Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Opiate Drugs And Celiac


ENF

Recommended Posts

ENF Enthusiast

I know that Gluten can mimic the effects of opiates in cases of Celiac. I've also heard anecdotal evidence that opiate-derived painkillers are not good for people with Celiac disease. I have never liked Tylenol with Codeine - it makes me very weak, I feel horrible and doesn't work well for pain. I was in the hospital a few months ago for eye socket surgery. I was under the impression that I could go home the same day, and many people do for this procedure, but they gave me a shot of Demerol for pain and I could hardly move. I ended up staying overnight, and did not feel well the next day either, but went home anyway. Naturally, they gave me a Tylenol w/Codeine Rx to take with me which was useless, and I ended up using regular Tylenol. Anybody else have a problem with Opiates like this? Are there strong substitute drugs that are not derived from Opium? If there are problems with Codeine and Demerol, then Morphene would be probably be even worse. I'm concerned about possible future medical procedures.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Gemini Experienced
I know that Gluten can mimic the effects of opiates in cases of Celiac. I've also heard anecdotal evidence that opiate-derived painkillers are not good for people with Celiac disease. I have never liked Tylenol with Codeine - it makes me very weak, I feel horrible and doesn't work well for pain. I was in the hospital a few months ago for eye socket surgery. I was under the impression that I could go home the same day, and many people do for this procedure, but they gave me a shot of Demerol for pain and I could hardly move. I ended up staying overnight, and did not feel well the next day either, but went home anyway. Naturally, they gave me a Tylenol w/Codeine Rx to take with me which was useless, and I ended up using regular Tylenol. Anybody else have a problem with Opiates like this? Are there strong substitute drugs that are not derived from Opium? If there are problems with Codeine and Demerol, then Morphene would be probably be even worse. I'm concerned about possible future medical procedures.

As long as the painkiller is gluten-free, there should be absolutely no problem for a Celiac to take them. I have never heard of opiates being a problem for Celiacs and, as I have taken them for dental surgery and had zero problems with them, I would think that just another case of misinformation. Some opiates may bother or not agree with someone but it isn't related to gluten. I cannot take codeine, either, as it upsets my stomach but I can take Vicodin, which is a powerful painkiller.

It works like a charm, too! ;) Vicodin is gluten-free and the one I always ask for.

Painkillers given in shot form that do not pass through the GI tract would not cause any gluten related symptoms either, even if they did contain a gluten derivative.

You have to eat it for it to cause a reaction. It sounds like you are just sensitive to painkillers, in general. Many people are, especially if you aren't used to consuming them. Maybe if you need them again, ask for Vicodin. It works really well for killing pain and doesn't upset the stomach. It's one of the few that completely agrees with me so maybe you'll have luck with it also.

Roda Rising Star

Any type of pain killer or anethetic almost works to good for me. I don't take even tylenol or ibuprofen much so when I had a car acdident the lortab 5 they gave me really packed a punch. When I have dental anethesia one shot will numb me from the top of my head down past my collar bone. Ugg didn't like that much. My throat was numb too (only 1/2). So now I just get the numbing medication that goes just around the tooth. The dentist said that it usually only works that way mostly on kids because of their different structure. I guess I'm weird and a kid at heart. :lol: I had an epidural with my second child and I could not feel a thing and they could have sawed off my legs with a dull butter knife and I would'nt have cared. It took more than usual to wear off too. The epidural was turned off around 2:00 in the afternoon and I didn't get feeling back till around 7 that evening and still had noodle legs. For my husband dental anethesia does not work much at all. He has to grin and bear it for fillings and percocet for him does not eliminate the pain per se just makes it so he doesn't care that he is in pain. Morphine works alright but he get really gabby and can't be quiet.

ENF Enthusiast
As long as the painkiller is gluten-free, there should be absolutely no problem for a Celiac to take them. I have never heard of opiates being a problem for Celiacs and, as I have taken them for dental surgery and had zero problems with them, I would think that just another case of misinformation. Some opiates may bother or not agree with someone but it isn't related to gluten. I cannot take codeine, either, as it upsets my stomach but I can take Vicodin, which is a powerful painkiller.

It works like a charm, too! ;) Vicodin is gluten-free and the one I always ask for.

