Real time recording of codeine in Australia
Posted , 31 users are following.
Hi,
I'm a long time codeine addict, and due to real time recording of codeine have been refused sale of codeine. I understand the reason that the Pharmacy Guild have put it in place, but is that where it ends? Just refuse selling it to people? I feel like they have not thought things through in bringing in these new regulations. They obviously know there are addicts, but have they thought past the notion of just cutting them off? Are there any safeguards in place for those of us who are heavily addicted and have been so for many years now. I read stories of people who then approach their GP, and are told the only option is go cold turkey. I'm really struggling and would like to hear how others are coping with these new changes.
1 like, 268 replies
WilRo ellenbe
Posted
I haven't commented here for a while now since I started working. It doesn't give me much free time as my round trip to work and back is just under 4 hours a day driving. If there were public transport options I could use that time for other things.
In 2 weeks I am going to start flying in and out fortnightly to another state which means I'll be away from my wife and kids so we'll see how I handle that.
Im not going to repeat other things I've already said above buy my chosen alternative to codeine addiction is still working and I haven't had any for approx 3 months now. I'm just going to keep on this path for at least a year until I alter things and cut down on my substitution therapy.
In the end I think we'll all get over it. The pharmacies that choose not to record not are just giving the TGA more reason to reschedule it and make it all prescription only
lisa141972 WilRo
Posted
Hello WilRo,
My name is Lisa and I am a pharmacist here in Perth. I have just read your refreshingly honest posts regarding your battles with codeine and I've got to say how incredibly encouraged I am to hear your story and the way it is helping others. I have only recently returned to my profession after a lengthy period of absence due to raising a family and I am quite staggered how widespread the issue of codeine misuse is out there in the community. I would love to hear more advice from you about your road to recovery and possibly even get you to point me in the direction of other health professionals that you have had positive experiences with so that I may be able to help others. I am hesitant to refer just to any GP as I am concerned about some of their attitudes towards this problem. Happy to contact you directly or vice versa. Thanking you in advance.
maree96037 ellenbe
Posted
I am now in week 4 off NP and so proud of myself .. Not going to lie it's been absolute hell I thought I was dying for pretty much the first 2 weeks .. It really has taken awhile to feel ok and I am super sensitive so I guess that is why.. I have been extremely fatigued to the point of not being able to move off the couch and luckily I have been in the position to not have to work much .. I saw a naturopath and taking about 5 supplements at the moment.. Also just forcing yourself to go for little walks helps .. You really have to want to make the change I've realised because I haven't had any cravings at all and now if I think about it I associate it with feeling sick and nauseous and depressed .. My mood has completely uplifted now.... I think the worst part of the whole detox off it was the hot and cold feeling .. I'm still getting restless legs at night but magnesium baths really help..
Anyway just wanted to share my experience and also wondering if anyone has had this side effect .. I have really really itchy armpits ?? No rash just the itch .. Anyone else experienced this? Not sure if it's related to the NP withdrawal or not ..
t90448 ellenbe
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Hey guys,
I stumbled upon this thread from Google. I didn't read all the replies but I read enough. I want to share my experience. I had been addicted to N+ close to the last ten years. The last few years it escalated into a major issue where I was taking at the worst on average 70-90 per day in massive amounts at a time. I think sometimes like 60 tablets at a time. It landed me in hospital twice in the last 2 years for low iron due to the bleeding the ibuprofen causes in the stomach and intestines. After the first hospitalisation I got clean for 26 days, cold turkey. After that I slowly got back into old habits. After the second hospitalisation I went cold turkey for about 16 days then went back to it. The doctors in hospital assesed me and referred me to drug and alcohol and same deal as others have mentioned they wanted to put me inpatient. But, I was working as a contractor and I just couldn't take time off work as I wouldn't get paid.
