Ow! I need a good painkiller!

April 21, 2008 10:02 AM

Can I get codeine without a prescription in the northern Chicago suburbs?

I fractured my 5th metatarsal yesterday, I visited the doctor this morning, she took x-rays and found the break. I didn't make a big deal out of my pain because it didn't seem so unbearable at the time, and I wasn't really sure if I had broken anything or just hurt stuff real bad. She recommended three Motrin, 3 times a day.

I just called the orthopedist that she recommended and I have an appointment on Wednesday.

Now, however, I've taken the Motrin and it hasn't helped much, and the thought of having this pain for at least the next two days is making it a lot harder to bear than when I was just trying to figure out what was going on and assuming I was in the process of getting it fixed. So I vaguely remembered that under some circumstances you can get small amounts of Codeine in the US without a prescription. A few google searches indicated that this was true, but it varied by state law.

Does anyone know if its possible to do this in Illinois, and if theres any pharmacies that I could visit in the northern Chicago suburbs (or far southern Wisconsin, I'm not far from the border) where I could get just a little codeine to take away the pain?

Or should I just try calling my doc and seeing if she'll write me a prescription?

posted by Reverend John to health & fitness (10 comments total)

If your doctor thinks that codeine (or any other prescription pain medication) is appropriate for you, she can call your preferred pharmacy with the prescription for you to pick up at your convenience. Call your doctor.
posted by ferociouskitty at 10:05 AM on April 21, 2008

You can't get codeine in the US without a prescription in most states, and even in the ones that you sorta can it is only available in very small amounts in cough suppressants. And I doubt you can get those at your local pharmacy or something.

Call your doc.
posted by Justinian at 10:11 AM on April 21, 2008

Call your doc, this happens all the time. Also, if you're not taking anything else with acetaminophen (Tylenol) in it, it is ok to take acetaminophen and ibuprofen (Motrin) together.
posted by selfmedicating at 10:18 AM on April 21, 2008

Vicodin is commonly prescribed for pain. They'll give you a limited course (10 pills, maybe) because it's addictive.

Call your doctor and explain your situation. She may write a prescription for tylenol with vicodin or vicodin itself.
posted by zippy at 10:36 AM on April 21, 2008

zippy: Vicodin contains tylenol; it's tylenol + hydrocodone. I don't think you can buy hydrocodone in the US unless it also contains an NSAID.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 11:07 AM on April 21, 2008

Not an answer to the specific question. I find that naproxen (Aleve) is more effective that ibuprofen or aspirin for bone related pain. May just be me but, I find Tylenol to be completely ineffective for any kind of pain.

Regarding codeine, you can probably get it off the internet but I would just call the Dr. you saw about the break and ask them to calll in something.
posted by Carbolic at 12:19 PM on April 21, 2008

Chicago, I'm not sure, but here in Ontario codeine is available over-the-counter when combined with aspirin (at about 1/3 the dose of codeine as a Tylenol 3). Call your pharmacist and see if they carry these where you are.
posted by sunshinesky at 1:06 PM on April 21, 2008

If you can't get ahold of your doctor, go to an urgent care. You don't say where exactly you are, but if you're in the far NW suburbs, the one in McHenry on Route 31 south of Miller Road is excellent and fast.
posted by desjardins at 4:33 PM on April 21, 2008

Well, I took everyone's advice and called my doc, and they called in the prescription to my pharmacy, and I had some Tylenol 3 pretty fast, which was great.

But I'm still wondering about the legality / availability of codeine around here. It would be nice to know if I'm ever in a similar situation and my doc isn't available for a while and don't want to pay a million dollars at the acute care center for something that could wait til the next day if I could stand the pain.
posted by Reverend John at 8:52 AM on April 22, 2008

I heard that you can order T3 type things from Australia with little hassle.
posted by herbaliser at 1:10 PM on May 9, 2008