What is Codeine Phosphate?

The relief of pain – analgesia, is the main goal for enhancing the quality of life of patients and for promoting the ability of patients to engage in day to day activities. Codeine Phosphate 30mg is an opioid analgesic that is used to relieve mild to moderate pain. An off-label indication of Codeine Phosphate 30mg is its action against cough. Although, it is considered a cough suppressant rather than a cure. Basically, it helps relieve symptoms but will not target the cause and it will not shortcut your road to recovery. It may be used alone or combined with other medications. Another preparation in the market is Promethazine with Codeine – a combination medicine used to treat colds, allergy symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing and cough. Codeine Phosphate 30mg alone is mainly used as a central analgesic, sedative, hypnotic, antinociceptive, and anti-peristaltic agent, and is also recommended in certain diseases with incessant coughing.

How does it work?

Codeine Phosphate 30 mg works the same way as any opioid would. It acts by inhibiting connections in pain receptors to restrain the body’s natural reaction. Codeine Phosphate possesses similar effects as morphine because when codeine is broken down, it releases morphine as its metabolite. This is the reason behind Codeine Phosphate’s main indication. It relieves pain as it releases its metabolite, Morphine. Is dihydrocodeine stronger than codeine? Dihydrocodeine is semi-synthetic and even though it is structurally similar to codeine with similar activity, Dihydrocodeine is twice as strong and has higher euphoric impact.

What are the benefits of taking Codeine Phosphate?

The benefits of taking codeine phosphate 30 mg is that aside from its pain-relieving properties, it can help with other problems as well, such as cough. Codeine once ingested, metabolizes into Morphine. Morphine is a well-known medication that relieves moderate to severe pain. Common side-effects of codeine include headache, stomach pain, difficulty in urinating, nausea and vomiting, and fatigue.

How should you take it?

Codeine Phosphate dosing may vary from 15mg to 60mg every 4 to 6 hours and must not exceed a dose of 360 mg per day. There are dosing considerations that you should be mindful of like if a person has previous opioid exposure, it may require higher doses of codeine initially. And titration of the dose for pain relief is advised by using lowest dose for the shortest period.

In case if a dose is missed, Codeine is usually taken only when pain persists. If your doctor has told you to take codeine regularly, take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule. Avoid doubling doses to make up for the missed one.