Is it ok to take pain killers as sleep aid?
Thursday, December 31st, 2009 at
5:00 pm
Im so frikkin sick of not being able to sleep. I drank way too much coffee and was hyper the whole day. I just want to sleep but I have insomnia and need a sleep aid. Unfortunately I don’t have any alcohol with me and that woulda helped so much. The only think close I got is the pain killer codeine. Would it help me to sleep? And is it ok to take it or could it be dangerous?
Tagged with: alcohol • codeine • coffee • google • Insomnia • pain killer • sleep • sleep aid
Filed under: Insomnia
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It sounds like you need a "quick-fix" sleep aid, and for that your best bet is an over counter sleeping pill. You can get sominex, nytol, benadryl, unisom, etc. They are all different brand names for the same ingredient: diphenhydramine HCl. Many drug stores sell the generic form of diphenhydramine so you can buy that and save some bucks.
Some people are hyper-sensitive to caffeine and not have any after 3PM. Alcohol does not work well for sleep. It will knock you out for 2-3 hours and then you will wake up and probably not be able to get back to sleep.
Below is a long list I once wrote about more natural ways to fall asleep. The list is so long that reading it might put you to sleep
What helped me a lot to fall asleep, especially when my mind was racing, was to lie in bed and listen to relaxation CDs, especially those that contain someone speaking with relaxing music in the background. The combination of voice and music is very soothing. Many of these CDs are available on eBay for very low prices.
A warm bath is a great way to help you to sleep (depending on the season). If you can’t take a bath, you can give yourself a foot massage with slightly warm massage oil, sesame oil, or castor oil from a health food store.
A helpful technique is to relax your body one part at a time. So you could relax your feet, your lower legs, upper legs, moving up from your lower belly up to your chest, etc., until your whole body is relaxed.
Of course, guided relaxation methods can help. As vividly as possible, imagine yourself at the beach, in the mountains or country, or whatever is most soothing to you.
If you have annoying thoughts that run through your mind when you are trying to sleep, you might have to talk to a counselor or therapist about that. I suggest avoiding prescription sleeping pills unless nothing else helps.
There are herbs that might help you to sleep, eg, valerian root, chamomile, hops, passion flower, skullcap. Probably, valerian root and kava kava are the best. However, what most people don’t realize is that it can take at least a few weeks for some herbs to build up in your system before they start to work.
The minerals calcium and magnesium might be helpful for sleep. You can also try 5-HTP or melatonin. I would not take melatonin for over a month unless your doctor says it is ok.
Codeine can cause drowsiness but it is inadvisable to use prescriptions for reasons other than their intended use. Codeine can also cause some people to get excitable or hyper. If you have never taken it before I would advise against it. In general it is best to have natural sleep without sedatives of any kind. Personally when I’m in your situation I just try to keep my mind as clear as possible and concentrate on my breathing. I can usually bore myself to sleep within an hour. Good luck.
It would probably be dangerous depending on the strength of the painkiller, and like the name "pain"killer, it’s there to remove pain, it might not be as effective in helping you sleep, it works differently to anti depressants i.e sleeping pills and alcohol
Can’t sleep, huh? I feel your pain. Unfortunately, Codeine will most likely NOT help you sleep – unless you are part of the small percentage of people who are made sleepy or drowsy enough to actually sleep, by opiates.
In it’s therapeutic capacity, it is not dangerous at all. Just don’t take the whole bottle! – Nor any more than is prescribed on your bottle.
Codeine is a standard, and rather weak opiate medication. Not only is it used for mild-moderate pain, but it is also an effective cough suppressant.
The way it works, is that Codeine is dissolved in the stomach, absorbed into the bloodstream, and metabolized by your liver. Within your liver, it is transformed by liver enzymes into Morphine. So, technically one experiences Morphine when taking Codeine: albeit in very small amounts.
Truthfully, many people find Codeine to be relaxing, or soothing – it IS a painkiller, after all – but it will most likely keep you up, if pain is not what is keeping you awake. I suggest you pass on the Codeine.
Here are some suggestions that truly work – take it from me: an on/off insomniac for many years..
-Valerian Root: this herb works well, the first few times you take it – then it loses its effectiveness, for some reason. The feeling is like natural sleepiness, and very smooth. A nice herbal supplement, which can be found at almost any supermarket.
-Tylenol PM or Advil PM: the active "sleepy" chemical in this medicine is Diphenhydramine. This is the very same primary active chemical in Benadryl. It is a useful sleep aid; but personally I found the next morning to be rather groggy and difficult… but I have heard plenty of others tell me they felt no drag in the morning. All subjective.
-Kava Kava: another botanical, which I have had very little experience with, but had favorable results. This one makes for a more soothing, relaxing feeling, as opposed to specifically "sleepiness". Many people advocate this one.
Good luck, and I hope you are soon able to drift away into dreams within dreams…
COFFEE is an UPPER, and believing so will also affect you psychologically but at the SAME TIME will lead you to AWAKE HOURS, thus living an INSOMNIA state . JUST DO AWAY with the Coffee and DON’T take a PAIN KILLER like CODEINE as well . WHY do you need to take the LATTER ? It’s dangerous on your Health as you DON’T need it . If you CAN’T SLEEP, try taking NIGHT SHIFTS on the JOB, or Enroll for an EVENING CLASS, or even DO GYMNASTICS in the Evening so to TIRE yourself and then be able TO SLEEP finally as you’re already EXHAUSTED . Or WATCH MOVIES or even OPEN a BUSINESS to attend to AT NIGHT . STOP MESSING YOURSELF with Drugs or Medicines unless you REALLY NEED to TAKE them .
codeine doesn’t help me sleep, why not exercise for 10 minutes that should
dissipate the coffee and settle you down.
Codeine is not an alternative medicine so I’m not sure why you posted here. It will not help you sleep, it causes insomnia.
What you need is an herbal tea like Sleepy Time and to stop drinking coffee.