I am allergic to Codeine & Hydrocodone & have chronic joint pain.What prescription pain killers can I take

[Katie]

Just in case you want to know, the Codeine and Hydrocodone have horrible affects on my heart. I'm trying to find out what my doctor can prescribe for me since we have now discovered I am allergic to both of those drugs.

[misterbrett]

Codeine is an alkaloid that derives from the poppy plant and is considered an opiate because it is not synthesized (meaning it has not been enhanced). Hydrocodone is a semi synthesized opiod that contains codeine and thebaine. Thebaine is an natural alkaloid derived from the poppy plant as well. Since both of these medications contain codeine it is possible you are allergic to codeine. You can try medication that contains only thebaine or morhine. Drugs that contain thebaine are oxymorphone, nalbuphine or oxycotin. Drugs that contain morphine are dihydromorphine, hydromorphone or nicomorphine. All of these drugs are that i have listed are far more potent than hydrocodone but if you are in pain it may be worth a try. You could always try fully synthetic variations of opioids like tramadol or fentanyl. I think you can start there and explore the possibility that you may be allergic to codeine. If it turns out you are allergic to every alkaloid in the poppy plant then you will have to find an alternative. Good luck and i hope you find relief.

[serratedxx_edge]

Maybe low dose oxycodone.
Or... methadone might be a good route..
The w/ds from methadone are horrible though, however it is synthetic, unlike coedine and hydrocodone. And its cheap

[debbthebee]

Have you tried tramadol? Google it - it's a relatively new pain med.

[Ilovemyson]

I agree, try the tramadol, I believe if codeine and hydro are bad for your heart that you should avoid oxy or morphine etc. These are more powerful opiate narcotics and those light narcotics messed up your heart. Try the synthetics at a low dose, otherwise ask your doctor about non-opiate pain relievers, although there arent too many. Good luck, I pray that you find relief.

[fnh]

Perhaps if you could share with us what you/your doctor have diagnosed as the cause of your joint pain, we could perhaps give you better suggestions.

If you are working with a Doctor, what has the doc suggested?

[Ratchit]

fnh is correct. It really depends on the cause. Usually joint pain is related to inflammation. It is frequently treated with NSAIDS and/or methylprednisone. They actually work better for joint pain than opioids. Perhaps mobic or another prescription strength NSAID would work. But it really depends on what is causing the pain.

[dsteury]

Try Tramadol , Temgesic, or Darvocets any of theres should help. You can find them all at RXIOP. Hope this helps.

[joejack]

Talwin is an older drug that I have used with some success because I cant take codeine or hydrocodone a lot because of the side effects it causes. Someone else mentioned Darvocet and if its joint pain you might even try Tordol.

[Lynx4]

Darvocet is now banned in the US and for good reason. I personally would try something else unless Darvocet really really works for you. I don't know about other countries but probably if we banned it and England banned it already then other countries may not be too far behind.

@joejack, what is the active ingredient in Talwin? I can't remember now. I actually had some about 8 or 9 years ago (like 20 of them) but didn't feel they helped at all. But by then I'd been on hydrocodone on and off for years and occasionally percocet so that could be why.

*This post was auto-merged. The following text was added 30 minutes after the last post:*

One thought.

What type of allergies do you have to codeine and hydrocodone? Because I'm allergic to Codeine but I can take oxycodone and hydrocodone. Also, there are many other pain medicines out there (hydromorphone, oxymorphone, methadone, fentanyl, morphine) so a chronic pain patient has many alternatives.

Now I'm allergic to two antibotics and they send me straight into shock, closed off throat and the whole nine yards, which I unfortunately discovered during my stay in the hospital last year. But Codeine was a different kind of allergic and it didn't close off my throat so although doctors won't prescribe it for me, they feel safe giving me 'cousins' of codeine.

[andreonik]

katie there are plenty other pain meds to help you . First off you can try like an ibuprofen if not they have percocet/ibuprofen instead of tylenol. also dilada and morphin.I think they may even make vics with ibuprofen in them to ask around ask you doctor. they always have the morphine patch but i wouldent suggest that.

[lb65]

as one who has ran the gambit from darvon65 to fentanyl in the past39 yrs.i would suggest you stay away from the opiates & the synthics as long as you can. tramadol is a good choice and toradol injections work well.{it will not tear your stomache up like the tabs will}also work on rebuilding the joints with something as simple as knoxs jellitin. if your problem is chronic,you will have time to explore the good stuff.also i have to disagree with taking darvocet off the market.there was not enough proof on that deal.it was a mild effective pain med. there is not one out there you don't take your chances on.

[alumni]

i have to disagree with taking darvocet off the market.there was not enough proof on that deal.it was a mild effective pain med.

I have to disagree with your disagreement.
While there might have been very modest pain relief potential associated with the use of propoxyphene, its safety profile was evidenced to be problematic enough to outweigh any analgesic benefit.
There were also comparative research findings published over time indicating that this drug was no more effective at pain control than OTC medications.
I believe that it took the FDA way too long to officially recognize the reality of propoxyphene.