Codeine, how does it make you feel?

[Absentmindedwoman]

I sometimes need to take this on the first day of my period (I have adenomyosis, and possible endometriosis) as I did yesterday.

It makes me feel so yuck though, in a hard to describe way. Don't get me wrong - I'm really grateful it stopped the pain yesterday, but it makes me slightly queasy and off colour, and my muscles feel unnaturally slack and floppy I find it really unpleasant and just all wrong. Better of course that writhing in menstrual agony, but not quite myself.

Obviously, there are people who develop a codeine habit and become addicted. Am curious how they feel if they take it? What kind of pleasant feeling do they get that makes them want more of it - is it a mental buzz?

It must be to do with individual neurochemistry/ brain receptors as to why some people find it enjoyable and others don't.

I’ve only ever taken it once, had really bad pain mid stomach then threw up. Adult DD had exactly the same symptoms a few years later with something else. DP took some for a few days with tooth pain and ended up calling 101 and ambulance because of severe stomach pains.

We don’t have it in the house any more.

It gave me awful hallucinations, like a little boy turning into a monster and jumping on me in bed. Then there was the trapeze artists swinging over me almost kicking me, but the worst one was the man with his head on the bed, lifting it up and smiling at me.
He had really scary eyes and a massive grin with huge teeth.

I got used to the horse by the bed and the dog on the chest of drawers, they were there every night.

I gave it up after a week, I kept waking up screaming.

It’s no different to paracetamol for me, no effects at all apart from it takes the pain away.
I have taken it for injuries.

I have lupus and other chronic pain related autoimmune issues and take Cocodamol 30/500 and Tramadol (not together obviously) and I can honestly say they don’t really make me feel anything….! I mean they take the pain away a bit - it’s still there - but I don’t feel spaced out or drugged or whatever.

It sounds awful but sometimes I wish it would. It would be a blessed relief from the chronic pain.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s because I used to be an alcoholic (13 years completely sober now)… I have been so, so drunk so many times, nothing compares to that.

Codeine makes me lovely and woozy. However, recently it gave me stabbing stomach pain, worse than the pain for which I took it. I won’t take it again as it seems pointless to swap one pain for another (often worse) pain.

I am sad, because I used it successfully in the past for migraines and back pain. I don’t know what I will take for those pains from now on.

Op I feel 100% like you described. Just not with it when I take it... I have started taking only 1 tablet instead of the recommended 2.
It really helps with the pain without the side effects

I take it for back pain occasionally as I can’t tolerate strong NSAIDs like naproxen. 30mg and I’m a bit lightheaded 60mg and I feel a bit queasy and out of it. I only tend to take it at night if the pain is bad enough to stop me sleeping.

If I take higher dose codeine which I’ve been prescribed in the past it makes me feel sort of warm and nice and like I really like and have lots of time for everyone: it is quite pleasant actually so I can see how folk could get addictive. Benzodiazepines like diazepam etc have just made me feel like I literally cannot be bothered to feel distressed or upset. Like someone has just removed my batteries. Not nice. Tramadol makes me skin abso crawl n makes me so itchy, same with morphine

It makes me feel nauseous and a feeling of pressure in my limbs I have only took it for severe toothache but ibuprofen is really the only painkiller I can take without feeling yucky . My sibling has been addicted to codeine though which they got for pain relief and then their GP never reviewed their meds for years .

It makes me feel a bit like I've had a couple of drinks. It's always been one of the few things that's good about a period... getting to feel sorry for myself and eat chocolate with a little high of codeine 😅 even better if I've taken one at work. One thing that bugs me about it is I can smell the medicine about 20 mins after taking it, maybe it's the paracetamol but does this happen to anyone else?

First time I took it was for severe back pain. Dr gave me a prescription, picked it up and took one straight away. By the time we got home I couldn't work my body enough to get out of the car. My DH helped me to bed and I slept for hours. Subsequent times, as long as I fall asleep straight away I'm ok and it really helps but if I don't sleep it makes me sick. Worth it though for the relief.

It makes me vomit. And very sleepy. Awful stuff.

It makes me feel fucking great which is why I avoid it like the plague.

Feel buzzy, chatty, motivated, euphoric. I took it long term for fibromyalgia and weaned off without much difficulty (lost a little weight though) a few years ago but now can't even take for a couple of days without getting symptoms of withdrawal.

Just constipated!

I don't metabolise it very well so it doesn't do much for sharp pains. I'm hypermobile, though and suffer a lot of wear and tear and general achiness. My sore bits feel like they're being flushed through with warm water when I take it.

I'm the same with Valium. I would have been 100% Valley of the Dolls, me.

Sick. Really, really sick, even on half a tablet. I just can't take it, no matter how much pain I'm in.

I have a dihydrocodeine prescription and apart from the first day I’ve never felt anything from it. Takes the edge off the pain but in no way takes it all away and absolutely no woozy head or anything else.

Oral morphine was even worse for me - even less use at killing pain than codeine and no other effects either!

Constipated 🙄

I love it. I love any opiod tbh. I also love valium.
I love the lightheaded buzzy feeling I get.
I do know that I could easily become addicted so have never gone beyond their prescribed and targeted use and haven't needed any for ages (usually post surgery)

Me too. Like I’m in a lovely bubble where nothing can touch me. Totally understand how people get addicted, so I’ve always been really careful. And omg, Codeine cough syrup is fucking delightful and only thing that ever worked for me.

They banned codeine OTC here 😭😭 and now even getting a script is a nightmare. I’m not allowed to take NSAIDs (nurofen and the like) so with bad period pain and no codeine life was very bad until I had a hysterectomy. Am surprised reading this thread how many people hate it.

So jealous of your stash lol. The strict rules even before it became prescription only meant stockpiling difficult.

Yes, I appreciate I’m the type of person they were looking to protect with the ban. Sigh.

I used to take a lot of otc cocodamol for pain and rather than refer me to the chronic pain clinic, the GP fobbed me off with a prescription of straight codeine alongside paracetamol as I was told I could adjust the dose.

The codeine tablets quickly made me suicidally depressed. I knew it was a side effect and I just needed to stop taking and wait a few days. But it didn’t help with the suicidal feelings, not that I’d have acted on them. Didn’t touch codeine for a couple of years after that in case I got side fx. Then went onto the otc cocodamol with no ill effects.

So the otc cocodamol gives me zero side effects. The 30/500 makes me constipated.

I am not a candidate for addiction. I’ve got a lot of meds in my cupboards. Including a full bottle of oramorph, an almost full packet of tramadol and some pregablin.

Wonderful. Can't take it if I'm working though, makes my brain fuzzy!

I used to love taking codeine for a hangover, it was better than the night before. So I am glad it is not available in the country I live in now.

Taking codeine gives me the most terrible hyper-realistic nightmares - people getting shot in vivid detail, etc.
Normally I don’t get images in my head (I think it’s called aphantasia) and that only seems to change if I take codeine or have migraine.