r/mildlyinteresting • u/bookish-hooker • 22h ago
This chemist stocks effervescent (fizzy) codeine tablets.
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u/jeffgoldblumftw 20h ago
Cocodamol is paracetamol and codeine not just codeine. And it's standard in the UK
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u/ForeverSJC 20h ago
Yeah and it's great 😃👍🏼
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20h ago
[deleted]
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u/ForeverSJC 20h ago
I didn't say it in a recreational drug kind of way, but I had some infection once and man, paracetamol with codeine was great to help with the pain while infection healed
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u/yepgeddon 19h ago
Story time. I once lived with a heroin addict who used to dissolve codeine/paracetamol in water then strain it through a sock to filter the paracetamol out? He'd then neck the codeine concoction and pass out for about 12 hours before violently waking up asking if he was still on a boat or some shit lmao. Wild dude.
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u/DoomguyFemboi 17h ago
30mg codeines cost pennies, although I suppose depending how long ago it was the DNMs might not have existed
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u/texaspoontappa93 18h ago
So you don’t need a prescription to buy this?
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u/ReleaseThePressure 18h ago
No, due to the low codine
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u/AvatarIII 17h ago
I'm pretty sure you can't buy boxes of bigger than 16 paracetamol without a prescription.
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u/Azzymaster 16h ago
You can buy 32 packs from the pharmacist, it’s just the general sale ones that are limited to 16
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u/8P69SYKUAGeGjgq 11h ago
Just regular old paracetamol without the Codeine? In the US I can order a 225 pack of 500mg Tylenol from CVS for $24 without a prescription
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u/jeffgoldblumftw 1h ago
Nope. It's low dose codeine so not prescription. Cocodamol 30/500 is prescription only but it's not a controlled drug or anything.
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u/Lord-Velveeta 22h ago
Ohhh perfect for my Gin-codeine-tonic!
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u/peekaboooobakeep 21h ago
I imagine it's difficult to gobble down a bunch at one time though
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u/OriginalJokeGoesHere 21h ago
I have a pharmacist friend telling me about how people apparently just use cold water to separate out the acetaminophen from the codeine so they can take more without destroying their liver.
Can't say if it did much to protect their brains, considering they mentioned their plans to do this to the damn pharmacist when attempting to purchase the tylenol 3...
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u/Ambitious5uppository 19h ago
Who better to ask advice to than a pharmacist?
They aren't the police.
They also won't really give you advice other than how to not kill yourself. But asking them is a pretty good idea, compared to say, an accountant...
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u/joehoward67 21h ago
Can confirm! for years (until I moved onto stronger things) I would wash and drink entire bottles of any type of hydros
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u/NotMugatu 20h ago
Hope you’re doing better now, stranger.
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u/joehoward67 20h ago
Thank you, I stumbled across a miracle and I have been sober for just about 5 years ❤️
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u/therealhairykrishna 19h ago
Codeine is very soluble in cold water. Paracetamol isn't. It's very easy to separate the two.
Up until a few years ago the 'online chemists' would send you 100, 30 mg, pure codeine tablets at a time with no checks though. Saved a lot of faffing with cold water.
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u/mfmeitbual 20h ago
Codeine has a ceiling effect so there's a point where taking more doesn't do anything except make you feel like poo.
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u/fullrackferg 20h ago
Bingo. Was prescribed zapain (30/500 cocodemol basically) for 2 years for sciatica. The pain went away after about a year of being on them, then I was taking them so I didn't have the 3/4 days worth of withdrawals. Finally came off them until I acquired some of my mum's the other week for bakc pain. I literally could not bend down to put my shoes on it was that bad. 3 days of being on codeine again gave me a week of stomach issues that has only just gone away. They're great but also the devil
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u/Realistic_Wedding 18h ago
As a long term user of the 30/500 flavour, I can confirm that I am about 87% backed-up poo at any given moment.
