Dihydrocodeine - Side Effects

Side Effects

As with other opioids, tolerance and physical and psychological dependence develop with repeated dihydrocodeine use. All opioids can impair the mental and/or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks such as driving or operating machinery if taken in large doses.

Itching and flushing and other effects of blood vessel dilation are also common side effects, due to histamine release in response to the drug using one or more types of receptors in the CNS and/or other responses elsewhere in the body. First-generation antihistamines such as tripelennamine (Pyrabenzamine), clemastine (Tavist), hydroxyzine (Atarax), diphenhydramine (Benadryl), cyproheptadine (Periactin), brompheniramine (Dimetapp), chlorphenamine (Chlor-Trimeton), doxylamine (NyQuil) and phenyltoloxamine (Percogesic Original Formula) not only combat the histamine-driven side effects, but are analgesic-sparing (potentiating) in various degrees. The antihistamine promethazine (Phenergan) may also have a positive effect on hepatic metabolism of dihydrocodeine as it does with codeine. Higher doses of promethazine may interfere with most other opioids with the exception of the pethidine family (Demerol and the like) by this and/or other unknown mechanisms.

Other side effects include giddiness and a sense of hyperactivity. Many patients and experts have pointed out that many opiates have the effect of generating empathy and improving interpersonal skills in a manner analogous to, but subjectively different from, MDMA, MDA, and many related amphetamine-variant hallucinogens. Dihydrocodeine and hydrocodone seem to have this effect somewhat in excess of their theoretical analgesic potency as compared to other opioids. SS Bron and other formulations containing ephedrine or to a lesser extent dihydrocodeine analogues of the Tylenol With Codeine series with caffeine will intensify this effect; of course one can always take pure dihydrocodeine along with those ingredients, or other stimulants. Such mixtures are also superior in relieving many kinds of pain.

As with all drugs, side effects depend on the person taking the medication. They can range in severity from mild to extreme, from headaches to difficulty breathing.

Constipation is the one side-effect of dihydrocodeine and almost all opioids which is near-universal. It results from the slowing of peristalsis in the gut and is a reason why dihydrocodeine, ethylmorphine, codeine, opium preparations, and morphine are used to stop diarrhoea and combat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in its diarrhoeal and cyclical forms as well as other conditions causing hypermotility and/or intestinal cramping. Opium/Opioid preparations are used often as a last resort, where pain is severe and the Bowels are organically loose. It is generally better to treat IBS with a non psycho-tropic opioid such as Loperamide hydrochloride which stays contained in the Bowel, thereby not causing drowsy effects and allowing many people to work using machines etc. For IBS, hyoscine butybromide (Buscopan in the uk) and meberverine hydrochloride (Colofac) can be effective with or without an opium related compound.