What is Codeine?
Codeine is a type of opiate which is prescribed as a pain reliever and is generally used to provide relief from coughing. Commonly, codeine is used for its calming effects even if someone does not have pain or cough. Codeine could be addictive because once it’s broken down by the body, it affects the brain and produces the a soothing effect of pleasure and relief. One of the most common behaviors of codeine addicts it to go to different doctors complaining about pains and cough to get a prescription with codeine.
What are the street names for Codeine?
The street names are Lean, Syrup, Syzurp, Purp, and Purple Drank.
What are the side effects of Codeine?
If codeine is taken in high doses it could have some mild and severe short-term and long-term effects. Some of the most immediate side effects of codeine are feelings of euphoria, intoxication, and altered consciousness. Moreover, some of the negative effects of codeine could include nausea, vomiting, allergic reaction, skin rashes, and constipation.
In addition to some of the above short-term effects of codeine, a high dose of codeine could also cause breathing problems, irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, and inability to urinate.
What are the warning signs?
Often times, people view Codeine as a non-serious drug, for that reason, it’s easy for people to unintentionally develop a dependency. Codeine can be dangerous because it is easy to develop a tolerance to it and it quickly stops producing the same effects as it did when the person was first taking it. Often times, people tend to transition to harder drugs or more intoxicating pain killers when Codeine starts losing its effect. As codeine acts as a morphine in the body, some of the common warning signs associated with codeine abuse are as following:
- Poor Coordination
- Drowsiness
- Slurred Speech
- Poor attention span
- Impaired judgment
- Dilated pupils
- Indifferent behavior
What are the withdrawal symptoms?
Codeine is an opiate and developing a codeine addiction could also cause some severe withdrawal effects. Some of the most common withdrawal symptoms of codeine include:
- Depression
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Body Aches
- Sweating
- Nausea
- Vomiting
Treatment
Similar to other types of opiate addiction, treatment from codeine addiction requires detoxification and stabilization. It is important to find a rehab center or a healthcare facility that treats codeine addiction, to provide the proper support a person recovering from opioid addiction needs.
Detoxification from codeine does not take long but the real work starts after detoxification. Due to the severe withdrawal effects a person needs proper physical and psychological support to completely recover and reintegrate back into society.
In addition to the professional support it is also important for a person to receive proper psychological support to successfully reintegrate back into the society. Therefore, if your loved ones or anyone you know is going through a recovery process, it is important for you to provide them with support and care to help them successfully recover and not develop another dependency. It is also worth considering enrolling them in a treatment program that provides family services.
