My 5 1/2 month old son underwent surgery last Wednesday for hypospadias repair. The surgeon prescribed him Tylenol with Codeine to manage the pain. The surgery was a success and the baby did great. That day I gave him the Tw/C as prescribed but the next day I switched mostly to regular Tylenol only giving him the Tw/C at night when the pain seemed worse. I was honestly worried about giving a narcotic to my son, but the surgeon assured me it was okay as did my sister-in-law the nurse. So then I upped giving him the Tw/C also in the evenings if he seemed like he was in pain. Yesterday was the first day that he absolutely had zero of the Codeine. We did have an exciting day, he sat in the buggy for the first time in Walmart and then we went to the park for about an hour. After we got home he was really fussy and I assumed it was because he was tired. The baby wouldn't go to sleep! He would play or nap for ten minutes and then wake up crying. This is not normal behavior for him, but again I thought it was due to overstimulation. Once I actually broke down and gave him regular Tylenol thinking he might be in pain, but it didn't help. Last night the baby woke up more times than I can count screaming. He would cry full tilt for a few minutes with nothing working to calm him down and then go back to sleep. He did this repeatedly, when he did sleep he tossed and turned. He has never acted like that. Usually, if it has been a very stimulating no nap kind of day, once he gives it in and goes to sleep he is down for the count only waking for food and then not even opening his eyes. We are both exhausted and he has been somewhat fussy this morning. I remember the doctor telling me when I asked about the Codeine and expressing my concerns he said it can make some infants irritable. Has anyone had a similar experience? Did you think it was withdrawals from Codeine or some other medication? The only information I could find on the net was about breastfeeding mothers and Codeine being passed through breastmilk. Thanks for the input.
I don't know if I made it clear in my request or not, but as early as the day after his surgery regular Tylenol worked just fine during the day for his pain. I saved the one with codeine for the evening on the theory that everything hurts more at night because there's no longer the distraction of the daytime activity. Today he has been somewhat cranky, but he has slept a lot more. I broke down and gave him regular Tylenol once, thinking that maybe, just maybe, it still hurt. It didn't seem to make a difference. Also, one of the reasons that I thought he wasn't hurting was due to the fact that his diaper changes aren't uncomfortable for him. For those that don't know, hypospadias repair is a surgery of the penis. During playtime he has crashed a toy into his crotch several times and not winced a bit. I thought maybe he was teething and that it was a coincidence, but assumed that the Tylenol would take away teething pain. Maybe the codeine induced irritableness just is what it is and isn't technically a withdrawal syptom. He returns to the doctor in the morning to have the catheter removed. I will update with what the doctor says. Thanks for all the help!
AGAIN, the regular Tylenol helped him just fine in the days after the surgery, so I feel confident that if he was in pain then continuing the regular Tylenol would've solved the issue. Of course if I felt he were truly in pain I wouldn't hesitate to give him the Tylenol with Codeine. For someone that mentioned, he hasn't been allowed to have a bath and I used a double diapering technique that kept the area clean. We visited with the Dr today and she assured me that at this point he is NOT experiencing pain from the surgery. She said that children who are old enough to talk and tell a week later aren't in pain. He basically proved that his penis didn't hurt him by not batting an eyelash but continuing to coo and smile while I held his legs down and the nurse cut the dressing off of his penis and pulled the catheter out. All of the nurses and even the receptionist commented that they'd never heard a baby take it so well. I feel confident that pain from the surgery WAS NOT the issue. After discussing his behavior with the Dr she suggested that maybe it was gas. The medications combined with the anesthesia can cause gas and constipation, she said. When she mentioned it, it did occur to me that in the midst of having to give the baby so many different medicines I had cut back on giving him gas drops after feedings through the night like I usually do. I also realized that I hadn't really heard him pass very much gas and he is usually a pretty gassy little guy. She said the pain of him not being able to get the gas out would be enough to make him cry. Then it dawned on me that for the past two days I have eaten something that I had previously suspected of giving him gas. (He is breastfed) While it would be hard to tell if he was constipated he has definitely had less dirty diapers than normal the past couple of days. This afternoon I noticed his tummy tightening up when he would fuss and him sort of making grunt noises. I feel pretty confident that is what it is so I've given him Little Tummies a few times. Also, for the first time he has been gnawing on everything today like a new puppy so maybe it's a combination of gas and teething and the surgery is just a coincidence. During diaper changes today and the application of an ointment I've had to put on his penis, I reiterate, no fussing, no wincing, no crying shortly thereafter.... For once I agree with the doctor....Gas, go figure! Thanks for all of the help and responses!
It really sounds like he could be having pain, could he have overdone something, tore a stitch or something?
