HI,
My name is M and I am a codeine addict.
I have been using for about5 years. I used to be a crack cocaine addict for 10 years, but quit that with the help of the codeine. At least with the codeine I could function in life, and relatively normal life compared to crack.
However, like most, the dosages went up and up and am at over 100+ Tylenol 1's a day, filtered to removed the Acetaminophen. (800+ mg Codeine a day)
I have tried many times in the past to quite, sometimes successfully for several months, but Even for those months I was never normal. I could not work, could not concentrate. It was not depression, as I have always been a happy person in general and was even happier when not taking codeine, but I just could not work, I could not focus and concentrate. So each time I had successfully stopped I started again so I could work.
What are the withdrawal symptoms? Same as posted here by others, including sneezing. I am an expert at the withdrawal symptoms and knowing what they are with my 15+ attempts at quitting, and I can tell you sneezing is definitely attributed to quitting codeine.
Something we need to realize, which I am sure most here may not is we think (I used to) that codeine, oh it's not so bad, it's a very light opiate. However, on the contrary, codeine has an approximately 10% conversion rate in the liver to morphine. So if you are taking 1000mg a day of codeine, you are getting about 100mg of morphine. So you can think of it as a double whammy! This adds to its unpleasantness of withdrawing.
Well, I am about to go through a withdrawal again, but this time I am 100% committed to it. I have quit smoking, and that will help in my quitting, because in the past when I quit codeine and I would smoke, I would get headaches, and of course the codeine helped with that, but when I took codeine I felt like smoking, almost like how a beer and smoke go hand in hand. So many times in the past I tried quitting smoking AND codeine, which made it a hell of a lot harder. So now that I have successfully quit smoking for several weeks now I think stopping the codeine will be much easier.
I may be a poster child for failed attempts at quitting drugs, but I can say this, the day we accept that we can't quit, is the day you die (figuratively and possibly literally). So to anyone who has tried and failed, do not look at it as a failure, but rather a learning experience, and you can always try it again. Don't stop trying to stop, because if you continue to have the determination to want to stop, one day you will stop. And I know I will stop this time, and if not this time maybe the next. I will either quit or die trying to quit.
ON another note for things that can help the withdrawal phase, practice meditation. Being able to clear your mind and be present in the moment and surrender to what is can help a HUGE amount with not only the psychological cravings, but also the physical symptoms. And it also helps a HUGE amount with any insomnia. If you are able to enter a meditative state, then when you try to go to sleep you enter this state, but in a relaxed way and bam, out like a light in a few minutes, and each time you wake up, which may be many times a night, you clear your mind again and fall asleep again. It gets frustrating sometimes from waking up so often, but at least you can get long periods of sleep.
I hope my experiences can help others like how others' experiences here have helped me.
I will be back again to share the outcomes of this current attempt at withdrawal.
M
My name is M and I am a codeine addict.
I have been using for about5 years. I used to be a crack cocaine addict for 10 years, but quit that with the help of the codeine. At least with the codeine I could function in life, and relatively normal life compared to crack.
However, like most, the dosages went up and up and am at over 100+ Tylenol 1's a day, filtered to removed the Acetaminophen. (800+ mg Codeine a day)
I have tried many times in the past to quite, sometimes successfully for several months, but Even for those months I was never normal. I could not work, could not concentrate. It was not depression, as I have always been a happy person in general and was even happier when not taking codeine, but I just could not work, I could not focus and concentrate. So each time I had successfully stopped I started again so I could work.
What are the withdrawal symptoms? Same as posted here by others, including sneezing. I am an expert at the withdrawal symptoms and knowing what they are with my 15+ attempts at quitting, and I can tell you sneezing is definitely attributed to quitting codeine.
Something we need to realize, which I am sure most here may not is we think (I used to) that codeine, oh it's not so bad, it's a very light opiate. However, on the contrary, codeine has an approximately 10% conversion rate in the liver to morphine. So if you are taking 1000mg a day of codeine, you are getting about 100mg of morphine. So you can think of it as a double whammy! This adds to its unpleasantness of withdrawing.
Well, I am about to go through a withdrawal again, but this time I am 100% committed to it. I have quit smoking, and that will help in my quitting, because in the past when I quit codeine and I would smoke, I would get headaches, and of course the codeine helped with that, but when I took codeine I felt like smoking, almost like how a beer and smoke go hand in hand. So many times in the past I tried quitting smoking AND codeine, which made it a hell of a lot harder. So now that I have successfully quit smoking for several weeks now I think stopping the codeine will be much easier.
I may be a poster child for failed attempts at quitting drugs, but I can say this, the day we accept that we can't quit, is the day you die (figuratively and possibly literally). So to anyone who has tried and failed, do not look at it as a failure, but rather a learning experience, and you can always try it again. Don't stop trying to stop, because if you continue to have the determination to want to stop, one day you will stop. And I know I will stop this time, and if not this time maybe the next. I will either quit or die trying to quit.
ON another note for things that can help the withdrawal phase, practice meditation. Being able to clear your mind and be present in the moment and surrender to what is can help a HUGE amount with not only the psychological cravings, but also the physical symptoms. And it also helps a HUGE amount with any insomnia. If you are able to enter a meditative state, then when you try to go to sleep you enter this state, but in a relaxed way and bam, out like a light in a few minutes, and each time you wake up, which may be many times a night, you clear your mind again and fall asleep again. It gets frustrating sometimes from waking up so often, but at least you can get long periods of sleep.
I hope my experiences can help others like how others' experiences here have helped me.
I will be back again to share the outcomes of this current attempt at withdrawal.
M
This post suggests that every drug has a half life of 24 hours.
Not true.
Codeine has a half life of somewhere between 2-4 hours if i remember correctly.
Not true.
Codeine has a half life of somewhere between 2-4 hours if i remember correctly.
I've been addicted to codeine for a few years now.
I started taking 2 of my mum's Solpadol whenever I could get my hands on them.
I then began taking whole packs of Solpadol to keep myself going.
When she realised, needless to say, she wasn't pleased. She started hiding them so that I couldn't steal any from her.
By that point, thought, it was too late and I was hooked.
I started then buying Solpadeine Max from the chemist (12mg Codeine) and was taking 4-6 at a time. (About 24-30 a day).
