Codeine addiction (Nurofen Plus)

Yes I go to different pharmacies each day and went to the doctor in Jan asking for help but he was no help at all. I've since referred myself to a drug addiction clinic but the whole process is so slow.. I'm waiting to hear back about counselling but in the meantime I'm trying to stop on my own. I have a baby & can't afford to keep doing this (I had postnatal depression which is why I started taking so much codeine, it was the only way I felt I could get through the day back then) I didn't take it whilst pregnant. I thought it was helping me and didn't realise I was addicted until it was too late..

How many different pharmacies? Surely they've got to know you by now and refuse to sell it to you? It clearly says on the box, for 3 days only. You must be buying it online or from joe public (dealers) unless you're travelling miles to pharmacies. I would like to know hiow you get so many on a regular basis, as if it's from high street pharmacies then the system is failing.

For example you have 10 chemists in your area. Normally a week and a half between each is enough time although you are sometimes gritting your teeth. I've even managed to get to sell me 2x 32 boxes on occasion. Normally independents. I would say 20% keep an eye on whether they have seen you before......

BAN THEM!!!!!!!!!

So pharmacies aren't doing their job correctly. We need a register.Why should something be banned just because the pharmacists won't do their job? Are you suggesting that they ban anything over the counter that has codeine in it? I take the occasional  2x co-codamol (OTC) if I have a nasty headache maybe once every 3 weeks,so that would mean I'd have to get a script from GP and pay £8 for 32.

Misswoosie, why are you commenting on this post? you arent being very helpful towards the question. You cant buy "fake" neurophen plus... dealers have got bigger fish to fry than a $12 a day codeine addict. this person is looking for advice how to help with her addiction, not a discussion on your finances or your thoughts on pharamcies. just cool it and try to be helpful and non agressive towards the person of topic. peace.

Well said. This is not a discussion on how we get the drug. We will always find a way. I've heard of people driving miles to different pharmacies. The discussion is about addiction. Just be grateful Misswoosie that you are not addicted. Never say never though. I started taking Nurofen for genuine medical reasons and within weeks, I was hooked. Peace xx

Absolutely! Misswoosie seems to be concerned only with her own agenda rather than that of the original poster. Her comments are unhelpful, irrelevant and verge on being downright nosy. Happy Xmas to all

I usually visit every pharmacy in my town each week. Some have stopped serving me but most continue to. Staff change also. I now buy 1,2 or 3 large packs a day

The current system in place obviously doesn't work as if it did it would safeguard against people like me becoming addicted to codeine and entering my 3rd year of addiction still being able to buy from most pharmacies in my home town. I do not think codeine should be available without prescription

Happy Xmas John and all you others out there! I'm going cold turkey with the N+ as of tomorrow, should I update you all as to how I get on to give you some idea of what it will be like for you to go cold turkey also and try to get off this never ending pill popping cycle?

Hi Nikki. Just wanted to wish you a great 2017. Happy New Year xx Drew

In 2018 this will become reality in Australia. Their realtime system must have failed because they will no longer ll N+ otc. So now instead of it costing $10 it will also cost a doctor's visit.

You too Drew! Let's hope 2017 is a good year for us! x

The UK should look to Oz and follow their system with this (and many other things..) Anyone can get hold of powerfully addictive substances (such as codeine) here far too easily with no background checks or ongoing supervision. I don't understand why the government is letting this continue the way it is..?!

The real-time system only came in last year,where all the chemist computers linked up,so shopping around could no longer be an option but some pharmacies still don't have it. I used to drive 89km one way to the next town to get more. It was getting crazy. Before i moved out west where there are only 4 chemists in a 200km radius, I was in a city and would shop around.

I am now in control of this Instead of it controlling me and it is so liberating not to have to rely on it anymore.

I believe it is a good progression to protect people from abusing it but it makes it hard for those who need something a little stronger for pain because they're going to have to go to the doctor for a prescription to get it.

Hi everyone, 

Nikki, I'm in Australia on the East coast and very few chemists ask for ID, I've come across 2 that ask and they put the details into their system, they aren't linked to any other chemist as far as I know.

There are a lot of chemists anywhere between 5 minutes from home or up to about  25-30 kilometres going in all directions. 

The system you're talking about is the one the Australian government is bringing in in 2018, we will no longer be able to buy over the counter pain killers which contain codeine. People will have to get a prescription for them........ Why wait so long, it should be done early this new year. But then of course, it's not fair on people who really do need stronger pain relief.

