How do I deal with this?

[ticketytock1]

Without realising it, I have become addicted to co codamol. I was taking 30/500 once a day, sometimes twice.
3 tablets at night time and 1 or 2 during the day sometimes.

I ran out on Saturday and haven't had any since. I'm in cold turkey and I feel wretched.

I didn't know I was addicted, didn't realise I would run out and haven't prepared for this.

I'm very anxious, sleeping is a problem. I feel very jittery and almost flu like. I can't concentrate and feel very nervous.

Can any of you share your experiences of this? How long did it last for and what have you done to help manage the symptoms.

I'm at work but doing the bare minimum as I'm just about functioning. I have 2 kids so hiding away from this isn't an option. Thanks in advance

Thank you ladies

When did you stop tick tock?

See the GP this could easily happen to me as I have a stash from back pain too .
It won't go against you but if you feel this bad for days .....

Don't beat yourself up but get some help

Poison I took my last tablets on 10th June.. I've felt a bit of anxiety but I suffer that anyway and I'm on medication. I believe I'm free of the cold turkey / physical withdrawal symptoms. I do miss the 'codene cuddle' from time to time but not enough to want to take some more. My head is so much clearer as well. How are you feeling now? X

I'm ok but I can't justify spending that amount to go to the Dr over here.. ..i am scared as soon as I get back and they are available I won't be able to help.myself x well.done btw

Use this as your opportunity to quit. You're being forced into a corner and cut off essentially. When you get home chick what you have left down the toilet and ask your gp to put a block on repeats. It's not only the addiction, but with the amount of paracetamol as well imagine what that's doing to our livers. We have probably taken a couple of years off our lives.. think of it that way.. if I can do it you can too xx

poison echoing tickety - you've done the hard work by not having any for a few days so don't go back!

I have had liver function tests and it's not good...very high so I am literally killing myself too. Day 4 now.. .I have an awful tummy feeling a bit weird and down. Going from 16 a day to 0 though.
.i will hate myself if I give in when I get back. I've got another week here so hopefully I will be ok. Thanks for all the support...its crazy I reckon so many people have this problem.

18 months ago I fractured a vertebrae. Terrible pain. GO prescribed 30/500 2x4 and naproxen 500 and Omeprazole. I read the leaflets.

I took the full dose of each for five days. As soon as I was able I reduced the cocodamol. A wonderful MNet poster explained there were 500/15s and 500/8 and one could use combinations to get the most effective dose to manage pain. Not eradicate it.

After six to eight weeks (I only took 13 days off work) I realised naproxen dealt better with the pain and by then was probably only taking 500/8 X 2 once or twice a day. When I stopped I was shocked to have dreadful diarrhoea for almost a week. I can't say I felt any cuddles from taking it but it was certainly pretty toxic stuff and I was glad I was wary of it.

Poison it's great that you have stopped. The liver is great at recovering from things but you must stay off them as it will take time.

Well done you OP!

In case anyone reading isn't clear, 8/500 (8mg codeine + 500mg paracetamol) is OTC strength; 30/500 is the more common "prescription strength". They're bloody great if you have pain issues other drugs don't reach, BUT they're highly addictive and your GP let you down if they didn't stress this, and by not keeping a close eye on your repeat levels.

The finger-wagging part (and trust me, it's pot/kettle here!) - always read all of the long & boring inserts before you take new pills; I don't trust GPs to tell me all the contraindications any more after a couple of could've-been-serious info fails...

The important part: You've recognised an issue, addressed it despite it being really hard, and kept your life ticking over whilst going through horrific cold turkey. 🥇 for you, and everyone else on this thread who's done the same. Thanks for coming back & updating.

Im not the ok but hope that's ok tickety tock. This is really helping so thanks for all advice. The pills also made me terribly constipated so I would have to take laxatives which hurt loads so would take more pills. Vicious circle

I hope my liver can revover

Thank everyone!

