Page 3 | Just realised iv over dosed with night nurse and co codmdol

Indoorvoicesbluey · 2023-12-01T20:38:28+00:00

Ffs. im full of the flu, absolutely horrific. Iv barely slept long that 4 hours all together. I tried night nurse last night and it didn’t work. iv been taking co cdimol because I heard it’s good to stop coughing. I took 2 and 8pm and just had a shot of night nurse not even thinking before I go bed. im Shitting myself :( help!!

LaurieStrode · 01/12/2023 22:10

About 10 years ago I went to a seminar by a pharmacist, about poisons, for would-be mystery writers.

Ever since then, I won't have any product containing paracetamol in the house. Just not worth it, to me. I found other painkillers for the rare times I need one; and otherwise let nature do its thing.

It and flouride toothpaste were presented as the most toxic items in the average bathroom. She said an average tube of toothpaste contains enough flouride to kill an adult. (Obviously most of us don't die because we don't swallow the toothpaste, and only use a bit at a time.)

Ellie1015 · 01/12/2023 22:19

Does cocodamol help a cough? I hadn't heard that?

Hope you're ok OP. I would check with 111 but realise you don't want to, nothing else to advise hopefully passes soon.

JennieTheZebra · 01/12/2023 22:23

All opiates are antitussive (cough suppressants) as they depress breathing by acting on the respiratory centres in the brain. It's why you should never mix opiates with alcohol as they're both central nervous system depressants and so potentially dangerous.

AppleDumplingWithCustard · 01/12/2023 22:31

If this is the first dose you’ve taken in the four hours preceding 8pm you’ve just had a double dose of paracetamol which is 1g x 2. If you’re a normal healthy adult with no liver dysfunction this won’t harm you. I say this as a former A&E nurse. Don’t take any more until morning.

HMW1906 · 01/12/2023 22:40

You’ll be fine you’ve basically taken the daily allowance of paracetamol. Don’t take anymore for 6 hour.

sahm9 · 01/12/2023 22:46

Several years back I had horrific flu, I was hallucinating with fever and definitely too ill to be administering my own medication. I was taking cold and flu capsules AND paracetamol for quite a few days 😬. I ended up in hospital, not due to my accidental overdose but due to the flu itself. They actually were not too concerned about my double dose at all. I hope your okay, call 111 for advice and reassurance ❤️❤️

N0TMYIDEA · 01/12/2023 22:49

a word to the wise

when you are ill, get a piece of paper and write down every single time you take any meds and the date and time. Not just the number of the tablets but the dose

eg Friday 1045pm 2 x 200g paracetamol tablets

measure liquids with the little cup or a proper spoon - don’t take a slug from the bottle.

This is very important as it’s easy to forget or get confused when you take meds at night , especially if you wake in the night and feel like taking more.

You must always check the paper, as what feels like “ yesterday “ or “ last night “ can be just two hours ago. Especially at this time of year when it’s dark so early in the evening.

that piece of paper is what NHS 24 will ask for. Or the staff at A&E / ambulance crew.

please do this. I know someone who is now disabled from an accidental paracetamol overdose.

Pluvia · 01/12/2023 22:58

Is anyone else reading all this and feeling as amazed as I am that I've survived this long? I mean, the number of colds and coughs and flu-type things I've survived without a detailed list of pills taken...

J316 · 01/12/2023 22:59

You’ve had 3 doses of paracetamol/ codeine and 1 dose of night nurse with paracetamol so you’re good until the morning 😊

Kittylala · 01/12/2023 23:09

You'll have a headache but it will ware off by the morning. I've done the same as you x

SgtBilko · 01/12/2023 23:25

N0TMYIDEA · 01/12/2023 22:49

a word to the wise

when you are ill, get a piece of paper and write down every single time you take any meds and the date and time. Not just the number of the tablets but the dose

eg Friday 1045pm 2 x 200g paracetamol tablets

measure liquids with the little cup or a proper spoon - don’t take a slug from the bottle.

This is very important as it’s easy to forget or get confused when you take meds at night , especially if you wake in the night and feel like taking more.

You must always check the paper, as what feels like “ yesterday “ or “ last night “ can be just two hours ago. Especially at this time of year when it’s dark so early in the evening.

that piece of paper is what NHS 24 will ask for. Or the staff at A&E / ambulance crew.

please do this. I know someone who is now disabled from an accidental paracetamol overdose.

That is very good advice. I was taking morphine for a broken arm and co-drydamol in between as advised by paramedics but got completely confused as to what I had taken when.

justasking111 · 01/12/2023 23:28

Cocodamol makes me light headed. The best thing I've found for a cough is a glass of hot water two tspns of honey and a good squirt of lemon juice. Keep it by the bed and sip as needed. It even works when cold. I soon go back to sleep.

ChiefWiggumsBoy · 01/12/2023 23:52

LaurieStrode · 01/12/2023 22:10

About 10 years ago I went to a seminar by a pharmacist, about poisons, for would-be mystery writers.

Ever since then, I won't have any product containing paracetamol in the house. Just not worth it, to me. I found other painkillers for the rare times I need one; and otherwise let nature do its thing.

It and flouride toothpaste were presented as the most toxic items in the average bathroom. She said an average tube of toothpaste contains enough flouride to kill an adult. (Obviously most of us don't die because we don't swallow the toothpaste, and only use a bit at a time.)