Painkillers given in shot form that do not pass through the GI tract would not cause any gluten related symptoms either, even if they did contain a gluten derivative.

You have to eat it for it to cause a reaction. It sounds like you are just sensitive to painkillers, in general. Many people are, especially if you aren't used to consuming them. Maybe if you need them again, ask for Vicodin. It works really well for killing pain and doesn't upset the stomach. It's one of the few that completely agrees with me so maybe you'll have luck with it also.

Thanks, but I am not "sensitive to painkillers, in general", since I can take everything else including aspirin, naproxen sodium (Aleve), Ibuprofen (Motrin), Acetamiophen (Tylenol), and others. Novacaine, which is not an opiate, is also fine. Only drugs containing opiates give me problems - and these reactions are not gastrointestinal, they're more neurological and very debilitating as well.

vampkestrel Rookie

I have a bit of trouble with opiate mainly because they don't work. I had surgey last year as well, the tried demirol, morphine, viacodan and then finally the only one that worked on me was talwin. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia first and I went through a whole slew of pain killers that never did a thing. I always wondered if it was due to my celiacs that the meds just never quite worked with me.

Mtndog Collaborator

I cannot tolerate codeine at all. They gave it to me after my wisdom teeth surgery and I was a nut bag......tried to leave the house in my underwear :lol:

Many of them make me either out of it or depressed. The only one that works and does not make me that way is percocet. It took some trial and error to find it, but thank God I did as I have severe chronic pain from Lyme disease.

JNBunnie1 Community Regular
Thanks, but I am not "sensitive to painkillers, in general", since I can take everything else including aspirin, naproxen sodium (Aleve), Ibuprofen (Motrin), Acetamiophen (Tylenol), and others. Novacaine, which is not an opiate, is also fine. Only drugs containing opiates give me problems - and these reactions are not gastrointestinal, they're more neurological and very debilitating as well.

Utterly unrelated to your question, may I recommend a bit o' hair of the dog to help you sleep? Alcohol's one of the best drugs out there for making you not care about pain. I'd also recommend a toke or two, but oh right, we haven't bothered to make it legal yet.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



ENF Enthusiast
Utterly unrelated to your question, may I recommend a bit o' hair of the dog to help you sleep? Alcohol's one of the best drugs out there for making you not care about pain. I'd also recommend a toke or two, but oh right, we haven't bothered to make it legal yet.

I agree.

Alcohol is good in some cases, but in NY we're waiting for decriminalization of the other stuff for medical use - currently there's all kinds of domestic stuff floating around but it's hard to get the right varieties for specific uses, such as sleeping, pain, etc., so I don't bother too much with it.

ang1e0251 Contributor

I cannot tolerate any narcotics. Make me vomit on the spot and that's morphine injection or demeral pills. I just tell them upfront do not give them to me. Fenergen also does that to me. Ironic that it's to calm your stomach but it makes me vomit over and over.

DH cannot handle narcotics either. With him, he just turns mean and abusively mouthy. He finally figured that the pills for his back were going to end our marriage and got off them, thank God.

Gemini Experienced
Utterly unrelated to your question, may I recommend a bit o' hair of the dog to help you sleep? Alcohol's one of the best drugs out there for making you not care about pain. I'd also recommend a toke or two, but oh right, we haven't bothered to make it legal yet.

Very, very true! I guess it depends on the application but a glass of red wine with an Advil does wonders for pain in general! ;)

I think some people are just sensitive to certain narcotics and what may work well for some does not work well for others. I don't think being a Celiac has anything to do with it unless you are not healed and not absorbing the meds properly. It also depends on what type of pain a person will be in....bone pain vs. soft tissue pain. I think it boils down to trial and error.

ENF Enthusiast

I do think that having celiac is causing some of us to have a problem with opiates, either all of them or certain types - there is a growing body of scientific studies that shows how similar gliadin is to opiates when it goes to the brain - not the opioid receptors, but ones that are very similar to them. I'm no scientist, but I'm sure that somebody who is qualified will eventually do some research on this. Possibly, the opioids are getting channeled to the wrong receptors, or setting something else off. We are wired differently than non-celiacs, and often there is neurological damage causing various other problems, other than gastrointestinal, for Celiacs.