Poison your liver will recover, its very good at self healing given the chance. If you are there for another week you will certainly be rid of the physical pain withdrawal pain by then.

The most important thing you MUST do the second you get home is destroy ALL your remaining tablets. And remember to ask the gp to block repeats. You've done the hard part now.. the rest will be a breeze x

Poison how are you doing with it?x

It's lucky I went cold turkey when I did... today I found out I'm pregnancy!!!!!! A little shell shocked but happy! This will be my third braces myself!
How the fuck am I going to make it through to march with no fucking wine?????!!!!

Pregnant not pregnancy lol

Congrats!!!

Congratulations on been pregnant and drug free! I was prescribed that strength a few years ago for a torn muscle, was told I wouldn't be able to get anymore as they are addictive I was still in pain the Dr still handed them over again! Luckily I stopped taking them regularly because I spotted I was using them to help go to sleep but I really miss them especially when I struggle to sleep most nights

Massive congratulations on the pregnancy!
I wasn't addicted as such, but became dependent on loperamide back in 2013. Its what you get OTC to treat diarhoea. I have severe OCD, i was in a complete mess worst time in my life illness wise and had a constant off tummy. I was taking at least 2, usually 4, but sometimes 6 a day, every single day, and i still had diarhoea. It was stress/anxiety induced diarhoea, but the tablets were literally all that stopped me sitting on the loo all day every day.
After a good 9 months or so as i gradually started improving with my mental health i knew i had to stop taking them. I was terrified of becoming reliant on them physically, like how anorexics who abuse laxatives can end up training their bowel to need the laxative to go at all, i didn't want to train my body that i needed these tablets to not have diarhoea constantly the rest of my life. It was incredibly scary, but i knew i wasn't the type to be able to wean so one day i just didn't let myself take any. Thankfully my body had mercy on me, and i went from 2-6 a day to taking them once a week, to now only taking them when i actually get an off tummy.

My GP won't prescribe me diazepam when i'm having particularly bad spells as she think i would become addicted. She prescribed me 100 codeine tablets in April after a car crash, and despite the pain i didn't allow myself to take them, i was too scared of becoming addicted. I was also affraid of them "helping" me sleep, i have a phobia of being asleep/unconscious incase i wet the bed, so i wont ever take anything to help sleeping.

I really hope poison is doing ok.

I was prescribed 30/500 for dysmenorrhea which makes me climb the walls (I also have a condition called uterus didelphys which, in a nutshell means I have two wombs - it's fairly rare and women who have this are known to have excessively painful periods). The pain I feel when I am having a menstrual cycle prevents my ability to function like a normal human being for two days a month. I do not exaggerate when I say this I know other women have to deal with this too.
My Dr had been telling me for years and years to take it and I'd tried it before once or twice but it always made me feel sick.
Anyway, I took it for three solid days over a menstrual cycle last month and even just in three days, I felt completely spaced out and awful. I drove my car from my house to a spot 13 miles away and when I got there, I could not remember having left my house or in fact driving to that spot. I had combined the 30/500 with ibuprofen also (256 x 2) and a buscopan.

After the three days, I naturally just stopped. I could not believe that I had to essentially "come down" from it. I'm luckily not a person who suffers from headaches, but I had one for two days, d&v for a day and a half and just sobbing and sobbing and "craving".
Told my Dr and he casually and cheerfully said "well, codeine is essentially heroin dressed in a nice package, I'll make a note not to give you any more opiates"...

So op and Poison and the others - I sympathize with you greatly as that was my own experience over just three days - and I hope you are all doing well.

Congrats on the pregnancy also

... conversely, I'm up at 4am with period pain now. I know there are two tablets in the kitchen cupboard and if I took them now I'd sleep... I just can't bring myself to "come down" again...

Mollie that's crazy!!!
Jill I'm glad you are managing better now. All these stories about prescription addiction are evidencing a bigger issue. Gp's really need to address this because goodness knows how many functioning people are reliant on opiates!

And I hope you got to sleep 😴

Congratulations tickety