Codeine is an opiate used to treat pain, as a cough medicine, and for diarrhea. It is typically used to treat mild to moderate degrees of pain. Greater benefit may occur when combined with paracetamol (acetaminophen) or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as aspirin or ibuprofen. Evidence does not support its use for acute cough. PALLIATIVE CARE TIPS Issue 17 Edited by Mehrnoush Mirhosseini l, MD, Palliative Care Consultant, Community Palliative Care Consult Team , I can't take anything with codeine, morphine in it. I'm having serious pains from the top of my butt down to my foot. Help please!! Tramadol is used primarily to treat mild to severe pain, both acute and chronic. Its analgesic effects take about one hour to come into effect and 2 to 4 h to peak after oral administration with an immediate-release formulation. Hi I am new to this.Just a note that I also was put onto Tramadol,as I have had a chronic back injury for 12yrs and wanted something stronger than panadole forte, I was not getting much relief.I then moved and changed doctors. The following is an overview of codeine vs. Vicodin. First, codeine is a generic opioid, and it can be prescribed on its own for the treatment of pain ranging from mild to moderate, as well as in combination with other drugs like acetaminophen. Tramadol has a risk for abuse and addiction, which can lead to overdose and death. Tramadol may also cause severe, possibly fatal, breathing problems. To lower your risk, your doctor should have. Just my opinion, but if you were already taking Tramadol prior to surgery, and they left you with an open wound, you should have gotten something a bit stronger than codeine, which is really a quite mild pain reliever. Any suggestions on a med stronger than codeine, but not methadone, that will take away more of the pain, but still allow orgasms? By the way, alot of the horrible constipation from methadone is relieved. Codeine, a widely abused by many, has been recognized as the best available cough suppressant partnered with a moderate pain reliever.