I saw a different doctor, FINALLY,  and she gave me a patch that you wear for a week, they are called Buprenorphine. I thought they were for pain only but after looking them up, they are like Subutex. I don't know much about Subutex but think people have to pick it up daily?

They do control pain but seem to be more for helping people addicted to codeine.

I don't think we're allowed to post web site links on here so here is a bit of info for all those who might like to consider using the patches. 

_________________________________________________________

What exactly is Buprenorphine?

Buprenorphine (BYOO-pre-NOR-feen) ('bu-pre-'nor-feen) is an opioid medication used to treat opioid addiction in the privacy of a physician’s office.1 Buprenorphine can be dispensed for take home use, by prescription.1 This in addition to buprenorphine’s pharmacological and safety profile makes it an attractive treatment for patients addicted to opioids.2

Buprenorphine is different from other opioids in that it is a partial opioid agonist3. This property of buprenorphine may allow for;

less euphoria and physical dependence

lower potential for misuse

a ceiling on opioid effects

relatively mild withdrawal profile

At the appropriate dose buprenorphine treatment may:

Suppress symptoms of opioid withdrawal

Decrease cravings for opioids

Reduce illicit opioid use

Block the effects of other opioids

Help patients stay in treatment

_________________________________________________________

How are you getting on with going cold turkey? I hope things are going well for you.

Funny how our minds work and allow NP to take over. I was adamant to cut down each day and I did for the first 2 days. When they're in my system I am really determined ...."right! that's it, from now on, I taper down"....... until the next day or 2 and i give in. What's the point in taking them when I no longer get that buzz, it's ridiculous.

If we're allowed to post a website link, I'll post the full article on the buprenorphine, there's also one on Buprenorphine compared to Subutex. 

Sue 

Buprenorphine is different from other opioids in that it is a partial opioid agonist3. This property of buprenorphine may allow for;

less euphoria and physical dependence

lower potential for misuse

a ceiling on opioid effects

relatively mild withdrawal profile

At the appropriate dose buprenorphine treatment may:

Suppress symptoms of opioid withdrawal

Decrease cravings for opioids

Reduce illicit opioid use

Block the effects of other opioids

Help patients stay in treatment

_________________________________________________________

How are you getting on with going cold turkey? I hope things are going well for you.

Funny how our minds work and allow NP to take over. I was adamant to cut down each day and I did for the first 2 days. When they're in my system I am really determined ...."right! that's it, from now on, I taper down"....... until the next day or 2 and i give in. What's the point in taking them when I no longer get that buzz, it's ridiculous.

If we're allowed to post a website link, I'll post the full article on the buprenorphine, there's also one on Buprenorphine compared to Subutex. 

Sue 

Where abouts are you Sue? I live out west in Qld but even in Brisbane I got asked for ID in every chemist i went to.

I live in QLD too and 99% of pharmacies are using the realtime .. There is one suburb however where about 6 pharmacies don't even ask for ID.. I don't understand why it's like they missed the memo! Anyway I have posted on other discussions because I successfully beat this a few months ago .. I was taking a packet a day and went cold turkey .. It took me a good month to feel half normal .. The problem is I get crippling period pain and thought I would be ok to take again and control it .. Nope i am back to a box a day .. So angry at myself as cold turkey is like hell on earth .. I am now 24 hrs into CT again .. I'm praying to god it won't be as bad as the first time, I am taking all sorts of vitamins and homeopath remedies etc.. The problem is not going back to it once I'm 'clean' again . ..making it script only is the right decision in my opinion but 2018 is still awhile away

Dear marie,

you know you can do it, but you also know how bloody awful it is to go CT. You could make it a lot easier on yourself by asking your GP to put you on a subutex / buprenorphine programme.

Ok, one drug substituted for another, but the subs are reduced and their use monitored, so when you finally jump, it'lll be like walking into a cold sea as opposed to diving into it from 60 feet!

If you slip up and take just one packet of 32+ and get urine tested, you will suffer the total ball ache of having to go into a chemist everyday whilst they watch you take it. Plus, N+'s work differently on subutex, because subutx pushes  and blocks other opiods - in a few words, you feel weird.

I recommend subutex only, though I've only just figured this out for myself! Day 5 for me off N+, also from 64 (two boxes, different chemists) per day.

