Codeine addiction

[AtMyTimeOfLife]

Can any doctors or pharmacists advise me?

Dh has dreadful back pain and is being treated by a Physio. The GP has given him diazepam, naproxen, and co-codamol 30/500. He is taking naproxen throughout the day, and 2x co-codamol at night only. The diazepam was suposed to help him sleep, but as it does nothing for his pain, just makes him groggy, he doesn't want to take it any more. He cannot sleep without taking the co-codamol, sometimes needing two doses to get through the night.

How safe is it to continue taking co-codamol like this? How long can he take it before becoming addicted? He is already getting a bit constipated from it.

Thanks.

I had to take diazepam for back pain too
As I understand it , it relaxes the muscles and stops the spasms
I'd carry on taking it if I were him and lay off the codeine - that really upset my stomach too

Hiya, firstly there is a difference between addiction, dependance and need.
Using codeine (or opiates) for more than 3 days can cause addiction however pain is the natural antidote to opiate medication.
You have no problem if he is taking it for relief of pain. If he is taking it to feel euphoric, that is different.
Tramadol is a similar drug bur doesn't give the same euphoric side effects therefor it is arguably less addictive. This may be a reasonable alternative.
To be honest in 1 dose of 30/500 (2 tabs) you have the equivilant of 5mg of morphine. In total the maximum he will have a day is equivalent to 20mg of morphine. This really shouldn't cause any major problems to a large adult male who is using it for genuine pain relief
Plenty of water and fibre for the constipation and see ur gp again if the pains not settling
Hth

What others said - if he is taking codiene as prescribed and only when in pain, addiction is unlikely to be a problem. I was taking 60mg up to four times daily for five months when pregnant (and when I was denied it for 36 hours after birth I was not a happy bunny! Especially after being asked for the dozenth time how my vagina felt and ended up screaming that my vagina was just fine but my pelvis was still in agony thanks to being denied prescribed pain relief..)

As soon as the pelvis got better a couple weeks later I stopped the codeine no problem, cutting it down along with the pain.

Now pregnant again, again have codiene and taking it to get through the night. If your DH is only taking it at night when needed, that sounds like appropriate use of it.

Diazepam is good as a relaxant so can help if part of the reaction to pain is to tense up or get stressed, but it's not a painkiller.

As others have said I wouldn't worry too much about the addiction thing at this point. I've been on codeine for years and years with breaks when needed thanks to RA. I find the biggest problem is the constipation which is why I now take codeine separately from the paraceatamol so I can control and vary how much I need rather than full strength all the time. Try taking senna to help keep his gut moving. Bad constipation can have some really really unpleasant consequences (been there )
If his meds aren't working then he needs to go back and see if he can try a different combination. Different things work for different people.

Thanks for your advice. It makes sense. The GP just handed out the prescription without any advice how to take or about addiction or tapering off.

So dh will take the co-codamol for as long as he needs without worrying, but when he no longer needs it he will taper off rather than just stop.

You have put my mind at rest. Phew.

(And dh has just slept through the night on one dose for the first time in two weeks - yay!)