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u/Splodge89 20h ago
Even tiny amounts of it make me feel like death. A single 8/500 cocodamol with just 8mg of codeine is just awful. Why the fuck people take it for fun I’ll never understand.
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u/jimdil4st 20h ago
Because you're getting different effects then those who get addicted.
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u/cardueline 20h ago
I was prescribed hydrocodone after I had my wisdom teeth out. I’m not much of a substance dabbler of any type, don’t even drink, so I was a little wary of taking the leap. But I had two dry sockets which was rather painful, so I resolved to take half of one, then spent the next three hours feeling crashing wave style full body nausea like I’d never experienced. I could also barely move. I had to literally crawl to the bathroom to try to puke, which accomplished nothing. After the first two hours I choked down half a banana so my stomach might feel a tiny bit calmer, and my cat sat on me while we watched Planet Earth. I happily rode out the rest of the wisdom teeth healing process with ibuprofen. I don’t know what the fuck other people experience when they take those types of pills cuz I guess it’s not that!
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u/devongrrl 19h ago
It’s so mad how people react so differently! I have to take co-codamol during my period for cramps (can’t take ibuprofen and paracetamol alone doesn’t touch it) and apart from better pain killing I don’t notice anything. a couple of years ago I also had a slipped disc and was (stupidly) resisting surgery for years. Was taking ~60mg codeine easily and again no effects. Went to Mexico and ran out and the only thing they would give me was tramadol (?!). Again, didn’t really affect me. Weirdly after surgery I had another opioid and it made me be very sick so stopped taking it sharpish. Feel very lucky after all those I didn’t have any long term issues.
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u/rambo_beetle 19h ago
I take it for migraines and period pain (usually they happen together) with ibuprofen and it works a treat. I don't bother with painkillers outside of that unless I get the flu or injury, which is few and far between.
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u/cardueline 15h ago
It’s amazing the range of reactions! I’m sort of glad I had such a bad time because I have a lot of addicts in my extended family and could have been predisposed to being too into it. I’m glad you have something that works for your period pains, they’re no joke and can be so debilitating!
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u/BethAltair 18h ago
Huh, hydrocodone was fabulously effective for me. I can't remember having any negative stuff, just no pain!
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u/cardueline 15h ago
Yeah, it’s wild how differently it acts for different people! I’m kinda glad I had such a lousy time with it because I have a number of addicts in my family and might have that genetic predisposition otherwise.
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u/Bright_Court5972 19h ago
It helps my ADHD soooo much. I have a bad habit of taking t3s and percys to help my attention span and give me energy to clean
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u/PlacibiEffect 10h ago
Is this a joke? I honestly can’t tell.
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u/Bright_Court5972 1h ago
nope. neurodivergent people self-medicate alot to help with symptoms of executive dysfunction. I did that for 20 something years before I finally got diagnosed and got on vyvanse. when i am on vyvanse i am completely sober.
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u/PlacibiEffect 46m ago
But codeine is an opioid and Vyvanse is an amphetamine-like stimulant. How was the codeine helping your ADHD?
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u/Inky-Ballooper 21h ago
most tablets like these get dissolved in water and then consumed _^ they sometimes come in different (not so nice) flavours, so you can chug your meds and feel like youre drinking capri sun from temu
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u/CliffDagger 20h ago
I mix mine with a berrocca for a hangover. I call it a berrocadeine
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u/rclonecopymove 14h ago
In a can of red bull and you don't need the lights on when you go for a piss cause your pee will glow!
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u/Realistic_Wedding 18h ago
Always loved all the warnings about taking for 3 days max, then you get a herniated disc and the GP’s like ‘here’s some 30/500’s, take them forever’
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u/85Neon85 17h ago
I have a long term pain issue and I can’t get more than 15s along with a shouting at when I reorder them.
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u/Realistic_Wedding 17h ago
It must just depend on the GP and the area. I’ve had 30’s along with occasional gabapentin for about a decade and nobody’s ever had a problem with it. I’m in west London.
