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Panlor is not very common in the states.

i have had a difficult time finding much information about its strength.

per a couple of charts i have seen it is only equivalent to its same mg amount in codiene, however, if you go to the Panlor website then they state that it is approximately as strong as 10mg of hydrocodone.

personally i (and a couple others i know) disagree w/ their claims and tend to go w/ closer to the equivalent of codeine.

so to answer your question best i would say that it is safe to say that its strength rates somewhere in-between codeine and hydrocodone.

hopefully someone else can give you some better idea.

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all thoughts and opinions expressed are those of my own and should not be mistaken for medical advice. i am not a doctor nor a pharmacist. all medical questions should be answered by a licensed pharmacist, doctor, or primary care manager.

According to Wikipedia, dihydrocodeine is approximately equivalent to codeine.

And according to many conversion charts, hydrocodone is approximately six times stronger than codeine.  So that would apply to dihydrocodeine also (I assume).

And if you do an entailed google search, there are references that state dihydrocodeine is no more effective than two aspirin.  I can't remember the sources but I think the articles talked about post-operative pain and how dihydrocodeine was not effective.  Maybe that's why it's seldom used in the US?

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Wikipedia is definitely very wrong indeed.

Dihydrocodeine is one of the most commomly prescribed analgesics here in the UK and I have vast experience with analgesics, being a sufferer of a particularly bad type of arthritis.

Dihydrocodeine is a much stronger painkiller, mg/mg, than codeine phosphate. It is available in 30mg i/r and 60, 90 and 120mg s/r tablets under a huge array of brands and generics. At the moment pharmacists appear to be using that made by Ranbaxy more than any other. Almus and Alpharma also make good generics. The most common brand until it was removed from prescription was DF-118. It also goes under the name Dicodin (NOT a very good brand at all - appears weak) and Contugesic.

Equivalence tables vary wildly, more than any other drug, in thir assessment of its equivalence to the standard of 10mg morphine sulphate.

Subjective evidence from myself and most people I know who have experience of both codeine and dihydrocodeinone (hydrocodone) would suggest that a 10mg hydrocodone tablet (I am using Dicodid brand (Knoll/Abbott) here as my standard) is around the same strength as about 60mg dihydrocodeine, the most commonly prescribed strength either as one 60mg s/r or two 30mg i/r tablets. Codeine on the other hand is considerably weaker - a 30mg tablet would do nothing for me; to equate to what I consider an effective dose of 30mg hydrocodone/180mg dihydrocodeine you would require at least 240-300mg codeine (eight to ten tablets) but then I do have a rather high tolerance to opiates/oids having used them for so long.

I certainly would not be interested at all in any of the three drugs if they have been compounded with paracetamol (USA:acetaminophen) and would take them in their pure form. The compounds generally contain only up to 10mg of either dihydrocodeine or dihdrocodeinone, and 30mg of codeine phosphate. At what I consider an effective dose of any of these, I would be, as I have written elsewhere on Pharmer, putting my liver at risk of serious damage. ALWAYS go for the pure versions. Unfortunately I believe that the two dihydros MUST in the USA be so compounded, and that the lowest generally available level of paracetamol is 325mg! CRAZY!  have also expressed the opinion that paracetamol is so dangerous, accounting for over 50% of medication-related deaths each year, it should be at least scheduled II.

So let's say: 10mg hydrocodone = 30mg-60mg dihydrocodeine = 90/120mg codeine phosphate. That should give an accurate picture of analgesic equivalence as I would take these drugs.

I rarely use them now, apart from the 10mg pure hydrocodone, because I am now scripted with a much more effective analgesic, oxycodone m/r. Dihydrocodeine is extremely useful in tapering off an opiate habit as it is so easily used in whatever quantity is required and provides for a smooth withdrawal, unlike the far more common methadone, which is more addictive and a hundred times worse to quit than even diamorphine (Heroin™). The only proper use for methadone is as a lifetime maintenance drug for people who can/will not come off opiates. The trend I hear about of US doctors using it for severe pain is a dreadful mistake which I hope will be discouraged. The stuff (again subjective) is POISON!

Gaucho

"NEVER ingest anything unless you are 100% sure what it is."