Hello, i know this is an old post but i actually googled, 'children codeine withdrawal' and came upon this. My 4 year old son has a broken elbow and was prescribed acetametaphine with codeine and ibuprofen alternately. We gave him the medicine with codeine once a day for 4 days at night before bed before surgery and then once after. He was in practically no pain and in amazing spirits (singing out loud, for example--he rarely does that) Since the surgery (four days ago) his elbow hasn't caused him pain, He hasn't winced or mentioned it, so we laid off the meds. Since then he has been having the exact same symptoms as W. S. described: totally irritable and unhappy, not able to sleep at night and then if he does sleep, waking up crying and angry. The first thing we ask is, 'is anything hurting you?' and he says no, he just wants to go to the bathroom, his toy, his dad, etc.. Anyway, my totally unprofessional opinion is that this is not i'm in pain behavior, as a different kind of cry would indicate to me, particularly at this age. It seems like their little bodies are sort of rebalancing and readjusting from not, basically, being high as a kite. Maybe you wouldn't call it 'withdrawal' necessarily, but the body has to push back from whatever has been done to it (i'm thinking along equal and opposite reaction lines, i.e., sugar crashes, healing from surgery, ) We're on day 4 of no meds so hopefully the residual medication will be out of his body soon. I'll post again when the symptoms have resided.
Also of note, the FDC just this year (2013) advised against acetametaphine with codeine in children for post surgery pain; they noted particularly after tonsillectomies or adenoid removal. So there's that, for what it's worth. http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm315497...
You could be over stimulating him.
It seems like if you keep them active all day and they don't have a nap it would make them sleep harder at night, it's the complete opposite, the more overtired they are the harder it is to get them to sleep and sleep good. Also is he getting teeth? If he's getting teeth the Tylenol won't help with teeth pain, motrin works 10x better for mouth pain than Tylenol does.
Hey W.,
My son had neurosurgery for a brain tumor. A week after the surgery he behaved much the way that you describe that your son is. I took him to the doctor just to rule out any complications. I think that it has a lot to do with him being uncomfortable and feeling a little tired from the surgery. I do believe that codeine addiction can happen but the drug has to be taken for a long period of time and in large amounts. My son was on Tw/C for almost 2 weeks after his surgery twice a day and we had no problems taking him off it. My son is 18 months old. I wouldn't worry if I were you. Just talk to the doctor tomorrow and voice your concern.
I can tell you from experience within myself codeine does NOT make me a very nice person at all! I get irritable and grumpy but then I also get very neurologically overstimulated by everything lights sounds people smells touches. I would about crawl out of my skin after a few doses. My husband recently had surgery and they gave him tylenol with codeine after 2 doses I told him he better call his dr and get something else when I found him getting very irritable with the children and I. I'd just do your best to support him through this and not give him anymore maybe baths ? I'm not sure because I don't know if I could have taken a bath when it was at its worst.
Best of luck! and don't let your dr downplay it you know your child the best and are the best judge of his health and wellbeing :)
Could he still be in pain? Maybe he just hasn't recovered yet...
Have been afraid of giving my children strong meds before too but it will be ok. Sounds like me may still be having some pain I would call the doctor and see what they say, i don't think he could have an addiction that quickly. i know that codeine can make some of us cranky when we take it.
The poor little guy could still be in pain and need some codeine. I know you're afraid of giving him such a strong medicine, but the doctor prescribed it for a reason. I hope he's feeling better soon!!
Good luck!!
Hi W.,
I had a similar situation with my daughter and Tylenol with Codeine. My daughter had surgery in early February. At first she was given Morphine the day of her surgery. On the second day she was switched to Tylenol with Codeine. The second day you could clearly tell she was exhausted, but when she would fall asleep she would twitch awake within minutes and begin crying. We asked her surgeon about this and the nurses in the hospital and they said it could be the after effects of anesthesia. She had these twitching episodes all day and didn't get any sleep. In the afternoon I asked if she could just be given regular Tylenol instead of the Codeine. It took several hours, but she was finally able to calm down enough to finally fall asleep. Like myself, I think my daughter has adverse reactions to the heavy medicine. Codeine has never agreed with me and I think she may be the same way. If it is okay with your doctor continue giving your son the regular Tylenol if he seems in pain. Once the Codeine passes out of his system he may be able to sleep normally again. I hope my experience helps!
I am a pediatric nurse. It sounds like your son was in pain last night, not withdrawing. To become addicted, you need to take it around the clock for weeks. You can continue to give him the Tylenol w/ Codeine. If the crying continues, you need to call the surgeon. Surgical pain shouldn't continue to extremes must past a week or so. Good luck to you.
He is probably just still uncomfortable. I know it is scary to give them such strong medicine at such a young age, but he will be just fine. I can also say that codeine does make my daughter irritable so there could be some of that side effect going on, too. Hang in there-It will all be ok. It is actually probably harder on you than it is your son.
Maybe he's just uncomfortable recovering from the surgery -- I wonder how you keep it all clean and dry when the poor kid's in a diaper!
I'm sure you got instructions about after-care. But, this may help: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/presentations/100...
If it were me, I'd be more interested in making sure my child's out of pain than worrying about the codeine thing. In fact, I'd choose the Tylenol 3 OVER plain Tylenol because, with the added codeine, you aren't having to give as much Tylenol (which can be harmful in large doses) -- especially because your concern is the urinary tract.
Dependency, if it becomes an issue, (which it probably won't) can be fixed. Keep the kid comfortable!
I hope he heals well!!!