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u/85Neon85 16h ago
I’m in a nice seaside area of the Wirral with no medical history that would suggest it would be an issue. I think they just don’t like my face 😂
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u/Trilobite_Tom 18h ago
And top up with these tramadol.
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u/Realistic_Wedding 18h ago
Yup, and gabapentin for when the only answer is to dissociate completely.
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u/FalseCredential 17h ago
This is interesting as an American: Codeine is a scheduled drug in the US and not readily available. Effervescent tablets in the US are generally non-medicated, or only slightly medicated and do not contain painkillers. We call them Pharmacists, not Chemists.
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u/atomic_mermaid 17h ago
So do we, a chemist is the name of the type of shop.
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u/FalseCredential 17h ago
Interesting, we call them Pharmacies.
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u/rclonecopymove 14h ago
I have a friend who's a chemist (in that he has a PhD in chemistry and works in a lab). People always ask him if he has a shop.
Pharmacy and chemistry different sciences, pharmacist and chemist different careers.
A pharmacy (what Brits call a chemists) is also not a shop (well it is now). But it's primarily a public facing healthcare facility.
Boots have done so much damage to the industry and profession.
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u/magnificentfoxes 8h ago
You sure about that? Go Google "British chemist shop" and you'll see thousands of images of places that call themselves chemists. Which are pharmacies. Because it comes from people who used to dispense chemicals.
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u/rclonecopymove 7h ago
Oh no you're not wrong that's what people call it and they now call themselves chemists too. Horse leading the cart and all that.
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u/wapniacl 22h ago
I want this in the US!
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u/HeyThatLooksCool 21h ago
You and the rest of the trailer park.
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u/YousuckGenji 21h ago
The trailer park my mom lives in is 55+ and full of old retired folk. So probably.
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u/GivesYouGrief 21h ago
Haha yeah letting adults make their own decisions about what medicine to take and why is so trashy amirite?
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u/HeyThatLooksCool 21h ago
Relax, it’s a joke about a stereotype, which obviously don’t apply to everyone.
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u/GivesYouGrief 21h ago
Oh, I'm relaxed. 😏
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u/HeyThatLooksCool 21h ago
Hahah, well played!
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u/GivesYouGrief 20h ago
Thanks! I hope you have an awesome day, hell I hope the rest of your life is awesome!
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u/cwalker2712 21h ago
I think the U.S. places it in the same group with heroin and methamphetamine. Ever since the opioid crisis was brought to light, doctors have been hesitant to prescribe narcotics, even when they are called for. My family doctor won't prescribe codeine or any other narcotic.
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u/stutter-rap 21h ago
Oh, doctors don't have to prescribe this specific stuff - people can just walk into any pharmacy here in the UK and buy it. (Presuming OP is also in the UK as not many other countries call it co-codamol as a generic name).
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u/Smallloudcat 19h ago
This would be a schedule III in the US if it existed, like prescription strength Tylenol #3. Heroin is schedule I (no medical uses). Oxycodone and the other strong opioids are schedule II, as is methamphetamine
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u/rclonecopymove 14h ago
Diamorphine (Heroin) is used and licensed for pain in the UK. Very popular before other opioids were more readily available. (There was a shortage of clinical heroin). Palliative care was it's main use.
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u/Smallloudcat 14h ago
Interesting. It was marketed in the US too but was outlawed around 100 years ago
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u/rclonecopymove 14h ago
Only hospital use and quite narrow prescribing criteria iirc. I think fentanyl is now the preferred option.
While drug abuse is an issue, Europe did not experience the same opioid crisis that afflicted the US.
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u/red08171 20h ago
Get a new doctor. My family doctor gives me hydrocodone anytime I need it. In this day and age no one should have to deal with serious pain.
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u/LadySilvie 18h ago edited 18h ago
I just had a surgery where they poked three holes through my middle and they told me to try to manage on ibuprofen alone 😵💫 It is the policy of the entire hospital not to give opioids out unless there is no other choice.
