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.

I'm on co-codamol, 8 tablets a day, and have been on them for six months. I check regularly with my GP that it's still ok to take them, and he is fine about it as he says I'm taking them responsibly and not abusing them. Constipation can be a problem, but that is easily dealt with. Sometimes I forget to take them at one of the appointed times and feel no addiction issues. As soon as my medical problem is resolved (with surgery) I will stop taking them. They are a very good painkiller but not to be used lightly.

I do have an addictive personality and I've used codeine and ibuprofen for period pain for the last 20 years. Never been addicted. Can go through some months without needing it at all if my periods are lighter. I use it for the first day or two then not at all once the pain has gone. I even don't use it when I just have a headache or back ache. I use bog standard paracetamol or ibuprofen and don't bother with the codeine and ibuprofen. It's too expensive for a start!

So to reassure you if your periods are so bad that normal paracetamol and ibuprofen together doesn't work then you may need to swap one of them for either codeine and paracetamol (co-codamol) or codeine and ibuprofen (I used Nurofen Plus but Boots have recently launched a cheaper own brand that now get as they do the same job as branded). Have you tried normal paracetamol and ibuprofen together? You can take them together which some people aren't aware of.

The paracetamol is there, in part, to dissuade you from taking too many.

I used to use co-codamol for period paid, very effective, and it's also the combo in Migraleve.

It's a small dose of codeine, codeine on its own in higher strengths is a prescription only medication, rightly so as it's potentially addictive.

I would bet most people who are addicted to codeine started on codeine tablets or morphine liquid or opiate patches given after surgery or for chronic pain by their GP (prescription), not on co-codamol over the counter. I'm not saying it's never addictive, but in low doses, it's an acceptable risk IMO, although if you want to err on the side of caution it's a choice.

My pharmacy will only sell three days worth at a time because they are addictive but taking them for a couple of days should be fine. I'd go back and speak to the pharmacist

I switched from copper coil to Mirena and it worked really well for me. Copper coil started out fine, with no periods, but 3 years later I had 10 day periods and anaemia. Mirena - no periods at all! Bloody amazing.

I'd have a chat with your GP rather than follow any online scaremongering. Tell them your fears. Explore other options. You don't need to live with the pain and blood loss.

I would also agree with everyone that said visit the GP and discuss your pain/treatment with them, may be other pathways to follow (e.g. endometriosis). This lady is not likely to have been a qualified pharmacist at all, as this isn't what they would say!

Please take note of posts like this op. You don’t have to try codeine of course, but it’s highly unlikely to cause you addiction in such low quantities for a short period of time.

If you decide to try it, take one tablet and one paracetamol and if you feel remotely or strange, you just don’t take it again.

I took 30/500 cocodamol maximum amount for a a couple of years every day. I have morphine and tramadol in my collection of painkillers. I’m not addicted to any of these at all. I found tramadol amazing for pain but I itched terribly. Morphine I can take for a few days in low doses before feeling very odd and getting hallucinogenic dreams, which I don’t like.

Medications can be totally bizarre. I also was prescribed codeine rather than cocodamol over a decade ago. I cannot take it without mixing with paracetamol. For some reason taking codeine and paracetamol separately made me depressed. It rectified as soon as the tablets were out of my system. I didn’t take cocodamol again for a long time after that to allow my body to reset.

I’m always amazed by what people don’t know.

I take 30/500, 8 tablets a day. I wouldn't be able to sit up in bed or get to the bathroom if I didn't.

The 8/500 dose you can buy is tiny.

I meant to say in my last post, mefenamic acid is good. As it is an NSAID like ibuprofen, you need to line your stomach by eating a good meal before taking it. If you have a weak stomach, you can also take proton pump inhibitors with it but I don’t like mefenamic acid as it gave me terrible diarrhoea. the PPI would help, I didn’t know about these at the time.

Someone also mentioned bucoscopan. I found this excellent for period pain.

