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Co-Codamol & Bypass

SO

I had the wonderful experience of having my IUD (hormonal coil), removed & replaced yesterday.

Knowing how painful it was being fitted the first time, and having not experienced having it replaced before, I decided to take 2 30mg codeine/500mg paracetamol tablets, as pain relief for women during such procedures really is just forgotten about. I'd eaten some protein stick things too.

Pre-surgery I'd taken these tablets fine, no side effects, but OMFG, as I was sitting in the waiting area before my procedure it hit me like a brick **** house.

I was sweating, nauseous, my stomach was cramping and pain was radiating into my back, I felt spacy and woozy and I was clearly very pale in my face and lips as the nurse went to get me a sick bowl ? Needless to say, instead of actually giving me pain relief, it actually made the entire experience so much worse ? I will not be taking them again!

Does anyone else have any experiences with medication effecting them differently?

Note to add: this medication was given to me by my surgeon for post-surgery!

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  • I don’t have any advice on the pain relief to add but I do want to say I’m so sorry that sounds awful. Also, i agree 100% that they overlook female procedures when it comes to pain relief. I had to ge

  • Bypass2Freedom
    Bypass2Freedom

    Note to self: don't accidentally OD on codiene again ??

  • Bypass2Freedom
    Bypass2Freedom

    @ShoppGirl It is so frustrating isn't it - I think pain has been so unfortunately normalised for women in terms of childbirth, periods etc, that we are just expected to be able to handle it and get on

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4 hours ago, Arabesque said:

I’m the same. Acetaminophen do nothing for me either. My surgeon said it would be okay to take NSAIDs with my sleeve (at about 2years) if I took half a dose & didn’t take them regularly. Think it’s likely more important to eat something g before & after taking them though to protect t your tummy a little more than the average person.

Like @SpartanMaker I wonder if it was too high a dose of the codeine too @Bypass2Freedom. Panadeine Forte (Australian) is a combined over the counter med but the dose is 500mg paracetamol and 30mg codeine.

PS: Codeine messes with my head. I get very irrationally emotional and spacy, Drove through a red light (thankfully no one else on the road) and then sobbed uncontrollably curled up on the floor in my kitchen (very Meryl in The Hours). Was my first & only time taking it. Doctor advised to always say I’m allergic to it because of that reaction.

It is so interesting the different advice that various surgeons give - mine has advised against NSAIDs but I suppose one here and there couldn't hurt if I needed it, though paracetamol does seem to do the trick for the most part! I definitely should have eaten something beforehand ?

Probably (definitely) too high a dose! I took that x2 so I should have really thought it through, but I think I was just real anxious for the procedure and just wasn't thinking!

Wow - that sounds like a really weird experience! I bet you have steered clear of that since! To be honest, I definitely got that spacy feeling!

6 hours ago, Arabesque said:

I’m the same. Acetaminophen do nothing for me either. My surgeon said it would be okay to take NSAIDs with my sleeve (at about 2years) if I took half a dose & didn’t take them regularly. Think it’s likely more important to eat something g before & after taking them though to protect t your tummy a little more than the average person.

Like @SpartanMaker I wonder if it was too high a dose of the codeine too @Bypass2Freedom. Panadeine Forte (Australian) is a combined over the counter med but the dose is 500mg paracetamol and 30mg codeine.

PS: Codeine messes with my head. I get very irrationally emotional and spacy, Drove through a red light (thankfully no one else on the road) and then sobbed uncontrollably curled up on the floor in my kitchen (very Meryl in The Hours). Was my first & only time taking it. Doctor advised to always say I’m allergic to it because of that reaction.

Panadeine Forte (Australian) is a combined over the counter med but the dose is 500mg paracetamol and 30mg codeine. That's what we get over the counter here in the UK to. The same does anyway. I got straight 30mg codeine after my operation. I was just told to take every 4 hours as needed. I didn't need any after day 1. It's so odd how doses are different for everyone.

  • 1 month later...
On 1/7/2025 at 8:07 AM, Bypass2Freedom said:

SO

I had the wonderful experience of having my IUD (hormonal coil), removed & replaced yesterday.

Knowing how painful it was being fitted the first time, and having not experienced having it replaced before, I decided to take 2 30mg codeine/500mg paracetamol tablets, as pain relief for women during such procedures really is just forgotten about. I'd eaten some Protein stick things too.

Pre-surgery I'd taken these tablets fine, no side effects, but OMFG, as I was sitting in the waiting area before my procedure it hit me like a brick **** house.

I was sweating, nauseous, my stomach was cramping and pain was radiating into my back, I felt spacy and woozy and I was clearly very pale in my face and lips as the nurse went to get me a sick bowl ? Needless to say, instead of actually giving me pain relief, it actually made the entire experience so much worse ? I will not be taking them again!

Does anyone else have any experiences with medication effecting them differently?

Note to add: this medication was given to me by my surgeon for post-surgery!

YESS!! Been there with codeine..exactly as you described..also in hidden stuff like certain cough mixtures,so read the label.

I also (in the past 16yrs since my bypass) have had the same reaction to Zydol, pai killer and Macrodantin,an antibiotic.

What will sort it within about 5mins,is a 40gm tablet of Losec...also,my Surgeon maintains that you can take NSAIDS short term if you take a 40gm losec with it.As I suffer from a crippling back, I do this so I can get some sleep.

Hope this helps☆

On 01/07/2025 at 08:01, NickelChip said:



I'm going to preface this by saying I am not a doctor and definitely in no position to give healthcare advice, but the most recent studies seem to indicate that very occasional ibuprofen use after a bypass does not significantly increase your risk of ulcers. Not all doctors are up on the research and some just don't want to change their advice on the off chance a patient has an issue, but some doctors will outright say that if you take an ibuprofen or two for a really bad headache or that one time you have an unusual pain, it's fine. You just don't want to exceed maybe once in a week or a few times in a month.




The study I read looked at outcomes for thousands of bypass and sleeve patients in Denmark who had been prescribed daily NSAIDs for less than 30 days or more than 30 days, and then looked at how many developed ulcers. Only the bypass patients who took them for more than 30 days had an incidence rate higher than the general population.


I had flu recently and liquid children’s Motrin got me through the worst of it. I stopped ASAP because I do have a history of nsaid damage but my doc said low doses of children’s meds in liquid form would be enough. I had the dosage for a 60lb kid at night only. I used powder Tylenol for kids during the day. Not sure if that would be strong enough for IUD placement. I had RNY 3 years ago.

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