I've managed to cut down to taking 24-30 tablets of 8mg Codeine a day, which is a start.
Even that step, though, left me feeling ill (sweating, sickness, diorrhea...etc.).
Nevertheless, I'm planning on cutting that down to around 10 tablets of 8mg Codeine a day and so on and so forth until I can control it without it controlling me.
I'm desperate to get off Codeine as I feel my health (aswell as my bank) has taken a hit over the last couple of years.
I've read every single comment/story that's been posted on here and I have to say it's good to know there are others out there like me.
Good luck to everyone in the same boat! We can do it!
I started taking 2 of my mum's Solpadol whenever I could get my hands on them.
I then began taking whole packs of Solpadol to keep myself going.
When she realised, needless to say, she wasn't pleased. She started hiding them so that I couldn't steal any from her.
By that point, thought, it was too late and I was hooked.
I started then buying Solpadeine Max from the chemist (12mg Codeine) and was taking 4-6 at a time. (About 24-30 a day).
I've managed to cut down to taking 24-30 tablets of 8mg Codeine a day, which is a start.
Even that step, though, left me feeling ill (sweating, sickness, diorrhea...etc.).
Nevertheless, I'm planning on cutting that down to around 10 tablets of 8mg Codeine a day and so on and so forth until I can control it without it controlling me.
I'm desperate to get off Codeine as I feel my health (aswell as my bank) has taken a hit over the last couple of years.
I've read every single comment/story that's been posted on here and I have to say it's good to know there are others out there like me.
Good luck to everyone in the same boat! We can do it!
I'm been addicted to codeine for 7 years. My story is the similar to those I read here.
My family has been through my addictions before, I quit cocaine, tobacco and alcohol more than 10 years ago.
It's has been one day now, you all know the symptoms of withdrawal from this drug and it's started.
I'll post again in 5 days to let you know how it's going.
Katie, I love you.
My family has been through my addictions before, I quit cocaine, tobacco and alcohol more than 10 years ago.
It's has been one day now, you all know the symptoms of withdrawal from this drug and it's started.
I'll post again in 5 days to let you know how it's going.
Katie, I love you.
It's day 3 now; I won't go into the details of withdrawal, you can read the other posts here to get an idea of what it's like.
My wife used to confront me about my codiene abuse; time and again I lied to her. I am not sure if she believed my lies or wanted to stay long enought to give me a chance to be honest with her - and myself.
She is planning to leave, I pray she stays. If I could turn back time, I would have been honest with her. For those of you with a codeine addiction, you know exactly what I am talking about. We lie to ourselves in spite of the obvious truth. I've heard this said many times before, phrases such as "be honest with yourself", "to thine own self be true" abound in addictions recovery. Those mantras never 'clicked' with me until now.
You see something happened to me on Day 1 that was unexpected and profound. I am not a religious person nor do I hold credence in the supernatural; but what happened is unexplainable; to me at least. I found a way to be true to my own self, it came unexpectidley and unsolicited.
All people speak to themselves in their own minds. "Should I go here?" "What will I do next"
...you know, the kind of conversations we have with ourselves on a daily basis. You ask yourself a question and then 'you' answer it as well. Does this mean the person who asks the question, is the same as the one who answers?
When talking to oneself (silently in your mind) you would expect that the 'person' who answers 'your' question would do so in your best interests. Afterall, there are not really "two" different people inside your head. Or so I thought....I've learnt that the two 'persons' having that conversation in my head, were in fact different. One lived in denial of the other.
We addicts live in denial of ourselves, fearful to face our addition and protective of it at all costs.
Folks, I've been down this road many times before with other addicitions. I managed to lick them all, save for codeine. I though that since I beat other additions, I could beat this one as well and always vowed to quit "tomorrow".
Not true, I did not quit tomorrow. I had to be caught by my spouse again.
I know for certain that once this evil is out of my body, I will never return to it again. My family thinks I am lying to them again; what they don't know is that I can't lie anymore.
I'll post again at Day 5
Katie, I love you.
My wife used to confront me about my codiene abuse; time and again I lied to her. I am not sure if she believed my lies or wanted to stay long enought to give me a chance to be honest with her - and myself.
She is planning to leave, I pray she stays. If I could turn back time, I would have been honest with her. For those of you with a codeine addiction, you know exactly what I am talking about. We lie to ourselves in spite of the obvious truth. I've heard this said many times before, phrases such as "be honest with yourself", "to thine own self be true" abound in addictions recovery. Those mantras never 'clicked' with me until now.
You see something happened to me on Day 1 that was unexpected and profound. I am not a religious person nor do I hold credence in the supernatural; but what happened is unexplainable; to me at least. I found a way to be true to my own self, it came unexpectidley and unsolicited.
All people speak to themselves in their own minds. "Should I go here?" "What will I do next"
...you know, the kind of conversations we have with ourselves on a daily basis. You ask yourself a question and then 'you' answer it as well. Does this mean the person who asks the question, is the same as the one who answers?
When talking to oneself (silently in your mind) you would expect that the 'person' who answers 'your' question would do so in your best interests. Afterall, there are not really "two" different people inside your head. Or so I thought....I've learnt that the two 'persons' having that conversation in my head, were in fact different. One lived in denial of the other.
We addicts live in denial of ourselves, fearful to face our addition and protective of it at all costs.
Folks, I've been down this road many times before with other addicitions. I managed to lick them all, save for codeine. I though that since I beat other additions, I could beat this one as well and always vowed to quit "tomorrow".
Not true, I did not quit tomorrow. I had to be caught by my spouse again.
I know for certain that once this evil is out of my body, I will never return to it again. My family thinks I am lying to them again; what they don't know is that I can't lie anymore.
I'll post again at Day 5
Katie, I love you.
I am at day 5. This was the first day I woke up and thought that I didn't need to go to the chemist.
It has been hard. I work full-time and have a husband and three children at home. I do pilates everday and keep fit. Friends think that because of my job I have the most wonderful life. I do, except for that one little secret that I am now getting rid of. It has been the hardest thing to do, even harder than when I gave up smoking because its not like you can smell it. No-one knew. I chemist hopped and made up stories as to why I was buying them. There was a couple of times there where I even wore a wrist strap to make it look like there was a reason. That was my lowest point. I took codeine to calm down. I have a very public job and need to keep a very vivacious appearance. It helped sometimes when I was feeling nervous.
