Solpadol dependent ?

Please try urge him To go see a doctor although I know that will take a lot of courage ... If not try asking him why he is taking the solpadol ... Is it 30mg stuff , and how many a day do you know ?... How long have you been together ?.... He will need you through this battle.. Xx

He told me it was for a sore ankle. He ordered the stuff online as he also said it was the disolvable tablets so no prescription was needed (not sure that's true but its deffo not that kind) I think he has about a packet a day as I always seem to find the empty strips so about 10 as far as I know . We haven't been going out for a long time but been friends for years. Thanks so much for your help am really lost when it comes to all this and I didn't know who I should talk to about it.

Amazing post Nikki. So true in every way , some really good sound advice. I myself have been addicted to Dihydrocodeine for 13 years so I know all about the sneaking and lying. Unfortunately I'm still doing it.

Thanks Angie

Everyone reaches their breaking point in their own time. For me the fear of loosing the people I love is what brought me to mine. If I didn't have them I knew I'd have no reason to hold back on the pills and I likely would have been dead within a couple of years.

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?

Ha, no I don't mind telling you my age. I'm no spring chicken at nearly 43 in a few months. 

Hey there , that was great advice from Nikki, she's right just keep calm and try talking to him again about it .. Tell him about the addictive side of taking codiene , and just see what he has to say ..

I hope to hear from you soon , and what has happened once you have spoken to him again ..

I really hope he stops before it's too late and he is taking more and more..

Codiene ruins lives. Big hugs. X

Happy to be of any help I can.

He may be too ashamed to come clean to you and ask for help. I know I was. If he knows his family love him and that you will stick by him through it he may be much less defensive about it.

An addicts biggest fear is going into detox. I feared it more than death. So know if he flies off the handle it's out of fear...

Let me know how things go for you hun

Also if you need the info I know a few things that will help make detoxing a squillion times easier for him.

How did things go ?????

Hi. I found a empty packet and a half used packet so I asked if he was still taking them again , he played this off as he wasn't and it was just old packets (not buying this at all) however he gave me the whole dont you trust me speach and it made me feel bad so I backed off . I know he's ran out now which is good just hope he doesn't order any more

Will be keeping my fingers crossed for you Hun , here to talk anytime if needed xx

Hi there , just a point I picked up on there about the don't you trust me load of sh**. I've heard that one many times and basically the answer would be well it's not a case of not trusting it's a case of making sure they are safe .  I'm 42 years old with14 years experience with opiate abuse ect.   That sounds like a cv for a job lol. Anyways well wishes Hun xxx

Thanks am just hoping that's the end of it and no more packages come through the mail with that rubbish 😊

Sugarcookie,

I admire your optimism and I hope you're right but if he is addicted to them, he will continue buying them. An addict is always thinking of their next high. Always.

If it were me in your shoes I would flat out tell him no. I don't trust you. You're not being honest. He will go to extrodinary lengths to prevent you finding out his secret. I got to a point where I stopped taking the packets home. I would empty them into an empty vitamin bottle or tissue (they were all getting taken that day anyway) and then I'd throw the empty packs in a public bin.

It's not right that he makes u feel bad. Don't sweep it under the rug. As his partner you have a right to know what he's shoving in his body. If you ignore it it will only consume him, you and your relationship and drag you both deeper down the opiate rabbit hole. His health will suffer. Your mental health will suffer. Put your foot down and tell him to quit treating u like you're clueless.

I wish you luck hun. Stand strong. You can help him it may just take time.

Nikki

Nikki you are so right. Your posts are amazing.  Also sugarcookie I understand it's hard because I have a partner who I have to walk on eggshells with. Not because of opiates ).  He's just very nasty but I've spoken about this in other posts.  I wish you well Hun. We're here anyways if you need to talk. 

Thanks Angie

Codeine is such a f@*!ed up drug. Even if I only help one person it'd be happy days for me.

Support is so vital in relation to addiction and detox even if it's just on this site. It can help to know others have been through similar circumstances...

I don't think I would have kept my sanity throughout detox without this site haha

Take care hun

Nikki

Well its only been a month but he has bought more and is lying about it again , I dont know what to do about it I thought this was over he promised me

sugarcookie,

I'm sorry to hear that hun. Did he go through detox over that month?

Unless he has commited to himself to quit, any promises he makes to you mean diddly squat. In his mind his addiction comes before ANYTHING. It is consuming him.

My partner almost walked out on me. That was enough for me to pull my head out of my a*s. I handed him my house keys, cash and card to stop me from going to the chemist and I was done.

He may need a good kick up the rear end (figureritvly speaking).

Do u know how many he is taking in a day?

Nikki x

I think about 10 ,

As far as I know he gets a box of 100 and I think takes them over 14 days, is that alot ? I dont think he has had any since may 11 when I found a packet and asked him to bin which he did . What are the effects of using these too much ?

Oh no Hun , so sorry to hear this ..

Did he get them from the doctor ?????

No online from some dodgy site called doktor online

Did he go into withdrawal? If he stopped taking them early may he would have shown signs of withdrawal. If he didn't, I hate to say but he may have been taking them the whole time. I told my partner I was off them when I wasn't. I just had to get sneakier about purchasing them.

