Disclaimer: This is a post by Veritas,
a guest author of sixthseal.com. The author’s views and opinions does
not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of sixthseal.com.
Nurofen Plus – Each tablet contains 200 mg Ibuprofen and 12.8 mg Codeine
I’ve always heard of people getting off Codeine cough syrup back
home and there are many cases of nurses bumming Panadeine Forte tablets
off the hospital pharmacy over here. Codeine is classified as an opiate
agonist and is converted into morphine by the liver. I’ve never
experimented with opiates before so I’ve decided to start with this
relatively tame opiate. (skip the next part if you’re just interested
in the trip report)
The Nurofen Plus blister packs
Codeine cough syrup is Rx (prescription only) over here, but there
are many OTC (over the counter) Codeine containing preparations that
you can get without a prescription. These usually comes in tablet form
and is required by law to contain one other active ingredient in
addition to Codeine. This is usually paracetamol or aspirin.
Aside: I’ve heard of people trying to kill themselves with 12
tablets of Panadol (paracetamol/acetaminophen/APAP – they all refer to
the same thing) but the LD50 for APAP is 338 mg/Kg. Assuming someone is
50 kg, they will need 16900 mg or 169 tablets to reach the LD50 (the
dose which is has a 50% chance of being lethal). Assuming that the
person has low tolerance and requires half of the LD50 to kick the
bucket, that still comes to around 80+ tablets. Is there even enough
space in the stomach for that many tablets? (considering they need to
be washed down with water) This leads me to believe that all
paracetamol attempted suicides are cries for attention rather than a
serious attempt. It’s just not that practical to kill yourself with
paracetamol.
Front, back and side views of the tablets
After doing a bit of research, I found that the strongest OTC
Codeine preparation here is the relatively new Nurofen Plus, containing
200 mg of Ibuprofen and 12.8 mg of Codeine in each tablet. There are
newsgroup rumors that says the tablets can be split evenly in half,
with one half containing Codeine + filler only and the other half
containing Ibuprofen. Initial experimentation by myself indicated that
there is anecdotal evidence that the pill is indeed made up of two
halves glued together, coz it came off easily when broken. There is a
small split line lengthwise, covered by a bit of binder. I ate both
sides anyway anyway, I didn’t want to make a mistake and end up getting
all the Ibuprofen and no Codeine.
The tablets seems to split easily into two halves, one with the N+
(supposedly codeine + binder) and the other half is unmarked
(supposedly Ibuprofen)
The (recreational) Codeine FAQ
[erowid.org] states that a good starting dose is in the 30-60 mg range.
I decided to go for 102.4 mg of Codeine (8 tablets) and see what
effects I would get. I did not do a cold water extraction because it
seems that 1600 mg (8 x 200 mg) of Ibuprofen is within the safe range.
RxList reports that Ibuprofen is safe up to 3200 mg [rxlist.com] daily.
Trip Report
8 tablets @ 12.8 mg each = 102.4 mg of chill codeine
Substance: Codeine Phosphate (102.4 mg)
Set: In my room
Setting: Lying on the bed in my underwear. All lights turned off
except a soft table lamp. No distractions (cell phone off, no Internet).
Music: Pink Floyd: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Pink Floyd:
Obscured by Clouds, Velvet Underground, Velvet Underground –
Chronicles, Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon.
Reading: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, David Frampton (Illustrator).
Time: 11:58 pm
11:58 pm (T+ 0:00)
The 8 pills were crunched in my mouth coz they couldn’t be broken using
a saucepan and thick book.:) Nurofen Plus tablets are really sturdy.
Ibuprofen tastes really funky, all thick and chewy and “deep” and
tangy. Codeine tastes bitter, although not nearly as bitter as meth or
Ecstasy. I had to wash the goop down with lots of water coz little bits
keep on getting into my teeth cracks. Nurofen Plus does not powder
well. It only gets chewed down into goop. The goop tastes spicy. It has
been 5 hours after my last meal.
