Codeine for Pain User Reviews

• Pai...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 29, 2018

"I am 20 years old. I have been suffering from generalized anxiety disorder for 4 years. For me, the biggest problem of the wide range related to chronic anxiety is chronic pain: huge muscle cramps in my shoulders and neck, as well as back pain, bruxism during the day and night, and frequent headaches. Codeine 30 mg every 6 hours helps me level all of these issues so that I am able to study my university subjects. It has been the only painkiller that has helped me so far... I am lucky to have an understanding doctor, given how much they are demonizing this helpful medication due to some irresponsible people."

• pxb...
• January 28, 2009

"Very effective. I have osteoarthritis and can be pain-free with codeine. It is more effective with ibuprofen. Also, profoundly lifts depression due to chronic pain and makes life better day-to-day. Space doses well apart to avoid tolerance. I use only in the morning with very good effect. Using the whole daily dose in the morning may get you through the day without a need for a second dose. I would leave at least 6 hours between doses to ensure full effect. Don't suffer needlessly. Good luck and hope this helps."

• Dex...
• November 30, 2019

"I need Codeine for the pain of fibromyalgia and take 8 codeine phosphate daily. But I'm going to be tapered off due to the addiction epidemic. It's unfair on genuine patients that some abuse it, which puts changes to guidelines on prescriptions. Just because some go on their crusades to change laws puts pressure on others."

• Ouc...
• October 3, 2014

"I have extreme toothache, where no amount of paracetamol or ibuprofen can take it off. I have been using codeine to take away the pain, and it works. The only downside is feeling very, very sick and cannot even face food, and feeling shaky/drunk."

• Mr ...
• July 5, 2017

"After hurting my back, I was sent home with some Endone, which did not relieve my pain. The hospital gave me some aspirin/codeine dissolvable tablets. It was like a warm feeling of relaxation, and the pain was gone. My back healed within one week, and I stopped taking them afterwards. I highly recommend this to someone with spinal pain."

• Hom...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 22, 2016

"I am an early 60's male with chronic neck pain as a result of too many skiing accidents over many years. Normal painkillers like Aspirin or Naprosan wouldn't even touch the pain, however, I found Paracetamol/Codeine 500mg/30mg worked wonders. I take 1 tablet at first, and if the pain is too intense, I increase to 2 tablets. Because of stomach upsets and slight dizziness, I limit myself to 4 tablets daily. Talking to my GP about the situation and the fact that I did not want to stay long-term on the Paracetamol/Codeine, he suggested acupuncture, which I started to have 2 times a week (10 very sharp but small needles) over a period of 6 weeks, and as a result, I have only had 1 of my tablets for the last fortnight, which is a wonderful turnaround for me."

• Ead...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 10, 2017

"I have been taking codeine for 15 years+ with diazepam and Tylenol. I can no longer take anti-inflammatories too, unfortunately. I have a huge tolerance, regularly taking 240-300 mg a day (8-10 tablets). On pain-free days, I need to take 1 tablet about every 12 hours or withdrawal starts after about 18. That is a bit like having a dose of flu for a few days, combined with severe diarrhea in my case. During rare pain-free periods, it isn't worth weaning myself off completely because the pain is never away long. Everyone is different; 60 mg gives me 2 hours max. relief. No constipation, dizziness, or nausea-the latter often experienced briefly on first use (including posters here)-dose problems too big. Constipation is common and worse than the pain, I'm told, so go easy."

• Sle...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 28, 2015

"I was lucky to have had a doctor that did research with codeine for narcolepsy. Codeine has a paradoxical effect in narcoleptics. It works better than any stimulants to not only be able to stay awake but aware without the awful side effects of a stimulant, such as jitteriness. I am able to read, do paperwork, budget money, drive, and do things that require concentration that are otherwise extremely difficult and hard to do and get right. Codeine has allowed me to be able to do things I wouldn't be able to do anymore on just stimulants. It gives me some life back. Having narcolepsy is like having to watch life go by in a dream, it steals your ability to participate in life. I slowly built a tolerance, otherwise, no problems at all."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 24, 2013

"Had 4 wisdom teeth taken out this morning at 8:30 a.m. My dentist prescribed some codeine for the pain. Having never taken codeine before, and the label reading to take 1 or 2 pills for pain, I decided to take 2 around 12:30 p.m. WOW, these things take all of the pain away, alright, however, for about 1 - 2 hours, they made me very drowsy, out of it, and I couldn't look at anything with a screen without it being blurry or me feeling dizzy. I was literally glued to my seat. Thought I was going to throw up at one point too. Should probably only be used for chronic, unbearable pain, otherwise, it is not worth the side effects. Still feeling a little woozy now at 10:00 p.m. Will stick to the softer stuff because it seems like I am really sensitive to it."

• ros...
• January 17, 2016

"Fantastic would be suffering without! I take co-codamol 30/500 for toothache that I'm getting work on and having to wait a while for referral to go through. But this really does make the pain vanish in about 10 minutes! Only downside is it can make you feel very drowsy and very slight stomach ache, but I take it to help me sleep as that's when the pain is at its worst, and it does help you sleep. Also causes constipation, and the pain-free moments only last a few hours."