I started my job without them, so deep down I knew that I didn't need them.
I have been nervous, twitchy, sad, sick, but still have to go to work each day.
I work up this morning feeling fantastic. Still thinking about it but I can now see clearly how bad it all is. I can feel my whole body. Nothing is numb anymore. I feel clear headed and a lot more alive which is a contradiction as to why I was taking them in the first place.
I also lied to my husband. He thinks I am irritable because I am giving up drinking coke. I plan to tell him when I feel stronger. Sad thing is, I know he will just love me and not care and wonder why I didn't tell him sooner so he could help me.
It has been hard. I work full-time and have a husband and three children at home. I do pilates everday and keep fit. Friends think that because of my job I have the most wonderful life. I do, except for that one little secret that I am now getting rid of. It has been the hardest thing to do, even harder than when I gave up smoking because its not like you can smell it. No-one knew. I chemist hopped and made up stories as to why I was buying them. There was a couple of times there where I even wore a wrist strap to make it look like there was a reason. That was my lowest point. I took codeine to calm down. I have a very public job and need to keep a very vivacious appearance. It helped sometimes when I was feeling nervous.
I started my job without them, so deep down I knew that I didn't need them.
I have been nervous, twitchy, sad, sick, but still have to go to work each day.
I work up this morning feeling fantastic. Still thinking about it but I can now see clearly how bad it all is. I can feel my whole body. Nothing is numb anymore. I feel clear headed and a lot more alive which is a contradiction as to why I was taking them in the first place.
I also lied to my husband. He thinks I am irritable because I am giving up drinking coke. I plan to tell him when I feel stronger. Sad thing is, I know he will just love me and not care and wonder why I didn't tell him sooner so he could help me.
I only admitted to myself that I was hooked to codeine last weekend (six days ago). I'm reading some of the posts here and the quantities many people are speaking of are gigantic compared with what I've been taking - but everyone's systems are different and I still seem to be experiencing a rough withdrawal.
I started using the tablets (Panadol Ultra) to deal with work-related insomnia - I found them much better than prescription sleeping pills or Restavit, which always made me feel dreadful the next day. With codeine I'd get a deep sleep, poss still feel "high" in the morning waking up still but would snap out of it after a coffee and commute to work. It seemed like a nifty solution.
I'd moved countries, away from family and lifelong friends, and even though I'd met people and landed work in my profession, underlying all the great aspects of the change I couldn't escape a gnawing loneliness. That, and a bit of propensity for anxiety in stressful situations anyway, made me a perfect candidate to get addicted to the pills - they smooth many things over. So I'd take them to sleep, but as time wore on when I was at work and feeling anxious (I have a very fast creative job which gets stressful, and very odd hours, either having to wake at crack of dawn or working into the wee hours) or upset at work I'd take them to get through a shift. If insomnia was very bad, I'd take up to seven in one night.
Again, I know that to many readers on this site that may not seem a lot but it seems to have done as much damage. I'd been made redundant a few months ago so work as a freelancer - busier than ever but of course each day you have to put in 110% or any day the work may run out - so in a way it is even more stressful. I also had to end a relationship but got no closure on it apart from feeling v betrayed with self-esteem taking a battering, add that to the underlying lonely feeling and strange work hours, so I've really been taking a fair few pills the past couple of months!
All in all it's been about nine months of taking them... and last weekend I just snapped and woke up having taken 7 to get to sleep before an important work day, I woke so dreadfully nauseous and shaky and then by the next day the emotions came all at once, it was black, black, black and emotions and thoughts that felt like 100 fingernails scraping down a blackboard in my head. I couldn't muster up a single normal or positive thought. Then the tears came, in floods... that was when I knew something was wrong and I had to stop taking the pills. Circumstances in my life are not ideal at the moment to stop and I don't have anyone here to support me (even though I told a relative about it all over the phone), but it really does have to stop as it feels like it will get worse and worse and is leading me to an even unhealthier way of reacting to things.
So I haven't touched a pill since, but my word it's been a rotten week... I'm managing to hold up a semblance of normal but I've had dreadful stomach-flu like symptoms, nausea, creeping goosebumps up my arms and legs, exhausted, and am getting very little pleasure out of anything - and my appetite has totally vanished in a very scary way, each day I manage to eat less and less. Emotionally I have a feeling of dread and blackness and... well I suppose this is what happens when you use up all the dopamine / seratonin in your brain from feeding it all that codeine for weeks and months. I admit I'm not entirely c.t. because I've been nursing myself through with a little bit of booze, it seems to help a little, all things considered I guess a few drinks would be better than another codeine marathon.
I'm determined to stick with this now as have come this far, six days... I don't want to rely on these tablets again or have to go through this again. I felt like they were making me stronger and able to ease through difficult situations, as well as an insomnia crutch, but I had no idea how much damage I was doing to my system - and that in fact they were making me weaker, in every way.
Thing is, no matter your situation, a parent, a professional, a high-achiever, whatever you are, it is just so EASY for a codeine habit to sneak up on you, and then to maintain and hide it, because the pills feel like they fit in to what you need them to do to get you through your daily life problems, and they are in any chemist shop.
I thought that I was getting better yesterday but I just had another very down-spiral day, I know it is the chemicals in my brain messing with me, and they will heal eventually, at the moment, it feels like it won't end. I don't want to impose these currently unpredictable moods on anyone else so am sort of hiding from the world in my room and just going out to work, which is social enough, till this passes, because when I interact with people I care about at the moment I can't hide the flatness in my voice and it all feels like a monumental effort.
I had not expected that I'd go through such a powerful withdrawal simply from otc codeine. About a decade ago I was on the club scene and a group of friends and I had developed a crystal meth habit - that is one of the most addictive hardcore drugs out there. I managed to kick that cold turkey back then, almost died in the process but we did it, but my point is that I'm stunned that the emotional withdrawal from what appears to be not even a huge quantity or timescale of codeine is comparable to the withdrawal I felt coming off quite a meth habit. Codeine's much much worse than I realised. I didn't think stopping taking my 7 pills every few days would unleash this.