12:10 am (T+ 0:12)
The fan makes a small creak every time it turns
the sound is rather pleasant
12:13 am (T+ 0:15)
i am been re-reading a particularly witty paragraph in good omens
hehe
12:15 am (T+ 0:17)
hmm feeling slightly short of breath now
12:17 am (T+ 0:19)
oh no i just caught myself absently scratching my right shoulder
its itchy and so is my right thigh
12:20 am (T+ 0:22)
feeling a definite heaviness in my upper frontal lobe
hehe i can feel it so well i can localize the area
12:23 am (T+ 0:25)
ive been worrying my right shoulder all this while but i dun really
mind at all. it feels good to scratch and read a good witty book at the
same time
12:28 am (T+ 0:30)
i think im rather sedated now.im thinkin how awesome it is to enjoy the
simple things in life. reading a good book slowly savoring each word
and feeling contented coz there are still a lot to enjoy in this fine
book.snuggling under my covers in my underwear with the cool wind of
the fan softly caressing my skin.hmm i feel like a mills and boons
writer. the soft refrains of pink floyd adds to the warm feeling.
12:33 am (T+ 0:35)
hmm i moved to get my camera just now and it felt like moving thru water.slow and steady.i feel sedated.
🙂
12:38 am (T+ 0:40)
my face and hands feel slightly numb.esp my face.
12:39 am (T+ 0:41)
oh and my head is feeling real heavy now
its like its weighting my body down
1:02 am (T+ 1:04)
ive just been enjoying reading and scratching myself lazily for the past few minutes
usually itching pisses me off but now it just feels good to scratch.
1:10 am (T+ 1:12)
i noticed that codeine’s effects are rather subtle. my whole body feels
good, my head feels heavy and i have a nice sedated buzz. doing simple
things like quietly reading a book is enjoyable. in fact it feels nice
just to lay in the dark, doing nothing, happy with the knowledge that a
good book is nearby
1:25 am (T+ 1:27)
ive just been lying in the dark listening to pink floyd. i would never
have done that while sober. i would have felt that i was wasting my
time and go do something. i dont like to listen to mellow music
normally too. hmm i can just lie here and chill out without any worries.
1:35 am (T+ 1:37)
heh.im contended just to lie here in the dark, listening to the
cranberries ode to my family. yup i dragged myself out of bed to change
the playlist. i feel sedated. i would not have “wasted time” like this
normally. now i see this not as wasting time but giving my mind a nice
break.
1:45 am (T+ 1:47)
i feel so relaxed and sedated. just laying here in the dark without any
thoughts going thru my brain. how amazing. usually when i lie down
quietly my brain starts to worry or daydream, but now it can sit here
thinking nothing. its like i don,t have a care in the world. everything
is ok.
1:50 am (T+ 1:52)
i feel so chilled out its funny. hehe
2:03 am (T+ 2:05)
i can see why people can like opiates so much. it’s a really pleasent mind and body high. mmm…so chilled out and relaxed.
2:07 am (T+ 2:09)
so chilled out. heh. i know ive said this a lot of times already but im
in a chemically induced very good mood so ill say it again. so chilled
out. a warm and nice body high with a relaxed and nicely mellow mind.
comforting.
3:08 am (T+ 3:10)
i feel myself coming down now. getting clear headed and mildly
restless. i still feel a nice afterglow though. feeling sleepy now.
vertigo coupled with nausea experienced when not laying down. feeling
that 1600mg of ibu cant be good for my stomach
3:38 am (T+ 3:40)
drowsiness and significant nausea at the end of the trip. vertigo when
not lying down. very dizzy when not lying down. very close to throwing
up at the end. had to made a conscious decision not to. appetite
suppressed too. i forced myself to eat a bowl of instant noodles to
stave of the imminent ibu induced gastric. i really had a HUGE and
nearly unbearable urge to puke every time i swallow a small mouthfull
and gave up after the second mouthfull. retching and had to fight not
to throw up. instead i drank some milk of magnesia and brushed my teeth
and went to sleep
Postmortem:
I slept a good 12 hours last night. The sleep quality was very good,
with lots of REM sleep. I remembered a lot of weird dreams. I feel fine
after I woke up, no nausea. I noticed that I didn’t have the urge to go
to the toilet after I woke up too, even though I drank 1 liter of water
before I slept. I forced myself to go and ended up with only a small
quantity of urine. Codeine is an anti-diuretic so I’m not worried.
Urinary function has resumed normal function now (T+ 18:45). Codeine is
good to mellow out and relax. The effects are subtle and creep up on
you, leaving you in a good contented mood. I’m not inclined to repeat
the experience though, the nausea towards the end is really strong and
just thinking about the spicy tablets makes me queasy. 🙂 Codeine (and
probably other opiates) gives a really “empty” high, it’s like admiring
the beauty of nothingness.
