codeine

[Nightwalker6]

hi all, I have withdrawn from my DA . Had a range of unsuccessful and unpleasant treatments. After 6 months I have stabilised on approximately 18-35 mg Codeine 2-4 nights a week.

My query is whether people have found codeine has any mental health effects as it seems to give me anxiety & moodiness. Wondering if this is due to “coming down “ from the codeine in the morning. I only take it at night.

I am not taking anything else. On very bad nights I also use my massage gun which helps calm my legs down & then take the codeine. The meds come mixed with paracetamol (500 mg) as that’s the only way I can get the codeine.

Thanks in advance.

[SueJohnson]

Mood changes and anxiety can be side effects of codeine. I would suggest you ask for Trazodone which can help with those side effects.

[Nightwalker6 in reply to SueJohnson]

But does Trazodone increase RLS symptoms?

[SueJohnson in reply to Nightwalker6]

NO. In fact it helps some people.

[Jelbea]

taking codeine along with paracetamol is not a good idea. You should try to get your GpTo gibe you codeine alone. I was treated successfully on 30 mg codeine nightly for many years.

[Nightwalker6 in reply to Jelbea]

That’s the only way it comes in Australia due to government regulations.

[Hidden in reply to Nightwalker6]

Are you sure about that? I'm in Australia and with a prescription, i can get straight codeine from the pharmacy.

[Retiredlady in reply to Jelbea]

Why is taking paracetamol with codeine not a good idea?

Is it because too much is bad for your kidneys?

I thought codeine is more effective when they are taken together!

[Jelbea in reply to Retiredlady]

The newest thinking regarding paracetamol is that it is not a good drug to take on a regular basis - and if you only require the codeine part why would you take both. As you know one has to limit the amount of paracetamol taken daily. I have never read that the effect is better if they are taken together.

[Walmer3463]

I was fine mood wise on codeine but now take targin as this opioid takes care of the constipation problem I had with codeine. I only take it at night. You can actually get a prescription for codeine without paracetamol in Australia. It’s not covered by PBS but well worth getting on to if you can so you are not taking all that paracetamol for no reason.

[Nightwalker6 in reply to Walmer3463]

I was told it was only available to those on palliative care. By my GP AND the pharmacist so not sure what’s happening there. I tried Targin. Worst side effects I have ever experienced in my life. Nausea, craps, pain. No thank you.

[NonnieJ]

I take Cocodamol 30/500 several times a day to cope lwith pain. I have recently realised that it helps my RLS together with One and a half Clonazepam at night.

I think it's true that Cocodamol gives a feeling of well-being, although I have to take so many a day I'm pretty immune to that now, but with the small amount you take I wouldn't have thought it would have affected your mood.

[Nightwalker6 in reply to NonnieJ]

I’m grateful that I don’t need more, but unfortunately I’m very sensitive to meds. Couldn’t tolerate Gabapentin or Clonazepam because of side effects. Clonazepam gave me panic attacks when I was coming down off it during the day. I only took a quarter at night.

[NonnieJ in reply to Nightwalker6]

That's really interesting about the panic attacks. I am prone to those anyway.

All these meds and all do different things to different people.

It makes treatment so difficult.

Thank you for answering.

[Stevie777]

I find clonazapam makes everything worse, hated it , all the azapams make my RLS a lot worse .

[warpsgrove]

Going by what I have read on this forum of other people's experiences, I rate my hot feet/restless legs as average or less than average in severity, but they do keep me awake. With an enlarged prostate gland I have a poor bladder capacity, and needing a pee---even when I'm too sleepy to be aware of that---is a major trigger of HF/RLS. I get up and pee but if I go straight back to bed the symptoms remain, milder than before but still the enemy of sleep. I go downstairs and have a small cup of strong tea with milk, which usually works well, but for the last three nights I have also taken HALF a Solpadol tablet, which not only suppresses the symptoms very quickly but keeps working for several hours. Here in the UK "Solpadol" is the name of a 30mg Codeine+500mg Paracetamol tablet, so with half a tablet I'm getting 15mg of Codeine. I intend to avoid using it whenever I can, relying on the tea. It all seems to be a matter of experiment.

[coconutty5]

I take 30mg Codeine at night. I wake up with some feelings of anxiety that pass once I’m up and starting my day. Some days it will linger longer and I definitely think it is the codeine. But, I tried reducing the codeine and my RLS came back instantly and horrendously. Plus, because I suddenly halved my dose, I got some withdrawal symptoms. Weighing it all up, I ‘d rather suffer from some anxiety and occasional low mood than return to the agony of RLS and total lack of sleep.

xxx

[DicCarlson]

Good job getting off the DA! Don't forget to get iron status checked - it could be a key component to getting relief.

[Daewood1949]

Please forgive my ignorance-what is DA. I live in Hamilton, Canada.

[SueJohnson in reply to Daewood1949]

DA is a dopamine agonist like ropinirole (requip) or pramipexole (Mirapex).

[Leeze]

Hello Nightwalker. I wanted to let you know that I, too, take codeine as and when - and it definitely does ease the RLS compulsion to move legs. I take it some evenings (more often than not) once the RLS becomes v obvious. My codeine has been prescribed for many years (since it was suggested by a GP) and it does NOT have paracetamol with it. It is just "Codeine Phosphate" and I take it as 30/40 mgs - 2 tablets. I have absolutely no side effects from it that I am aware of. I tend to feel these days that some side effects to meds can be due to a variety of responses to things (incl. things unconnected sometimes) but also, that as we are each made up a bit differently physically and in attitude, so we each can react differently to medication (and to Life events/situations) - so what works for one person doesn't necessarily for another in the same way. I can only share my experience of some real temp relief from 'codeine phosphate'. I wish you all the best as you try to work things out for you.

[Madillc]

I don't believe anyone has mentioned the possible mood side effects of dopamine withdrawal if you've recently come of DA's. It's definitely something that I believe has impacted me.