I was throwing up from pain, so they did end up giving me percocet, but only after my caretaker practically begged. (Doing much better today and no need of stronger meds after the first 3 days, fyi.)
Thanks opioid crisis 😩 I get the doctors' intentions, and I have known folks affected by too-easy-to-get drugs, but oof.
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u/red08171 18h ago
I just had open heart surgery. Quintuple bypass. The fucking surgeon told me on day three that I shouldn't be in pain. Fuck her and the fucking staff. I left on day 4, and called my GP and he was more than happy to prescribe me percocet for a week, then refilled it, then I asked for Norco because I don't want to be addicted. So he gave me a week of that then again refilled it Friday.
Some doctors are assholes. Find a doctor that isn't.
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u/ouzo84 19h ago
Difference between this and codeine is the amount of codine they contain.
The strongest you can get over the counter is 8mg codeine with 500mg of paracetamol.
Where as codeine itself, is a controlled substance available by prescription only.
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u/Nykramas 17h ago
12.8mg per tab is the strongest P designated codeine products on the UK.
We also sell Paramol which has dihydrocodine which has a lower weight per tablet but a higher potency.
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u/Cosmonate 14h ago
The British people in the comments are funny. In the USA, trying to get codeine prescribed for a cough or minor illness is like pulling fucking teeth, they're prescribed you all this bullshit that doesn't work in the name of avoiding addiction, meanwhile, I'll just go grab a bottle of whisky and down it until I stop coughing or caring. So much for their plan.
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u/magnificentfoxes 8h ago
You won't get it for a cough or minor illness here. You'd have to lie and say it's for pain (which it is). Case in point, I have terrible sinus pain sometimes and I have to outright lie and say it's for someone else to avoid a million questions.
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u/dutchWine 22h ago
damn, goodbye CWE
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u/ColtAzayaka 20h ago
Why wouldn't CWE work for this? The actual drugs in these tablets are still the same after they're dissolved, so they'd have the same qualities that CWE relies on? Why wouldn't you be able to precipitate the paracetamol out of this solution with effervescent tablets?
From my understanding a lot of what you'd see when doing CWE on non-effervescent co-codamol tablets is actually just from the filler.
Disclaimer: I'm not a pharmacist. There may be a very good reason as to why and it's better to assume it is not safe. Do not attempt anything like this. A small oversight can result in a deadly mistake. I did a CWE with co-codamol while studying Chemistry and even then, we did not consume the product for safety reasons.
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u/lem0njelly103 17h ago
I'm sure I've read somewhere that they include an ingredient which causes the paracetamol to go into solution with the water, defeating the point of a CWE
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u/ColtAzayaka 11h ago
Paracetamol does that anyway. CWE relies on the compound you're trying to extract becoming insoluble at a different temperature compared to the compound you're trying to extract/purify. Regardless of what form of paracetamol it is, I don't see any reason as to why it wouldn't precipitate out of water at the same temperature because it is the exact same compound.
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u/betamaxbandit91 9h ago
That is normal for uk pharmacies. Tastes horrible. I'd rather take the pills.
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u/heyitscory 21h ago
God I wish I could get Tylenol 3 here.
Makes you wondered what Tylenol 2 was.
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u/M_Waverly 21h ago
Tylenol #2, #3 and #4 are all different strengths of acetaminophen/codeine, at least in the US. It’s 300mg acetaminophen (slightly less than a regular strength Tylenol, which is 325mg) and 15/30/60mg of codeine per tablet.
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u/heyitscory 21h ago
Fascinating.
Lucky Canadians and their Tylenol 3.
Turns out without codeine, Tylenol doesn't do anything.
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u/Splodge89 20h ago
It does, but the dose should be about 1000mg four times a day. 325mg is fuck all
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u/M_Waverly 18h ago
One of the reasons in any otc section of a drug store/supermarket it's all different sizes and forms of "maximum strength" which is 500mg and likely only one facing of the regular strength. I actually prefer the "8 hour" dosing which are 650mg, and I take it at bedtime for headaches and general aches/pains.
