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Anyone withdrawal from Codeine??

Just wondering if anyone has ever went CT from codeine (tyl. 3)??  I just wanted some sort of insight into what I will be up against.  Is it going to be as bad as what hydro WD is like??  I have been taking about 4 #3's (120 mg) in the morning and in the evening...so basically 240mg a day.  When I have to I can go 24 hours without any wd's.  I would love input on what to expect...i am very scared!  FYI, i know  about the thomas recipe...

Thanks...
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Avatar universal
Deep breath Stephen, You can do this if you sincerely want to. Can you taper your amount over time or are you not able to ? Can someone hold your supply so you can taper down? What about confiding in a doctor? Please tell us more? You will get all the support you need here, keep posting and keep reading. Better days are ahead....promise.
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Avatar universal
My name is Stephen , im 36 now divorced I've been a codeine addict for over 5  years at least I think time and lost jobs dont even recall its all passed me by I take 8/500 m l at least 60 a day all bought over counter at pharmacy my life is destroyed and have no way of stopping ive tried programs but abused that I think I need rehab the drugs are ruling my life , im all alone and with no escape please help !!!!!
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Avatar universal
I must say I have to agree. I have been on 8 x 30mg of codeine for 4 yrs now and I struggled terribly to get of them. I was put on them well I waited for a knee operation that I am still waiting for. I had concerns at the very start of the treatment with regards to addiction and with good reason. My GP tapered me of them by reducing the dose by 2 x 30mg on a weekly basis. So week1 I would have the full dose of 8 per day then week 2 I would have 6 replacing a dose with paracetamol and so on, it does work with will power but you do still have wd's to an extent.
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Avatar universal
I started taking codiene at age 15 and by 17 had a 60+ (t1=8mg each) pill a day habit.  I was a full time addict after that till about age 24.  I still ocassionally will take a few for really bad headaches (I'm now 29), but always pay afterwards with some mild withdrawels (eg headache the next day, diarhea, etc.).  during my years as an addict I had numerous experiances with cold turkey withdrawel, and consider myself an expert on the subject.  if you have any particular questions I am willing to offer any advise or info I have.
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Avatar universal
I used to be a Heavy Crystal Meth user until 2007 I got some bad stuff and ended up with Right Sided Endocardists which is VERY Life Threatening, had two strokes and one Heart Attack, anyway as of 01/07 I have been clean. The problem is I went from one addiction to the other now I am on Narco 10/325 160 of them a month. I am very lucky my Doctor knows I am addicted to this, he is very understanding. Recently he went on vacation for 4 weeks and I was unaware and ran out of my pills 4 days into his vacation so I could not get my pills. Well I will tell you the first thing that happened to me was the legs they would not stay still they hurt so bad, then the headaches which that is one of the reasons for the pills were 80 times worse then a regular migraine, and I literally could not even make it to the bathroom the first day, I would have oaid 25.00 for a pill had I been able to find one, the depression was AWFUL and I could not sleep for almost 2 days. Then the third night my legs started off hurting really bad and then something happened they just stopped, and I fell asleep when I awoke the next morning the headache was on the pain scale from a good 10 to a 5 by the end of the day it was maybe a 2 no leg hurting, the depression was fading by the 4th day I actually felt like cleaning my house and putting makeup on and smiled for once in the last 4 days. Let me tell you all I take about 8 pills a day and I have been on them since 07 so I know I am addicted, but I do know if I ever chose to get off it is not going to be as bad as I would think it would be, needless to say I still take them not as many anymore, I have also learned taking 4 more then what is prescribed is not going to do anything for you, actually if you  take what you are supposed you will get just as good pain relief as you would by abusing the pills. Its not the pills fault and it is not your Doctors fault that you may be addicted to this medicine it is our own fault for one we have addictive personalities that cause us to fall prey to this medicine. If you really want to get off this medicine you have to want to do this mentally and you have to mentally tell your physical side that YOU CAN DO IT! The withdraws are not fun, yet they only last the bad part anyway last normally 2 and a half days, then about in all total 8 days you should feel back to your own self. I for one am not ready to get off my pills I know if I have to I can, the one important thing is DON'T LET THE PILLS CONTROL YOU. YOU HAVE TO CONTROL THE PILLS! Good Luck to you all! Laura  
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Avatar universal
i was reading up on the WD of Codeine, here in canada you can buy T1's without a prescription and that's what I have been doing for the past 12 years. but i haven't had any in 22 hours and am trying to go CT. I am having the stomach cramps and diarhhea pretty badly. i am not proud of this fact but i am 32 weeks pregnant, so far all the tests on the baby have come back normal - I was honest with my dr. regarding my addiction, they did initially try to wean me off but my will power was not strong enough. so I am going to try cold turkey!! pls keep me informed on your progress cause it does kinda help knowing that someone else know what i am going through

