Triggering (OD) - Codeine.

[pretty on the inside] · 06-01-2009, 11:51 PM

Okay, well the past few times I've taken overdoses to harm myself, the pills have contained codeine, and the amount of pills I took gave me quite a good high. I'm not trying to glamorise anything, I just felt extremely good when I took the ODs. The thing is, now I keep on thinking about it, and how I want to feel like that again. I've also been looking into getting codeine without the paracetemol (edited) (because making myself ill by ODing as often as I was doing it is really unhealthy and I needed to stop).. Although it's a case of I should probably try and quit now before I get in too deep, I guess.

I don't know exactly what I'm asking for in this post. Just support? I feel like I'm always looking for substances that can make me feel better. I take loads of things that I shouldn't on a relatively regular basis.

Also, I was wondering how doctors and other mental health professionals react to illegal substances?

Kayl xx

BunnythesAINT · 07-01-2009, 09:16 PM

I'm sorry =[. uhm...isn't that stuff in like vicodin and oxycontin? .I'm not sure how doctors react honestly, but it's probably just something they're prepared for at least....if you want to talk to me you can....=]

[pretty on the inside] · 07-01-2009, 09:32 PM

I'm not asking how to get it out. I know how to, but I don't think it's a good idea for me to be doing that.
[sorry if this is against the rules of posting] I have been taking co-codamol a lot, and when I have overdosed to harm myself, that was what i took, so as well as the paracetemol making me ill, I had the codeine making my feel good. I guess the point of my post was that I don't really feel good where substances aren't involved.
My doctor has already asked about drugs, etc. but I'm not sure whether I should discuss it with her or not. I'm also worried about other mental health professionals talking about it because I'm worried about confiedntiality and stuff.

BunnythesAINT · 07-01-2009, 09:50 PM

ok I get it. Sorry it's been a slow day for me =/. As far as mental health professionals go they're probably use to it, honestly(I'm sorry I'll add more later...this is so short but I'll ad more).

Spoons · 07-01-2009, 11:01 PM

codiene is addictive, its really not a good thing to be getting in to, ive used it and know what your taling about in regards to how it makes you feel. but my friend is addicted to it, she spends her evenings at narcotics anonymous.

you can get adicted to it reasonably quickly so just stay safe with it yeah?

rockaroni · 10-01-2009, 04:18 PM

It feels good because at the end of the day, it's an opiate, just like heroin or morphine, only milder. And as Spoons says, it is addictive. You're best off trying to stop now before you gain a seroius dependence.

Doctor's and other MH people are generally pretty good talking about illegal substance use, and generally aren't surprised by it. Their job is to help you get healthy, not to get you into trouble. Don't worry about talking to them- it'll give them a better idea on how to help you.

hamfish · 01-02-2009, 06:58 AM

Hey there! This is my first post here, so please be gentle with me.
I've recently quit taking codeine after just over 3 years, it wasn't as hellish as I thought it would be to stop, but you definitely have to want to. I half-heartedly tried a couple of times to give it up and ended up back on it until I realised how much harm it was doing my motivation and mental state. I feel now like I've been a half dead zombie for the last 3 years, and my life has just been drifting past me unnoticed. Stopping it, I feel more alive than I have done in a long time and looking round my house, it's like I've just moved in after a particularly lazy and dirty person has just moved out. I started crying the other night realising just how I'd wasted over 1000 days of my life.
I've had problems with depression since I was a teenager and when I initially began experimenting with codeine it seemed like the answer to my prayers, when in fact it was leading me deeper and deeper back into the despair I first sought comfort from in its embrace.
Here comes the science bit........
Codeine itself is not the drug which gives you the feelings of euphoria, but merely a way of getting the drug morphine into your brain. When codeine is taken, it is broken down into morphine by the liver. The morphine then crosses the blood/brain barrier and binds to the appropriate receptors, giving its effects. The same happens with heroin, but it crosses the blood/brain barrier first, and does it a lot more quickly than morphine. Once in the brain, heroin gets turned into morphine which does its thing with the opioid receptors there. So, strictly speaking, heroin, morphine and codeine are all the same drug, it's just a question of the final quantity of morphine which ends up in the user's brain.
While initially opiates may make you feel fantastic and happy and all stuff like that, they eventually (quite quickly, actually - a few weeks) cause changes in the brain which not only make you tolerant to their effects, but at some point they actually make you feel a lot more depressed rather than euphoric when you take them (which is where I ended up). Sadly, by this point you're usually addicted to them, so stopping them makes you feel even more crappy. The pleasant effects gained by their abuse is really only limited to a few weeks at most and after that you're stuck with a monkey on your back and a white elephant in the front room, not to mention dishes piled up to the ceiling and the shower getting an ever decreasing amount of use. So my advice is, to you and anyone else who's considering self medicating with opiates of any kind, steer well clear, cos the thrill definitely does not outweigh the consequences. And if you're trying to stop taking them, remember that the withdrawals are self-limiting and the end result of being off them is definitely worth it and worth the money you'll spend on toilet paper getting there.
My old shrink said to me "mental health issues aren't too difficult to deal with, its when you start adding substance abuse that things get really messy". Believe me, codeine is definitely not the answer to feeling depressed. I'm not too sure what is, but it's definitely NOT codeine :)