Options for Codeine Addicts

Codeine addiction is now commonly seen among people. There are cases when people wants to leave the use of this drug but are not able to do so. They slowly develop its addiction. They require some drug rehab center to get rid of it.

Codeine is a prescription drug that is commonly known as Tylenol 3 in North America. Codeine is an alkaloid commonly found in opium. It is a group of drugs known as narcotic pain medicines. It was firstly found in 1830 by Jean-Pierre Robiquet in France. Mostly it is obtained from morphine using O-methylation process. It is also known as methylmorphine. It is used for its antitussive, analgesic and antidiarrheal properties. According to a report from WHO, it is the largest used opiate and most commonly used drug in the world. Some of the approved indications for codeine are: diarrhea, mild to severe pain, Cough and irritable bowel syndrome.

Codeine can be used as a recreational drug. It is called as ‘cilly’ or ‘loopy c’. It is also known as juice, school boy, Codys, little c, T1s, T2s, T3s, T4s. It is a prodrug. It is itself inactive but when demethylated to active morphine (by liver enzyme CYP2D6) can cause harm. Those humans with little or no CYP2D6 function have no effect of it.

Some of the common drug reactions caused by the use of codeine are euphoria, nausea, vomiting, itching, drowsiness, dry mouth, miosis, constipation, orthostatic hypotension, urinary retention and constipation. It also causes respiratory depression, lack of sexual drive, allergic reactions such as the swelling of skin and rashes and increased complications in erectile dysfunction. The combination of acetaminophen with codeine can lead to hepatotoxicity or liver damage. The combination of aspirin and codeine can lead to internal hemorrhaging, particularly bleeding of the stomach. Its combination of codeine with ibuprofen can cause kidney problems and even lead to kidney failure.

In case of Codeine addiction case, the treatment should be immediate. The person addicted to codeine should readily opt for some good rehab center for treatment. There are many options for drug addiction treatment available. The only need is to motivate the addict to go for treatment.