100 a month isn't necessarily a lot, it breaks down to be about 3-4 a day. If this is his only source. If you're finding empty packets all over the place, I highly doubt it is.

Hi. Am not sure about withdrawal, would I know ? I am only going by what I find but there is more liwky more as when I have parcetamol about it seems to go aswel and all I get is I chucked it out 😐 o

Oh my goodness they're £40 per 100 !!!!

How old is he do you mind me asking ... , you must be gutted ... Maybe show him this site ?,,, so he can see how devastated you are .. But I understand if he would maybe be mad ..

He's 30. I tried to have a conversation with him about it but all I got is oh I haven't done blah blah and makes me feel in the wrong . Am guessing they not as much as £40 usually?

Hey Hun , well from that doctor online they're £40 believe me I was tempted once , for 100 , as they consult you online then give you the drugs .. No doctors appointment needed , you can get free from doctors in uk and Scotland .. , but when I looked it was £40 for the consult then you got the tablets .. They hardly asked for any info ..

Really sad .. , what are you going to do ??? Will you support him , does he want to stop taking the meds ? Xx

Am not sure what to do as everytime he has them je just tells me he isn't taking them even tho I see that he does so I dont know how to help :-\

You would have 100% known if he stopped them.

Common withdrawal symptoms are insomnia, hot and cold flushes, shaking, restlessness (most commonly in the legs), possible vommitting/nausea, diarrhea, depression, anxiety, agitation and just a general feeling like you've been hit by a bus. These symptoms vary for each person. Generally the worst of the worst is over within 7-14 days, again different for everyone. But if an addict suddenly stopped taking codeine they would show at least a handful of these symptoms (and that's if they're lucky).

Oh that doesn't sound good , no wonder it is so hard for people to come off them . Am hoping there's going to come a point where he thinks enough. I dont want to keep having the same chat with him as itblight ruin our relationship. He knows am not happy that he takes them yhatd why hw goes out his way to hide thrm

Try and let him know of the dangers and the withdrawal symptoms that will happen for him if he dosent taper off them slowly Hun ... It's defo no quick fix getting off them , but gradually he will if he wants to... Long term he will end up really poorly though ... Xx

Detox was the most painful thing I've ever experienced. It's no surprise he fears coming off them.

It's really difficult to force an addict to stop. It took me 9 years before I'd had enough. But at the same time it's even more difficult to stand by and watch him slowly kill himself. Perhaps you could write him a note (sounds lame I know) but it's a really good way for you to express what your feeling and let him know that his addiction isn't only hurting him. I believed for so long that I was only hurting myself. I was completely oblivious to the fact that I was hurting the people I loved. You could also suggest a rehab clinic or detox center. They can really help with reducing his withdrawal symptoms so it's not so scary.

That's a good idea writing a note not sure how to word it though.

Have you done any damage your self ? How many did you take a day ? Koi

Just be honest. Try your best to get him to see it from your point of view.

I was hospitalized twice. I was so close to death. I weighed 35kg's (I'm 164cm tall), was severely malnourished, almost had my organs shut down and had to have a blood transfusion. Long term use of this stuff will kill you very slowly and painfully.

My body took about 6 odd months to return to my pre-pill popping days. Phycological recovery though. That takes very much longer.

Oh my gosh Nikki , this scares me so much .. , can I ask how many and what you were taking per day roughly ??? ... Does it depend how many to be on that level of seriousness ?,,, I hope your well on the road to recovery now Hun , big hugs xx

I was taking codeine 12.8mg/ibuprofen 200mg and about 30 a day. The stuff that he is taking is codeine 30mg/paracetamol 500mg. The paracetamol isn't as rough on your guts as ibuprofen but paracetamol has just as many serious side effects. The main being a toxic liver. Plus the codeine content is substantially higher in the stuff he is taking.

Just like him I started at a low dose but you'll always want more. It might start as an extra pill a day and gradually get worse and worse until you find yourself taking a fist full of tablets and feeling nothing.

The seriousness of it does depend on the drug and the dose but if he's taking it 7 days a week non stop it's going to get ugly. It took 5 years of me taking them for the serious side effects to catch up to me. Everyone is different.

Ahh , ok ,,, Iv been taking 3 X 4.5/5 , 30mg cocodamol a day , so three times a day for the past 7 years , Iv gotten down to 4.5 of a night and 2 during the day most days .. Still way way way too much ... I'm too scared to go to the doctor for bloods to see what damage Iv done to myself ... 😕 Xx

Am guessing to start with you took them as you needed them but then just enjoyed the feeling ?

I was the exact same. By the time I finally gave in and went to the hospital, my doctors couldn't figure out how I was still alive. By all standards my blood count was lower than what they see in ICU. In 30 years of being a doctor my main physician had never seen protein levels that low. I also had dangerously low iron, electrolytes and all vital vitamins and minerals. Pretty much everything.

Congrats on cutting it down! Even if it's only one pill, thats one less pill a day harming you

Just as a side note. If you're taking 6.5 (approx) cocodamol a day this equates to (I think) 3250mg of paracetamol. At this point I would be more concerned about that.

Paracetamol is the most common cause of acute liver failure. It is tolerated by the liver in small doses but can be toxic in high doses. Please take care.