Codeine Addiction Treatment

Codeine can be a highly addictive substance and provides the user with an overall sense of calm and feeling of pleasure.  Although most individuals use codeine for legitimate medical purposes, prolonged use over time can lead to addiction and the need for rehab. This is not uncommon.  After any lengthy use, an individual develops a tolerance for this substance and feels the need to take more and more of the drug in order to feel the effects.

New Leaf Recovery is a rehabilitation centre based in Birmingham, offering addiction treatment services to those with codeine addictions.

What is codeine?

Codeine is an opiate drug, used to treat mild to moderate pain. It is available either from doctors as a prescription-only medicine or, directly from a pharmacy combined in lower doses with aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetamol. It is used to treat pain that does not respond to simple painkillers. Someone who takes the combination painkillers containing codeine at higher than recommended doses in order to get a stronger codeine effect can easily consume doses of aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetamol that could be fatal.

Codeine withdrawal symptoms

An individual with a codeine addiction may experience some of the withdrawal symptoms listed below when not using the substance. Some of the codeine withdrawal symptoms include:

  • Joint and muscle aches and cramps.
  • Flu-like symptoms.
  • Insomnia.
  • Restless legs.
  • Headache & migraine.
  • Diarrhoea.
  • Vomiting.
  • A runny nose.
  • Panic attacks and anxiety.
  • Lethargy.
  • Stomach cramps.

What are the risks of taking codeine?

Codeine can lower blood pressure and can suppress normal breathing, and so it can increase the risk of respiratory arrest (when you stop breathing altogether). There is more risk of overdose and death if you are mixing too much codeine with other drugs that suppress breathing such as alcohol, benzodiazepines like diazepam (valium), or other opiate drugs.

  • When a higher than the recommended dose of codeine is taken in a tablet combined with another type of painkiller (commonly paracetamol, aspirin or ibuprofen), there is a real risk of experiencing the side-effects of these other drugs. And whilst these other drugs may seem harmless in normal doses, they can cause really serious problems in overdose- with risks of kidney failure, liver failure, and of indigestion or bleeding from the stomach, which can be fatal.

As with other opiates, taking very high doses of codeine during pregnancy may lead to withdrawal symptoms in newborn babies.

How is a codeine addiction treated?

We tailor a bespoke treatment programme that will address your needs— body, mind, and spirit! Tackling a codeine addiction in this manner is one of the first steps in getting your life back on track. Your individualised drug rehab programme might include individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy and a wide array of other treatment services designed to ensure you receive the highest standard of addiction treatment and achieve a sustained recovery.

Codeine addiction help

New Leaf Recovery offers 24-hour support and rehabilitation to help individuals who are addicted to codeine. It is important to get the appropriate level of support during the withdrawal process, to ensure the process is as safe and comfortable as possible.

Contact us today via our online contact form or call us on 0300 999 0330 to discuss your treatment options.

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Our Complete Recovery Journey - from your initial enquiry, all the way through treatment and beyond into ongoing support, New Leaf Recovery are there to guide and support you.

New Leaf offers a complete journey of treatment - from initial detoxification and rehabilitation to ongoing support, including aftercare, family support, and beyond into long-term recovery.

Getting the right accommodation enables us to provide the right backdrop for our recovery methods.  Any form of rehabilitation needs to happen in a safe, comfortable, secure and friendly environment.

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