I doubt that anyone's made it to the end of this whole post because I've rambled on a bit, but if you've read this far, I do hope some of it has helped, reading what other people have said on this site has really helped me. Value your mind and body and let both of them clear themselves of this nasty drug... like any drug that you get hooked to, it seems to call you by your name and offer you easy solutions. Must watch that...it's like a debt you're getting into with yourself and at some point, you most definitely will have to pay it.
Take care and good luck
I started using the tablets (Panadol Ultra) to deal with work-related insomnia - I found them much better than prescription sleeping pills or Restavit, which always made me feel dreadful the next day. With codeine I'd get a deep sleep, poss still feel "high" in the morning waking up still but would snap out of it after a coffee and commute to work. It seemed like a nifty solution.
I'd moved countries, away from family and lifelong friends, and even though I'd met people and landed work in my profession, underlying all the great aspects of the change I couldn't escape a gnawing loneliness. That, and a bit of propensity for anxiety in stressful situations anyway, made me a perfect candidate to get addicted to the pills - they smooth many things over. So I'd take them to sleep, but as time wore on when I was at work and feeling anxious (I have a very fast creative job which gets stressful, and very odd hours, either having to wake at crack of dawn or working into the wee hours) or upset at work I'd take them to get through a shift. If insomnia was very bad, I'd take up to seven in one night.
Again, I know that to many readers on this site that may not seem a lot but it seems to have done as much damage. I'd been made redundant a few months ago so work as a freelancer - busier than ever but of course each day you have to put in 110% or any day the work may run out - so in a way it is even more stressful. I also had to end a relationship but got no closure on it apart from feeling v betrayed with self-esteem taking a battering, add that to the underlying lonely feeling and strange work hours, so I've really been taking a fair few pills the past couple of months!
All in all it's been about nine months of taking them... and last weekend I just snapped and woke up having taken 7 to get to sleep before an important work day, I woke so dreadfully nauseous and shaky and then by the next day the emotions came all at once, it was black, black, black and emotions and thoughts that felt like 100 fingernails scraping down a blackboard in my head. I couldn't muster up a single normal or positive thought. Then the tears came, in floods... that was when I knew something was wrong and I had to stop taking the pills. Circumstances in my life are not ideal at the moment to stop and I don't have anyone here to support me (even though I told a relative about it all over the phone), but it really does have to stop as it feels like it will get worse and worse and is leading me to an even unhealthier way of reacting to things.
So I haven't touched a pill since, but my word it's been a rotten week... I'm managing to hold up a semblance of normal but I've had dreadful stomach-flu like symptoms, nausea, creeping goosebumps up my arms and legs, exhausted, and am getting very little pleasure out of anything - and my appetite has totally vanished in a very scary way, each day I manage to eat less and less. Emotionally I have a feeling of dread and blackness and... well I suppose this is what happens when you use up all the dopamine / seratonin in your brain from feeding it all that codeine for weeks and months. I admit I'm not entirely c.t. because I've been nursing myself through with a little bit of booze, it seems to help a little, all things considered I guess a few drinks would be better than another codeine marathon.
I'm determined to stick with this now as have come this far, six days... I don't want to rely on these tablets again or have to go through this again. I felt like they were making me stronger and able to ease through difficult situations, as well as an insomnia crutch, but I had no idea how much damage I was doing to my system - and that in fact they were making me weaker, in every way.
Thing is, no matter your situation, a parent, a professional, a high-achiever, whatever you are, it is just so EASY for a codeine habit to sneak up on you, and then to maintain and hide it, because the pills feel like they fit in to what you need them to do to get you through your daily life problems, and they are in any chemist shop.
I thought that I was getting better yesterday but I just had another very down-spiral day, I know it is the chemicals in my brain messing with me, and they will heal eventually, at the moment, it feels like it won't end. I don't want to impose these currently unpredictable moods on anyone else so am sort of hiding from the world in my room and just going out to work, which is social enough, till this passes, because when I interact with people I care about at the moment I can't hide the flatness in my voice and it all feels like a monumental effort.
I had not expected that I'd go through such a powerful withdrawal simply from otc codeine. About a decade ago I was on the club scene and a group of friends and I had developed a crystal meth habit - that is one of the most addictive hardcore drugs out there. I managed to kick that cold turkey back then, almost died in the process but we did it, but my point is that I'm stunned that the emotional withdrawal from what appears to be not even a huge quantity or timescale of codeine is comparable to the withdrawal I felt coming off quite a meth habit. Codeine's much much worse than I realised. I didn't think stopping taking my 7 pills every few days would unleash this.
I doubt that anyone's made it to the end of this whole post because I've rambled on a bit, but if you've read this far, I do hope some of it has helped, reading what other people have said on this site has really helped me. Value your mind and body and let both of them clear themselves of this nasty drug... like any drug that you get hooked to, it seems to call you by your name and offer you easy solutions. Must watch that...it's like a debt you're getting into with yourself and at some point, you most definitely will have to pay it.
Take care and good luck
So, this is my first post here. Hopefully my rant will be of comfort to someone.
I've been addicted to Nurofen Plus for about 3 or 4 years. As of May 1st in Australia, the Government has cracked down on the availability of over-the-counter codeine products as they realised addiction has become a serious problem. So from now on, whenever you buy a pack, the pharmacist will take down your details and enter them onto a system so that they can monitor who is buying it and how often (they do the same thing with pseudoephadrine to stop people visiting numerous pharmacies and turning the medication into speed/meth). The largest pack you can get is 24 tablets (12.8mg per pill) without a prescription (beforehand you could get packs of 96 tablets otc).
So that now means that many codeine addicts throughout the nation are going through withdrawals as I write, including me. I suppose this could be a blessing in disguise, however you want to look at it.
I decided to seek medical attention as I tried to quit before, and managed to make it through a day of a "gastro explosion" before succumbing and buying more Nurofen+. However, since the change to the law, I don't have much choice. So I went to my doctor who was incredibly warm and non-judgemental and she referred me on to the Drug & Alcohol support service at a hospital near where I live (in Melbourne). I went and did an assessment with them, and again, they were incredibly helpful and supportive. I really cannot fault any of the medical professionals I've seen throughout this period of detox. The D&A counsellor provided me with a list of options including using Suboxone, or going cold turkey and dealing with the symptoms using other medications. I decided against using Suboxone as it seemed too complicated (ie. getting Government approval to use it, visiting a pharmacy every day to take my dose like you would with methadone etc.) and decided to cut down myself. I was taking 24-30 tablets per day (4 pills every 2 or 3 hours), so then I changed to 3 pills every 4 hours, then 2 every 4 hours, then 1 with 5 days between each drop in the amount. It's been quite easy so far, and the withdrawals have been manageable. If the law hadn't been changed, then I'm not sure my will power would have been enough to see me through. But because I'm now unable to source such large amounts of codeine, I really don't have much of a choice.
