Been ill for a while now - a word of warning re co-codamol painkillers
 

OK then
Background 28th December i was hit buy another car, not hard but ran into my f/n/s wheel/wing and ripped the bumper off. the impact knocked me sideways a bit...

Long story short;

...Day or so later my back starts to play up, not had any trouble with it since 2000. go to the doctors who reckoned on a slipped disk and prescribed me 4 weeks worth of co codamol to treat the pain and signed me off.

I took the tablets, cutting down from 2 to 1 over time as the pain got less.

just over a week or so ago (4 weeks since starting to take the tablets) my stomach started to feel sore/tender and bloated, it got as tight as a drum and as big as a house. I was struggling to take deep breaths due to the pain and also it was uncomfortable to do so requiring quite a bit of effort.

I went to the docs Monday who prescribed something for my stomach to calm it down and she also took blood pressure and listened to my heart/chest -- all OK, heart a bit fast but not surprised due to my shallow breathing

Over the last week it has gotten worse to the point of my heart beating fast, me getting out of breath just getting up and moving a few feet and to the point that i thought i was going to die/in real trouble this Thursday. I had not been able to sleep for two nights ans was dog tired but could not sleep due to how i was. I was going down hill...Went back and doc gave me ECG, blood pressure and other checks.

Turns out my blood pressure is OK but my heart is beating fast and not getting enough blood in to fill so pumping less that it should which was making me short of breath.

Now on Aspirin and Beta Blockers to combat this and finally starting to feel better.

Doc hinted that the problems go back to the co-codamol and the damage to my stomach lining due to taking them - not to happy about that.


anyone else had a similar reaction or problems with them?

Would have thought apsrin wouldhave agriviated your stomach even more

GP
 

Your GP should never of prescribed you them pills in my view. You should of got anti inflammatory drugs and been referred to a back specialist.

pain should not always be masked its there for a reason.
I know this is a bit late but your doctor has treated your symptons only and not the cause of your problem, the results are what you are experiencing now.
I also have back problems, my doctor won't even give me an anadin.
Its inflamation that causes the pain mostly i think.
Hope you get well soon. All the best.

Co-codamols are renown for stomach-problem side effects - I have been on them long-term but only got 4 days worth at a time at first.

Anti inflammatories gave me such violent stomach pains, even with food that I was warned by my Doc never to take them again. He prescribed co codamol and I've been fine ever since.

First off get to see a cardiac guy and get your heart checked out. I had similar and it turned out to be enlarged and a valve playing up. An ECHO test confirmed this.

Second off go and see a back specialist.

Best of luck. david

My docs no longer prescribes co-codamol.

Personally I get on with Ibuprofen, its the only one that doesn't cause me problems.
Whereas Diclofenic sodium is a complete no no for me!


Speaking to my sisters husband (a GP) he says you shouldn't have been given 4 weeks worth of co-codamol on one prescription.
In his opinion you shold have had 7 - 14 days worth at the most!


Hope you're better soon.

i had a box of 100 (30/500 Co-Codamol) two tab to be taken up to 4 times a day, not to exceed 8 tabs in a 24 hour period which is 13 days worth, my mistake. I cut down to 1 from two which padded it out longer, i was advised to drop the dose if i felt i could handle the pain.

Blimey, your poop must have been like cricket balls!

I'm supposed to avoid Ibuprofen family (NSAID) because of stomach problems and I've been told to use paracetamol (with codiene if bad) as painkiller.

Surprises me you've been the other way but I'm not a doctor and everyone's different.

PM Deep, I'm sure he would have some good 'off the record' advice.

I was on Codeine for a month in Dec/Jan (5x stronger per tab than co-codamol) and suffered no ill effects.

Strange!

didn't have the heart issues (thankfully), but pain killers are renowned for constipating you.
i was on co-dydromol and some other poppers for 9 odd months and had to take a Senokot pill with every painkiller, it was the only way to keep things moving.
also had the bad stomach rawness, doubled me up at times. not nice.

anti imflamatorys were the answer for me, no real side effects and did a damn sight more than the pain killers. again not good long term, but nothing is really.

best of luck with your recovery:)

I was taking co-codomol after my car accident, no real effect on me i only took them for about 4 weeks 1 or 2 times a day - stopped taking them now tho but my back hurts a little every now and again but i don't want to rely on painkillers all the time.

i wont take tablets,
not had a headache for months not had a cold since i can remember,
lots of fruit and not burning the candle at both ends

My ex-bosses dad was addicted to them....

No-lol.

dunx

Sounds a bit weird Paul.

As others have said Co codamol is known to cause constipation and so usually you prescribe a laxative with it (for long courses)

Severe constipation can make you feel really bad, and systemically unwell, but must admit I've never seen it cause heart failure (which is what you describe).

Also if you had a very fast heart rate I would want to know the cause (because I'm not convinced its the constipation). I would not just treat with a beta blocker, which will slow the heart down, but what is the cause??

If it was just a rare reaction to the co codamol (which I've never heard of but will look up for you) then just stopping it should sort the problem out, no need for beta blockers.

If the infomation you've given is correct, I'm dubious about your GPs treatment plan

Co-Codamol and Ibuprofen are both known to cause stomach issues. The mrs can't have either after being on them for a long period of time. Safest thing you can get is Asprin or Paracetamol.

5t.

I've taken them before, but not often, so never thankfully encountered such problems. However, I really can't take anything with codeine in as it makes me so tired it is unreal. As I have stomach problems, I am also unable to take any anti inflammatory tablets, so if in pain I appear to be left with crappy paracetamol. As it is the only thing I seem to be able to take, I think I have verged on becoming immune to it, as it rarely helps much.

been on and off them for years along with dicluofenac.
have had a problem with my asthma though may be this could have something to do with it.

It all got wacky with the aspirin and beta blockers if the information we have is correct/complete. I rarely start beta blockers except for migraine, anxiety, hypertension (not first line). Other uses pretty much require investigation.

Before that, treating back pain with co-codamol is completely reasonable if there is no evidence of central spinal cord compression (rare, but important). Most back pain is not helped by surgery and is self limiting, even if it is a nightmare and keeps returning. Investigations for an acute episode are usually fruitless, I usually refer cases I know are non-surgical only at patient's request. They get sent back to me with no operative options.

Hi Al and thanks for the replies:)

I am going to digest all that is here and have a think about what to say when i go back for tests on Monday. Currently feeling a lot better than i did, stomach not as bad/bloated by any means and breathing a lot easier although still getting worn out after a little exertion but not as much as i was.

Interesting what has been said about constipation and i do feel that there is a blockage/something still stuck - i am sure that is enough info on that!

Off for a jumbo pack of senokot!

Sorry to hear about all those problems Paul, I have been on Co-Dydramol for a long time now. They are very powerful and I try try take them only when I need to. They have not affected me so far but I hope they don't have the same sort of side effects.

Hope your troubles clear up soon anyway.

Les

I've taken Co Codamol on and off for years for arthritis pain, and never had any problems with them, but if my wife takes them, she feels really sick, and paracetamol dont work for her, only ibruprofen.

I dont think theres anything wrong per se with co codamol - after all its freely available from chemists without a prescription, its just a case of you having a reaction to it, so the sensible thing would be to stop taking, and try some other pain killer until you find one you get on with.