I mean, you do you, but you could just take the recommended dosage? It's not like asbestos where you could be accidentally breathing it in all the time.

randomuser2020 · 02/12/2023 00:32

This reply has been withdrawn

Removed at poster's request due to privacy concerns.

sweeneytoddsrazor · 02/12/2023 00:45

Not the point of the thread but where did you get night nurse? It hasn't been available for months in any of our local chemists. A pharmacist actually told me there was a world shortage of one or more of the ingredients

SgtBilko · 02/12/2023 00:48

sweeneytoddsrazor · 02/12/2023 00:45

Not the point of the thread but where did you get night nurse? It hasn't been available for months in any of our local chemists. A pharmacist actually told me there was a world shortage of one or more of the ingredients

I thought it had been withdrawn over safety fears along with some other preparations with the same ingredient that was the problem.

Growlybear83 · 02/12/2023 01:00

When I was collecting my prescription this morning, another customer who was standing next to me bought a bottle of night nurse - they had plenty in the shelf.

Medstudent12 · 02/12/2023 01:21

I’m a doctor. Please can people keep saying larger people can have more paracetamol. You can’t! We reduce the dose if <50kg but even big burly men don’t get higher doses. I’m sure if <4g in 24 hours it’s fine but it’s scary how little paracetamol you need to cause serious damage. But posters must stop saying if your BMI is higher you can have bigger doses, there’s plenty of drugs we use ideal body weight for dosing as more fat cells is not the same as more bone and muscle in terms of drug dosing.

I’ve seen patients taking large doses heading towards liver failure but they were suicide attempts. If you’ve ever taken too much you need a drip (NAC) pronounced as “nack” in hospital. Important to try and get it within 8 hours of an overdose if you can.

If OP had a few tablets extra today then that’s less concerning than a week of doing it, that’d be classed as a staggered OD.

Medstudent12 · 02/12/2023 01:24

N0TMYIDEA · 01/12/2023 22:49

a word to the wise

when you are ill, get a piece of paper and write down every single time you take any meds and the date and time. Not just the number of the tablets but the dose

eg Friday 1045pm 2 x 200g paracetamol tablets

measure liquids with the little cup or a proper spoon - don’t take a slug from the bottle.

This is very important as it’s easy to forget or get confused when you take meds at night , especially if you wake in the night and feel like taking more.

You must always check the paper, as what feels like “ yesterday “ or “ last night “ can be just two hours ago. Especially at this time of year when it’s dark so early in the evening.

that piece of paper is what NHS 24 will ask for. Or the staff at A&E / ambulance crew.

please do this. I know someone who is now disabled from an accidental paracetamol overdose.

At work we see lots of intentional ODs. But we also see accidental ones. At best it’s a boring trip to A&E but it can be very dangerous. Particularly things like oramorph (liquid morphine) swigged from the bottle rather than measured in ml. I’ve seen that one personally fairly recently.

Pinkmilkandcartoons · 02/12/2023 04:09

@Kinneddar I don’t know how anyone else didn’t pick up on this 😆

OP I hope you’re ok, it doesn’t sound like enough to be worried about thankfully.

Original poster

Indoorvoicesbluey · 02/12/2023 04:41

Well it knocked me out for 4 hours and iv been awake since coughing and shivering, I literally feel like death, my chest and has hurts every time I cough. Iv cranked the heating up but I know my dh down stairs will be moaning that the boiler keeps him awake lol I’m glad he’s sleeping on the sofa though

OP posts:

Oblomov23 · 02/12/2023 05:16

Is 2 normal times doses of co-codomol, and then a swig of night nurse, actually classified as an overdose? Doesn't seem that actual bad to me. Is this really bad? To me it seems Only minor, I'd get into bed and try and sleep. Considering you are feeling so ill.

Let's just say she did go to A&E. What would they do? Not pump her stomach, surely?

Daffodilsandtuplips · 02/12/2023 05:16

I think you need to consult a doctor, not about the medication though. You could have a chest infection.
Stop taking cocodamol, codeine shouldn’t be used to suppress a cough, it suppresses breathing and causes constipation.

garlictwist · 02/12/2023 05:24

cathyandclaire · 01/12/2023 20:44

Also something to think about is how much you weigh, if you're taller/ bigger/ heavier your maximum dose is greater.

Hijacking but do you have any stats or info on what this is? I'm worried I may have taken too many paracetamol. I'm about 8.5 stone and five foot four and have taken eight during the night for awful pain.

isthismylifenow · 02/12/2023 05:34

Indoorvoicesbluey · 02/12/2023 04:41

Well it knocked me out for 4 hours and iv been awake since coughing and shivering, I literally feel like death, my chest and has hurts every time I cough. Iv cranked the heating up but I know my dh down stairs will be moaning that the boiler keeps him awake lol I’m glad he’s sleeping on the sofa though

I hope you manage to get some rest today.

I'm just getting over covid and had exactly the same as you, had to sleep propped up as if I laid flat the cough was even worse.

There is some ingredient in these flu medications that cause some people to have insomnia. I am one of them. There is nothing worse that being so ill all you want to do is sleep, when you can't.

I used a lot of Vicks rub on my chest. I couldn't smell it due to loss of smell, but I think it helped move stuff along.