I went and saw my Drug and Alcohol counsellor again today, and we visited my GP together to work out the best way of finally putting an end to it. Apparently because I've cut down so much the withdrawals won't be so bad, but I'm still anxious about not taking the pills anymore. My GP has prescribed me valium (4 pills per day, which I'll have to pick up from the pharmacy each day to make sure I don't abuse them - this is probably for the best) as well as some imodium for the stomach problems. My first day of detox will be Monday, when my D&A counsellor will visit me each day at my house to make sure I'm doing OK.
I'm so happy that I won't have to go pharmacy shopping anymore, I hated it more than anything else in the world. I was terrified of what my habit was doing to my body as well, so much so that I was in denial for a long time. And I'm so happy that I sought medical help for my problem - the people I've been involved with have been a God send.
I'll post again when I'm finally off codeine (I'm at about 3 tablets per day right now, feeling OK...) - maybe I'll be singing a different tune by then. But for now I'm so, SO thankful that the Government has taken this step and forced me to detox. I'm incredibly thankful for the Australian health system too! Everything has been free so far, even the counsellor coming to the doctor and visiting me each day at home will be free as well (though I might buy her a bottle of wine to say thanks). I never had to wait for an appointment either. So if you are an addict and in Australia, then go see your doctor and use the health system your taxes pay for!
I'll write again once I'm finally free, but for now, the future's looking much brighter.
I've been addicted to Nurofen Plus for about 3 or 4 years. As of May 1st in Australia, the Government has cracked down on the availability of over-the-counter codeine products as they realised addiction has become a serious problem. So from now on, whenever you buy a pack, the pharmacist will take down your details and enter them onto a system so that they can monitor who is buying it and how often (they do the same thing with pseudoephadrine to stop people visiting numerous pharmacies and turning the medication into speed/meth). The largest pack you can get is 24 tablets (12.8mg per pill) without a prescription (beforehand you could get packs of 96 tablets otc).
So that now means that many codeine addicts throughout the nation are going through withdrawals as I write, including me. I suppose this could be a blessing in disguise, however you want to look at it.
I decided to seek medical attention as I tried to quit before, and managed to make it through a day of a "gastro explosion" before succumbing and buying more Nurofen+. However, since the change to the law, I don't have much choice. So I went to my doctor who was incredibly warm and non-judgemental and she referred me on to the Drug & Alcohol support service at a hospital near where I live (in Melbourne). I went and did an assessment with them, and again, they were incredibly helpful and supportive. I really cannot fault any of the medical professionals I've seen throughout this period of detox. The D&A counsellor provided me with a list of options including using Suboxone, or going cold turkey and dealing with the symptoms using other medications. I decided against using Suboxone as it seemed too complicated (ie. getting Government approval to use it, visiting a pharmacy every day to take my dose like you would with methadone etc.) and decided to cut down myself. I was taking 24-30 tablets per day (4 pills every 2 or 3 hours), so then I changed to 3 pills every 4 hours, then 2 every 4 hours, then 1 with 5 days between each drop in the amount. It's been quite easy so far, and the withdrawals have been manageable. If the law hadn't been changed, then I'm not sure my will power would have been enough to see me through. But because I'm now unable to source such large amounts of codeine, I really don't have much of a choice.
I went and saw my Drug and Alcohol counsellor again today, and we visited my GP together to work out the best way of finally putting an end to it. Apparently because I've cut down so much the withdrawals won't be so bad, but I'm still anxious about not taking the pills anymore. My GP has prescribed me valium (4 pills per day, which I'll have to pick up from the pharmacy each day to make sure I don't abuse them - this is probably for the best) as well as some imodium for the stomach problems. My first day of detox will be Monday, when my D&A counsellor will visit me each day at my house to make sure I'm doing OK.
I'm so happy that I won't have to go pharmacy shopping anymore, I hated it more than anything else in the world. I was terrified of what my habit was doing to my body as well, so much so that I was in denial for a long time. And I'm so happy that I sought medical help for my problem - the people I've been involved with have been a God send.
I'll post again when I'm finally off codeine (I'm at about 3 tablets per day right now, feeling OK...) - maybe I'll be singing a different tune by then. But for now I'm so, SO thankful that the Government has taken this step and forced me to detox. I'm incredibly thankful for the Australian health system too! Everything has been free so far, even the counsellor coming to the doctor and visiting me each day at home will be free as well (though I might buy her a bottle of wine to say thanks). I never had to wait for an appointment either. So if you are an addict and in Australia, then go see your doctor and use the health system your taxes pay for!
I'll write again once I'm finally free, but for now, the future's looking much brighter.
So I made the post directly above this one, just before I'd started my full detox. And quite frankly, I feel fantastic. I'm on day 3 now and I've barely had any withdrawal symptoms at all. It appears getting off codeine is a lot easier than anticipated.
After the past few days, I really can't suggest to anyone that going cold turkey is the way to do it. Go get medical help from a professional and let them take care of you. My Drug & Alcohol counsellor has called and visited me at home every single day to make sure I'm going well too, and I've had no bad experiences to report.
So, this is my method of how I got off codeine withdrawal free. I hope this helps people out there wondering about the best way to go about it, because it can be a very scary experience but you really need to look at the positive aspect.
I was taking 4 N+ tablets every 2 or 3 hours. Reduce that to 3 every *4* hours and maintain the 4 hour interval throughout your tapering course. After 5 days, move down to 2 tablets, and then after another 5, move down to 1. This is the period when you'll free the most withdrawal problems; headaches, flu-like symptoms, muscle aches etc. - but these are all bearable and I managed to keep working day in day out throughout it all. Then when it was time to stop, I had these medicines prescribed to me (at the suggestion of a doctor)
4 x 5mg valiums, to be taken throughout the day.