Try it. After all, CT nearly drove me insane, I'd scream in my car to a chemist after laying in bed for  days and two nights with the runs, neck 32 in one go, go and get 24 or 16 or 32 later - always the last .... and feel better - whilst my stools contained blood, I didn't worry because I knew it was N+ that caused it and it wasn't cancer. Dreamworld or what?

All the best

 

Hi Marie,

Hope you are ok. I just wanted to let you know that it is possible to have a life free of nurofen plus. I know - I was addicted to those evil, white seemingly innocuous pills for nearly 3 years.

It all started like a joke - a couple here and there when I had period pain, nothing excessive. However, when I quit drinking, I noted and made a connection that there was something about those little nasty things - they came with a buzz.

Unlike alcohol, i found I could take them without any obvious, visible change to my behaviour - I could still go to work, function etc.

However, in quick time I found that from the four a day I started on, I quickly scaled up the ladder, increasing the pills, as more of them were required to get that "buzz". Before I knew it, I was on about 32 a day.

When oddly enough a pharmist at a Sainsbury's refused to sell me the pills, I realised that I needed to alternate between pharmacies. So the madness started, I would drive all over town, buying from different chemists so as to not leave any traces and risk being refused sale of the pills.

The routine was the same - walk into the chemist, feign to be interested in buying toothpaste or sanitary towels, purchase sanitary towels and at the last minute drop in that I better get some N+ as the pain was so bad....Suffice to say my cuboards were stuffed with all brands of sanitary towels and other unnecessary clap trap.

I did try to stop, but I didn't know how to. I got to the point where I needed N+ to just feel normal. I would get a day or so clean, and as soon I felt a glimmer of "wellness", or the world looked brighter, or withdrawal set in - shaking, shivering, sweating profusely - I would go crashing back into the arms of N+.

That "warm, set back from the world" feeling that I once got on 4 pills could only be "kick-started" by 32 pills.

My physical health was bad - I couldn't walk more than 10 steps without my heart boxing heavily against my rib cage. I would get breathless, suffer stomach pains. With withdrawal came serious diahorrea.

The only person I told about my chronic addiction - 32 a day - was my doctor. His response: "You are a clever lady, why don't you just try and cut down"? Perfect answer for an addict - my doctor wasn't worried so why should I be?!

I "cruised" addiction pages, reading people's stories in the hope that their testimonies would scare me into quitting. However, the mind of an addict is a curious one. I would read someone was on 50, 80 etc and from this conclude that I was not that bad; I was only on 32!

To cut a long story short - one day I collapsed. Fortunately, I was in the UK and rushed to hospital in the middle of the night. 10 days later I left the hospital having spent 5 days of the 10 in intensive care. I had suffered Peritonitis, anaemia, peforated bowel, internal bleeding, etc. This is what N+ did to me - it nearly killed me. I am really lucky to be alive.

The madness of it all is that even whilst I was being carted off to the hospital, I was worried that my partner would happen upon my stash of N+ and throw them out!

And in the early days of my recovery, I had ideas of going back to N+! I was in such denial about what N+ had done to me, and such denial about my addiction.

Fortunately enough for me, I went to a rehab on my partner's private company insurance policy. I spent 1 month there. When I came out, I joined Narcitics Anonymous (NA) and have been going to meetings since. You can go to NA first...and it's free!

My life has improved immeasurably; am doing very well in many parts of it. Today I am happy and free. And I am so grateful for this, as I have had a reprieve from those evil pills.

This has only come about because today: I accept I am 100% an addict; one of those dastardly evil pills will never be enough for me so I stay away from the first one; I go to NA meetings; and I have developed a spiritual connection with something greater than me, which for me is a God of my understanding. I am actually a "retired" catholic! Spiritual connection with something in NA can be anything; it doesn't have to be God!

A day at a time, and god willing, on 5 May 2017, I will be 6 years sober and clean from N+.

Don't wait till 2018 for chemists to wire up. Start today. Like me, you can do it and be free.

Wishing you strength and hope.

X

Hi missy jane .. Really appreciate your response .. I could have written that myself it's so similar to how I feel! I am extemely worried about my health and I feel like I have the willpower to quit .. I feel so disgusted with myself .. Considering I successfully quit for a month last year! I have started doing a taper as I just can't do CT again it's too much time off work .. I'm not sure exactly how much to decrease by but I'm trying 20% every few days and will see how I go .. I feel like I'll be able to get off them again but staying off them I think is the hard part .. I can't take Just a couple - I realise that now .. I'm an addict ..

