To ask how to come off co-codamol

[Shambles12]

So I seen a post on here which prompted me to do this. I am addicted to Zapain, I take 4 a day since hurting my shoulder. I take it religiously regardless of whether I am in pain or not. Has anybody been through this as I really don't want to take this medication anymore?!

I used to work in addiction counselling. Do not stop cold turkey unless you are under medical supervision. Opiate withdrawal is no joke and can make you very sick.

if you are worried about seeing a doctor, take the advice you have already received. Cut down the dosage really slowly so you taper off. Like a previous poster said - change one of your doses to a half or three quarter dose for a few days. Then cut down another one by the same amount. When all
doses have been cut down to the same amount, reduce further, and so on. Eventually eliminate one dose, then another etc.

you may experience rebound pain, especially rebound headaches. It’s normal unfortunately - its part of your body adjusting. If you are desperate, take ibuprofen in a small dose. Paracetamol can also cause rebound headaches so avoid it as much as possible.

I am wondering if I could go to a pharmacist and by the OTC stuff and say I am trying to cut down. Do you think they would sell it to me?

This is what I’m scared of. I have severe chronic pain which means I’ve been on a daily pain management plan for years which includes Dihydrocodeine. I’m scared that one day I may not be in pain but my body will be so used to the medication that I’ll still feel like I ‘need it’. I don’t have advice, but I wish you the best op

I dont have any Zapain left anyway so I dont have a choice really, Maybe it is blessing in disguise

Hey! I was only on tramadol for a few weeks but I was on a high dose and became addicted. I didn’t realise until I stopped and could literally not get out of bed - felt so sick.
I weaned off very gradually and took other painkillers to deal with the nausea/headaches a little.
i know my problem was maybe more straightforward as I hadn’t been in it long but just to say there’s no shame in it - you were given it for a medical reason and should be supported to deal with the side effect of it being so physically addictive (not sure if that’s the right word but I was stunned by my body’s reaction!)

Ah I’ve just seen I don’t have any left - talking to your pharmacists about whether going cold Turkey is viable is sensible. So sorry you are dealing with this.

What strength you taking and how long?

There are worse things to be addicted to

they are 30/500 - Taking 4 a day

Oh sorry been taking them for about 6 months

That's awful, consider putting in a complaint to practice manager given the leaflet PP added above says not to just stop taking them & to involve professional to taper off due to withdrawal symptoms. As your using aids MH like another poster with anxiety stopping abruptly could also trigger off a MH crisis and they should be looking into more suitable medication alternatives to help manage your symptoms and maybe need a referral to a specialist.
GP practices often employ own pharmacists to do medication reviews now so perhaps a consult with them would be more helpful and they'd know if more suitable preparation like liquid to make small dose adjustments easier.

It must be common problem as most people will need much longer than 3 days pain relief it states, pain is hard to live with so understandable fear feeling bad and a big motivator to increase dose when worsens.

Starting an antidepressant for depression had lucky side effect reducing pain (faulty signal?) after an accident as I had been taking paracetamol & ibuprofen daily for ages just to get through work days. Antidepressants aren't technically addictive but the withdrawal issues are well known & needs to be managed, some GPs try to taper off too quickly & reduce by too big chunks perhaps due to available tablet sizes when person may need smaller i.e 10- 20% drop overall each time. Therefore some can feel awful and struggle with withdrawal effects and may give up and restart previous dose and then feel stuck. Seen support groups dedicated to it, with people left measuring out own meds to achieve the small tapers to make it bearable.

** Not to put anyone off AD use as often very beneficial, even life saving but needs more understanding to titrate up/taper off with medications to minimise side effects and some individuals find it worse than others.

Speak to your doctor as they've been prescribing them to you. I know you said you don't always have the pain but do you get flare ups or whatever that you need to manage? Don't do a self managed taper with OTC grade. Also if you explain this to a pharmacist and they let you walk out with anything is be really suprised.

Lots of people would come off that very easily, some people might not. Speak to your prescriber

I divorced my Exh for gambling addiction, look at me now!

I've taken dihydrocodeine since 2017 and no issues but I don't get any sort of nice feelings from it
It's a mild pain relief for me and I can stop and start it

Well I'm sure you didn't start taking them for entertainment purposes. There was a painful medical issue and you didn't want to feel unwell when tried to stop so didn't, really this should be supported more.

