Solpadeine addiction

MrWalsh

duffman13 wrote: »

I think people jumping straight to codeine for an average headache is madness though.

And how do you determine an "average" headache? Pain is subjective.

Goat the dote

I don't find many chemists subjecting me to rigorous questioning-usually it's the sales assistant and they just ask "any other medication-have you taken them before-no longer than three days" and on ya go

Egginacup

somesoldiers wrote: »

It dawned on me recently that Americans can't seem to taker a few headache tablets without having to do a month in Betty Ford - personally I don't see how you could get addicted by something that doesn't make you dance, be hilariously funny and attractive to the opposite/ same sex or otherwise have a mad buzz but that's just me.

Perhaps the cunning plan of asking people questions and only allowing them buy one pack at a time has worked?

The body is prone to all kinds of addictions. Generally anything that causes a physiological reaction can become a physiological dependency. The common ones of course are alcohol, nicotine and all forms of narcotic, but there are many others.....caffeine, adrenaline, etc.

galljga1

A friend used to have a solpadeine addiction. We didn't know until he was kicking it. At the time, I didn't know you could get addicted to OTC painkillers.

Are people saying chemists actually question people when buying painkillers? Never happened me.

LDN_Irish

I saw some night time chat show on TV3 where there was some woman talking about her harrowing solpadeine addiction. Went on for about 20 mins with her rabbiting about the side effects and that now she was on anti depressants and the solps were to self medicate for her mental health. Alarm bells rang hal way through when she said that she was taking one soluble solpadeine in the morning. That was her daily intake, 8mg of codeine. Within a minute of the end one of the presenters asked how long she was addicted for. 1 month! 1 f*cking month! 8mg of codeine (that's about .08 mg of morphine when the liver converts it) and they were talking about it like it was intravenous heroin use. And policy is drawn up for these feckin morons. God help her if she ever has morphine or oxys for serious pain, she'll never come back from the dark side.

In England you can walk in and ask for an identical unbranded product to solpadeine (Co codamols) and get it for less than 2 pound with no bitching about it from the chemist. Of course the govt doesn't trust Paddy with access to that kind of affordable medication so the generic here is a fiver and you need to be told that opiates might cause addiction. The very fact that everyone here is talking branded products like Solpadol, Tyler and Kapake is proof of how well pharmaceutical companies do out of Ireland. Codeine has been off patent for over 100 years and they're still pushing the branded stuff at 6 or 7 times the price on patients.

Turtyturd

galljga1 wrote: »

A friend used to have a solpadeine addiction. We didn't know until he was kicking it. At the time, I didn't know you could get addicted to OTC painkillers.

Are people saying chemists actually question people when buying painkillers? Never happened me.

Happens all the time, pharmacy staff tend to be a judgemental stuck up bunch of so and so's, I generally make up the most embarrassing reason for needing them.

I got questioned while buying cainsten cream last week. Just waited in silence while she listed off possible reasons I wanted it. Eventually she got the hint and just went and got it.

Lollipops23

I did know someone who was addicted to them, not sure what he did when the restrictions came in tbh.

I remember shortly after they came in trying to buy solpadeine for a mate who was laid up with horrific lady-cramps and being interrogated by the power happy chemist. Lost the rag with him in the end and told him I'd be taking my business elsewhere unless he gave me the tablets. That seemed to do the trick.

LDN_Irish

phill106 wrote: »

Weird, i find nurofen plus works well for the migraines, while tylex doesnt. Paracetemol vs ibuprofen is the difference i think?

Yes, that's exactly it. Some people find ibuprofen better for headaches, probably to do with the anti inflammatory effect. Another Irish pisstake, no generic form of ibuprofen + codeine despite both being off patent for what might as well be forever.

As someone who never takes painkillers (never really get sick), I had no idea this was a big issue.

What are the effects? Does it act like a recreational drug and produce a pleasant sensation or more energy or whatever? Or is it more like nicotine or caffeine in that it seems to be more habit based and a pain in the ass to quit rather than for any high?

LDN_Irish

The US is a weird one*, you can't buy any opiate/opioid products OTC but they'll give you percocet/vicodin (paracetamol and oxycodone) for minor tooth surgery thay Irish dentists would be giving you solpadeine for. Oxycodone is almost excusively for end stage terminal patients here. I think somewhere in the middle of these 2 policies is probably the most sensible approach.

*This varies state by state so you can really accurately make blanket statements.

LDN_Irish

[Deleted User] wrote: »

As someone who never takes painkillers (never really get sick), I had no idea this was a big issue.