Good to hear from you! Trust me, and it is not what I wanted to hear; but quitting has nothing to do will power. The amount of times I "willed" to quit, and then would go back. And many, many 1000s know this predicament.

For me, and as said in my earlier email, the breakthrough was realising and accepting that I was / I am through and through an addict. This means one pill is too many; 1,000 will never be enough. This is the best superior knowledge I hold in my head today, knowledge more valuable than a degree!

You seem to be on the way by saying you realise you are an addict, which is the first step to recovery.

Not wanting to scare you, but speaking from my experience, you are right to be worried about your health. I thought I could beat my n plus addiction on my own. Instead it beat me, and today I know it will always beat me.

I suggest you speak to your doctor about tapering and what the best course of action is for you. Best stick to professional advice if I were you. Best, best, best. Missy J

And there is no reason to feel "disgusted" with yourself! Addiction is an illness. Instead, have compassion for yourself. You would not be hard on someone with cancer would you? So why be hard on yourself?!

Help is out there. For me this "help" came in the form of attending Narcotics Anonymous where I found other addicts just like me. I realised I was not special; I realised I was not on my own. And in being with other addicts...I have stayed clean...off and free from those nastiest of white pills for nearly 6 years.

Just to clarify, the reason why I say it has nothing to do with will power is that implicit with "will power" is the assumption that an individual has a choice.

I have immense will power but it failed me in so far as quitting N plus was concerned. And that is because I had got to the point where I needed the pills to feel just "normal".

And therefore I had to take them despite my best effort not too because without them I was f******d, slave to the pills, couldn't function.

That's where my "will power" took me; sounds like you are in the same place. You can quit them though...not on your own; only if you get help is my advice and for what it's worth.

Like I have seen so many others say in these forums .. I can't go to the dr about it because of my profession .. She would be obligated to report me .. Not my regular dr anyhow as she nows what I do for work .. Although I did have to go to her the other day as i am severely constipated! My plan is to get off these things first and then try and find a Dr that won't treat me like an idiot and knows about addiction .. I have had quite a bit of counselling in the past for other issues and I know why I started doing this .. Mainly out of boredom and lack of substance in my life .. I know I need a complete lifestyle overhaul .. I know counselling is beneficial for getting to the root of things but I feel like .. Without sounding arrogant .. I already know the whys and how's .. Maybe I could look into NA meetings but again my profession would hold me back and living in a small town ..

Thanks so much for your response and just to keep you updated I am sticking to the taper ..

I actually took N+ for years every period without getting addicted to it .. Worst thing I ever did was start taking it out of boredom !

Thanks for understanding 😊

Good to hear from you!

Snap - like you, I took n+ for years for period pain! Didn't make that connection of the "buzz" through out this time. This only happened when I gave up alcohol...and I thought I had happened upon the best kept secret in town...N+.....not! Cross addiction they call it. Must say, giving up alcohol was so much easier than N+.

I hear what you say about your doctor; but this shouldn't deter you from getting help. The mind of an addict will tell the addict to avoid any help at all costs.

As for NA meetings, I worried about going, put it off when I was almost two years into the deathly grip of my n+ addiction.

During this time, I did go to 1 NA meeting, and because some people there were talking about their crack, cocaine or heroin addictions, things I have never done, thank god, I left the meeting thinking NA was not for me, as they are all "hard core addicts"! I had never done all that stuff!

However, in treatment it was brought to my uncomfortable attention that "codeine, which is a component of N+ is like heroin, an opiate!

N+ is an opiate based drug!

The realisation that I was addicted to opiates horrified me! Me, a woman of upper/middle class background...with two degrees, an opiate addict?!?!

Yes, I accepted I was addicted to N+, an opiate based drug. The blessing of knowing this information was that it then dawned on me that my mental psyche was no different to those "crazed heroin, crack, cocaine" addicts I had looked down on at my first ever NA meeting.

Like them, one was never enough for me, and I would go to such crazy lengths to get my opiate pills, even when I was on death's doorstep. I was and continue to be like them.

And that's why I go to meetings- to remind myself of my insanity around pills which I get through hearing other addicts talk about their experiences, and i can see the strength of NA as they are sitting in front of me clean from their drugs, and from this I get strength and hope.

As for worrying that someone would recognise me at an Na meeting, I was paranoid about this initially. I put off going to a meeting because I thought I would meet my neighbour there, or someone would know, tell my boss, friends, family etc.

