Question Title: Codiene flip out

I am 32 yrs old and with the exception of a lower back problem I am quite fit and healthy. I have had a few problems with a couple of drugs. One of which is in many food items. It is caffine. I have not as yet had an allergy test but if I have any amount of caffine my behavior changes radically and over the longer term I get very sick and in a couple of days I develop an extreamly itchy rash in the groin and legs. I can't even have a tiny piece of chocolate without getting this two stage reaction. My doctor treated the rash as jock itch many years ago but this made the rash spread and infected. One of the incidents that made me realize that it was caffiene causing the problems was when I had been prescribed Tylenol 3 for a back problem. I ended up in hospital with what the paramedics thought was a heart-attack. Turns out that t-3's have caffiene in them! I don't have any more problems with that drug anymore because I avoid anything with caffeine in it, including certain brands of cheap ice-cream. I still have a problem with my back though, I was prescribed pure codiene pills because of the adverse reaction to the t-3's. I don't like taking pills of any kind but on a particular occasion in the middle of a Canadian winter I had been having a great deal of pain in my back which also causes a kind of depression. So I started taking the codiene one Saturday evening. I started to feel better so I took more and during the night I was awakened by the pain so I took more. I am not really sure what the hell happened on Sunday but the police told me what I did. I have only a blurred recollection of the events of that day. It is a bit like trying to remember a really low buget movie from last year. Is it possible that I am allergic to codiene too? Or was it just an overdose, or both? ps I don't take anything except asprin now. I never used any narcotic of any kind before. I even missed the so-called experimental stage that many teenagers put themselves through. After that experience I have even more respect for these drugs. I had no idea codiene was so strong. Is this type of behavioral reaction common? I look forward to your response to my questions.
Thank you!

Codeine is a narcotic and can have very powerful effects. Many people have adverse reactions to codeine. The more typical ones involve nausea and lightheadedness - even to the point of cold sweats and fainting. It's a little hard to follow just how many of these pills you took, but it sounds like you took too many and had a blackout of sorts. By that I mean, you were still conscious but don't remember much of what happened. Perhaps you lost track of how many pills you were taking as they started to take affect. Fortunately, you didn't overdose and it sounds like nothing really disastrous happened. Based on this codeine flip out and your sensitivity to caffeine, my guess is that you're someone who is really sensitive to medications. If I were you I would try to have someone else around who could monitor your use of medications if you need to use them again. Certainly, inform your doctors of these previous experiences and start with the lowest dosage possible.

My other recommendation is to earnestly explore alternatives to medication for pain. Pain clinics have all sorts of methods to manage pain that don't include medication. And if you're open to non-western approaches acupuncture, chiropractic and massage are all popular techniques for pain management, especially back pain.

[The Addiction Forum]      [The Addiction Forum Archives]