Codeine addiction...and how to kick it.

Hiya Sean,

Sorry! i dont get notifications any more! Howre you doing?? x

Im sorry Tez i dont know know what post acute withdrawal is. Help me understand? xx

Hi post acute withdrawal is the symptoms you go through once detoxed off subutex methadone etc where all the chemical chaos this drugs have done to your brain over the years try to restore themselves you suffer severe depression lack of energy memory fog crippling insomnia pain and a whole load of over symptoms truly is a horrid time xx

Ahh i see now thankyou! Those symptoms sound horrendous. I can imagine my withdrawal symptoms were nowhere near that bad but honestly the amount of times i thgouht sod this just go and buy some Codeine and this will all go away was unbelievable. I just had to keep telling myself this is going to end soon. This is all going to go away. You've just got to pull some fighting spirit out of the bag. My focus was being clean for a holiday i'd had booked for such a long time. I didn't want the usual finding a reason to go back to the room every few hours or concealing enough codeine in a bag to get through a day or finding a reason to distract the other half so i could shove some in my mouth. I just wanted to enjoy myself. And, i did. And you will too. xxx

Yes should never have been prescribed subutex especially at such a high dose and for so many years for a codeine addiction but I had no idea what it was noone explained the nitemare months which follow once your detoxed off subutex all I've got is a apology which doesn't come close to the 11 wasted years well done for what you have achieved I so hope i get their too xx

Hi Tez

I have just found this site as I am in the same position as many of you... I am addicted to codeine which here in South Africa is easy, you walk into any pharmacy and buy it over the counter. The pharmacists dont care if you buy from them everyday, which just makes it more accessible.

I used to hide behind alcohol, and having alcoholism in the family didnt help. My sister gave up 8 years ago and one day I just made the decision to stop and did it. I even went to a party that same night and wasnt tempted to have a drink. Now two years later I am still sober BUT I replaced the alcohol with taking codiene as I was constantly looking for a way 'not to feel' anything. I had lost my 26 year old son in 2011 and felt I need something to numb myself with. The anti-depressants alone were not doing the trick.

I have now found myself in the position that I have no 'life-force' - no reason for wanting to live other than I do have a grand daughter by my son who died, and also a daughter. I own 4 magazines and have lost interest in everything, including taking care of myself. I have been under 'suicide watch' by my daughter and am now going to move in with her until I am clean of the codiene. She knows everything, and so does my doctor who has advised me to taper off the codiene tabs at my own pace. Just this weekend I went down from 10 or 16 10mg tabs to only 3 yesterday, and late last night it hit me, my tummy kept running and I was having the most awful feeling that I was going to die. Today I stayed in bed and just worried a lot about my health. I used to be a healthy attractive woman, always looked 15 years younger than what I am. Today I am terribly underweight, this is one of the side effects of codeine abuse, you become malnutritioned, even though I eat well and often, and I am not scared of taking of a whole pizza with chocolate cookies to follow. But I weigh 37 kg, and my weight should be 47kg. I am only 5.2" tall and am very small boned. I look like a walking skeleton and so I dont go out. I have to buy my clothes in the kiddies department. This is shocking and has freaked me out so much that it has kicked me in the head hard enough to know that I need to kick this habit NOW or I wont make it through to xmas. So I am tapering, and will allow my body to guide me as to when I have not given it enough to just maintain my day. So instead of swallowing two tabs and then 10 minutes later another two tabs ( I tend to forget how often I take them until the pack is empty - then panic stations hit, and I run to the pharmacy to stock up). So now I am taking 1 when I wake up, 1 mid morning, then again mid afternoon and maybe 2 tonight so I dont wake up with cramps and the runs. This for me is a drastic cut, coming from some days of needing to take 20 to other days when I am out and busy and just take say 8. But I always make sure I have some in my bag as a safety precaution.

So, codeine is a derivative of herion and is highly addictive, and the medical industry is loving making money off us legally over the counter. The other thing here is South Africa is that there is no support if you are not rich. Yes, there are NA meetings but you have to have a hell of a lot of money to go into rehab, and you certainly dont want to try using our government hospitals and their psychiatric units... that would be like the scariest thing ever. So peeps, hold thumbs for me with my new tapering off plan and I will keep you posted as to how it works out. L xx

 

Wishing you all the very best in your journey keep us posted on how it goes when you can I think there are thousands of people out there struggling with opiate addiction I so wish I had tapered off or gone cold turkey instead of being prescribed subutex but hindsight is a wonderful thing the very best of luck to you xx

Good luck!!!!!

?I hate the "addict" label. We don't go round calling smokers addicts do we for their nicotine addiction or 10-cup-a-day coffee drinkers addicts for their caffine addiction. People shouldnt label or judge. We are in fact addicted to a substance but theres no need for discriminatory labels. Let us all know how you get on won't you! xxx

Yeah im not a big fan of the addict title either. Ive done a lot of ready on some other sites about quitting and there seems to be a lot of helpful hints out there. Hopefully having my taper down so low it shouldn't be as awful. Fingers crossed. Great thread here. Glad to see others who have succeeded. Cheers to you as well Tez22. Thanks 

Yes taper down also when the taper ends loperamide for upset stomach and buscupan for stomach cramps plenty of long baths hopefully this will get you through the last bit good luck xx

Rosanna you are not alone my love and if I can help i will please don't go down the subutex route it will be much worse you will end up on a much more powerful tablet taking years to wean off check out my story. You need to start a taper plan very slowly and you can beat this i am still battling to come off the subutex 11 years later where you can get this over with much quicker if you want to direct message me please do I was adicted to codeine for 8months my GP wouldn't help just threw me to the drug and alcohol team and holy mo what a mistake I'm here if you need any help there's lots of people here with good advice painkiller addiction is much more common than you think so don't beat yourself up let's all help you on the path to recovery from this evil little pill much 💚xx

Tez thank you so much for your kind words! It really means a lot at this hard time. I have heard many horror stories about subutex, I started tapering down right away, and am trying to tackle each hour at a time. Only a few days in, keeping a diary helps me greatly. I will direct message you xx

Oh my lovely you have started the right way please don't feel guilt or shame this codeine addiction is so much more common thank we think I have felt all that but we shouldn't take your taper down slowly if you rush it you will suffer and go backwards good idea to keep a diary that's what I'm going to do I feel terrible shame I have failed 2 detoxes off subutex but the after effects are so terrible and can last up to 2 years I am terrified as I start my home detox tomorrow it's not so much the Detox I am scared of but the after effects I so hope it's can pull through it this time. I wish you every success in your journey as it is long and hard but just take it day by day be kind to yourself have long baths with nice bubbles and give yourself a little treat each time you have managed a drop yes please dm if I can offer you any help I will as only those who have battled it know how hard it is i have been offered a lot of support which is nice sending 💚💛💜🌻🌻🌻🌻xx

Also try reading the book diary of a painkiller addict by cathyn kemp it's her true story its inspiring xx