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Getting Treatment for a Codeine Addiction

Codeine is an opioid that is prescribed to manage pain and relieve coughing in adults and children. This drug is commonly combined with other prescription medications, such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, to provide the patient with additional pain relief, fever reduction, and anti-inflammatory properties.1 As an opioid, it works by binding to and activating opioid receptors in the brain in a manner that diminishes our perception of pain and increases our sense of reward or wellbeing.Teenage girl struggling with addiction

Beyond its medicinal uses, codeine is also abused recreationally, which sometimes leads to dependency or addiction. When a person uses codeine beyond the intended timeframe or in doses that exceed prescribed amounts, addiction becomes a greater risk. If you or a loved one are seeking codeine addiction treatment, consider the various options available. But first let’s get a better understanding of what codeine abuse and addiction looks like.

Abuse Signs, Symptoms, and Risks

If you were given a prescription for codeine and started using the drug regularly for pain relief, you may have noticed that your body needed more of the drug over time to feel the same relief you felt initially. This phenomenon is known as tolerance and, as people begin adjusting their doses upwards to overcome it, it can drive the development of both physical and psychological dependence. Psychological dependence might include thinking about the drug as soon as you wake up and focusing on it throughout the day to the exclusion of your usual obligations.2

Although dependence and addiction are not interchangeable terms, they are closely related; physiological dependence is one of several diagnostic components for substance use disorders—often referred to as addictions—and develops in magnitude in parallel with larger addiction issues for many people. If you are suffering from a codeine addiction, one of the symptoms you may experience is an uncontrollable desire to continue using the drug. Also, if you try to stop using it, you may experience the onset of an unpleasant withdrawal syndrome. With codeine and several other prescription opioids, withdrawal symptoms will typically peak in intensity within 1 to 3 days after the last dose and generally go away over the course of a week.3

Other symptoms of codeine withdrawal may include:2,3

Mixing drugs and alcoholThe drug may also increase your risk for respiratory depression and heart attack. Because of this, it is especially dangerous to use codeine along with other central nervous system depressants, such as alcohol and benzodiazepines.2,3

Codeine is not recommended for mothers who are breastfeeding their children, as variations in individual metabolic pathways may lead to high blood levels of morphine (an opioid metabolite) in the child. There has been one case report of a mother who breastfed her baby while she was taking codeine and the child died.4

The Detoxification Process

People addicted to opioids like codeine often first go through detox before continuing on with longer-term rehab. Remember that detox is a process that takes time as your body rids itself of the drug, so if you are scared of what you may experience during this time, you can enter a facility that provides medical assistance and supervision (i.e., medical detox). Depending on your level of physical dependence and your overall addiction severity, you may be given a prescription to help manage the discomfort associated with your withdrawal symptoms. Medications used to treat opioid dependence—like buprenorphine or Suboxone—may be administered to help manage any cravings for codeine.5

Depending on your situation, you may detox in one of the following settings:

Rehab Program Options

Once you are fully detoxed and stabilized, you can transition into the next tier of care—usually an inpatient
or outpatient substance abuse treatment program. This next phase of treatment will help you dive into the underlying issues fueling your addiction, learn skills on how to prevent relapse, and give you the tools you need to continue a life of sobriety outside of a treatment setting. Some rehab programs are operated out of inpatient medical healthcare facilities, while others may take place in a more residential setting.

No matter which program you ultimately select, many rehab programs will consist of a combination of services, such as:

Meeting with a doctorAs part of your codeine addiction treatment program, drug and alcohol education sessions occur on both an individual and group basis to help you better understand how addiction changes your brain and how it influences every part of your life. Individual counseling sessions are designed to help you deal with the specific aspects of your addiction and address the underlying issues that may be contributing to your drug abuse. When people participate in group counseling sessions, a number of topics may be discussed, including:

Unsure where to start? Take Our Substance Abuse Self-Assessment

Take our free, 5-minute substance abuse self-assessment below if you think you or someone you love might be struggling with substance abuse. This evaluation consists of 11 yes or no questions that are designed to be used as an informational tool to assess the severity and probability of a substance use disorder. The test is free, confidential, and no personal information is needed to receive the result. Please be aware that this evaluation is not a substitute for advice from a medical doctor.


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