To be a bit concerned about what the lady at the pharmacy said

[Lalalalas]

So My friend recommended co-codamol for period pains, since have had my coil put in, my periods have become so much more painful. I asked the lady behind the counter if they were good and she said "I don't know, I wouldn't take them if you paid me". What was the reason for this? now I dont know if I should take them.

Just to second this. My daughter has very bad period pain and Mefanaic acid is a game changer. It’s from the ibuprofen family and is the recommended treatment for severe period pain. It’s only available on prescription.

irrespective of the codine aspect of cocodomal paracetamol is, in general, not a particularly effective treatment for period pain.

Also I’d recommend talking with your GP about the problems you’re experiencing since getting the coil.

Speaking personally, anything with codeine in, regardless of quantity, makes me sick as a dog. Perhaps the lady in the pharmacy had the same reaction.

The strength you can buy in the pharmacy is a low dose. Yes it can be addictive, solpadeine is also highly addictive as it contains codiene too and shops will stop selling it to you if you’re seen buying it too regularly. Codeine is a great pain relief and will only cause addiction issues if you abuse it. Take it sensible and allow it to do as it’s meant to! Lots of drugs you can buy/be prescribed are addictive. I’m addicted to my antidepressant and when lowering my dose I had to be really careful to do so properly or I’d have withdrawal headaches. I also had to adopt this when cutting back caffeine as I was addicted to that too! Addiction is not quite as black and white as you seem to think.

Get Checked if the coil is making you take opioids every period then it’s not for you and you need to remove it

I drink wine and dont bat an eyelid. Dont know why this is bothering me so much

Yes OTC ones, he would drive around all the pharmacies in the area to buy them 🙄
I won’t touch them but I obviously appreciate they can help people.

Why is it bothering you so much? Because you might take one and become an addict and go to rehab? You could drink one bottle of wine and you could also end up addicted and needing to go to rehab

The likelihood of either of those things happening after one occasion is low

Lots of things have addictive ingredients that people latch on to and can have negative outcomes. Some are on prescription, some are over the counter, some are restricted in how many you can buy (eg paracetamol) and some are not restricted at all.

How many did he take per day? is he ok now?

Bath salts are a synthetic drug it’s not your average bag of bath salts from boots. From a ex drug addict x

What were you addicted to if you dont mind me asking? Wasnt co-codamol was it?

Sounds like she should have kept her mouth shut to me. Obviously she's just freaking people out for no good reason.

I don't see how anyone could become addicted to codeine after taking it for a few days.

I sometimes get prescribed morphine for my pain. I've yet to develop an addiction to it because I only take it for short periods. It would not be appropriate for the pharmacist to try and put me off it because they personally didn't like it.

Hi OP.

As other posters mentioned is because they can cause addiction.

If you take them sporadically I don’t think you need to worry. But if they become a day to day thing then yes, it can be problematic. They also can cause constipation (just putting it out there).

Is there a reason why you chose the coil instead of Mirena? My first coil was excruciatingly painful and it had to be removed. Then later changed to the Myrena one and I am happy with it. Barely any periods or pain.

OP, I think you’re still overthinking this.

I would get a check with the GP first and foremost because the fact that your pain has suddenly increased since having a coil fitted needs to be checked.

Regarding co-codamol: I have taken it for toothache, my daughter takes it a few times a month for period pain, my husband took it for a couple of weeks when he put his back out. None of us became addicted to it. I would think that are probably millions of people in the UK who use it occasionally, when they need it, and who are not addicted to it.

All that aside, you don’t have to take it if you personally feel it is too risky.

If a painkiller is used strictly until the pain goes away the chance of addiction is minimal. The amount of codeine in co-codamol is fairly small.

For chronic, long-term pain it is more of a consideration and should be referred to a pain management team.

Government guidance is here if anyone's interested.

I use prescription strength ones for my arthritis, I'm not addicted at all as I only use them during a flare up, and the really only before bed.

My specialist said they're less addictive if used for extreme pain.

@Waitingfordoggo

People don't think about caffeine. I was alarmed at how much tea I was drinking - WFH since lockdown, instead of needing a walk around and going to chat to a colleague, I'd make a cup of tea instead. Cut right back to one in the morning and decaff the rest of the day and I felt like shit for two weeks. Fuzzy headed, couldn't concentrate.

No more than three cups of normal tea a day now, and all of them before 3pm. Any tea after that is decaff. If I can't have tea in the morning for any reason I no longer get terrible headaches.

Codeine can defiantly be addictive. I took morphine for my endometriosis for a couple of years. But it was for 4/5 days once a month, so never had any issues with addiction. It can be more difficult if you start taking them daily.

This is such a weird thread.

Just log off op and speak to someone in the health care profession.

I had the same issue last week. Went into the chemist in total agony and asked for the strongest medication they could give me over the counter for period pain as I literally couldn’t take it any longer! They gave me cocodamol and ibuprofen combined and they worked fantastically. You can only take them for three days at a time to avoid addiction and constipation, but if you stick to the directions for use, you won’t encounter any problems.

The codeine in co-codamol can be addictive. Advice is to take them for 3 days only.
Also they can cause you to be constipated.
I have fibromyalgia and during a really bad flare up will take cocodamol. Followed by a kale and apple smoothie to counteract the constipation !
In over 10 years I’ve never become addicted to them.

YANBU for thinking is was a strange thing to say ( very unscientific, personal views/ unhelpful as did not explain why) but YABU by not googling cocodamol issues to find out why, rather than making Mumsnet your first stop. I take it you can use Google?

Yes of course, I just like real life experiences

YES, OP.
You would most definitely need to go to Wat Thamkrabok for their brutal cold turkey treatment and mandatory leaf sweeping duties for taking a few co-codamol.

yes I would. seriously you are so over thinking this

I had similar concerns to you OP, and I have a box to use as a last resort if ibu and para haven't worked. There's no reason to be in pain unnecessarily.

I understand its hard to trust your own overthinking with OCD, as an objective person who isn't you I would say hand on heart that the chances of addiction are very very slim. You are aware that its possible, that's enough.

I trust you to take them as it says on the pack OP, for your period pains for a couple of days. Be gentle with yourself.

The lady in the chemist needs to have a word with herself. Its not up to her to comment on medicine use!