HITS PAIN FAST-TAKE WITH CAUTION (Solpadeine)

Member Name: Laluhen

Product:	Solpadeine
Date:	14/07/09 (160 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: HITS PAIN FAST

Disadvantages: CAN MAKE YOU EXTREMELY DROWSY AND DIZZY

I have suffered from migraines since I was about 5 years old and I am now 32 and still suffering, as I have got older I have tried various forms of pain relief, from normal paracetamol or ibuprofen, to migraleve, to doctor prescribed Sumatriptan and Zolmatriptan, the last two are specifically for migraines and are a stronger medication, these two were the last strong tablets I took and they did work, however I have had two children and as you now you are only allowed to take paracetamol during pregnancy, so I had to stop taking them and I just suffered know end with migraines during both my pregnancies but I could not do anything about this, afterwards I did not what to go back to the really strong medication as it totally knocked me out and left me not being able to do much, with two children this isn't possible as they constantly need attention of some sort, I continued to take paracetamol whenever I got a migraine but this does not work for me in combating the pain that I get with a migraine, I then started to combine paracetamol with ibuprofen as advised by my doctor, this helped a bit, but I was later advised to stop using ibuprofen as I only had one kidney it could cause damage, so I was advised to try Solpadine, so this is when I discovered Solpadeine Max, and this is what I will be reviewing.

****Introduction to Solpadine (specifically Solpadine Max)****

I am not going to put any spin on this, I am just going to write what I have found out about this form of pain relief, I feel you need the facts and not my interpretation of the facts, I will let you know my experiences in a moment.
The following is taken from the leaflet that comes with the tablets, Solpadine Max contains two analgesics (painkillers), paracetamol and codeine, which work by different body routes to relieve pain. This medication is suitable for headache, migraine, dental pain, period pain, sinus pain, sciatica, lumbago, strains, sprains, arthritic and rheumatic pain, it also relieves discomfort in colds, influenza, sore throats and helps reduce temperature.

The above has all been taken from the Solpadine max leaflet, by know means am I an expert, like they say read the packaging, consult your doctor or ask the pharmacist before you take medicines you are unsure of.

****What does Solpadine max contain****

Each tablet contains the active ingredients paracetamol 500mg and codeine phosphate hemihydrate 12.8mg, they also contain various other ingredients such as soluble starch, lactose monohydrate etc etc, I am not a chemist so it is not my place to explain all the ingredients, if you need to know what else the tablets contain then I would advise to ask the pharmacist.

****How to take and cost****

These tablets are only for adults and children over twelve, you can take two tablets every four hours as required, you can not take it more frequently than this and you can not take more than eight in 24 hours, and you must not give to children younger than the required age. I normally buy a 30 tablet pack and these cost £5.57, I guess that this price can vary depending on where you purchase it from.

****How good is it at combating pain****

When I get a migraine, I can more often than not sense whether it is going to be a full blown one or whether it is due to me just needing to have a bite to eat or drink more, thus the migraine disappearing, for the full blown migraine I will decide whether I need to take just one tablet or whether I need two, for those that suffer from migraine, you can generally sense how it is going to turn out, for me it is a 50/50 split as to whether I take one or two tablets.
I will then just try to relax and at least sit down but hopefully be able to lie down, whether on the sofa or in bed. After about half an hour the tablet begins to work, and you can almost sense that the migraine is lifting, and easing up. I find that I rarely need to take anymore tablets, I can probably count on one hand the number of times that I have had to consume anymore than two.
After about an hour or two my migraine is generally gone, as much as this is a great feeling, I would not say that these tablets are a quick relief for migraines and that after this time you could carry on with your day, I have found that this not the case. Although it might get rid of your migraine, they do however make you extremely sleepy, so I definitely would not advise anyone to drive or operate anything that could harm themselves or anybody else, I know that they say this on packets, in this case it is true, it does say this on the leaflet enclosed so I would definitely take in the warning.

Normally if it is just me and my children at home then know matter how bad the migraine, I would only take 1 tablet and then try to relax as much as possible, I generally only take two if my husband is around to keep an eye on the children, as within about an hour I would be sound asleep, while this helps when having a migraine, you do have to think about the situation that you are in, in my case I need to consider my children and there safety, for others they need to consider the surroundings they are in.

These tablets are a great relief for migraine pain, but just please be warned about the after affects of taking this medication, I personally would only take these if I had severe pain, I definitely wouldn't use them for mild pain as paracetamol would most probably do the job here, I would advise anyone to just consider how bad the pain is at first before taking these tablets.

****To Conclude****

Please read the leaflet that comes with your medication or ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice, by know means am I qualified to tell you whether to take these or not, I am just letting you know what they have done for me and how they have benefited me, they might not have the same effect on other people, the leaflet states to not take to often as they may not work as well and also that if taken regularly they could cause addiction, consider all factors before you use this, and as I have said, decide on the severity of the pain first as a regular paracetamol could work just as well.

These tablets work well for me if I am able to be left to relax and if I have someone around who can help with my children, I have recently been told by my doctor at the hospital that I should stop taking these tablets as it could damage the one kidney that I have, one doctor says I can take them and one says not to, so I have to decide what to do, I finally find something that can help with the horrid pain caused by migraine, only to be told that I should just use paracetamol, so I might just use these when my migraine is severe, and for any other pain stick to paracetamol.

I have only given these tablets three stars as although they do work extremely well they do need to be taken with caution, please if you are going to take them then do so with caution.

Summary: A GOOD PAINKILLER, BUT BE CAREFUL.