1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Dihydrocodeine

Dihydrocodeine addiction.

Posted , 41 users are following.

Guest
Guest

One last thing I need to say and then I'm outta here. I'm reading a lot on here about dihydrocodeine addiction...it's as bad as heroin addiction. Drug addicts...etc etc. Well, here is the truth, absolute. If you take dihydrocodeine at a high therapeutic dose for say 3-4 weeks daily, then you are physically dependent on them. And you will continue to be physically dependent on them until you stop taking them. BUT YOU ARE NOT ADDICTED! Addiction is a chronic condition, framed in an obsessive compulsion to repeat the bahaviour, in this case drug taking, no matter what detrimental effects the behaviour may be having on your life. Addiction means you lie, steal, rob to take ever higher doses of a substance, progressing through the stages of harm with administration (ie. from snorting or smoking heroin to injecting it). Ultimately you spend ALL of your time looking for money or drugs to the exclusivity of everything else. Addiction is defined by a chronic, unstable lifestyle that is out of control. If you are going searching for more and more scripts, or money to buy DHC AND TAKING EVER GREATER DOSAGES then you are addicted to them. Otherwise, you are physically dependent. Nothing more and nothing less. Please, no more of these comments about how being on a DHC script is as bad as being a heroin addict. I was a heroin addict for 20 years and believe me, it is FAR worse than being dependent on a DHC script.

6 likes, 146 replies

146 Replies

Prev Next
  • ann03972
    ann03972

    Posted

    Hi I've taken DH for about eighteen months now sometimes taking more than I should.

    The past few weeks I've tried to take just a few a day and then last week just one.

    I then decided I would stop completely as surely only 30mg can't stay in your system

    for too long.

    I'm really feeling bad today very shivery and really aching legs,restless. My question is

    should I take any meds to help ? Should I just carry on ? Does anyone know how long

    this will last.

    I've only ever taken ten at most for a few days when in lots of pain, but I decided not to

    take anymore because I fear I was becoming dependant on them and they are interfering

    with everyday living. Hope someone can answer thanks

    • john69167
      john69167 ann03972

      Posted

      Hi Ann,

      I have recently come off dihydrocodeine and it is two weeks today since I last took any. I was taking up to 12 or more a day and like you reduced to a low dose. The thing is I used Pregabalin to manage the withdrawals. It is a drug for epilepsy and peripheral neuropathy that has achieved significant success in opiate withdrawal and also alcohol withdrawal. It really makes the process so much easier and bearable. Believe me years ago I came off methadone and if this drug (and it's weaker sister Gabapentin) had been around then I would have been spared a mind breaking awful experience of detox. It simply affects the calcium channels (I do not pretend to comrehend the brain etc) and reduces excitation of the nervous system. All that shivering and yawning and stretching and restless aching legs is gone. It puts you in a bit of a spaced out benevolent state of mind where you feel ok and able to manage. Im off eveything now. Still not really sleeping but hey that will come and yes ! Got my life and my self back. By the way the crucial thing Pregabalin does is banish that terrible soul destroying opiate withdrawal depression that saps your resolve and self-belief. Go and see your GP and get some. Perhaps (I am not a Doctor) 75mg x 3 a day. Also a small dose of Clonidine helps at night. It lowers your blood pressure and enables you to relax if not sleep at night. It has been used in opiate detox for years. There you are Ann. Sort that out and you will be good to go!. Best Wishes. John 

  • mirrinsmum
    mirrinsmum

    Posted

    Hi Ann03972, I have struggled with dihydrocodeine addiction since 2009, i was taking upward of 24 per day and felt i had no way out, it just became "bigger" than me, everytime i got my hands on a new load of tablets i promised myself i would start weaning off them but it never happened my brain told me i needed more and i was disgusted with myself, it became so bad that i was afraid to fall asleep at night incase i never woke up again, i was put on these tabs after my daughter was born in 2009 for a disc bulge in my back, the pain was horrendous! The tablets worked great and took the pain away completely, it also took my sadness and anxiety away, before long i was taking 3 every 4 fours then 4 every 4 hours untill 6 months ago i found myself taking 8 tablets in one go every 4 hours! I was on my knees desperate for help but was too afraid to go to my GP in case he stopped my prescription, it was a horrendous vicious circle of constantly hunting for tablets in between ,y prescriptions, i know a lot of people who are on these tablets so we used to borrow from each other which is again dangerous!