Don't be hard on yourself you've recognised there is a problem and are seeking help off your own back. The only similarity is they add both addictions as how you deal with them can be totally different to another person.

The failure here is your doctor/pharmacist - not yours. It is well known that they are highly addictive and that nobody should be taking them long term. The fact that you have been using it this long should have been seriously questioned. Many GPs will no longer prescribe it at all - they prescribe paracetomol and codeine separately with codeine being "maxed" at doses for only two or three times a week when pain is worst. This means that patients become less tolerant to codeine (and it is therefore more effective) and less likley to become addicted.

Some days it really bothers me, other times I just think at least Im not on crack haha

When you have been in pain for whatever reason - you will have needed the pain relief and that is why it was prescribed for you.
Your doctor should willingly look at alternatives and ways of reducing dosages so you can wean yourself off the medication however long you have been on the medication. Going cold turkey is not the answer as you will feel worse in the interim.
Speaking as someone who has been on anti-depressants and also pain relief for peripheral neuropathy after breast cancer and all the chemo shite that went with it. With help from the clinical pharmacist at the doctors surgery, I followed her advice and began to reduce the medication and it was not done in a matter of weeks - it took months. Prescription strengths were changed so I was still taking the meds but reducing over time until I was eventually taking one at minimal dosage every other day which went to two days and so on. All timed to effectively 'run out' at the end of a packet - it was a gentle and effective way to do it. On a recent annual medication review - they were finally removed from my repeat prescription list - so it can be done. You just need to be patient and kind with yourself.
I have a friend who works in the NHS with people suffering from addictions - she has dealt with all kinds of people and their addictions from cocaine, paracetamol to sugar!! Lots of people have addictions - look at all those who try and fail to get to grips with smoking or alcohol so don't beat yourself up about it.
Wishing you lots of luck in dealing with this.

Well done for trying to make someone who is struggling feel stupid. I’m sure you will have really helped her with her addiction.

Don’t be such an utter dick. FFS

What difference does the OPs grammar make to her situation.

Op - consider buying some solpedeine max OTC use that to taper off with. Don’t stop codeine cold turkey.

I was on dibydrocodeine was about 4-5 days due to surgery on my hand. Felt really odd and dizzy when I stopped. It was quite grim and the thought of repeating that feeling helped me stick to just paracetamol and ibuprofen. Much shorter time I appreciate. You can do this. But do it slowly.

OK! let me just deal with this then I will head back to school!

I'm sorry you're in this situation. I'd second the advice to get professional help and advice.

I took cocodamol for two weeks after an operation a few years ago and was so annoyed that no one at the hospital or the pharmacy warned me it was so easy to become physically dependent on it! (Later on I was told 3+ days is the timescale).

I vaguely remember having nausea, diarrhoea and dizziness as I came off it.

I can't remember dosages or how I tapered off but I do remember that I did it very gradually with GP's guidance and a certain amount of teeth gritting to get through the withdrawal. I just kept telling myself the withdrawal would be over after a few days but if I increased the dose again it would just drag out the withdrawal process.

I complained to the hospital team and the surgeon's office about the fact I'd had no prior warning.

I have real empathy now for people who unwittingly get addicted to painkillers. I previously had trouble imagining getting addicted to something which doesn't make you high. I've recently been reading about the Oxycontin scandal in the USA and it's horrific.

Good luck OP. One day at a time and please get support and advice from medical professionals.

Here is what you do - get someone to help you a friend for example.

cut the 4 tablets into 2 giving you 8 tablets per day
week 1 you take 7 tablets each one being a mini tablet per day
week 2 6
week 3 5
week 4 4

and so on until you get to the point you are on 1/2 a tablet a day eg 1 of your bits
then you do one 1/2 tablet every other day and then you do it every 3 days then every 4 days then every 5 days and then every 6 and then you stop.

I was addicted Had a horrific bad back after an accident and this is what I did with my GP. When you finally stop don’t go back - good luck!

Opiate withdrawal is no joke and can make you very sick

yes, but is also not dangerous unlike sudden alcohol withdrawal. Also op is only taking 120mg a day which is a very low dose in the grand scheme of things