Anyway, all throughout my addiction I tried everything I could think of to quit. I tried tapering, I tried cold turkey, I tried loperamide. I had some success with each of these methods but nothing ever stuck. I also started to see a psychologist, but was told that I first needed to be treated for the physical addiction before I could really start working on the mental. Anyway, I found a doctor near to where I work who specialised in addiction treatment. It took me a year before I had the courage to go to that doctor ( I don't know why, looking back on it). He was fantastic. So understanding, so supportive. He assesed me and suggested I go onto a maintenance program of either Methadone or Buprenorphine. I had read a lot about Buprenorphine and thought that it might be something that could help me. But I was also scared of trading one addicition for something even more powerful. I'd heard mixed reports. The doctor asked me which I think would be more suitable for me. I was amazed at this doctors attitude. Not only was he helpful and friendly, he didn't treat my like some criminal lowlife (even though he treats many street junkies), and was allowing me to have a say in my treatment ( Yes! treatment. Addiciton is a disease!) . Anyway, I started on Buprenorphine about 7 months ago and it has been amazing. I've managed to taper down from my initial dose and am now using less than half of what I started on, and the end is in sight. I have no illusions about it, I'm still addicted to an opiate, but I'm not taking huge doses of ibuprofen with it, and It's being medically supervised and dispensed. This has given me the stability to address those addiction habits that the earlier posts mentioned. When I was addicted to the N+, I used to find that I couldn't enjoy life without having taken something. I still take my daily dosage of Buprenorphine, but it doesn't get me high and over the months I have gotten past that 'need' to be high. I'm not necessarily saying every person should go out and get on Buprenorphine, but if you can find the right doctor, it can make the world of a difference. I feel like I've gotten my life back. I haven't read threads like these for months and it just brings back all these memories. Laying in the bathtub at 2 in the morning because my whole body was aching and I had insomnia from withdrawal. I used to think the withdrawal wasn't that bad, and in some ways it isn't because it's not like intense pain. It's just unrelenting physical discomfort which makes it hell. Anyway, that's my story sorry it's a bit rushed.
Shakey1204 t90448
Posted
Hi t90448,
WOW! Thankyou for sharing your story, in fact I want to send out a massive THANKYOU to every single person who has contributed to this forum. My worst was 25 x N+ (Panafen plus ... Cheaper to buy) a day. Migraines set me on the path initially and then it was back pain (inflammatory disease) basically I always had a reason. Mercyndol was my codeine of choice for a while too. 2008 I had major surgery and going CT prior to it was excruciating to say the least! Stress about the surgery didn't help.
I had 3 procedures in total... Bilateral mastectomy followed by 2 breast reconstruction surgeries a year apart. In the nights when I got home from hospital I couldn't sleep because my legs were driving me nuts and the 'Endone' I was taking didn't have the codeine I needed. So off I went and got my Panafen.
Im now down to 8 x tabs a day. I began dropping 1 tab every 3 days in Feb. This was going well until I fell down some stairs and smashed knees dislocating one of them and ripping a chunk of flesh from the other. When I went to the med clinic to scrub the dirt out of the hole in my right knee the doc looked at my left knee and told me it was badly dislocated. I knew it hurt but I was still so numbed by N+ I didn't even know!!
Alarm bells rang and I still upped my dose again. Somehow I have managed to find the willpower to get back on track and get to where I am today. 8 x tabs for another 4 - 5 days and then I'm going to revisit 7 tabs a day.
Anyway, that's my story... 14 years of codeine abuse is hopefully my limit. It's Nov 12 2016 and I am praying that this year I will be straight for Christmas and not worrying about stocking up on N+ for public holidays because the few chemists left who don't ask for ID are closed!
All the best and hugs all around for anyone who is still here fighting the good fight. Shake
Surviver77 t90448
Posted
Well done for getting the help. I’m at the stage where I’m looking for a doctor who will not treat me as a junkie but someone who deals with real physical pain due to a severe back injury. A year ago I had a double mastectomy due to 2 years dealing with small nodules, which were removed & I had 3 months of radiotherapy. I lost my mum and my best friend 8 and a half years ago after she fought breast cancer for 5 years after being given 12-18 months to live with aggressive chemo radio & double mastectomy. Eventually secondary cancer invaded her organs. I cared for her 24/7 as well as having 3 daughters & huby who worked -2 hours a day in his bricklaying business. He works like a slave. But there was no way anyone but myself attended to her palliative care. Obviously there was a lot of medical & Dr care. Her palliative care was expected to be no more then 6 weeks as there was absolutely nothing Dr’s could do but keep her comfortable so strong it was 5 months. My mum was 54 years old. 2 years before that my father in law also passed from secondary brain cancer 62, 10 years before that my mother in law passed in her sleep from a heart attack, hubby