An opioid is a chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. The receptors in these two organ systems mediate both the beneficial effects and the side effects of opioids.

(bold mine)

babysteps Contributor

If I take anything with codeine, I can't keep food down.

So I use ibuprofin instead and get to eat!

Once in college when I went to the health center with a fever, they gave me tylenol. Which I threw up about 5 minutes later. The nurses said that they had never seen this, plopped me in a tepid bath instead (the pill didn't come out whole so they had to assume that I'd metabolized the drug). I think I do usually tolerate tylenol, but take it so rarely not sure I've got a strong basis for that statement...

Not sure if this is related to gluten or celiac in any way, but that's the way my body reacts.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - Wheatwacked replied to Nicbent35's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      12

      3 year old gluten intolerance?

    2. - Beverage commented on Scott Adams's article in Gluten-Free Foods & Beverages
      1

      Safe Gluten-Free Spices and Brands: A Celiac Disease Guide

    3. - Beverage replied to Dawn Meyers's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      18

      Vaccines

    4. - trents replied to CeliacMom502's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      23

      Facial pain

    5. - Mnofsinger replied to CeliacMom502's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      23

      Facial pain


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      127,959
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Kate L
    Newest Member
    Kate L
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121k
    • Total Posts
      70.5k

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Wheatwacked
      My mom said when he was born "you got what you gave".  Until 5 years of he was gluten free, was well liked by his friends, although did get them into mischief at times, a leader of his group of friends, physically active and paid attention, as much as any preschooler.      At 5 years old we moved to my hometown and had to rely on our friends, my pediatrition (still the best doctor I ever had), my wife was a nurse so her aquaintences and doctor friends.  They all still believed back in 1980's that Celiac was a growing phase, and he wanted to be like everyone else.  So everyone's opinion was that if he tolerates gluten with no symptoms he had outgrown it.  He passed the summer at the beach (lots of vitamin D) was a prodegy swimmer and the whole team liked him and he fit in well.     Fall came, he started kindergarden school, less sun ( low vitamin D, Seasonal Affective Disorder is real), new people and a morning schedule that did not end up in a fun, active day at the beach.  Getting him going got more difficult.  By the first teacher-parent meeting in December, they brought up the subject.  He was disruptive in class.  By then we had forgotten what his doctor said 5 years earlier.  So he was diagnosed as ADHD.      Competitive swimming was his saving grace.  All though High School he continued to swim with his competetive team most days after or before school and with the beach club team in addition in the summer.  Some records he set lasted years.  After high school he became a professional ocean guard. Now getting close to retirement.  But always had difficulty concentrating on schoolwork.      He, and his wife, incidentally, is now having the health problems that I just have just gotten rid of.  I had forgotten what the doctor said to us 60 years earlier, bout Celiac Disease being hereditory.  He is starting to listen, but still in denial.  Loves his pizza.  At 63 I had arthritis, fibromyalgia, sleep apnea, enlarged prostate, alcoholism and I got dumber as the years passed.  They all are gone with gluten free and vitamin replenishment. My wife had allergies, endometriosis, fertility problems and miscarriages.  She passed 18 years ago. Sorry for the long story.  Reminds me of a Joni Mitchell song.  "L've looked at life from both sides now. From win and lose, but still somehow, it's life's illusions I recall. I really don't know life, at all"  
    • Beverage
      I feel for you. I've had an interesting history with some vaccine, especially t-DAP. One time after just getting it, I remember walking from the pharmacy to my car, reaching for the door handle of my car as my last memory, then waking up slumped into my car with the door wide open hours later. Nobody even knew I was there. I did get a bad cut from rotting rusty wood and probably animal droppings, and it had been 10 years, so I got a booster recently, but took someone with me. My doc back then did say he was concerned about my reactions to vaccines, but we never talked about what alternatives there might be. What is your risk when you do get sick? For me, I almost always end up needing prednisone and antibiotics and have to crawl back to life for months after those are done, prednisone really messes me up, raises my blood pressure to stroke levels, and the antibiotics mess up my intestines really bad. I have to take mega doses of C and D and B's, especially flush niacin, and probiotics.  