Codeine Phosphate VS Codeine Phosphate Hemihydrate?
Hello, I'm curious as to the difference between "Codeine Phosphate" and "Codeine Phosphate Hemihydrate," which I've never taken before. Is it the same thing (is one stronger than the other, etc.)? Is 10 mg of "Codeine Phosphate" equal to 10 mg of "Codeine Phosphate Hemihydrate"? Thanks
What are the dangers of taking Codeine and Valium at the same time?
While I agree with all the other answers to some extent, I figured I’d chime in as well. As others have correctly stated, codeine is an opioid, which the body converts to morphine. As such, it acts as a central nervous system depressant, which can slow down breathing in both rate and volume, meaning that you take in less air/oxygen. Valium or diazepam, it’s generic name, is a benzodiazipine. It is a longer-acting benzodiazipine than others in that classification and is generally used for anxiety, seizure control or alcohol withdrawal (which may result in both anxiety and seizures). It too acts as a central nervous system depressant, which again slows down breathing in rate and volume. The central nervous system depression may stop the breathing altogether or at least less than the demands of the body. When the central nervous system is significantly depressed, it can also decrease your gag reflex. The gag reflex is a natural event that closes the epiglottis or the cover that protects liquid and food from entering the lungs. Whether you have eaten or not, we subconsciously swallow saliva or fluids keeping our mouth moist all the time. Due to the gag reflex, this is no big deal, as it will harmlessly enter the the esophagus towards the stomach. Without the gag reflex, it may go into the lungs, causing aspiration pneumonia or asphyxiation. Couple this with another natural tendency when the body realizes that something is wrong by purging the stomach… vomiting. Vomiting without a gag reflex is very bad news, even worse than the saliva coming down.With all this being said, provided both medications were prescribed by the same care practitioner in appropriate doses, they can usually be taken together relatively safely. In the emergency department, operating room, and intensive care units of a hospital or in a critical care transport unit in-between hospitals, heavy doses of narcotics or opioids are routinely given with heavy doses of a benzodiazipine. This is safe because when doing so, we have placed a tube that goes into the trachea with a cuff that prevents saliva or stomach contents from getting into the lungs, while the tube is connected to a ventilator which makes sure an adequate volumes of oxygenated air and exhaled carbon dioxide go in and out (respectively) per minute. This eliminates what usually kills people by taking large doses.