take care
Helpful - 0
1268176 tn?1270662151
Hey :-) Welsome! I'm sorry you are having a rough time. I'm not the best person to yalk to about codiene. I know it totally could be withdrawal though...
My advice would be to make your own thread instead of posting on this old one. You'll get more / faster responses that way.
Just figued I'd say hi  since i know how it feels to be stressed and waiting for a response...and I'm here if you need anything :-)
Besy wishes!
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Avatar universal
Good afternoon glo308,

Ive been off Codiene for 5 days as of today, I still feel like sh*t and have no energy and look like crap although I am no longer craving the codeine, thank goodness. The restless legs are also gone too. Could you tell me when I may start to feel like my old self again. I have been taking codeine and nurofen plus for almost 4 years and I dont want to get back on them anymore as I need to be healthy and strong for my 4 year old son, I dont have any energy at the moment to even play with him which is killing me. I finally decided enough was enough after looking at this website a few days ago, so I would like to thankyou all for giving me hope to see that it is possible to quit. My partner died 8 months ago and that was the turning point for me to try and quit, and I had attempted to several times without success until now. I just feel nothing inside, just numb to any feeling and would really like to know when I am supposed to feel better.
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Avatar universal
I was taking a tylenol #3 every other night  for RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome.) It helped, but I couldn't sleep until the next night.
I was really hyper and happy-go lucky. I recently changed doctors and
the new one would not put me on it anymore. He gave me Medipex for my RLS.
I have had stomach cramps and chills. Could this be withdrawal from the Tylenol #3 or the effects of the new med? I only took one (1). I am
supposed to take one (1) every night.
Please help me. Somedays I feel so down.
linda
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Avatar universal
I sent you a message, it should be in your forum Inbox.

1eagle: how are you doing now?
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Avatar universal
On the bright side - I have experience wd'ing for smack,coke,and every flavor of pills....the codeine was the easiest on me of any -  -but its not even a picnic....it just seems like the wd's are a shade more toned down on codeine than lots of other things...and I am not trying to trivialize it.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
On the bright side - I have experience wd'ing for smack,coke,and every flavor of pills....the codeine was the easiest on me of any -  -but its not even a picnic....it just seems like the wd's are a shade more toned down on codeine than lots of other things...and I am not trying to trivialize it.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Actually, T3s have 30mg codeine phosphate, 4x3=120mg twice a day = 240mg.  You are correct.  Sad that I'm an expert on it though.

Here is my experience, as usual must say everyone is different (but the following is common I've read).  If you have other medical conditions that are serious, involve your dr no matter how hard that might be to initiate.

When you stop taking them, there is enough in your system that the first 24hours or so seem like there are no, or little, WDs.  After than point, your body starts to go through the WDs and it becomes worse in day 3 and 4 with insomnia, restless legs, anxiety, sweats/chills, nervousness, and of course a lovely case of diarrea.  It is not a great deal of fun but doesn't feel like you are going to die or anything like that (everyone is different!).

Day 5 for me was the turning point, began being a human again and got some sleep that nite.

If you have willpower, try to taper down.  There are lots of ideas on that and you can ask what a good codeine taper program is to get ideas if that is interesting to you.  But don't try it unless you have the willpower since you will have pills you need for later, and if you eat them early, you are headed for cold turkey or giving up.

If you want to go cold turkey, try to get 5 days where you essentially have "the flu".  You won't sleep much, be totally unsociable, need a toilet handy more often than usual, and can't focus on work related tasks very well.

In either case there is something on this forum called the Thomas recipe and it should help ALOT with the symptoms of WD.

If I relapse, I am going to try totaper.  Never done it before but the cold turkey withdrawals are horrific for me, I can't stand to stare at the ceiling all nite long (my wife does not know what I am going through).

Feel free to ask lots of questions so you can be well prepared.  I, and we, are all here to help you make it and make it stick for the long term.
Helpful - 0
325131 tn?1227184781
If I understand you correctly you have been taking 4, #3 tyl , 2 xper day . So that is 24mgs per day. Not 120 mgs. We dont withdraw from the tyl , count the codine. Hydro 375/10 are 10mgs
Anyway you should be fine going ct if you have a few days you can take it easy.  You will be loosing sleep for several days unless you get a SMALL amt. of ambien or valium to get through the first few days , although this last ct I used nothing, and it(wds) may have passed faster, not easier.
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