So preventing flu is critical for me since I always get a long term negative effect from the treatment. I did a lot of research, traditional and alternative medicine, and they all say high vitamin D levels are crucial to so many kinds of illnesses, including flu, cancer, etc.  People with high D during covid had much better outcomes.  I always tested low in D even with high oral supplementation of D3 and K2.  So last year I saved up and bought a real vitamin D lamp, not one of those cheapie ones that you can get on Amazon that don't work, seriously, those are junk. Wow what a difference with a real D Lamp. We haven't been sick all year, which is rare for me, even after being around several sick people or people that came down sick just after visiting. I use the lamp about every other day or if I've been in a group of people or around anyone sick.  I have not yet had my D levels retested since starting with it (will do that at annual check up later this year), but I have not gotten a cold or flu (knock on wood), feel better than usual for a cold wet winter in the NorthWest, and my hair is growing in like crazy, all signs of improved vitamin D levels. It doesn't take long to use, just a few seconds and first and gradually build up. I now do it for a count of 200, which is about 3 minutes. I don't remember all the details on how the body creates its own vitamin D, but I do remember that the body makes a reaction on the skin and you don't want to wash that off for a few hours.  So I do the D Lamp right after my shower, not before.  There are 2 reputable ones that I found in my research: Sperti Vitamin D Lamp uses florescent tubes, you stand and turn in front of it, be sure to get the VITAMIN D LAMP, not the tanning lamp:  https://www.sperti.com/product/sperti-vitamin-d-light-box/ Chroma Vitamin D Lamp is LED's, you can stand and turn in front of it or hold it in your hand and wave it over your body, always keeping it moving so you don't burn:  https://getchroma.co/products/d-light-vitamin-d-light-device-uvb-red-nir AND YOU MUST WEAR SPECIFIC EYE PROTECTION WHEN USING, KEEP ALL PETS AND OTHERS AWAY, THE GLASSES ARE PROVIDED WITH THE D LAMP. I got the Chroma D Lamp when they had a huge sale last year, it's a small start-up company in Seattle.  Sperti is a larger longer term well known, and you can sign up for a 10% discount on their web site.  If Chroma had not had the sale when I was going to buy one, the Sperti would have been fine. They both often have back orders on them, but they do deliver as promised. I have read various articles on the effectiveness of the flu vaccine for example, not always highly effective every year.  Since your risk with vaccines is high, or if your risk of bad illness if you get sick is high, maybe consider how to mitigate both in another way, perhaps a D Lamp. 
    • trents
      That's what came immediately to my mind as well, Bell's palsy. And don't assume every medical problem is connected to her celiac disease as there is still something known as coincidence. Get this checked out by medical professionals and push for some serious testing. Don't let them brush you off. Be appropriately assertive.
    • Mnofsinger
      Hi @CeliacMom502, As always, consult a medical professional on any advice you receive.  I experience have experienced this exact symptoms you're referring to and will receive them, typically after being accidentally glutened. I've recently been researching this (that's how I came across this posting), because I've been trying to nail down how long I've actually had the celiac genes "activated" or if I was just born with it. Now I wasn't diagnosed until 2023 with Celiac Disease, but not all these other health issues I've had previously point to it all connecting. In 2013 I ended up with Bell's Palsy that I had facial paralysis on one side of my face, where I couldn't even get a twitch for six months, but it took almost a year for "full recovery". I have now came to the conclusion that, because of the B12 vitamin deficiency caused by celiac disease (when not following a strict gluten free diet), caused me to have prolonged recovery from this, because the nerves were healing at a much lower rate> I'm not sure if your daughter has ever had Bell's Palsy, but ever since I have, some of my symptoms when I accidentally get glutened (including right now as I type this message 😄) include a migraine that goes across my eyes, and a shooting pain as you have described that will go across my left cheek and upper jaw, in addition to pain behind my left ear, and painful to the touch. Now, I did immediately go on a gluten free diet, and almost all these symptoms vanished after 3-4 months, but that time frame depends upon the "damage" already done previously.  Hope my situation helps even now this is now almost three years later from your message!  
    • Scott Adams
      It's nice to see celiac-safe options out there for guest homes.
×
×
  • Create New...