This didn't happen, as whoever is there, is there for the same reason as me - addiction. So it wouldn't be in there interest to go blagging. Let's face it this about life or death.

In Na too, and other fellowships, its all about anonymity - this is what makes it safe for me, and millions of others, to share openly and honestly and so keep our recovery...day at a time.

I have been amazed at the people I have encountered - from doctors to teachers, nurses, celebs, police, accountants, counsellors etc. They are all there for the same reason as me - to get strength from the group and in this way keep clean.

Good luck with the tapering. If I can offer a suggestion -.keep it in the day. Don't think about life without n+ tomorrow, the day after or next week.

Just for today, think about life without n+ today. Having this approach and asking for help too means that in time, the days, months and years will build up.

Best, best, best. Missy J

Just to add to my point about heroin and N+ - both derivatives of opiates - the withdrawal symptoms are the same for either: shivering, diahorrea, constipation, shaking legs, restlessness, lethargy, sweating profusely, headaches, runny nose, etc.

And finally, i just wanted to say I am not promoting NA - I am sure there are other routes or methods to quit out there.

I am only sharing my experience on what has worked for me for the last 5 1/2 years or so, and where quitting N+ was concerned - NA.

Yep I realise it's basically a weak heroin .. We sound very much alike .. Not sure how old you are but I'm early 30s. Two degrees, good family etc .. My parents are pretty heavy drinkers which has never been my thing .. If I drink it will be 12 in a night out and then I won't touch it for months and months. I do plan on getting counselling or something I just don't want to go to a Dr until I'm off this stuff ..

As of February next year it's going to be prescription only here in Australia so I think that's a blessing to be honest .. Is it still easy to get in the UK?

Sorry Didi, I only just saw your comment, these comments seem to be all over the place. I live just south of Sydney.

There are now 4 chemists that have asked for ID, I went to Chemist Warehouse and she said "you've been using these a lot" same thing that another chemist said, but the other chemist was hooked up to another one so I don't know how Chemist Warehouse could have known as I hadn't been to them since before Christmas.

Good news though, I had part of my stomach removed from the N plus and had to have a colonoscopy and endoscopy this morning (that's not the good news lol) , the specialist came after he performed the procedure and said everything in my stomach and bowel is good.

I wish they would make the n plus prescription only in the next few months instead of having to wait until next year. There are 2 chemists I've come across who ask "1 or 2 packs?", then there's others who ask so many questions.

Sue.

Hi sue.. Wow you have had part of your stomach removed and still taking them? That is incredible .. I am currently tapering down ..

The chemists use a program called med assist which is all linked .. They use your drivers license number and can see where you have purchased before .. 99% of them use it here in QLD so I only go to places that don't ask for a license which is hard to find .. I am glad they are making it prescription only .. How much are you taking a day ? What are you going to do when it becomes script only?

Hi Maree, 

Yes, how stupid am I. After the operation (7 months ago) I was on 2 lots of oxycodone and got addicted to them, came clean with my doctor that I was addicted and had to see him every 5 days then after a while he kept giving me "the talk" he then made it so I could only get one script every 7 days. Changed doctors in the same practice and saw a female who put me on patches plus the Oxy. at half 3 times a day, the patches didn't work out, gave terrible fluid in feet and ankles and the Oxy, I would go through in less than 24 hours. 

I started taking the NP about 2-3 months after the op. and had no intentions of every touching them again. But when the script was cut down, I was scared of getting withdrawals so started taking the NP between doctors visits. I'm now taking 7 in the morning and 7 at night and no more Oxy and hope to be off them within 2 months.

Before the operation I had severe pains and bloating for months and they found an ulcer that had grown over the gastric outlet, food wasn't getting through so they had to remove half my stomach, all up I was in hospital 6 weeks. I take the NP out of boredom and depression, just started anti-depressant tablets so waiting for them to kick in. The NP don't do a thing anymore neither were the Oxycodone.

I'm kind of glad they are recording where we've been, it will make it harder to get them. I feel ashamed every time driving to a chemist.

Great that you're tapering down, it isn't too bad, I did it in 2014 and was on about 30 a day then, just take it slow, it took me about 2 months and it feels really good once off them. One thing, you never get that buzz back and there's so many negatives that go with taking NP, I can't think of any positives anymore.

Sue

Yes, sounds like our experiences are similar!

As to your question: "is it easier to get in the UK?"