A box of 200mg Ibuprofen, to take for the occasional muscle pains (I take about 2 tablets per day, just to be safe)
Pramin, which stops nausea - which I haven't really needed to use at all.
Imodium - which I haven't had to use much of either. Eating lots of high fibre cereals seems to help as well.
So here I am at day 3 with no withdrawal symptoms at all. The flu like symptoms have gone, I feel great and I have mountains of energy (I just finished cleaning out my fridge... that doesn't happen very often!).
This is meant to be the "peak" of my withdrawal, but I've never felt better. And I've finally realised just how much Codeine was messing with my head too - I can think so much more clearly now and my energy levels have exploded.
So if you're still on codeine and about to get off, try doing it the way I did because it's worked fantastically for me. I can't believe I wasted so much time and money buying Nurofen Plus over the years when quitting was such an easier option.
Good luck to everyone, you can all do it!
After the past few days, I really can't suggest to anyone that going cold turkey is the way to do it. Go get medical help from a professional and let them take care of you. My Drug & Alcohol counsellor has called and visited me at home every single day to make sure I'm going well too, and I've had no bad experiences to report.
So, this is my method of how I got off codeine withdrawal free. I hope this helps people out there wondering about the best way to go about it, because it can be a very scary experience but you really need to look at the positive aspect.
I was taking 4 N+ tablets every 2 or 3 hours. Reduce that to 3 every *4* hours and maintain the 4 hour interval throughout your tapering course. After 5 days, move down to 2 tablets, and then after another 5, move down to 1. This is the period when you'll free the most withdrawal problems; headaches, flu-like symptoms, muscle aches etc. - but these are all bearable and I managed to keep working day in day out throughout it all. Then when it was time to stop, I had these medicines prescribed to me (at the suggestion of a doctor)
4 x 5mg valiums, to be taken throughout the day.
A box of 200mg Ibuprofen, to take for the occasional muscle pains (I take about 2 tablets per day, just to be safe)
Pramin, which stops nausea - which I haven't really needed to use at all.
Imodium - which I haven't had to use much of either. Eating lots of high fibre cereals seems to help as well.
So here I am at day 3 with no withdrawal symptoms at all. The flu like symptoms have gone, I feel great and I have mountains of energy (I just finished cleaning out my fridge... that doesn't happen very often!).
This is meant to be the "peak" of my withdrawal, but I've never felt better. And I've finally realised just how much Codeine was messing with my head too - I can think so much more clearly now and my energy levels have exploded.
So if you're still on codeine and about to get off, try doing it the way I did because it's worked fantastically for me. I can't believe I wasted so much time and money buying Nurofen Plus over the years when quitting was such an easier option.
Good luck to everyone, you can all do it!
I was addicted to OTC T1's, taking as many as 100 a day. After my mother got sick and needed home-care I had to move back home and take care of her. (only child and no other family around to help).
All I can say is... after 7 months of taking care of 90% bedridden mom, the codeine buzz wasn't worth the mental state it put me in, and mornings were turning into battle just getting myself up and going, so I had to stop or I was going to lose the emotional battle I was fighting everyday watching my once strong, proud and able mom turn into someone that couldn't even walk or use the bathroom on her own.
I tried to stop cold turkey, but after the third day I felt like I was hit by a truck and it took all my energy and will to get up and take care of mom, so I decided to tapper off of them.
I never missed the buzz and after a few days I felt like I was recharged and my mind wasn't always lost in thought.
It took me about two weeks before I was down to 8mg a day, and by the third week I was off them completely.
I didn't stop because I was afraid of liver or kidney damage, I stopped because the buzz never masked, but only magnified the depression I was dealing with taking care of my mother, and took away energy and focus looking after her.
To sum things up...codeine was one giant ball and chain that did nothing but hold me back from being 100%, I never needed to be 100% for anything before so I was unaware of just how much codeine took from my life...
All I can say is... after 7 months of taking care of 90% bedridden mom, the codeine buzz wasn't worth the mental state it put me in, and mornings were turning into battle just getting myself up and going, so I had to stop or I was going to lose the emotional battle I was fighting everyday watching my once strong, proud and able mom turn into someone that couldn't even walk or use the bathroom on her own.
I tried to stop cold turkey, but after the third day I felt like I was hit by a truck and it took all my energy and will to get up and take care of mom, so I decided to tapper off of them.
I never missed the buzz and after a few days I felt like I was recharged and my mind wasn't always lost in thought.
It took me about two weeks before I was down to 8mg a day, and by the third week I was off them completely.
I didn't stop because I was afraid of liver or kidney damage, I stopped because the buzz never masked, but only magnified the depression I was dealing with taking care of my mother, and took away energy and focus looking after her.
To sum things up...codeine was one giant ball and chain that did nothing but hold me back from being 100%, I never needed to be 100% for anything before so I was unaware of just how much codeine took from my life...
I've been addicted to Nurofen plus for 2 years now.
I started to take it with a friend for kicks & loved how it made me feel.
Some days i've taken up to 24 tablets.
I'm on day 2 of my withdrawals & i'm feeling ***edited by moderator*** ** inappropriate posting**.
I'm anxious,feel sick,have diahorrahea,aches & pains,especially in my shoulders that people have spoken about.
I feel fidgerty,i really wanna take tomorrow off work & hope i can sleep tonight without nightmares.
I've been getting severe cramps in my legs for a while now & never thought it had anything to do with my codeine addiction.
I started to take it with a friend for kicks & loved how it made me feel.
Some days i've taken up to 24 tablets.
I'm on day 2 of my withdrawals & i'm feeling ***edited by moderator*** ** inappropriate posting**.
I'm anxious,feel sick,have diahorrahea,aches & pains,especially in my shoulders that people have spoken about.
I feel fidgerty,i really wanna take tomorrow off work & hope i can sleep tonight without nightmares.
I've been getting severe cramps in my legs for a while now & never thought it had anything to do with my codeine addiction.
To the gentlemen in Winnepeg Canada, I have been on Tylenol 1 for 15 plus years. I went off them about three weeks ago. I also took alot of pills a day but decided I couldn't handle it anymore. I started weening myself of slowly and when I got to three a day I just went off. The first week was rough and second week was a little easier and third easier still. Someone on this post said it takes three months for tylenol to get out of your system. But it does get easier don't give up it is well worth it. Good luck.
