Codeine allergy?

[renton]

What exactly is it about codeine in particular that makes so many people allergic to it? Do people just mistake the side effects as an allergy? I take tylonal 3 on a regular basis for my back and I swear sometimes it feels like it's burning a hole in my stomach, but I'm not allergic and I dont get that reaction to any other pain killers. Any experiences would be appreciated.

[exitwound]

It's mainly because it has to be metabolized before it can enter the brain, and during that process it tends to create lots of histamines.

[poonwhalla]

try some anithistamines. i itch like crazy without them

[candy]

Opiates in general will cause itching and you may want to take an antihistamine before ingestion of your opiate of choice. You can take Claritin or Tavist for a daily antihistamine and then Bendryl in between if the itching is bad. These are just side effects and not necessarily an allergy to the drug. With an allergy to the drug, you may see welts or a rash. Often with Codeine, it can cause changes in the heart rate, such as tachycardia and these are often seen as an allergy to the med. I myself get a rapid heart rate with Codeine, but not with other opiates.
As far as the stomach pain from the codeine, it could be the Acetominophen that is causing your stomach pain. Opiates will cause the GI system to slow down, thereby causing a full feeling in the gut and constipation. It could be due to the Codeine, but one of the drawbacks from taking things like Acetominophen is stomach problems. Acetominophen decreases the prostaglandins produced in the stomach lining, which protects the stomach lining from the acid produced. With a decrease in the production of the prostaglandins, you increase your risk of ulcers from the stomach acid.

You may want to try something like Zantac or Tagamet. They sell them over the counter, but they can be a bit pricey. It will cut down the stomach acid production.

Hope that helps.

[renton]

Yeah I dont know why the drug companies insist on puting acetaminophen in pain pills when plain codeine or oxycodone works just fine. I've been lucky in the past to get prescribed pure 10mg oxycodone pills for my back but now I'm just using T3's since the pain is allot less but they sure have allot more side effects :(.

[THEPAINTER1960]

Opiates in general will cause itching and you may want to take an antihistamine before ingestion of your opiate of choice. You can take Claritin or Tavist for a daily antihistamine and then Bendryl in between if the itching is bad. These are just side effects and not necessarily an allergy to the drug. With an allergy to the drug, you may see welts or a rash. Often with Codeine, it can cause changes in the heart rate, such as tachycardia and these are often seen as an allergy to the med. I myself get a rapid heart rate with Codeine, but not with other opiates.
As far as the stomach pain from the codeine, it could be the Acetominophen that is causing your stomach pain. Opiates will cause the GI system to slow down, thereby causing a full feeling in the gut and constipation. It could be due to the Codeine, but one of the drawbacks from taking things like Acetominophen is stomach problems. Acetominophen decreases the prostaglandins produced in the stomach lining, which protects the stomach lining from the acid produced. With a decrease in the production of the prostaglandins, you increase your risk of ulcers from the stomach acid.

You may want to try something like Zantac or Tagamet. They sell them over the counter, but they can be a bit pricey. It will cut down the stomach acid production.

Hope that helps.
Man swim just told me a story about what he used to do back in the day with the tylenol 4,s. He would take about 4 tyl. fours. Crush them and then cold shake in a spoon. Draw up clear liquid and then bang. swim says you talk about itch forget about it. Swim was pretty crazy back in the day.

[ontario_opiophile]

Codeine gives me a dirty chemical feeling that I really dislike. I don't know how to describe it. It's kind of like overdosing on oral Demerol and Caffeine. Codeine makes me really flushed too and constipates pretty bad but nothing compared to my good friend the "Done". Tylenol 3's have caffeine in them and that makes them really undesirable to me because I hate caffeine with a passion. They have 15mg of caffeine in them and that just destroys any of the opiate effects and replaces them with jittery caffeine high. Codeine alone in a 30mg instant release pill is a bit better but I dunno I don't really enjoy it. It still has a dirty feeling associated with it. Very synthetic feeling. Not like I could really tell you what a synthetic feeling is i'm just using general words to describe. It's probably not a very good word to use. Oh well. I find Morphine to be better but very weak. Codeine is stronger than Morphine in my body for some reason. If my body could handle Codeine correctly, I would probably love it. It's abundant here in Canada and it's a very modest opiate, worthy of most of our attention. I'm happy thatsome people can get a good buzz from it. Good ol' MethylMorphine. Also, on another note. Has anyone tried Acetylcodeine? They sell this in India, I'm wondering what the difference is. What about Ethylmorphine as well? Does anyone know the difference between these and codeine and the strength's etc. Jolly good day! Cheerio

[malefiacrum]

I agree....codeiene does have a "dirty" feel to it....something in it makes me more "jittery" or "speedy" then other opiates. I generally don't take it unless I absolutely have to. The other day I took two 30mg codeisans with poppy tea, and the next moring my gf noticed a brutal rash over the top of my right leg, it almost gone now (four days later), but I never get rashes, and the only thing I did different that I could think of was take the codeine.