Withdrawal from codeine - cocodamol 30/500's - Day 2 of cold turkey!

Hi lovemychildren, I went to work today - day 4 of my detox - feel a little happier and felt more alert in the afternoon. So glad I got through the first 2 or 3 days. I feel that I am gettin there. I felt a bit strange in the afternoon but just came home and relaxed - plenty of water down me. I always seem to suffer from heartburn and lots of mucus when I come off them. I really hope you do it too. Just try and focus on getting your first 24 hours done, because when you wake up on the 2nd day (although you have still got the worst to come!) you feel good that you've finally committed to it and started it. Keep posting your updates on here. Like many others here I'm happy to help support you. Just think this time next week you'll be living a new life... Fingers crossed for you.

Hi everyone, I am on day 41 of cold turkey from co codamol, Keeping a really positive frame of mind really helped me. I just will not allow myself to fail. I always thought of that saying if you think you can you can and if you think you can't your right to. It has been the hardest thing i have ever done but i just couldn't go on another day the way those wretched tabs made me feel. The day i stopped i wrote a poem which i read on hard days makes me see what a dark place i was in. I also wrote down every awful thing i was feeling physically and mentally to remind me why i stopped your mind will make you forget. I also wrote some inspirational sayings which i put on fridge for strength. Good luck to everyone if your going through hell keep going!

thanks this is a lot of help. im promising myself this time, its been far to long on them, thanks again x

day 2 of cold turkey and im worse today than i was yesterday, bones aching, diareah feel c**p, but im sticking to this :(l

hi lovemychildren , Well done!!!!! first few weeks are the hardest but it is so worth it ! Every hour that passes a little more of that poison is going out of your body. If i'd of known the hell these tabs would put me through i would never have taken the first one i'm sure you feel the same way. I drank two litres of water a day the fizzy water from tescos with a hint if fruit juice it makes such a difference believe me . Before i went to bed i had a bowl of oats so simple it calms you and helps sleep maybe not for the first few days but later on it will. When my headache n eyes really hurt i wore sunglasses in the house prob looked stupid but who cares alI helped. Hot waterbottles are great too for soothing you. Be strong you can get through you will feel so much better soon. Im on day 42 not that i'm counting or anything! I'm not exhausted all the time, heart not beating all over the place and not having to endure how dreadful you feel after taking the i'm sure you know what i mean. When i felt like caving in i thought what i had put my family through lately my kids and hubby deserved better than that and so did I. If you want to chat to someone who knows what your going through then i am more than happy to. Good luck and I'm sure you can do it this time. kim

Hi All I am on day 12 of cold turkey, i did try to wean off co-codomol with DHC but it was impossible. I am able to function ok and am kept busy with a full time job and three young children (joint custody, wife left recently no doubt due to my mood swings etc etc). Night times are the worst, restless legs and cramps that are bordering on seizures, i also get violent with myself through frustration of no sleep and not being able to settle. I tried sleeping tabs that i had left from doctors from a year or so a go but they don't help. I have tried hot water bottle and warm baths as well no joy! i am going to get some porridge today to see if that helps any as it seems to have worked for others and i also heard quinine (?) can help the restless legs. I am a little dismayed to read people are still going through hell 40 days or so in to cold turkey but pleased for them that they are sticking to it, WELL DONE. If anyone has any other tips to get through the night any advice is greatfully received. Good luck to you all take very good care Adi

Hi Adi, you are doing really well that is almost two weeks!it feels lke every hour drags doesn't it? I felt lke that at first then suddenly it was three then four weeks ect. I'm damned if i 'm giving in no way am i going through that again! Your right night time is the worst I never want to see another advert for steam mops or sports bras again! I listened to music bruce springsteen and embarassingly the beegees I found the first three weeks the worst now sleep is better but not great as i suffer with chronic pain so that makes a difference. Now mentally it is difficult still feel down and empty but at least i don't feel so angry.After i had taken the tabs felt like i wanted to punch my husband in the face for no particular reason. Sorry to hear about your wife i'm surprised my hubbie hasn't gone too the monster he has had to put up with. Keep going soon it will be three weeks and you will feel so much better you will realise just how awful those tabs made you feel kim

Hi Kim thanks for the quick reply its so nice knowing someone is out there listening.I will keep at it because like everyone else here i am determined to 'get clean'. If i could live my life with no sleep for the next three weeks or so i would have it cracked... lol. The upside is that the backpain (the original reason for taking these damm tabs) has abated or is certainly not as bad as it was. I tried the music approach but am so restless its impossible to relax and listen to it. I am going to try my -excercise bike tonight to wear myself out and hopefully get some sleep, i will post back with any news.
thanks again
Adi

Hi Kim, very much appreciated for your time in writing how you got through this, i honestly without a lie feel terrible :( having 2 young children doesent help but i will do this for them, i will get fizzy water tomorrow and hopefully it helps a bit, how many days did you feel like really bad? this is only 2 for me and i know its gona be a long road. Do you feel ok now, like completly normal now that you'v been off them for 42 days???? ps. makes it easier to talk to someone as my family dont know i take them and wouldnt dare tell them,xx

Hi lmc, I know exactly what you are going through don't think i will ever forget. To be honest with you it is going to get worse for a while then you will start to feel better than you have for a long time. The first two  weeks were the worst for me. My legs hurt so much it was almost unbearable. Really bad headaches and eyes hurt so bad could barely stand the light.  Stomach cramps and struggled to eat. As with most people the nights are the hardest bit  to get through just couldn't stop moving my legs almost drove me to the point of insanity felt like screaming and never stopping. Then each day i felt a little better. I suffer from chronic pain so its a little bit different for me but the things i mentioned stopped  hurting. After  week three stopped feeling so restless and  managed to sleep a little better. Now i  feel  alot better wish i had the courage to stop sooner. I feel more alive than i have for so long, more animated and interested in life. no where near as exhausted as i did. Those tablets enslave you thats all i could think of when could i have some more. I didn't recognise the person i had become so hurtful and uncaring. It is so nice not to endure that feeling so unwell after  i had taken them. I have taken back control of my life now you do the same find  the strenghth you have it i know. It is prob the hardest thing you will have to do but you won't regret it.  kim

