself with what i get, ooh a game of mystery codeine where you always end up with codeine, AND red skittles, sounds good doesn't it?

 

[sonicwhite]

My neighbor in Oklahoma did Codeine almost her entire teens and it turned on her. It wasn’t because of anything else, it tore her stomach up. Then she switched to Alcohol and then the harder painkillers. She always has to eat with pain meds

 

[JessFR]

you might aswell have red skittles (because the red ones are the best)

Yes red skittles are indeed the best...