Cold Turkey anyone.... ? 4 Days in.....

Well done mate for taking the steps to get off it! I use to take codeine for bulging discs i had from a Army accident so i got hooked on it taking upto 15-30 tabs a day for 10yrs! How i got off it was going to my doctors and i was put on suboxone! its stops ALL withdrawals are the narcan in it reverse the effects from it, and i can say it was the best move i ever made.

I tryed going CT "cold turkey" and was just to uncomfortable with constant vomiting and the runs so saw a DR who put me on it and you don't have a single withdrawal effect! i would suggest speaking to a gp who specializes in this field, and in fact i just had my dose not 20 mins before i wrote this...

Cheers

Nathan

 

At 6 days you are on your way so after about 10 days it will start getting better but sleep and restless legs maybe a problem! I Also got some valium for sleep but if you still have pills ditch then NOW... Keeping them is tempting fate.

Here in Australia all codeine products are prescription only so you can't get them any more which stops temptation.

It was doubly hard for me as im a soldier and work as a PT instructor so it was very hard to stay mentally fit when you feel like crap lol, also magnesium is good for restless legs too. The worst part was driving around getting them from different places as they get to know you after a while so im so glad i don't have to do that anymore!

good luck and let me know how you are going...

'Nathan  

Have reached Day 8..... boy this is hard.....

Having major cravings today, still have problems sleeping and a slightly fuzzy headache which tends to arrive halfway through each day. 

Muscle cramps seem to be easing off but still struggling.....  how did I ever last 25 days before.....? 

In work at moment so I know I can’t be tempted.....  could be early to bed tonight..... 

Yes the lack of sleep is without doubt the worst part! I had it extra hard being a soldier and having to be on call at any moment. Try some over the counter sleeping aids they really help a lot trust me!! and but by the sounds off it you are well on your way to kicking it for good well done mate! I know just how hard it is, also hot showers helped with the muscles to....

Here we go again..... each day mid afternoon, I’m getting a headache.....  So frustrating , actually felt pretty good this morning , but now sitting in the office I could relapse so easily. Luckily there are no tablets here. Only aspirin , which do nothing for this headache.....

Will be glad when this is over..... Withdrawal’s a b***h.......

I was lucky i never got headaches but the sleeping was the killer combined with restless legs! The worst part is it can take months for you sleep pattern to return, so as i said before get some sleeping aids or better still valium! My dr prescribed me some as she's fully aware off my recovery BUT! valium can only be taken short term or you will end up with another addiction.

But as i said before i went to see a drug addiction specialist and was put on Suboxone and i kid you not every symptom went away with in 15 mins!! I'm not sure off your situation but i will say this try and get in to see one its so much better then cold turkey! 

Close call today, 

I have moved into Day 10 of CT. 

Last night was terrible, took a migraine headache about 2 or 3 in the afternoon which hung around and got worse as the day progressed. 

By 9pm had to check out and just go to bed. Missed the end of the Liverpool game. ( no bad thing, I’m a Utd fan).  Head completely busting.

Headache still hanging around this morning albeit bad enough for me to call at a family members for some tabs. I brought a pack of ten 30/500s into work and stared at them all morning.  Slowly my headache has disappeared and I returned said packet of tabs back to where they came from saying I didn’t need them. Can’t believe I didn’t use them.

Very close call but the CT still is in tact. 

Feel ok today, not great but bearable at present......

Fingers crossed

Hi Rob, well done for going CT. I am on day 3. Been on 8-10 N+ for ten years. Not quite cold turkey, just one in the morning and one on the afternoon to take the edge off. But still feel like I have a stomach bug and flu mixed together and feel very not with it all the time. I stopped drinking in the evening too to avoid feeling even slightly hungover and compounding the symptoms the next day and quit caffeine for herbal teas. It's all very surreal and uncomfortable.

Keep hitting the gym hard but I'm not sure it's helping, just feel so drained and ill. Had a terrible pain in my leg last night but took some paracetamol before bed and that seemed to help. Anything I find that helps I'll let you know! Keep going and good luck. It's helped posting to a couple of you on here just starting out on this journey. Lets do it together

So disappointed...... broke the CT today. Again afternoon brought a monster of a headache.

I was in work, and just couldn’t deal with it. Ended up nipping out and getting some tablets. Since 4 I’ve taken... 4 x 30/500’s.

Gutted with myself..... Back to square one again...... 

Will try again......

Hey Rob,

Thanks for your message of support. Don't be too disheartened, you are not starting all over again, just try and wean off what you have had. Maybe just one later if you really can't handle the second wave of withdrawals. That's what I'm doing, just taking the lowest dose I possibly can (currently 3 a day) so that the withdrawals are manageable but I don't get that warm feeling back. If I do that it'll creep right back up I know. Even though my stomach is still bloated I can feel my digestive system starting to return to normal and I'm not getting the pain and heart burn I've been so used to. I think tbh I'm bloated coz I'm filling myself with veggie smoothies, herbal teas and probiotics - it's like I'm trying to apologise profusely to my gut for the ten years of abuse and probably overdoing it! Can't fix ten years of torment in four days!

As for the always thinking about it well I can't relate to that more. Every time I pass I chemist in another location I look and think it's an opportunity to get tabs from staff who don't know me. I plan meticulously which ones to go to near work or home or I order them and I have just enough options to rotate and get away with it. I still get the odd, 'you do know this is only short term use don't you?' etc but they still give them to me. I also go in with my gym stuff on so I don't look like a junkie! As for clock watching and thinking about it, I take them very regularly at set times and it's those times I find hardest. I used to actually get a bit excited when it was time to take them, a bit like a coffee break, but a codeine break instead. Then I realise I can't and I want something to fill the gap. But there isn't anything! However, I remind myself that it's only really for the first hour I feel that nice feeling and then it wears off and I just feel like crap for the other three hours, tired and headache until it comes round again. I know in the long run this is the best thing to do. I am 40 at the end of this year and I gave up smoking a year ago, have finally cut down to sensible alcohol intake so it's just the codeine to go - and gosh isn't it the hardest?! 

But back to you - you have not started all over again, you took the edge off as you were struggling and you need to be able to focus with your job. Think about all the times you nearly have and haven't, therefore, your successes are still well in the majority. CT is hard. Everyone around me atm thinks I have a virus, especially as I keep sweating and am really tired. The reason I don't want to go to the GP is that my job involves having to be checked for any mental health issues and being an addict of anything would probably involve me loosing my career!

Sorry to ramble-  just know you're not alone, not by a long way!

Absolutely Rob! Just keep going! Well done for none today and great news you feel well, hopefully you are coming out of the worst of it now.

The weird thing is even though I won't miss the nerves of going in the pharmacy, especially when I know it's too soon since last time, I think I'll actually miss the panning side of it a bit! It's just been such a massive part of my life for so long! What I may do though is save all the money I would have spent and put it in a pot for our holiday in the summer, just like people giving up smoking! It'll give me a new little project to focus on that'll actually benefit my whole family. Can't actually believe I've hidden it for so long, they all have an inkling I take too many now and again but have no idea I am totally addicted as much as I am, I've got very clever at hiding it!

Anyways, I also have a Netflix and chill weekend ahead of me Enjoy! Jen