    Any way, 2 weeks ago i was at my friends baby's christening who is a health professional and she asked me how i was doing as she thought i looked tired and ill, we where in the toilet and i broke down completely hitting rock bottom right in front her, i told her everything and she said "I had an idea that your back problem was more a pain killer problem", she told me about a drug called Modanifil by a company called provigil, it was frist designed for people with neurological diseases such as MS but they have found that it helps with Bi Polar depression, Cocaine and opiate addiction, narcolepsy and tiredness due to medication, i went to my doctor and told him that i was tired due to my medication and asked him if i could try this drug, he wasnt happy about giving it to me as they have only done so many trials on this but after i told him i would try them just for a few days and come back to him he said ok (not all doctors are as nice as mine), i started them the next day, they have changed my life completely i would go as far to say that they saved my life!!! I only take 2 dyhydrocodeine at night now to help with the restless legs. Now I know that i am probably going to receive a whole back lash and barage of abuse after posting this but i really feel for you and there is a way out, i never thought i would get off dihydrocodeine, it destroyed the last 4-5 years of my life but my life has changed in a way i never thought possible, please feel to contact me if you want, if you need someone who understands to talk to, its easy for people who have never been in this situation to judge.

    Love & Light xxx

    • gary56171
      gary56171 mirrinsmum

      Posted

      I am in the same postion i will ask my dr for that drug , thank you for posting ive wasted so much time DHC has turned me from a busy person to lazy and If i let it go on much longer I feel I may push myself of the deep end sad , Thank you
    • tracy12474
      tracy12474 mirrinsmum

      Posted

      Hi mirrinsmum,

      my name is Tracy and I have been addicted to pain pills for years probably more than 15 years first I was addicted to co-codamol 30/500 then it was co-codamol 30/500 and Tramadol 50mg then I added dihydrocodeine 30mg to the list and also pregabalin 50mg (lyrica) at this moment I am addicted to all of these meds and take them every day I take 10 dihydrocodeine, 5 Tramadol , 2 pregabalin and 2 co-codamol all at the same time as soon as I get out of bed and the same again around 5pm , I have now ordered the Modanifil tablets from the internet and am planning to take these to get off the other tablets and was just wondering how I go about that ? what did you do ? did you take the dihydrocodeine as usual the first day you took the modanifil ? or did you take only the Modanifil and nothing else ? I am not sure how to do it I was going to take my usual handful of meds and also the modanifil at the same time then the next day start tapering all the usual meds down instead of taking 10 dihydrocodeine try 8 and so on  and  then uping the modanifil to try and stop any withdrawals I just dont know where to start these meds have been part of my life for so long I actually need them just to be me , the thing is I was depressed before I started taking any meds and I dont want to go back there I am happy taking the meds but know I have to get off them I just would rather get off them without going through the horendous withdrawals that I know cums with it

      Thanks for any info x 

    • tracy12474
      tracy12474 gary56171

      Posted

      Hi Gary , 

      How did you get on with the Modanifil did it work ? I have bought these tablets from the internet and am planning on using them to get off the meds I am taking at the moment and would love to hear how other people got on when using these tablets 

      Please reply 

      Thanks

    • tracy12474
      tracy12474 mirrinsmum

      Posted

      Hi ,

      Can you also tell me if you still take the Modanifil and how many you take I really need help to get off these meds I am on 

      any info would be great 

      Thanks 

    • gary56171
      gary56171 tracy12474

      Posted

      Hi Tracy sorry for the late reply it was my weekend to have my son over and he has had me running here there and everywhere lol. I didnt get the Modanifil in the end my dr refused to entertain the idea, I had a break down in december after realising I had lost everything due to being hooked on DHC after all the emotional explosion I finally realised I had to stop. I went cold Turkey and although the first week was horrific ( Im not gonna lie wink  ) Once that week was over things became bareable and now 3 months after I feel like I have been reborn I still crave sometimes but keeping busy stops a lot of  that. My Dr Did prescribe Amitriptyline for a month as a sedative to help me sleep and I am now on venlafaxine an antidepressant  which as help a lot. I wish you all the luck in the world in stopping this evil drug I too was taking it more for mood elevation than pain, If there's anything I can help you with please don't hesitate to ask . God bless
    • angie86937
      angie86937 tracy12474