• ver...
• May 11, 2012

"I tried paracetamol and ibuprofen, but they're not as effective as codeine. Codeine is really helping me for the muscle spasm I have as I am suffering from cerebral palsy. I'm glad I got it prescribed from my GP doctor."

• Ric...
• April 17, 2013

"Short-lived but effective painkiller. I tend to get more dizzy and lightheaded from it than hydrocodone, but the painkilling effects are similar. I rarely took the recommended dose on the bottle because it affected me so much. 1/2 a pill seemed sufficient. Takes only about 30 minutes to start taking effect."

• Ney...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 28, 2020

"This drug worked amazingly for my pinched nerve in my neck. It dulled the pain, HOWEVER, I got a severe case of constipation after taking it for over a week and a half. I do want to try it again, but I’m going to see my GP about how I can combat this."

• Anonymous
• December 23, 2011

"I have been experiencing horrible hip pain from a car wreck in which I dislocated it and broke my femur. Doctor gave me tramadol first, which didn't help at all, then he gave me Tylenol/codeine. It has almost gotten rid of the pain. I would have rated it higher, except it is causing me blurred vision pretty frequently."

• Anonymous
• July 22, 2008

"I was in the hospital for some time with chest pains, and when I was given codeine phosphate, it took the pain straight away. I also suffer from back pain, and codeine phosphate really works. I would recommend it."

• mam...
• September 27, 2010

"I now take Fiorinal with codeine for headaches that are so bad, it was difficult to function day to day. These work extremely well for headaches, and thanks to them, I am now able to function throughout each day, headache-free. Thank you."

• Gin...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 8, 2015

"2 dead teeth awaiting extraction under GA. Tried to bring appointment forward but still waiting. Typical just over Christmas. Swelling caused a gumboil sinus tract. Throbbing and tenderness to the surrounding gum. Can't bite down. Rubbed tooth with tea tree oil and bathing with iced water or sucking ice to reduce swelling, which causes the pain. Taken prescribed pure codeine 30 mgs, naproxen 250 mgs, 4 hourly with milk, breaking the tablets into 4 pieces. Easier for the gut to break down. Works well!"

• Wis...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 16, 2024

"Years ago, I had 3 wisdom teeth removed. Then the 4th because they found an infection. I took Amoxicillin, of course. For the dental pain, two 30mg tablets every 4-6 hours, and 600mg of Ibuprofen. The first week it was two 30mg every 4hrs. Once it healed more, I could space them out, 1 or 2 every 5 hours, depending on the pain. I had a month's worth, 6 a day, lasted just long enough. Still a little pain at the end, but that went away. They serve a valid purpose. After a month of daily use, stopping was no problem. My gums didn't hurt anymore. 8 because when I cleaned the holes in my gums with the little water tube, BOOM, hit the nerve, pain shooting down my arm, Wonky Town, Ouch! It's good. They were generic. So, 30mg Codeine, 15mg caffeine, and 325mg Acetaminophen."

• Aly...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 5, 2015

"I had 3 of my 4 wisdom teeth taken out this past August. My dentist prescribed me codeine and ibuprofen. Whenever I took the codeine, my pain level was very low, so I'd say it worked pretty well! The only reason I didn't give a ten is because it did make me extremely nauseous at one point."

• Anonymous
• August 25, 2010

"'Graduated' to codeine after finding paracetamol and aspirin were not doing it for my foot (varicose) ulcer pain. Helpful in small doses, but I was surprised at the level of drowsiness it caused, even when off the drug for more than 24 hours. Also, eating lots of fruit is helping to alleviate some of the constipation I was warned about."

• RxM...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 3, 2023

"I used codeine for pain for about a month. It was able to help me get through my days without a struggle, but didn't help when I had episodes of severe pain. Additionally, I found myself becoming very dependent on it after only 5 days of use."

• Anonymous
• November 29, 2009

"I was prescribed codeine when my wisdom teeth were taken out. This should only be used for extreme and chronic pain. It made me feel completely out of it. I was dizzy and felt like I had a brick on my chest the entire time while I was using it."

• A D...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 4, 2022

"Took 1/2 a Mersyndol Forte tablet with a glass of water for general muscle pain. The muscle aches abated within 30 mins. Around 60 mins after taking the Mersyndol Forte, sudden onset of very severe 10/10 on the pain scale, upper epigastric pain/spasms commenced, centered across stomach, liver, and where gall bladder should ordinarily be, had a cholecystectomy not been performed over 10 years ago... Worse than giving birth. Excruciating pain lasted for 4 hours and subsided very slowly over approx 8 hours accompanied by burping. Subsequent to the incident, research on Mersyndol shows there are numerous medical and scientific papers and customer reviews reporting the same issue, with many patients suffering pancreatitis following codeine-induced Sphincter of Oddi spasm in patients who have had their gall bladder removed. There should be a CLEAR WARNING on the box and information sheets of all medications containing codeine for cholecystectomy patients."

• Bir...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 23, 2013

"Excellent pain relief for ovarian cancer. Only downside, terrible constipation that no amount of drinking or eating prunes, kiwi fruit, or bran made any difference."

• dam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 16, 2013

"After morphine, this would probably be the best pain reliever I know of. I have never had any dizziness, blurred vision, or sleepiness, but that's probably just me. Fantastic for wisdom teeth also."