Dihydrocodeine - Substance Search

Summary PsychonautWiki

Dihydrocodeine is a semi-synthetic morphinan opioid analgesic prescribed for pain, or as an antitussive (either alone or compounded with paracetamol or aspirin). It was developed in Germany in 1908 and first marketed in 1911.

Dose Information PsychonautWiki

ROA	Light	Common	Strong	Heavy
Oral	50-100mg	100-150mg	150-200mg	200mg+

Light Common Strong Heavy

Onset, Duration & After-effects PsychonautWiki

ROA	Onset	Peak	Offset	After Effects	Total
Oral	30-45 min	3-4 hrs	60-90 min	1-8 hrs	4.5-6.2 hrs

Opioid MME Calculator

⚠ Citation & Disclaimer: Conversion factors sourced from the NIH HEAL Initiative MME Calculator (Adams et al., PAIN 2025), the CDC 2022 Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain, and the MDCalc MME Calculator. These are approximate equianalgesic ratios for educational reference only. Individual responses vary significantly based on genetics, tolerance, cross-tolerance, and route of administration. This is not medical advice. Do not use these conversions to adjust opioid dosing without professional medical guidance.

Convert from

mg

Convert to

40 mg Dihydrocodeine

≈

— mg Morphine

⚠ Equianalgesic dose ratios are approximations and do not account for genetic factors, tolerance, incomplete cross-tolerance, or pharmacokinetic variations. Methadone conversion is especially variable at higher doses. Always consult a healthcare provider before making any changes to opioid therapy.

Effect Profile

15 reports

Scores (1–10) curated from multiple sources:

Effect keyword matching from PsychonautWiki catalog
Weighted by importance: core (×3), major (×2), minor (×1)

Full methodology

Opioid 6.4

Strong 6/10

Strong euphoria with moderate itching/nausea, mild pain relief and sedation

Euphoria / Warmth ×3

10

physical euphoria euphoria cognitive euphoria mood lift

Analgesia ×2

4

analgesia

Sedation / Relaxation ×1

4

sedation dream potentiation

⚠ Itching / Nausea ×1

7

nausea constipation dry mouth

Based on reports from:

Erowid Experience Reports PsychonautWiki Dihydrocodeine

Tolerance

Build-up develops within days of regular use; analgesic tolerance faster than respiratory depression tolerance

Reset 7–14 days for partial reset; full reset may take weeks — tolerance loss greatly increases overdose risk

Tolerance Decay

Full tolerance 7d Half tolerance 3d Baseline ~10d

Tolerance develops rapidly with near‑daily use and decays over days to weeks after cessation. After a break, prior doses can overshoot—restart with markedly lower doses to reduce overdose risk. Cross‑tolerance exists across mu‑agonist opioids but is incomplete.