found her. She was 56 years old. Why did I share so much info? Because I’m also suffering mental pain. From all that and more but guilt over my addiction is foremost. Panadeine, panadeine forte, anything contains codeine. My liver is starting to suffer. I suffer from insomnia sleep around 10-20 hours a week. We live s traditional lifestyle man goes to work women stay home. He works so hard so I understand he’s tired, not to mention an alcoholic since his mum passed, he’s now not dealing with the fact that he’s close to renal failure. The Dr is exasperated by his lack of care. He also has severe sleep apnea that he also won’t treat with the c-pat machine. I do everything for everyone, I clean all day everyday as well as cook and during school term it’s s 1 and a half hour trip to school morning & afternoon. I take tabs with codeine mostly at night but lately throughout the whole day just to get through the pain & the non stop pain. ( my excuse ) ? I’ve tried every way possible from home tapering, cold turkey, acupuncture. But I’m addicted. Interesting to know but only 1 of my mums siblings isn’t addicted to some form of drugs. Her other 2 sisters are both prescription addicted & 1 is an ice addict and the other commited Suicide after getting out of jail for armed robbery to buy drugs. My 1 out of 8 cousins is clean like her dad, but her brother isn’t. My mum took pills for everything and gave me my first sleeping pill aged 12. It’s proven that it’s genetic and I pray and do everything I can to tell & show my daughters the dangers and results. Hypocrite much? So that’s the long but actually short story about me. The point? I need to get clean so my daughters don’t become orphans due to there parents addictions. Which will add to there life the possibility of addiction & mental illness. Hot mess. Any advice or info would be much appreciated.
kristy02475 Surviver77
Posted
Hi Surviver.. I am very sad you have suffered so much from death and addiction.
You are a care giver , give back to yourself now so you can give back to the family who need you most.
I dont have a magic spell for freedom from addiction but I do know that since I shared my terrible addiction with my self employed hard working husband I have had nothing but success.
He is an alcoholic who has suffered from a anxiety disorder which was such a terrifying mental illness to deal with..
Im now so happy that we both supported each other, I have no idea why I kept my secret for so long, our marriage is better for it also.
I am in my late 30's now and in terrible
Fitness and health but believe that I can change as I have so much life yet to live..
Surviver77 ellenbe
Posted
Kind regards
ellenbe Surviver77
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Surviver77,
I don't have any advice except to follow your own path and look at what works best for you. I quit cold turkey, and hope that the change to prescription only keeps me on the straight and narrow. Others have tapered, and others have used opiate blockers whilst withdrawing. It's a personal choice. I find the success stories on the forum very motivating and inspiring.
Take care, Ellen
ellenbe
Posted
Hey everyone, 6 weeks (42 days) codeine free today. Thought I needed to quit on my own terms before the prescription rules come in in Feb. Although my physical symptoms are over, it's a psychological battle I continue to fight on a daily basis. Every day I think of codeine and every day I have to fight the urge to use. I'm just taking each day as it comes. Would love to hear how people out there are coping with the looming scheduling changes.
BHB68 ellenbe
Posted
Great work Ellen, you have done awesome.
I've started a Rapid Taper 4 days ago, Feb 1st will see a lot of unwell ppl.
I was going to cold turkey when the date came but another health issue made me re-think that, i also decided not to go to the Dr for anything to help because, for me, it's just trading 1 problem for another,
It's tough isn't it, not only the physical need but Psychologically it's kicking my butt.
20to30 x 15mg daily for years & i still beat myself up for allowing that to happen. But it does, to many - to too many.
I have a friend with me 24/7 who is handing me timed amounts to reduce intake. I haven't yet cracked the poops with him & gone to get some at the Chemist
I am hoping i can do this before the laws change & i have no choice but to Cold Turkey.
Thank you for posting your story.
ellenbe BHB68
Posted
Hi BHB68,
It's tough isn't it! However with the laws changing and it not being available over the counter, it will stop a lot of people from relapsing. I just hope the government has a plan to adequately treat those people currently addicted who have their supply cut off on Feb 1st.
In every attempt to quit, it was the psychological battle that was my downfall, but not this time.
It's fantastic you have someone with you and you can be open about how you're feeling. Don't give in, you've done so well. A few days feels like a few years when you're on a rapid taper. Keep us posted on your progress and how you're tracking.
ellenbe
Posted
I'm 52 days today codeine free! Still think about it a lot, but glad I'll be clean for 2 full months before the laws change. Saying that, I have noticed a lot of pharmacies have stopped displaying/selling all codeine products so glad I made the leap when I did. Hoping all those affected are hanging in there.
ellenbe
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Louise2428 ellenbe
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Louise2428
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