Hi lovemychldren et all, Really good to hear you've stuck to it - I did wonder earlier on in the day how you were coping. I've always locked myself away when I've been detoxing - God I sound like a real druggy - it sounds terrible saying it like that. If anyone at work knew what I was doing I'd feel so much shame. I can't imagine what it must be like for you having to look after 2 kids. Saying that a couple of times I have got up and got out to force myself to take my mind off it and it does help, and certainly makes time pass quicker. Because at the end of the day that's what its all about - time. I always waited for that magic 120 hour mark for me to class it as a success. You asked in your last post about how long Kim felt really bad - that's all you think about when detoxing isn't it? How long will it last? Will it ever last? I live with a friend who is also hooked and we've been through detoxes together - my detox was much quicker but so much more painful than his. I would recover in about 3 or 4 days. Whereas my friend would not be in as much pain but his detox would last as long as a week. So I think it is different for everyone, how healthy you are at the moment, etc. The hardest thing for me was starting it. Every day I would say "ok tomorrow is the day" but feel so bad in the morning that I would pop another couple of pills. I'm on day 6 in terms of 24 hour periods and I can say that I'm pretty much done - I still seem to get mild headaches in the afternoon and evening but water is key. And the last part of this may last for days, weeks or months... but this I can handle. I've been happier at work over the past few days - more energy and I mean so much more energy I actually get bored. I need to start planing something to do more in the evenings. So in a few hours you'll be hitting day 3 isn't it? If you can get through tomorrow then you've cracked it. Most people say day 3 and 4 are the worst and you've now managed to get there. I read in many places that every 24 hours after your last dose the level of codeiene in your liver reduces by half. So you'e definately got less than 50% in your system. Not sure why it works this way - just must be the body. So by this time tomorrow night you should have got rid of at least 75%. Try not to worry about how you'll feel after after the intial detox - its different for everyone. I think until your brain properly kicks in with producing its own chemicals again you might feel a little dull. But with a healthy diet and some gentle and frequent excercise you can speed up your bodies repair process. That bit of the process is insignificant to what you feel now. How long have you been taking the pills? What strength? And have you ever sucessfully come off them before? Well let us all know how you're coping and remember we're all supporting you. The next night or two might be quite tough but sounds like you're prepared (well maybe not!). Please just rememeber to trust your body - that's what I always tell myself when it gets really bad. And we al know about the mental chalenge too, which sometimes feels like deep depression. It will pass - just your body trying to trick you into taking more pills. It's Wednesday and in a day or two we'll be looking forward to hearing those magic words "today was a great day".

Hi all another crazy night, tried the exercise bike which nearly killed me as I had so much energy I just really went at the result no difference still so restless, was actually reduced to tears was so frustrated. In the end I took a gabapentin which I was prescribed years ago for the back pain and never finished the course. It actually helped and I got around 4 hours sleep. of course now I feel bad that I swapped one pill for another, should I be worried? I don't think gabapentin is habit forming and I have taken them before and stopped easily enough and if it helps the withdrawals then why not? please if any one can advise I would be very grateful.
@coddy was inspired by your last post some really brilliant advice for LMC
@Kim same again you guys are really doing a great job helping folk through really tough times
thanks as always for any advice take very good care
Adi

Hi Adi. You should feel so proud of yourself giving up is the easiest thing in the world to do but it takes courage and determination to stick with something that is so desperately hard. Tomorrow it will be two weeks did you think you could ever stop for that long? i never thought i could. Don't give in otherwise the last 13 days of hell will have been for nothing and when you try to stop next time you will have to endure it all again. Trust me soon you will turn a corner and sleep will come easier. The restlessness will ease and you will start to see all the good things that come from stopping those damn tabs. I know how you feel so alone in the night and all you want is to sleep almost willing to take anything that will bring sweet relief. Your mind will try to convince you to take the codeine that life wasn't as bad as this but my God if you felt like me then it has been a living hell. Be strong and know that soon you will feel better than you can remember for so long. Kim

You guys are really brave,going "cold turkey".I am reducing them on weekly basis and i am emotionally in a hell. Very negative,want to cry,trust no one,feeling angry...etc.Mornings are terrible for me.Then as the time passes it's become less difficult to cope,but nights are restless.I am trying to stop two addiction at the same time one is the nitrazepam 5mgs and co-codamol30/500mgs.physical symptoms are ok except the palpitations as i've chronic anemia and on a blood transfusions.I want to leave these silent and slow killers because i want to live for my son.Please pray for me as i am going to reduce more from tomorrow.%-)

Hi Kim, thank you for kinds words, support and encouragement, surprisingly I feel really good today its amazing what a little sleep can do for us. The good news is I threw any codeine based tabs away when I started cold turkey so giving in is not an option now, (I have no outlet for getting any accept the doctors and he won't give me anything as he wanted me to do the tapered method and issued DHC which I threw away as well).
Its two weeks tomorrow and you are right I didn't think I would get this far so I am well chuffed. I have to tell you I can't believe how many people I know that are really good professional people that are in the same situation I was in two weeks ago who either refuse to accept they are dependant on codeine or who accept they have no intention of stopping taking the tabs. It makes me think the entire system is broken that doctors (with the very best intentions) issue this stuff!
P.s do you think I should not take the gabapentin? I heard some folk take valium to help the withdrawal process.