Because they aren't if you use them correctly. Any medication is dangerous is abused

Codeine is an opioid. Long term use of any opioid can lead to addiction, as you develop tolerance that means you need to take more to feel any effect. You're just not meant to take them for more than 3 days without consulting with a doctor. Lady behind the counter sounds unprofessional though. There's a drama series on this issue in the US - Dopesick. Perhaps she's watched this recently or knows someone who's struggled with addiction.

Why are people assuming that the pharmacist (or pharmacy assistant, which I think is more likely) said she wouldn't take them because they can be addictive? She could just have easily have said that because some people get some unpleasant side effects and she had a bad experience with them.

I've had codeine prescribed twice now and it doesn't agree with me at all - it gives me intense nausea and dizziness and, after 48 hours or so, makes me break out in a rash. My mum has the same problem. My sister and my dad, however, have always been able to take it with zero side effects.

OP, this thread is not helping you and you are just working yourself up to be more anxious.

I've taken co-codemol in the past when I've had pain that couldn't be managed by paracetamol or ibuprofen alone - toothache or severe period pain (first few periods postpartum). Provided you stick to the recommended dosage and time limits (no more than three days), you're not likely to get addicted.

They are a good pain killer.

The only things I've heard about them is they can be addictive and can block your bowels up if you take too often.

I've had them before via a prescription and tbh took them really to help me sleep, even when I wasn't necessarily in pain:

In the UK codeine is a Class B Controlled Drug (but becomes Class A if prepared for injection I believe). Controlled drugs all carry a risk of harm but they are categorised according to how dangerous they are. There are very strict rules/laws around possession, storage, access and administration of the medicinal drugs in this category.

Class A are considered the most harmful, Class B not as harmful as Class A but still carries risk and Class C the least harmful (still carry risk but not as much as the first two). The associated legislation is the Misuse of Drugs Act. The other big medicine legislation is The Human Medicines Regulations, which sets out who can possess, store, prescribe and administer which medicines amongst other things.

So many people don’t read the info leaflets when they get a medicine. It’s shocking really. The amount of patients I see that have no idea what they’re taking and why is mad.

If it is a Class B drug, how is it sold over the counter?

They are great for short term pain OP.
i.e toothache, acute and short lived back pain such as a muscle pull. Something short lived and one off. And they can be taken with ibprofen.
However, for a longer term or reoccurring problem maybe not as they can cause addiction.
You arnt going to get addicted by taking them for a week or two. It’s people who are on them for months and then find it hard to come off them.
Person in the pharmacy was totally unprofessional and shouldn’t have said that.

They mightn't work for you at all OP- some people can't metabolise codeine and it just passes through them. I took them after a horrible tooth extraction and had zero relief!

Some people over-react badly to them, the opposite way around - that's why there are warnings on the leaflet.

Woman in chemist is probably aware of the problems caused with dependency, it is an opiate based drug after all.

They are highly addictive. My ex was heavily addicted to them, took overdose levels pretty much daily. I honestly didn’t understand how he wasn’t dead. He was also an alcoholic too. I avoid them like the plague tbh.

I can't see anything in that about over-the-counter co-codamol. You seem to just be scaremongering which is incredibly unhelpful. The opioid crisis in the USA is absolutely not being driven by 8mg codeine tablets.

I don't take codeine because it's highly addictive (I have suffered from addiction issues in the past), it causes constipation and it makes me feel weird. It's an opioid so makes me feel kind of high and a bit sick.
My partner took them for back pain and had none of the above problems.

Different medication affects different people differently!

I would be more concerned that your coil is causing bad period pains... but then I didn't cope well with a coil either! Lasted 6 days...

Did he manage to come off them? How many was he taking a day, did he buy them from the pharmacy?

Very unprofessional comment. Long term use can create addiction. Short term use can create constipation. But if you need pain relief, anything you take carries some downsides.