Thanks. Funny about Australia because one of the pharmacists that I get this stuff from is South African and he was surprised when I first asked for it because he said most Canadians don't know about it. Nevertheless most drug stores carry it, at least here in Toronto, and, as I said, it can be purchased over the counter.
I know there are withdrawals because when I drank I would drink my way through it. But I haven't had a drink in almost two years and don't want to go that route. It was tough enough with the booze. I can't really imagine CT without it. That's why I'd like to wean myself.
JBP...That's not Vicodin ! Vicodin is a semi-synthetic opioid (hydrocodone) with acetaminophen (acetaminophen).
I think you are taking something called "Tylenol 3" which is Codeine and Tylenol. Codeine makes most people "itchy"
The FDA has been lowering and lowering the safe dosage of acetaminophen over the years since you wrote.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J)-McNeil Division makes Tylenol and had been fighting the FDA for a warning label for 30 years about liver damage. It was finally put on the bottle in 2009.
You take 125mg x 30 = 3750mg of Tylenol.
I just found this: The FDA set the safe 24-hour dose limit of acetaminophen at 4,000 mg per adult, but some doctors say that it should be capped at 3,250 per day.
They've lowered the Tylenol in my pills down from 500mg to 300mg. A 500mg Tylenol was extra strength pill and a 325mg was a regular strength. So 300mg is even lower.
Go to a rehab clinic or cut back one pill per week to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
The codeine 8 mg, acetaminophen 500 mg available over the counter in Canada is NOT Vicodin. It's Tylenol 1s.
8 Mg of Codeine is only equivalent to one quarter of a Tylenol 3.
The ingredient in Vicodin is called hydrocodone which is about 10 times as potent as Codeine and is definitely not sold over the counter,, (anywhere)
hi where not aloud to give tapers on the forum but if you choose to do this go slow and drop only a small amount every few days thats about all I can say without this post getting pulled it takes discipline to do it and your still going to go threw withdrawals not as harsh as C/T but a more drawn out minor achy discomfort so you got to decide witch is better 4 days of hell or 2 mo of feeling like hell both ways will get you there its just a mater of ehat you choose good luck and God bless.......Gnarly
Yeah I think it is one of Canada's best kept secrets and I am sooo glad I didn't know about it before although it would have saved alot of money. It does sound like it's very hard on the liver so hopefully you can get off of it quickly. You will probably have alot of issues with sleep as there is a sedative effect with it from what I have read.
Check out the Thomas Recipe on the bottom right of this page and treat it like withdrawing from any other opiate. Melatonin is supposed to be very good for sleep. Good luck and please keep posting and let us know how you are doing.
I can't believe something like vicodin can be bought otc! Is the US the only country that requires a prescription for it? Anyways.... I am sure there are many who have been sucessful with tapering off the opiates & will respond to your post. I personally had to just quit cold turkey because of lack of self control with it and it just seemed like I was dragging out the w/ds. Which ever path you take, just keep posting & sharing. The support on this website has really helped me. Good Luck!!!
Hey again,
Type mersyndol into the search bar on this forum and there are lots of posts and people who have been addicted to it. It seems to have been quite a problem in Australia as you can buy it over the counter there as well.
I haven't heard of that and it's probably a good thing for me or I would have tried it. I used the other stuff in a pinch and never felt anything from it.
If it's as strong as vicodin then you will definitely have withdrawals. Hopefully someone will come on who is familiar with it and give you good advice. Also read the other posts about vicodin withdrawals. It really helps.
I actually use stuff called Mersyndol. It doesn't have the caffeine.
To the best of my knowledge this stuff is identical in composition to Vicodin at least with respect to the acetaminophen and codeine - I'm reading from the bottle as I write this - 8 mg Codeine 325 mg acetaminophen (mistakenly recorded as 125 in my original post).
Thanks for you reply. I am going to try and post every day with respect to tapering off. Might force me to be more honest than I am with myself.
Hey I also live in Canada and wonder if you are talking about the Tylenol 1. I think it has .08mg. of codeine and .08mg of caffeine. I don't think it's anywhere near as potent as vicodin.
Regardless you definitely need to be conerned about taking that many.
I don't think it will be hard to wean off of those. Just cut back and keep on cutting back. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Welcome...I've never been able to ween off the pills, I don't have the willpower...lol !! I've had luck in just doing it CT. You're absolutely right in being concerned with liver damage, also kidney damage from the acetaminophen. The great thing about the human and particularly those organs, they are very resilient and can heal themselves to some extent once we stop introducing the poison. You'll also find here that there are many kind and caring people willing to help you through this. Keep posting and ask any questions or concerns you may have...Dave