I AM ON DAY 11 OF WITHDRAWING FROM CO-CODAMOL 30/100 OBVIOUSLY CONTAINING 30MG OF CODEINE EACH TAB.
I WAS TAKING BETWEEN 4 AND 6 TABS A DAY FOR THE LAST 2 YEARS WHICH SEEMS MINIMAL BUT HAS STILL GIVEN ME SOME AWFUL WITHDRAWL SYMPTOMS.
I AM STILL GETTING HOLLOW/WEIRD FEELING IN MY LEGS AT NIGHT IS THAT NORMAL ??
I AM A RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC WITH SEVEN AND A BIT YEARS OF SOBRIETY IM REALLY ANNOYED WITH MYSELF. 8-| :-) 8-|
I WAS TAKING BETWEEN 4 AND 6 TABS A DAY FOR THE LAST 2 YEARS WHICH SEEMS MINIMAL BUT HAS STILL GIVEN ME SOME AWFUL WITHDRAWL SYMPTOMS.
I AM STILL GETTING HOLLOW/WEIRD FEELING IN MY LEGS AT NIGHT IS THAT NORMAL ??
I AM A RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC WITH SEVEN AND A BIT YEARS OF SOBRIETY IM REALLY ANNOYED WITH MYSELF. 8-| :-) 8-|
Hi All, Heres my story,
I have been addicted to nurofen plus (12.8mg codeine) and Panadine Forte (30mg codeine) for around 4 years now. I feel so ashamed as i have/had no real reason to be taking them. 2 beautiful young healthy children, a loving husband, a warm nice home and a great job...Anyway we all make mistake i guess......I was taking amounts which i am even embarrassed to myself to admit. 12 x Nurofen Plus and 6 x Panadine Forte twice a day. When i took them i felt like i was the best wife to my husband, the best mum to my kids. It gave me a sense of energy, happiness - which i now realise were not real emotions at all...When i took my tablets i was superwoman....Well i felt like i was anyway.....
It took one day being at home alone with my 4 year old daughter to realise i had to stop. I nearly passed out and ended up going to hospital. The reason was due to being extermely iron deficient ( i dont know if my drug intake had anything to do with it).
I stopped cold turkey and went through around 2.5 weeks of pure hell.....My heart was pounding, legs were aching, sweating, no sleep at all, going to the toilet a lot, nausea, anxiety was through the roof etc. And during this i still tried to function as a mum, looking after my beautiful children and working part time. I admited to my husband what i had been doing (just that id been taking nurofen plus too often and my body needed to adjust - i was too ashamed to admit the true extent). I also went to the doctors as i thought i was dying at one stage....My GP just told me to sleep it off which didnt help at all and i didnt want to go to another doctor as it was hard to admit to her to begin with...So i just stuck with the terrible withdrawals which i wouldnt wish upon anyone.....
After the 2.5 weeks i thought id take just 1 panadine fotre to take the edge off of my leg pain...I was then back to taking 5 a day again...I felt beaten but then the feeling of being back to my old self overrode that. Plus i wasnt taking the monstrous amounts i was on before....so in my head that made me feel better...
3 months after my first cold turkey detox i have realised yet again i HAVE to stop. So i have tapered down to 3 a day and in the past 3 days i have only taken 2 every 24 hrs. So thats 60mg of codeine. Im a little edgey, anxiety and nausea have started again but im just sooooooooo scared to stop taking them fully due to my terrible experience the first time around. I know i was taking much much more and this time im weaning off a relativlely small amount but im just so scared.
I need help to stop taking these tablets...I feel like im never going to get over this :-(
I have been addicted to nurofen plus (12.8mg codeine) and Panadine Forte (30mg codeine) for around 4 years now. I feel so ashamed as i have/had no real reason to be taking them. 2 beautiful young healthy children, a loving husband, a warm nice home and a great job...Anyway we all make mistake i guess......I was taking amounts which i am even embarrassed to myself to admit. 12 x Nurofen Plus and 6 x Panadine Forte twice a day. When i took them i felt like i was the best wife to my husband, the best mum to my kids. It gave me a sense of energy, happiness - which i now realise were not real emotions at all...When i took my tablets i was superwoman....Well i felt like i was anyway.....
It took one day being at home alone with my 4 year old daughter to realise i had to stop. I nearly passed out and ended up going to hospital. The reason was due to being extermely iron deficient ( i dont know if my drug intake had anything to do with it).
I stopped cold turkey and went through around 2.5 weeks of pure hell.....My heart was pounding, legs were aching, sweating, no sleep at all, going to the toilet a lot, nausea, anxiety was through the roof etc. And during this i still tried to function as a mum, looking after my beautiful children and working part time. I admited to my husband what i had been doing (just that id been taking nurofen plus too often and my body needed to adjust - i was too ashamed to admit the true extent). I also went to the doctors as i thought i was dying at one stage....My GP just told me to sleep it off which didnt help at all and i didnt want to go to another doctor as it was hard to admit to her to begin with...So i just stuck with the terrible withdrawals which i wouldnt wish upon anyone.....
After the 2.5 weeks i thought id take just 1 panadine fotre to take the edge off of my leg pain...I was then back to taking 5 a day again...I felt beaten but then the feeling of being back to my old self overrode that. Plus i wasnt taking the monstrous amounts i was on before....so in my head that made me feel better...
3 months after my first cold turkey detox i have realised yet again i HAVE to stop. So i have tapered down to 3 a day and in the past 3 days i have only taken 2 every 24 hrs. So thats 60mg of codeine. Im a little edgey, anxiety and nausea have started again but im just sooooooooo scared to stop taking them fully due to my terrible experience the first time around. I know i was taking much much more and this time im weaning off a relativlely small amount but im just so scared.