Most delighted to say I do not know the answer to this, as I haven't been near the evil pills in the last 5 1/2 years! And I have no interest in finding out anymore about them, thanks!

All I will say is they should be under a prescription banner; not off the shelf. I read somewhere there is a huge growing epidemic of middle class N+ users in the UK.

A quick search on the internet reveals very little bad press about N+; but yet thousands addicted to it are talking about the harm done to them in chatrooms. See posting below about lady who had to have her stomach removed...and is still using N+ as she is so addicted to them.

The drug companies need to be brought to account really. This will never happen so best find the help to quit.

Hi Missy,

Your post has given me SO much hope. I just need to know from someone who has been through it, what the withdrawals were really like, how long it lasted and how long til you felt normal again?

Have you had any medical complications since quitting!?

I will be honest - the withdrawal is quite something. I was "lucky" in that I had a "forced" withdrawal due to staying in hospital for 10 days, as a result of the damage N+ had done to me.

As mentioned in my post, one day I collapsed and was taken to hospital where I was diagnosed with a perforated bowel, peritonitis, bleeding ulcers and anaemia. I was at death's doorstep.

Whilst in hospital I obviously was on strong medication due to the operation. I didn't take any strong painkillers after i was discharged, just paracetamol. Believe it or not, the doctor at the hospital prescribed me Tremadol, a more highly addictive pain killer than N+!!! But I was now wiser and threw the tablets away.

The n+ withdrawals kicked in after I was discharged - the usual heavy heavy sweating at night, shivering, diaohorrea, cramps, shaking legs. All in all, this lasted for about 2 weeks and then I begun to feel "normal".

2 months free, and after having been to rehab for a month, I found some n+ in a cupboard. Oh the temptation to use just this once was so great! It was like wrestling with the devil.

But I was "lucky"!I played the "mental tape" forward, something I was taught in the rooms - AA and NA. I now knew the n+ tablets in my hand would never be enough - I would want more, more and more. I knew If I gave in, I would be back to being a slave to n+, going to the chemists again, etc etc.

I threw the tablets in the bin.

And no, I haven't had any medical complications. Lucky though as when I was admitted into hospital, I was told that the damage I had done to myself from using n+ could range from kidney damage, possibly needingva colostomy bag...I was lucky this didn't materialise.

God willing I will be 6 years clean on 5 May. Life is great, amazing today!

Wishing you all the best.

Thanks for the reply Missy,

My main concern is the damage done to my kidney. I only have one (my other was removed after I was born as it wasn't formed properly, so my remaining grew in size to compensate), but sometimes I feel a pain on that side which makes me think I've already done damage to it.

My dosage doesn't sound as high as other people in this thread, I usually take about 8 per night to sleep and maybe 4 in the early hours if I wake up and can't get back to sleep. Still, I am awfully dependant on them.

See my thing is that I take them to sleep because I get the insomnia without it, but I can easily fall asleep on the couch watching a movie?? It feels like it's all in my head sometimes. 

I also get terrible migraines now, and they aren't eased off unless I take about 6-8 panadeine extra. Do you reccomend anything to help the sleep or headaches that aren't these horrible addictive and damaging pills?

I am worried that when the law comes in for 2018 that requires a prescription for these pills that it will be the migraines and other side effects from these pills that will be the most painful, but do those go away after the inital 2 or so weeks off them?

Thanks again xx

Hey Bianca,

Good to hear from you! Firstly,

I am not a doctor, just an addict, so I can't advise you on what alternative medication to n+ you should take for your headaches! Only thing I can suggest is you speak to a doctor for this and kidney pains.

I used to get pains in my side, and like you would think "I am not that bad, as other people commenting in N+ forums are taking more than me"! That's the insanity of addiction! It's not about how many you take, but rather what it's doing to you.

If I were you, I would ask myself: "Why do I need to take 8 N+ tablets daily just to sleep...and 4 in the early morning? Is this normal"?

The answer clearly is no, it is not normal; this is addiction!

I used to get headaches too from N+. Funny that as N+ is supposed to get rid of headaches; flu, fever, but in the end these were the very things I suffered from because of my N+ intake.

If I were you, I would not be focussing on what law will prevail in 2 years - that is the mind of an addict working, worrying about future supply.

I would instead focus on how to quit and be free from N+ today. There is help out there for addicts - NA, etc. It won't come to you, YOU have to ask for it.

Hope the above helps.

Missy J