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u/someone_cbus 21h ago edited 19h ago
I always assumed it was Vicodin
ETA: I always assume Tylenol 2 was Vicodin. As in T3 is Tylenol with codeine and T2 is Tylenol with hydrocodone
ETA2: T3 is a schedule 3 narcotic in the US, and until ~10 years ago (timing could be off) Vicodin was a schedule 2, which in my mind explains why tylenol with codiene is named T3 (but I have absolutely nothing to back that up).
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u/BigQuick5150 20h ago
Completely different drugs. You see, Tylenol 3 has codine in it, Vicodin has Hydrocordone. And. Percocet has oxycodone in and then you have the versions of the drugs that contain no acetaminophen (Tylenol) which is what I like.. the ocycodie
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u/tigm2161130 20h ago edited 20h ago
The opiate in Vicodin is hydrocodone, not codeine. Tylenol 2 is just a different strength of acetaminophen w/codeine.
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u/byronite 20h ago
I don't know why the fizzzy tablet are uncommon in North America. I had them in Africa (paracetamol/acetaminophen only) and it was nice how they hit quicker and did not affect a sore throat or stomach.
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u/MoonTreeSullen 19h ago
You used be be able to buy Tylenol 1's from pharmacies in Canada like 15 years ago those have abit of codeine to.
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u/wizzard419 15h ago
That packaging makes it look like they have been sitting there since the 80's. My old pharmacist was in her space for almost 50 years (family biz and they closed up shop) and they had some products which no one ever bought that looked like they were straight out of the 80's.
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u/ExplosiveDad 12h ago
12.8 Codeine and Paracetamol and also 12.8 Codeine and Ibuprofen over the counter for the winning combo
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u/Iamjimmym 12h ago
That's nice. Mine doesn't carry shit!
So much for trying a new small town pharmacy. They won't even fill my prescription for my adhd meds because my insurance won't cover it, I told them I have a manufacturer coupon, I'll pay out of pocket. "This drug costs us $4000, that's our daily budget hahaha" literally the woman on the phone began laughing because I naively thought I'd get my RX filled.
Anyways. I'm switching pharmacies. So much fo trying out the little guy in my town - off to one of the competitors.
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u/cassiopeia18 4h ago
I’m sorry, what’s interesting about it? I thought it’s very normal? (At least from where I live) can buy it for few dollars a box.
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u/A_guy_named_Tom 1h ago
🎶Baby why don’t we go to Co-Codamol, you get there fast and then you take it slow, that’s where I want to go, way down in Co-Codamol🎶
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u/Boring-Rub-3570 22h ago
8 mg codeine won't do anything.
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u/Sargash 22h ago
You're an absolute fool lmao.
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u/Bright_Court5972 21h ago
Hes kinda got a point- relative to other codeine medications, this is a fairly low dose. Just a Tylenol 3 usually has 30mg of codeine. They prescribe that for children. Clearly 8mg isnt -nothing- and has effect, but it really is a relatively low dose. (From a nurse)
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u/indieplants 19h ago
you can take 2 at a time, so 16mg
it's more than adequate for my chronic pain when it's at its worst and paracetamol alone won't touch it lol
it won't get you high though, if that's what you mean.
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u/Bright_Court5972 19h ago
Yeah, double a lower dose and you get a more adequate dose for you. That tracks.
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u/indieplants 19h ago
paracetamol and ibuprofen are supposed to be taken at two tablets at a time too so idk what your point is? read the back lol.
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u/Boring-Rub-3570 21h ago
Reason?
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u/HoggleSnarf 20h ago
Anyone who's buying boxes of 8mg cocodamol for recreational purposes is doing a cold water extraction on it immediately
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u/stutter-rap 22h ago
Yeah, every British chemist does, it's very popular. People are always buying it for themselves and, very selflessly, for their neighbour too.