I need help to stop taking these tablets...I feel like im never going to get over this :-(
Hi,
Ive been addicted to codeine since I was about 17 years old Im now 32 and a father of two kids with a very busy job. I started off taking 6 a day and for the last 8 years Ive been taking 40-60 Panadeine a day, usually 20 X 3 times a day. Fortunatley in Australia (where I live) about 6 months ago they restricted the over the counter sale of codeine to no more than 40 at a time and even though I regularly visit about 10 different pharmacies to avoid recognition the change in the law meant I had to cut down to 24 a day to avoid showing up at the same chemist too often. 24 a day is much better than my old level of use so Im grateful the government did this but I feel guilty that its people like me who have now made things harder for people with real pain. The worst part about these drugs as far as Im concerned is the 500mg of paracetamol in every tablet with only 10 mg of codeine in each one. Im pretty sure my liver is nearly gone.
I have given up more times than I can count and Im currently on night 3 of this latest attempt. I seem to get the stregth to try approx every 4 months for the past 2 years. Half the time I only make it to day 3 or 4 while the other half I manage a few months. Its obviously not just the physical withdrawals that are the problem. I dont get the flu like symptoms as most others here seem to, I get extremley bad diorhria, hold and cold sweats. I manage the diohrea by taking imodium luckily that works otherwise that would be the worst symptom. Without imodium I get excruciating pain in my stomach and go to the toilet more than 15 times a day.
The worst of the withdrawals for me now is the restlesness and the strange feelings in my legs similar to one of the the previous poster's. It is a very hard thing to describe but its like a burning/adrenaline type feeling in my muscles but also a very dull ache at the same time sometimes I also get it in my triceps and biceps. This usually only happens on night 3 and 4 and only at night never during the day. I actually came to this site trying to find out what it was and if it was just me that got it. Im hoping somebody will know what was going on there and perhaps advise on any way to stop it or lessen its severity. Im pretty sure I could sleep at the moment if that wasnt keeping me awake.
Anyway, my experiences with the withdrawal thing overall is that the physical illness/pain doesnt usually last longer than 5 days (night 3/day 4 is the worst). Depression and some degree of restlessness usually go on longer (months in my case). I am unable to work for the first 4-5 days because it would be obvious to everyone that there was something very wrong. I usually stop taking them on a Friday and take a Monday and Tuesday off work.
Ive been to a few different doctors and had a wide range of responses. One asked what I did for a living and then relpied "I thought you needed to be of good character to do that job" then pretty much rediculed me and clearly suspected I was after a script for some other addictive drug. One gave me a script for valium to help with the side affects and a referral to an addiction specialist, the valium helped and luckily they are prescription only. The others were mainly interested in getting an MRI/Ultrasound of my liver which I didnt bother doing because Id rather not know until I can actually do something about it.
Ive tried psychologists but it kinda feels like they are telling me everything I already know plus a few cheesy quotes. I really dont think its a matter of just being more logical or thinking differently. It seems to me as though I have some sort of chemical imbalance or something that makes me constantly want to sedate myself with depressants. I dont think it would matter whether it was codeine or not, as long as I feel sedated Im quite happy and fully functional. I know that probably makes me sound very strange but everything else about me is completley normal.
So I hope someone benefits from me talking about my experiences with this fairly embarrasing problem and if there is anyone who can shed some light on that pain in my leg/arm muscles I would appreciate it.
Ive been addicted to codeine since I was about 17 years old Im now 32 and a father of two kids with a very busy job. I started off taking 6 a day and for the last 8 years Ive been taking 40-60 Panadeine a day, usually 20 X 3 times a day. Fortunatley in Australia (where I live) about 6 months ago they restricted the over the counter sale of codeine to no more than 40 at a time and even though I regularly visit about 10 different pharmacies to avoid recognition the change in the law meant I had to cut down to 24 a day to avoid showing up at the same chemist too often. 24 a day is much better than my old level of use so Im grateful the government did this but I feel guilty that its people like me who have now made things harder for people with real pain. The worst part about these drugs as far as Im concerned is the 500mg of paracetamol in every tablet with only 10 mg of codeine in each one. Im pretty sure my liver is nearly gone.
I have given up more times than I can count and Im currently on night 3 of this latest attempt. I seem to get the stregth to try approx every 4 months for the past 2 years. Half the time I only make it to day 3 or 4 while the other half I manage a few months. Its obviously not just the physical withdrawals that are the problem. I dont get the flu like symptoms as most others here seem to, I get extremley bad diorhria, hold and cold sweats. I manage the diohrea by taking imodium luckily that works otherwise that would be the worst symptom. Without imodium I get excruciating pain in my stomach and go to the toilet more than 15 times a day.
The worst of the withdrawals for me now is the restlesness and the strange feelings in my legs similar to one of the the previous poster's. It is a very hard thing to describe but its like a burning/adrenaline type feeling in my muscles but also a very dull ache at the same time sometimes I also get it in my triceps and biceps. This usually only happens on night 3 and 4 and only at night never during the day. I actually came to this site trying to find out what it was and if it was just me that got it. Im hoping somebody will know what was going on there and perhaps advise on any way to stop it or lessen its severity. Im pretty sure I could sleep at the moment if that wasnt keeping me awake.
Anyway, my experiences with the withdrawal thing overall is that the physical illness/pain doesnt usually last longer than 5 days (night 3/day 4 is the worst). Depression and some degree of restlessness usually go on longer (months in my case). I am unable to work for the first 4-5 days because it would be obvious to everyone that there was something very wrong. I usually stop taking them on a Friday and take a Monday and Tuesday off work.
Ive been to a few different doctors and had a wide range of responses. One asked what I did for a living and then relpied "I thought you needed to be of good character to do that job" then pretty much rediculed me and clearly suspected I was after a script for some other addictive drug. One gave me a script for valium to help with the side affects and a referral to an addiction specialist, the valium helped and luckily they are prescription only. The others were mainly interested in getting an MRI/Ultrasound of my liver which I didnt bother doing because Id rather not know until I can actually do something about it.
Ive tried psychologists but it kinda feels like they are telling me everything I already know plus a few cheesy quotes. I really dont think its a matter of just being more logical or thinking differently. It seems to me as though I have some sort of chemical imbalance or something that makes me constantly want to sedate myself with depressants. I dont think it would matter whether it was codeine or not, as long as I feel sedated Im quite happy and fully functional. I know that probably makes me sound very strange but everything else about me is completley normal.
So I hope someone benefits from me talking about my experiences with this fairly embarrasing problem and if there is anyone who can shed some light on that pain in my leg/arm muscles I would appreciate it.