Codeine

[chelsea_girl]

My friend is on codeine regularly (daily) for a persistent back injury. She’s worried that regular use and sometimes overuse of codeine can affect her liver, and cause damage. Is there any chance of this?

[spathiphyllum]

codeine is an opiate which means users can develop a tolerance to it. It also means users can get addicted to it.

As the tolerance builds more is required to achieve pain relief.

Over time this can seriously damage the liver

[Rockrose]

Hopefully a trained medic will be along shortly to give you a full and accurate response c-g

[Sqad]

yes.....with the administration of ALL drugs there is a chance of side effects and this is the same with codeine.
HOWEVER...codeine is a powerful analgesic which relieves severe pain and that is the number one function for Drs ...to relieve pain.

The price one may have to pay, is constipation, which is an annoying side effect of codeine and others may include ..MAY .....addiction (dependance) and mental problems. Other side effects depend upon length of time taken and dosage and could involve liver damage.

However....if codeine relieves your friend's symptom of pain, it may be difficult to persuade her to seek alternative analgesics.......and i would quite understand that opinion.

[Rockrose]

See knew Sqad would give you the full and correct answer

[Sqad]

LOL....maybe "full".....but not necessarily correct....LOL

[Rockrose]

Lol at least you respond through knowledge and experience

[Sqad]

WRONG RR.

One thing that is taught well in UK medical schools is the ability to ......bul.***.......and i was an eager pupil. ;-)

[Peter Pedant]

well done sqad
codeine is not noted for liver damage - but the paracetamol she may be taking it with IS - but not in the doses on the box
( I think it has gone down to 4g paracet a day )

jolly interesting than drug - one of my faves - not to take of course
hey they let the tramadol lady out of the slammer in Egypt did you see? - methoxylated morphine which works by being demethoxylated. Classic pro-drug
and so since it works froo morphine - why is codeine much better as suppressing cough and constipating than morphine is?

and I dont remember anyone saying dont take too much morphine because it will screw your liver

One of my tenants was addicted todeine and he got through we thought 240 mg a day - so any less than that I think is OK

and if any reader doesnt understand do me a favour and just pass on without the usual whining and gristling about my love of sentences wiv mor dan fwee wordz

[Peter Pedant]

yeah
pages 105 - 110 of Goodman and Gilman
I seem to remember - er 1978 edition

[woofgang]

I am not sure whether this is anecdotal or there is valid research for it, but I am told that where opiates are used for the relief of physical pain, there is less instance of addiction....it may just be of course that this is because there more oversight of its use.

[Eve]

When you say overuse, do you mean that she is using more than she should and is she on prescription codeine, monitored by a GP, or OTC ones?

If she is worried then get her to have a chat with her GP and be honest about any other issues which may affect the health of her liver, such as alcohol or being overweight. They can then advise on any appropriate checking/monitoring/action and discuss her pain relief options, and any other therapies which might help her.

[spathiphyllum]

RockRose what i said was factual.

You've no idea of my "experience and knowledge"

If there is one thing this thread didn't need it's not the information i added, but your spiteful, completly moot comments.

I'm sure chelsea girl, who's been on AB since 06 knows how this site works.

If she wants a trained medic then she should go to her GP.

Hopefully... you can now show some respect or do you not dare show respect to a man of my calibre?

[Peter Pedant]

no yes Woof
Hi Woofie !

you are absolutely correct - when I was making heavy weather from a hemo colectomy ( nil by mouth for 28 d) - I found I could give myself a decent nights rest if I racked up the self ad morphine

and I said to my GP - fonny dat ! when I was well it didnt work - I got excited and had nightmares

and HE said - oh well described ....

[spathiphyllum]

worse than someone trying to help is someone trying to belittle the person trying to help, whilst offering no help themselves.

[Peter Pedant]

hey spaff I am not being spiteful and moody

er normal I would put it - - - let's get back to morph and code

[spathiphyllum]

Sorry what was that RR?

PP of course you wouldn't, i can't imagine you doing such a thing

[spathiphyllum]

"and I dont remember anyone saying dont take too much morphine because it will screw your liver "


You're right when you say the paracetamol in the codeine is more inclined to cause liver damage than the actual codeine, but codeine itself can also lead to liver damage, mixed with paracetamol it's much more likely.

Of course you can extract the paracetamol with some kitchen science, cold water extraction and some paper towels but this is not advised as paracetamol keeps dosage of codeine to safe levels.

I always thought codeine was less powerful (pure) than morphine.

And no PP, i didn't know the Tramadol lady was let out of Egypt, that is a new one. She was silly to take it all in the first place though.

[douglas9401]

There's no paracetamol in codeine, there is in Co-codamol and others.