Codeine addiction - coping with withdrawl

[Branwellsnow13]

For the last two years on and off I have been addicted to codeine. I started taking it for back pain after my pregnancy and didn't stop even when my pain went away purely because I liked the way it made me feel. I've known I've had a problem for several months but know I really want to stamp it out once and for all.

I have experienced withdrawl once before but I always end up giving in a taking some just to make the horrible withdrawl symptoms go away. I've booked a week off work and I'm going to stop taking the tablets today. Any tablets I have left I'm going to put in the bin. Over the next few days I'm just going to ride out the worst of it. Myself and my husband want to try for another baby so obviously I need to get myself in the best physical fitness.

I am posting here for advice if anybody has gone through anything similar. This can just somewhere that I can write and vent my feelings when things get bad and the symptoms get too much. I have a wonderful son and I need to do this for him more than anything. I can't imagine the damage I am doing to my insides.

Any advice would be appreciated

Go to your GP

I think it is fantastic you are doing this, and posting here is a good idea. The more help the better, and it is possibly there may be good treatment out there for when the symptoms do get difficult to bear, so I second going to your GP.

If you don't feel you can go to the GP, try and check out any addiction services in your area and ask for help. They may let you drop in for advice, or have a phone line.

IIRC you would be wise to take advice before going cold turkey from codeine. It's an opiate/derivate of morphine so you should be reducing the dose over a number of days/weeks, possibly with help from your GP.

And well done for addressing it

I've got an appointment with my gp tomorrow. And I have been tapering off and lowering my dose. I just hope it isn't as bad as last time. I'm going to take my last one soon and I'm already feeling anxious but I know it's got to be done.

Is there someone in RL who can buddy for you, as in be available to come over or talk on the phone if it gets hard?

I've no really relevant experience, but a long time ago when I went through a spate of panic attacks my father was my buddy. I could ring him anytime and he would talk me down. Mainly by opining for however long it took about his favourite football team, so we both got something out of it!

Knowing that such a person is there is comforting and a very good way of avoiding falling back into unwise behaviours.

Day 1

I haven't take anything since 8pm last night apart from some paracetamol. I've got a terrible headache but apart from that so far so good. I'm under no illusions that tomorrow will be much worse but I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it.

The strange thing is I honestly don't want any tablets. I thought I would be begging for them by now but the thought of them makes me sick. Maybe this means that I genuinely want to kick them this time.

Have you been on www.codeinefree.me.uk you need to come of slowly by tapering.

Well done on tapering down, have you researched how much you need to taper down before you give them up completely? Its a brutal job, withdrawing, and even once you think you're off them, you can get an urge a 15 days after the last pill, think you're safe and be back on them before you know it. How did the appointment go with the GP?

How are you Branwell?