Tylenol with codeine and extreme pain after taking it

Hi all,

I'm wondering if you could help me as I don't know what is happening.

I was prescribed Tylenol with codeine for pain (liquid) due to an accident. I took it and almost two hours later my entire abdomen is hurting to the point I am on the floor, crying and begging for it to stop. This pain lasts about 1-2 minutes, will subside for about 3-5 minutes and then the pain starts again. When then pain subsides, I feel pain traveling through my chest, upper shoulders and back.

The first time this happened, I thought it was because I took the meds with a banana only. The second time, I ate a taco before the meds and this painful episode hurt worse.

Any suggestions as to what is happening to my body when this is going on? I cannot find any info online to suggest what it could be. Thanks for your help!

Gosh, I have no idea....but if it's painful enough to put you on the floor why haven't you called your doctor or gone to an ER yet? It sounds serious! Please call right away - this isn't normal

I'm allergic to codeine but I don't get pain, just super intense itching.

Thanks for the reply. I'm at a loss as to,why this is happening but now that the episode has subsided, I've decided not to take the meds until I talk to the Doctor. As to why I didn't go to the ER- I am home alone and couldn't move to drive. Also, I live in Germany now. Calling for an ambulance is not something I've had to do and was worried that the communication barrier but trust me...I was very close to doing it.

Gotcha - even scarier that something like this is happening to you in a foreign country where there could be a language barrier. Hope you get it figured out!

I am sorry you are going through this. I too experienced it after surgery when I took something with codeine in it. I started having abdominal pains, where it felt like my stomach was tightening up and it would do this every few minutes then lessen up, then start again. I almost compared it to labor, but not as intense. It also made breathing hurt too. They decided it was an allergic reaction that I was having. However, I have had the same thing happen intermittently when not taking anything with codeine, but took maybe an OTC cold med or something similar and experienced same thing.

While I can't tell you how to stop this, because I still experience it from time to time, I can tell you that breathing through my nose and walking help me to get through the pain. If the pain intensifies, you need to definitely speak to your Dr. about what is happening. Keep a journal of what you are doing that leads up to this situation, so they can help you to determine what is causing it and how to stop it.

I do hope this helps you some!

Nik

Nik_H,

thanks for the reply! I thought I was crazy. I did have a hard time breathing but thought it was due to my crying during the extreme pain. This pain was like no other and I would not wi**** on my enemy. Since you mentioned that you've had a reaction to other meds, were they the same pain level? I will say, I thought maybe the meds was too harsh on my intestines so tried to drink water to "flu****" but that only seemed to cause extra burping (I know, sounds silly).

Im definitely going to keep a journal now. I hope and pray that this post will help someone else.

Thanks again for your reply.

Savy1296, the reaction I had with other meds were like Nyquil and I think an allergy med. The pain I have experienced is when I feel ike the wind has been knocked out of me, I will hurt in my abdomen and I will find it hard to draw a complete breath without experiencing the pain in my stomach. I stay away from the codeine all together. Vicodin too. If I have to take something and I find that I react in this manner, I consider it a reaction, possibly allergic. Since I had RNY it could be that my system responds this way. I am not sure, but I just know that when I do have this happen, I always go back to what I took right before I had it.

In one other instance that this occurred, I had not taken anything. In fact I drank a SF Red Bull. Again, was this a form of dumping or a reaction. I can't be sure. So, I just keep close watch on things. As long as this is not a pain you are experiencing for hours upon hours and daily, keeping a journal will help your Dr to diagnose what is going on, if possible.

However, if for some reason the pain changes or become more frequent or severe, please get to an ER and let them check you out.

Also, just to let you know, I have a hernia that is also affected by this. When I start having the pains, the tightening that takes place affects my hernia considerably. I have often wondered if the hernia could be the reason for the pain, since it is so large.

I hope that if others read this and are having the same symptoms, they might chime in. It would be nice to learn more about who this happens to and what is happening, so we can get some relief from it.

Keep me update on how things are going :)

This happens to me and other people I know after ingesting any type of narcotic pain reliever. I have to weigh the benefits VS reactions any time I take this type of medication.

You are experiencing spasms and they hurt like hell. Ensure you take with food and be prepared to have food 2 hours post ingestion in addition to immediately following medication. An empty pouch is your enemy with narcotics. Sometimes I need food up to 5 or 6 hours post meds. Yogurt works wonders for me.

AgaIn, you will find you need to weigh benefits VS cons. Also try splitting your meds to see if you can negate the reaction. I am ok with half an oxy or hydromorphine and food ( only with extreme pain of course) and whole Tylenol 3 with enough food.

good luck. You can figure this out with some trial and error