to be concerned about how many painkillers DH takes

[marygirling]

DH is a good dependable man & loving husband and father with a busy full time job. No money worries, no concerning behaviours and we can talk about anything. (Usually!)

My worry is that he takes painkillers at least daily. I know for sure he takes two when he wakes in the night as I hear the plastic wrapping being broken.

If I ask he just laughs and mocks the notion of 'being addicted' suggesting I'm over reacting.

And maybe I am? It's just over the counter stuff, not causing financial or health issues so does it even matter?

Today I needed painkillers and knew I had bought some but there were none in the medical box. I eventually found a whole stash by his side of the bed. About 12 packets in various states of use.

I'm not worried that he's stock piling. It's more like a habit he has of grabbing some on way to bed and adding them to his little pile!

Is this just a little security blanket thing or do I need to be worried? Does anyone have experience of this?

I agree that if he does a manual job he may have low grade wear and tear aches so takes a low dose just to keep on top of them. I have done so in certain periods of my life.

Taking ibruprofen in the middle of the night is a bad idea. It should always be taken with something in the stomach and this won't be the case.

Perhaps you could broach it from that perspective?

He needs to see his GP about why he needs daily painkillers. Long term, the effects are toxic on your kidneys and liver, no matter what the dosages are.

I mean yes that’s likely but it’s a low dose.
The poster could wean herself off by tapering the dose gradually- reducing to half a tablet, quarter of a tablet over weeks with little side effects.
My point being, it’s entirely possible to do this without enlisting the help of addiction services.

So common in physical jobs. Using ibuprofen gel if he has pain in one area is an alternative.

You know you have an opioid addiction?

I can get into this sort of habit quite easily TBH! I had a period of waking at 5 am and taking a couple to drift off! Maybe speak with him about it? See if he is in pain anywhere,obv if he is thats another issue.If it is just a habit.maybe adjusting bedtime to a little later may help.If he has a long lie in at WE also disruptive to sleep! Long term Paracetamol can be risky .Also if he has a headache may not work!

It’s surprising how many people would probably be horrified at the thought of illegal drugs yet pop licensed drugs regularly without much care just because they were bought in Tescos.

As a child I stayed with an aunt who would give her children a dose of calpol every morning to “stop them feeling ill” she gave it to me too when I stayed 😬
Looking back, that was so misguided although well intentioned.

I often take ibuprofen in middle of night as I get general aches, and sometimes restless leg syndrome, that make it hard to go back to sleep. It seems to help. I'm in my late 50s. Perhaps this is his issue?

She might have a habit..... one tablet before bedtime is unlikely to be an addiction though.

Yeah one of the main concerning signs of codeine addiction is craving more of the drug to achieve the desired effects.

One tablet per 24 hrs is probably having little effect after 25 years so likely to be psychological more than anything.

That said, it would be best to gradually wean yourself off at home.
If nothing else, If there was an occasion where you weren’t able to buy codeine- a hospital stay or stuck abroad or something- you may have some uncomfortable withdrawals (flu like aches, the runs etc) caused by stopping suddenly x

My DH suffers from cluster headaches and regularly takes painkillers. He also neglects to mention when he is feeling bad which drives me up the wall. My first thought was that he is in some kind of pain that is waking him that he’s not telling you about (possibly because he’s in denial about needing to seek medical attention and not properly acknowledging it himself).

it is a health issue actually depending on what they contain. they could ruin his liver.

If it's codeine and paracetamol I'd be worrying about liver failure from the paracetamol. The codeine is just addictive which is fine if you can be on them forever but the paracetamol will kill you.

The codeine will have metabolised in under 12 hours so there is no way that physical withdrawals are a concern if you are only taking one tablet a day.

One tablet with only 8mg of codeine in is hardly going to kill me is it? Honestly addiction? Maybe, who cares though, it's a miniscule amount. I spoke to a doctor once about it in passing and she just waved it away. If I was taking them during the day because I enjoyed the effect then that would be a very different story or increasing the dose but after 25 years of taking a tiny amount to help me sleep? I don't drink or smoke, I am really fit, run ultra marathons and am happy with that decision, I'm not on any other medication and in my late 50's, I really think it's ok 🤷 I'm sure if I went to an addiction clinic or whatever they'd be pretty annoyed with me wasting their time

As I posted above, I have, they just waved me away, it's not a problem

I've not taken them for a week before when I forgot to buy them, honestly no side effects whatsoever. I'm not diminishing people's concerns but it is a bit eyebrow raising when posters start yelling addiction over the lowest amount possible. Yes sure it's a pyschological addiction more than anything but I'm nearly 60 and have never taken more than one at a time. I don't assume this is the same for posters with increasing addictive tendencies.

I thought the advice was to taper off codeine even at low dose?
I was on co codamol for a herniated disc for several weeks and was told to reduce to 2 at night, then 1 then half until I’d weaned off.
I probably wouldn’t have bothered fancying about with cutting tablets in half if it was unnecessary 😂

@Starlightisenthralling yes I thought the GET HELP! comments were a bit of an over reaction.

That said, on a thread where op’s expressing concern over hundreds of packets of tablets stuffed down the side of the bed and little idea of what/when or why her dh is medicating himself, it’s a teeny bit irresponsible to say Meh I’ve been on codeine 25 years 😂

Lots of people get in a mess with codeine, not saying you have.

@Starlightisenthralling I’m not sure if anyone is ‘yelling addiction’ but on the basis that coedine should only be used 3 days in a row maximum, and you’re having it every single day for no real reason, it’s hardly going to be a good thing. It was more of a concern rather than anything else but whatever.

I was addicted to codeine. Badly. I started off taking one or two a week for genuine reasons (severe migraines) but it spiralled and eventually I was taking upwards of 30 tablets a day. Eventually I wasn't even taking them for pain, I was taking them because they gave me a buzz but also because I was horribly unwell if I didn't (explosive vomiting and diarrhoea, horrific headaches etc). I would spend hours driving around to find a pharmacy that would sell them to me as all of my local ones had cottoned on and refused.

During all of this I still held down a full time job and had a 'normal' life. Nobody had any idea. It was only finding out I was pregnant that motivated me to stop. I've been clean for six years now.

Opioids are no joke. Certainly taking one tablet a day for 25 years isn't much of an issue, but it can spiral so easily. I started off only taking one or two a week.

@LlamaFace19 well done getting off codeine, it’s so easy to slide into an addiction. Did you stop on your own without any outside help? I agree, codeine is powerful stuff to dabble in.

Its a massive problem in the US. OxyContin (synthetic opioid) is one of the most abused drugs. It’s nick named HillBilly heroin in some states because of its similarity, it’s street value and the sheer amount of people hooked on it

Safe to say if this poster has done this for so long, they probably wouldn't be able to stop without some form of help, otherwise they would have.

I'm going to accept your challenge such as it is and stop from tonight, I shall report back. Sorry I wasn't meaning to diminish what is a real problem for some. I'm mildly curious now as to what will happen.