What are the effects? Does it act like a recreational drug and produce a pleasant sensation or more energy or whatever? Or is it more like nicotine or caffeine in that it seems to be more habit based and a pain in the ass to quit rather than for any high?

The liver converts codeine to morphine at about 1/10th, so large doses of codeine like 300mg give similar feelings to 30mg of morphine. Euphoria, sedation etc. Some people (seems to be predominantly women for reasons unknown) report similar (but much milder) effects from standard therapeutic doses like 16 or 25mg.

suicide_circus

LDN_Irish46836 wrote:

Yes, that's exactly it. Some people find ibuprofen better for headaches, probably to do with the anti inflammatory effect. Another Irish pisstake, no generic form of ibuprofen + codeine despite both being off patent for what might as well be forever.

One of the many symptoms of the Ripoff Republic

galljga1

Turtyturd wrote: »

Happens all the time, pharmacy staff tend to be a judgemental stuck up bunch of so and so's, I generally make up the most embarrassing reason for needing them.

I got questioned while buying cainsten cream last week. Just waited in silence while she listed off possible reasons I wanted it. Eventually she got the hint and just went and got it.

Questioned buying Canesten? Holy sh1t, you must have some sh1thead chemists in your area. The three local ones which I have dealt with are sound.

Roark

Turtyturd wrote: »

I got questioned while buying cainsten cream last week. Just waited in silence while she listed off possible reasons I wanted it.

lol, wtf?

Calibos

Its strange, I'm a casually dressed (some would say scruffy looking ) mid twenties looking 41 year old with a blade one haircut who never gets interrogated anymore in several pharmacies and yet my 67 year old father (albeit looks about 50) gets interrogated every time. I don't even get the short lecture about the 3 days thing. Just get asked "12 or 24?".

Long before the new regulations came in I had recognised myself that they were a mood enhancer. ie. not alone would my headache disappear but I'd be in a better happier mood than could be explained by the headache being gone.

So while I recognised that there was a valid reason for the new regulations because of abuse potential it still rubbed me the wrong way that the majority of sensible users might be inconvenienced by the need to protect the minority of gobsh!tes who abuse them.

Just before the regulations I had a wisdom tooth out and suffered a dry socket. Extremely painful. I quickly ran out of the prescription for 30mg codeine containing Difene. I went to the chemist and got both Solpedene and Nurofen+ and took the allowed daily intake of both (4x 2 Caps) offset from each other by 2 hours. ie. Paracetamol separated from next dose by 4 hours and same for Ibuprofen. But getting 25mg of codeine every 2 hours if you get me. In other words, double dosing on Codeine. This went on for 10 days. I knew to expect a rebound withdrawl headache from the Codeine and just took regular Nurofen and took to my bed on day 11. That was it. One withdrawl headache. Right as rain the next day. The gobsh!te addicts just refuse to suffer that one day withdrawl headache. It made sense to me that one all day withdrawl headache but almost painless 10 days with dry socket was better than a very painful 10 days with dry socket but no withdrawl headache at the end.

Running into the same kind of issue of the gobsh!tes ruining it for the majority with Xanax prescriptions for anxiety. Its the most abused benzo because its the most widely prescribed benzo. Its also abused by illicit stimulant users to help them come down. Its also more likely to be abused by alcoholics. However, the vast majority of users not only use it responsibly but without prompting by their doctor, down regulate their own usage to an 'Only as needed' level. The risk of addiction and major withdrawl kicks in for the majority when taking 1mg 3 or 4 times a day every day for about 4 weeks. A bad week for me is needing to take a single 0.25mg 2 days in a row or taking 3 in the space of a week. Never needed to take more than one in a day. My prescription for 14x 0.25mg lasts me on average 2 months. I still get a fcuking lecture every time I need a new script.

Turtyturd

galljga1 wrote: »

Questioned buying Canesten? Holy sh1t, you must have some sh1thead chemists in your area. The three local ones which I have dealt with are sound.

I think it just comes down to them being nosey f*cks.

razorblunt

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

Saw a guy on the television before who became clinically addicted to Toblerone.

Partridge the poor old fella.

Goat the dote

LDN_Irish wrote:

The very fact that everyone here is talking branded products like Solpadol, Tyler and Kapake is proof of how well pharmaceutical companies do out of Ireland. Codeine has been off patent for over 100 years and they're still pushing the branded stuff at 6 or 7 times the price on patients.

What is the name of the generic version?

sbsquarepants

Dr.MickKiller wrote: »

Don't say this if you're a man though.

Men get period pains too you know - they're called ear aches.

LDN_Irish

Goat the dote wrote: »

What is the name of the generic version?

