Opioids Chewing codeine - am I wasting my time?

[Oxy8_8]

My main opiate of choice is oxycodone/oxycontin but they make me sleepy so I try to stick to codeine during the day. Also, I use it in larger amounts on occasions when I run out of oxy a day or two before I can get my script refilled to combat withdrawals.

The pills I get are 30mg codeine phosphate (the type without acetaminophen). I usually chew 4 (I have a low tolerance for itching, it drives me mad, plus I OD'd on 400mg once and my eyes swelled shut and I scratched until I bled).

They are instant release but I find a lot of pills hit your system with more of a bang (my oxys sure do) if you chew them to a powder.

Is chewing my codeine worthwhile or is the difference negligible?

 

[sekio]

it should not make much of a difference.

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

it should not make much of a difference.

This.

 

[Nathanm]

You could try taking some antihistamines, they will reduce the itching

 

[ErgicMergic]

I would guess that ingesting your codeine orally, instead of chewing it and absorbing some sublingually, would convert more of the codeine into morphine, as our livers have unique levels of CYP2D6 enzymes, which are required to convert the opioid prodrug codeine in to morphine through first pass metabolism. This is similar to the opioid prodrug tramadol being converted in to the much more power O-Desmethyltramadol.

However, Effie stated that even IV use of tramadol (don't IV codeine, for the love of God) lets the tram get to the liver eventually, and it is still metabolized in to O-Desmethyltramadol, hopefully someone more knowledgeable than myself can chime in and clear up the oral vs. sublingual for codeine/tramadol.

 

[sekio]

Codeine itself is not enough of a painkiller to warrant administering it by any route but orally.

You can sublingual codeine or whatever, but it won't really be any more effective than oral administration. Most of the effects will still come from codeine's metabolites that are generated as the drug moves through your liver.

Eating codeine forces all of it to be pushed through the liver first, before hitting the blood, resulting in a greater percentage of administered codeine arriving in your blood as morphine instead of plain ol' codeine.

Realistically though it does not matter very much. Codeine can actually be given as an IM injection if needed. But it doesn't really pose much benefit over just feeding someone T3's.