      Posted

      Let us know Tracy how you go on with the mods final.  I can't believe there is  someone who takes the same as me Barr the tramadol. You don't realise till you speak to other people . Good luck love. 
    • tracy12474
      tracy12474 angie86937

      Posted

      Hi ,

      I am afraid the Modnafil tablets didnt work for very long and I am still addicted I am not taking as many different drugs now but am still addicted to tramadol ,Lyrica and codiene now I take 500mg tramadol 200mg lyrica and and 4 or 5 codiene tablets like solpadol 30/500 all at the same time when I wake up in the morning then again at lunch time and again at dinner time so I failed miserably to get clean , I just tried recently to come off the lyrica so stopped taking them the withdrawals were terrible I lasted 2 and a half weeks and had to go back on them some times it makes you feel pretty trapped like it is stronger than you when you have to go running back to the doctors then stuffing handfuls of drugs in your mouth trying to get rid of the withdrawals and get back to normal ( well drug adict normal ) I am sure I will try again soon to get clean and maybe one day actually be free 

      I wish you well

      good luck x 

    • j75125
      j75125 tracy12474

      Posted

      Hi Tracey

      Have you ever gave the NA a go? Narcotics anonymous is amazing and it really does help all you need to joints the desire to quit.

      Hope this helps.

  • j75125
    j75125 Guest

    Posted

    Hi,

    I know this was posted over a year ago however I am a dihydrocodine addict and have been for several years and I would say it is a disgusting drug. I take 400-500mg in one go and this does not effect me. I am now in recovery and on a detox where I get an amount prescribed to me daly which is reduced over a period of time however my experience...

    The drug was at first incredible I felt so good and nothing could touch me however the itch was unbelievable sometimes causing me to scratch to the point the skin was off and I had an open wound. Once I got hooked everything was well however I needed more and more each time to get my fix and even then I was not happy and wanting more before bed. I now suffer from hilusinations regularly, my writing use to be great I have a higher in English however have somehow forgotten perfect grammar and spelling, I can't tell the difference between my dreams and reality, I am in a lot of pain all over everyday, my stomach is in pain and I am getting checked for an ulcer, I have chronic gout (I am adding the word chronic in there because it's painful everyday and sometimes I cannot walk even with my alapuranol), I am sick on a daily basis, I am depressed and I have the shakes permanently. I have spoke to my doctor about this and this is how I am now on detox however he also thinks I may need antidepressants as well as antischycotics due to drug abuse. I was not however taking the diffs as we know them where I am, but I was also taking huge amounts of canibas, cocaine, speed, solpadol, tramadol, diasipam, timazipam and a lot of sleeping pills I forget the name of. I am a married man and work full time therefor I would not say my life is the worst however I am 28 and would easily pass for 40 my wife is older and often passes as my younger sister. The adict part of me I hate, the adict in me treats my family like sh*t he makes me shout at my wife for no reason, me makes me start fight with her, he makes me spend all our money on drugs but he is not me.

    Don't be an adict kids it's not present and will kill you however will ruin you and your life first. Getting clean is the only thing that will save not only me but my wife as my problem is changing her.

    • suz67512
      suz67512 j75125

      Posted

      Hi J75125,

      Just wondering where you're at and how you are buddy?

  • j75125
    j75125 Guest

    Posted

    I would agree I am an addict, a dhc addict and in more recent times heroin I was taking 30-40 maybe more per day for 6-7 years.

    I did write a big reply however it don't seem to have sent if it did this is the short version lol.

Back to top
Prev Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.