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[samjannotti74]

I have been told I shouldn't take codeine based pain killers while on levothyroxine is that right ? Now been put up to 125 mg of levothyroxine but still not feeling right so back for my next blood test in 2 weeks to see what my level is getting abnormal pains in my stomach so been sent for an ultrasound unsure what pain pills to take so any advice would be gratefully accepted thanks x

[Hidden]

Hi there,just a small comment that years ago when I was prescribed codeine it made me constipated .....something we Hypos can do without and have never taken since.My preferred painkiller now is soluble paracetamol.

Hope your blood tests get things sorted for you.

My codeine was given when I had pain from gallstones.

[kagz in reply to Hidden]

I take codeine and thyroxine too and my doctors hasnt said I carnt have them so they must be ok

[Hidden in reply to kagz]

You are obviously not affected by them ,but I've heard of others who can't tolerate codeine.

[Clutter]

Samjanotti, the hospital prescribed Levothyroxine, codeine and paracetamol after my thyroidectomy. They didn't, however, warn me to take Levothyroxine on an empty stomach and 2 hours away from other medication.

[cjrsquared]

Codeine itself doesn't interact with levothyroxine but some of the other drugs that can be in combination with it like pseudo ephedrine and phenylephrine can cause cardiac arrhythmias. Marfit74 is correct in that a common side effect of codeine is severe constipation, that is common with all opiate derivatives, and is why Kaolin and morphine used to be given when people had diarrhoea.

[HEA72]

I take some bicarbonate of soda at bedtime if my pain is too much e.g.(1/2-1tsp bicarbonate of soda stirred into 1/2 pint of water). This neutralizes the acidity in the body that's causing the pain. Perhaps try this? If it works, it won't have the unwanted side effects of the painkiller drugs.

Your stomach pain maybe caused by low hydrochloric acid (HCL) in the stomach which is a common symptom of hypothyroidism. Doctors tend to prescribe antacids e.g Omeprazole, thinking the stomach pain is high acid but infact in our case it's often the opposite! Of course you need to be checked out by your doctor for your stomach pain but perhaps try supplementing with some digestive enzymes that contain HCL? These can be bought online or at healthfood shops.

Check with your doctor first, to make sure these approaches I've suggested don't coincide with any treatment you're receiving.

[doluph]

My doc prescribed co-codamol so I assume codeine is ok with Levothyroxine. I do take them at different times of the day.

[judburke]

Personally I believe that Codeine based painkillers should be avoided if possible. Or that they should be only taken for a short time as they can be addictive. As mentioned already by others, constipation can be an issue for taking Codeine and for being Hypo. My mother who was hypo ended up addicted to prescription codeine and the ill health it caused/contributed to was just awful. I refuse to let my immediate family take anything that has codeine in it.

I found this link about it - Though I do not know how reliable this resource is doublecheckmd.com/EffectsDe...