[MOD SNIP]

MOD: Don't give out medical advice, no matter what.

pwurple

Zoey Old-fashioned Advertisement wrote: »

I get codeine for period pain (weed actually works better but sometimes I'm broke that week), it is extremely irritating going through the whole rigmarole.

Periods are not usually painful unless something is going on. It's called dysmenorrhea and there are loads of causes. Fibroids, cysts, endometriosis etc. A decent GP will do some tests.

Would you take painkillers for the rest of your life if you had a broken leg, or would you get it treated?

I had endo, it started after my last pregnancy. I got it diagnosed, treated, and I'm back to my normal non-painful state.

Painkillers should really be a short term solution, unless you have a chronic untreatable condition.

MrWalsh

I bought 12 paracetamol for 16 pence in a Tesco in london. Didnt have a headache or anything, just couldnt resist the bargain!

sbsquarepants

Turtyturd wrote: »

I got questioned while buying cainsten cream last week. Just waited in silence while she listed off possible reasons I wanted it. Eventually she got the hint and just went and got it.

So what do you need this for?
Eh, (scratch scratch, scratch,) I don't know, it's for an elderly neighbour, I'm just (scratch, scratch) being nice.:D

sbsquarepants

sbsquarepants wrote: »

So what do you need this for?
Eh, (scratch scratch, scratch,) I don't know, it's for an elderly neighbour, I'm just (scratch, scratch) being nice.:D

Think Canestan is a mild steroid so it can be used for some standard skin conditions like psoriasis or dermatitis.

MrWalsh

Deleted User wrote: »

Think Canestan is a mild steroid so it can be used for some standard skin conditions like psoriasis or dermatitis.

Its an anti fungal. Normally used to treat yeast infections.

aunt aggie

I was on solpadeine after dental work recently. I ended up taking it for a week and a half but kept within the daily amounts. Definitely had some withdrawal symptoms. I was waking up in a cold sweat every night for the next week. Couldn't believe it after less than 2 weeks!! Don't know how people can take it for years and think they don't have a problem.

I didn't have any trouble getting solpadeine off more than one chemist that week but I was recently interrogated buying motilium for an upset tummy.

humanji

MOD: Folks, don't give out medical advice or anything that even hints at being medical advice.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

pwurple wrote: »

Periods are not usually painful unless something is going on. It's called dysmenorrhea and there are loads of causes. Fibroids, cysts, endometriosis etc. A decent GP will do some tests.

Would you take painkillers for the rest of your life if you had a broken leg, or would you get it treated?

I had endo, it started after my last pregnancy. I got it diagnosed, treated, and I'm back to my normal non-painful state.

Painkillers should really be a short term solution, unless you have a chronic untreatable condition.

Well there's something wrong insofar as my uterus is contracting and shedding its lining. Dunno who you're hanging round with but most women I've met seem to experience cramps to some degree, doesn't mean something is wrong.

I was on the pill before, no cramps but it made me mental. An old doobie or a couple solpadeine two or three days out of the month is preferable for me.

Edit: I've a feeling that's coming across narky! Didn't mean it to be, I'm sleep deprived and no talk good today

MrWalsh

pwurple wrote: »

Periods are not usually painful unless something is going on. It's called dysmenorrhea and there are loads of causes. Fibroids, cysts, endometriosis etc. A decent GP will do some tests.

Would you take painkillers for the rest of your life if you had a broken leg, or would you get it treated?

I had endo, it started after my last pregnancy. I got it diagnosed, treated, and I'm back to my normal non-painful state.

Painkillers should really be a short term solution, unless you have a chronic untreatable condition.

LOL - this post made me laugh. The naivety!

I remember once I fainted from period pain and fell down a flight of stairs. Only for it being quite a busy flight of stairs and me being completely boneless was no damage done! And another time I keeled over and passed out on the street from the pain. I clearly remember a pharmacist refusing me decent pain relief for period pain and the pain being so bad that it brought on a terrible bout of irritable bowel that I subsequently ended up in A&E for!

Plenty of investigation, nothing going on. There are not always answers for everything and just because you yourself do not suffer, dont dismiss the rest of us who do.

MrWalsh

MrWalsh wrote: »

Its an anti fungal. Normally used to treat yeast infections.

Oh I appreciate that. That is its most famous use, for thursh.

But it is also used to treat skin conditions like psoriaisis as it is contains steroids like hydrocortisone, which is found in many creams for psoriasis.

http://www.papaa.org/antifungals/canesten-hc

Highly risky without medical advice, and not even just a GP but someone with an idea of dermatology, as steroids can cause the skin to go stir crazy.